The eleven warships did not only bring clouds thick enough to blot out the sun this time—they brought violent, howling winds that screamed across the Island of Solemn Autumn like resentful ghosts.
The ragged pirates under Blackbeard fired only a few symbolic shots toward the ghostly fleet. Then, terrified, they turned and fled in panic across the vast harbor.
Their will to fight was already gone.
One pirate—thin as a bamboo stick and with a mouth full of rotting teeth—felt something coil around his left leg as he tried to run.
He screamed sharply, then was yanked off the pier and flung into the sea with a splash.
Climbing back up was a hunchbacked shark–fishman with pale blue skin.
Dripping wet, he bared rows of sharp fangs at the Blackbeard pirates and let out a threatening snarl.
The enemy shrieked and fled even faster, tripping over one another in terror.
Namur, division commander of the Whitebeard Remnants, seized control of the harbor with ease.
More of the remnants surged off the ghostly ships in a crashing tide, flooding into the Island of Solemn Autumn. A new round of slaughter began.
Namur and Rakuyo led the vanguard themselves, tearing through one flimsy defensive line after another.
At that moment, through the roaring winds, they faintly heard a thunderous bellow.
They lifted their heads—and saw a massive figure descending from the sky.
BOOM—
"Champion" Jesus Burgess struck the earth with a heavy impact, kicking up a cloud of dust.
He gave Namur and Rakuyo a smirk-like expression, then raised his thick right arm clad in reinforced gauntlets.
Among the core ship captains under Blackbeard, he was one of the few still without a Devil Fruit.
Marshall D. Teach—"Blackbeard," or "Admiral"—possessed a catalog of Devil Fruits, allowing his commanders to choose the ones they desired while he hunted them down.
But to this day, Burgess had never obtained the fruit he longed for.
That did not make him weak.
Namur and Rakuyo, using their keen Observation Haki, could feel the violent intent surging from Burgess's body.
His right arm swelled, covered in Armament Haki, and he swung it like a great club—unleashing a powerful shockwave punch.
THOOM—
The shockwave tore across the leaf-strewn ground like an invisible cannonball, ripping up dirt as it shot toward the two commanders.
Namur and Rakuyo leapt apart at the last moment, narrowly escaping the blast.
But the vanguard behind them did not. They were pulverized instantly into airborne gore.
The pirates following behind skid to a halt, terrified by the grotesque trench carved from blood and flesh.
Burgess laughed wildly, pointing at Namur and Rakuyo.
"You two better watch yourselves! My Unsinkable Battleship—Lariat Style… take one hit, and you'll be smashed to pieces!"
Namur and Rakuyo didn't reply. They exchanged a single look—then rushed him without hesitation.
"You're not even afraid of death?" Burgess chuckled, spreading his hands. "Fine. Let me sentence you myself."
He blocked Rakuyo's swinging morning-star with his armored arm, then kicked Namur away as if launching a ball.
Burgess prepared to smash the fallen Namur with a fatal punch—but suddenly found his raised arm locked in place by a chain.
He turned—and Rakuyo's morning-star had come alive, jaw opening wide with razor-sharp teeth, lunging for Burgess's neck!
SHRIP—
Burgess narrowly dodged with extreme reflexes, but not fully. The biting weapon tore a chunk of flesh from the side of his neck, spraying blood in an arc.
"Rabid mutt!"
Burgess could no longer laugh. He cursed, slapped his left hand over the wound to stem the blood, and ripped free from the chain.
Namur pounced again.
Burgess planted his feet, pulling back his right arm like a drawn bow before firing off a devastating punch.
"DIE FOR ME, YOU STINKING FISH-MAN!"
But Namur had been waiting for this exact moment. Small and agile, he ducked under the shockwave, grabbed onto Burgess's extended arm with both hands—
—and swung himself up like a monkey, becoming a black blur as he launched himself at Burgess's face.
Burgess saw the shark-fishman's fangs. He smelled a foul, indescribable fishy stench.
Then agony consumed him.
Namur seemed to be leaning in for a kiss—but what he actually did was far more horrific:
He tore off half of Jesus Burgess's face with his jaws.
Flesh, blood, and bone ripped apart. A scream rang through the battlefield.
Half of Burgess's face was gone—exposed cheekbone and teeth glistening in the open air.
Instinctively, he clamped his right hand over the ruined half of his face, while his left still pressed against his bleeding neck.
Dizzy from blood loss, he staggered—and then Rakuyo's morning-star smashed into his chest.
His proud chest caved in instantly.
Burgess swayed, then collapsed onto his back, arms spread, blood flooding the ground.
Namur spat out the bloody mass of meat. "Is he dead?"
"No idea," Rakuyo replied—just as the half-dead Burgess suddenly sprang up.
One side of his face gone, the other soaked in blood, he looked like a demon risen from hell. With a final furious roar, he threw himself at Rakuyo, fist raised.
Rakuyo flinched backward. The shockwave was about to fire from Burgess's fist when he heard a familiar shout:
"Rakuyo, DOWN!"
Recognizing the voice instantly, he dove to the ground without hesitation.
A high-pitched whine cut through the air.
A rocket shell, needle-sharp, streaked forward and struck Burgess square in the face—before detonating.
A burst of orange-yellow flame erupted skyward.
Burgess never released that final punch—his body shattered apart, dying in pieces.
Rakuyo stared at the lingering flames and scattered remains, confirming the man was truly dead. Then he stood up and grumbled:
"Curiel, were you trying to kill me too?!"
"Sorry, sorry!" said Captain Curiel the "Rocket-Launcher," cradling his bazooka with a grin. "Situation was urgent, y'know…"
"Good thing I recognized your voice… If I hadn't ducked, that rocket would've taken off the back of my head."
"No way. My aim was perfect—it would've just grazed you. Telling you to duck was just insurance."
"Still too damn dangerous…"
Namur stepped in to ease the tension. "Alright, alright. Burgess is dead thanks to trust between us. With him gone, the harbor's wide open. Our vanguard mission is half done."
Watching the main forces flood deeper into the Island of Solemn Autumn, clashing with the enemy, the three commanders felt their morale soar and joined the fray.
Suddenly, panic-stricken shouts erupted among the Whitebeard Remnants.
They stared at themselves—and at each other—in shock.
What… what was happening?!
Men had turned into women. Women had turned into men.
How?!
Even Namur, Rakuyo, and Curiel—who had just reached the battlefield—were affected. All three transformed into female bodies… though none of the new forms were attractive.
The uproar threw the army into chaos. Their morale and combat power crashed. Blackbeard's pirates surged back, counterattacking fiercely.
They were losing ground.
The three commanders realized the situation, but suddenly turning into women left them bewildered and unable to regain composure.
A shrill cry echoed from above.
They looked up—and saw a man wrapped in a fur coat, riding a winged horse through the sky.
Doc Q stroked his pegasus Stronger, murmuring in a lifeless whisper:
"The human body… Isn't it fascinating?"
As the user of the Sick-Sick Fruit, he was the source of this chaos.
He could spread diseases indiscriminately and on a massive scale.
And the diseases he created were always bizarre.
Not deadly ailments like amber lead poisoning—no. Instead, things like forced gender changes, plunging victims into confused terror as their bodies shifted.
This was the power of his Sick-Sick Fruit unleashed.
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