Over ten minutes later, the towering waves finally began to subside.
The torn sky and cleaved sea gradually smoothed over.
As the ocean returned to calm, everyone aboard the warship felt their throats go dry.
They stared at Luo Yu in disbelief.
They'd seen sword slashes before—but compared to that last strike, everything else felt like child's play.
Had they not witnessed it with their own eyes, they never would've believed that a casual swing could unleash such overwhelming power.
"Admiral Luo Yu, we've located Blackbeard's group," Ain reported quickly. "They're alive, but badly injured."
"Fire Fist Ace is mostly unharmed—CP0 intervened and saved him."
CP0?
Luo Yu took a swig of liquor and looked toward the shattered raft, where several figures were wrapped in bandages like mummies—even Blackbeard was triple-layered in gauze.
The moment he saw Luo Yu, Blackbeard ignored the pain wracking his body and roared:
"No… impossible! There's only one Dark-Dark Fruit in this entire sea! What kind of power did you just use? Tell me, and I'll give you a massive secret about Captain Ace!"
To Blackbeard, this was the fruit he'd spent decades waiting for—lurking in Whitebeard's crew as a nobody, betraying his captain, even killing a brother to claim the strongest Devil Fruit.
He'd felt invincible when fighting Ace.
But against Luo Yu, he'd been utterly humiliated.
Especially that final, godlike slash—it left him choking on his own rage.
"A secret?" Luo Yu stepped beside Blackbeard's stretcher and said flatly, "I'm only interested in how much bounty you're worth. I don't care about secrets."
"It's not hard to tell—I used the same power as you."
"Yours is support-type. Mine's attack-type."
"Or maybe yours is the female version, and mine's the male. Different natures, you know?"
Support? Attack?
Female? Male?
Blackbeard's mind short-circuited. His face turned ashen, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"No… I refuse to believe Devil Fruits come in male and female versions!"
Thud!
With that, Blackbeard collapsed flat onto the stretcher, eyes wide open, completely unconscious.
Tashigi and the others were dumbfounded.
A ridiculous thought crept into their minds:
Do Devil Fruits really come in male and female forms?
Otherwise, how could Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit be so inferior to Luo Yu's?
Luo Yu, of course, had no interest in explaining.
He glanced at the bloodied, soot-covered Spandine, then turned to Ace.
"Honestly, it would've been better if you'd died just now."
Ace froze. Whatever he'd been about to say deflated like a popped balloon. He sighed bitterly.
"Can you kill me?"
Everyone's expressions changed instantly.
The exchange between Luo Yu and Ace felt like it came from another dimension—completely unexpected.
Smoker and the others tensed, staring at Luo Yu, wondering if he'd really do it.
"Fourth Admiral of the Navy—you… you can't kill Fire Fist Ace! And you definitely can't kill me! I'm CP0! You already hit me once!"
Spandine blurted out, his voice cracking with panic.
He remembered all too well what happened last time Luo Yu got annoyed.
He wasn't about to take any chances.
"Relax. He's worth a bounty—I wouldn't kill him," Luo Yu said with a lazy smile, taking another swig.
"As for you… you're my little money magnet."
Money magnet?
Spandine froze, completely confused.
But after confirming Luo Yu wasn't about to beat him up again, he felt oddly uneasy.
Was that… supposed to be a compliment?
"Yoyoyo~ Admiral Luo Yu!" came a familiar voice from above. "Rear Admiral Tashigi just contacted me to rendezvous with you. I heard Blackbeard's here too—perfect! Saves me the trouble of chasing him down for Fleet Admiral Sengoku's mission."
A beam of light descended from the sky.
In a flash, Admiral Kizaru materialized.
The Marines on deck immediately snapped to attention and saluted.
They couldn't help but glance at the stretcher—where Blackbeard lay bound like a dumpling, unconscious and bloodied.
Kizaru noticed the strange atmosphere. His usual sleazy grin faltered slightly as he looked around.
Then he spotted the wreck on the stretcher and twitched.
"Admiral Luo Yu… you're not telling me this dumpling is Blackbeard, are you?"
"Ahem. Admiral Kizaru, everyone here can vouch—it was Blackbeard who struck first. I only gave him one slash, and he ended up like this. Just make sure you explain it to Old Man Sengoku when we get back. Otherwise, I won't be able to claim my bonus."
Luo Yu patted Kizaru's shoulder and cleared his throat.
Just one slash?
Kizaru looked at the wreck that used to be Blackbeard. His cheek twitched again.
He had the sudden urge to ask what kind of blade Luo Yu had used.
To turn a near-Warlord into this mess with a single strike?
But at this point, there wasn't much else to say.
If anything, he was glad he wouldn't have to waste time talking.
Three days later, at the gates of Marineford—
A pirate ship bearing a Jolly Roger approached the harbor at full speed.
Rear Admiral Kibin's face darkened.
"Rear Admiral Kibin, who are these pirates? They dare sail straight into Marineford? Are they not afraid we'll sink them on the spot?"
A young Marine recruit couldn't hold back his outrage.
To him, Marine HQ was sacred ground.
Letting pirates dock here was a disgrace to justice.
"Quiet down," Kibin said sternly. "You're new, so I'll let it slide. That's the Donquixote Family's ship—under the Heavenly Yaksha, Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo."
"This is way above our pay grade. Notify Vice Admiral Tsuru immediately."
As a Rear Admiral, Kibin knew exactly what kind of pirates could stroll into Marineford like they owned the place.
But just as he finished speaking, his body moved on instinct.
His right hand gripped the hilt of his katana—and he drew it in a flash.
He slashed toward the young recruit in front of him.