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The Mero Mero no Mi (Love-Love Fruit) produced absolutely no effect on the perverted Marshall D. Teach. Among those present, only Marco maintained an outwardly calm expression—though his eyes burned with barely contained fury.
During the Battle of Marineford, the Whitebeard Pirates had already witnessed demonstrations of the Yami Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit) capabilities in front of numerous combatants. Marco had seen firsthand what that cursed power could accomplish, had watched it consume his family's abilities and render them helpless.
However, this current situation differed drastically from previous encounters.
Marco fixed his hatred-filled gaze on Marshall D. Teach, his voice carrying cold certainty as he revealed crucial intelligence. "Your Dark-Dark Fruit ability has evolved considerably. Before Marineford, you required direct physical contact to nullify other Devil Fruit users' powers. But now..." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Even that basic restriction no longer applies."
The revelation hung in the air like a death sentence.
Why had Portgas D. Ace—the legendary Fire Fist whose flames had terrorized the New World—fallen to the hands of a relative unknown like Marshall D. Teach? The answer was brutally simple: there existed a vast gap between Logia-type Devil Fruits. In terms of comprehensive combat utility, the Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit) wasn't even worthy of carrying the Yami Yami no Mi's shoes.
The Dark-Dark Fruit represented a special category of Logia Devil Fruit—one that abandoned the primary advantage possessed by all other natural-type fruits. Blackbeard couldn't transform his body into darkness for intangibility, couldn't allow attacks to pass harmlessly through elemental form. Moreover, his fruit carried the severe disadvantage of forcing him to absorb doubled damage from all attack types—physical impacts hurt twice as much, elemental attacks inflicted catastrophic pain.
Such a Devil Fruit riddled with fundamental flaws and tactical weaknesses should have been worthless by conventional standards.
Yet it possessed unique merits that transcended normal power scaling.
In its earlier developmental stage, Blackbeard could use direct physical contact to completely engulf another Devil Fruit user's abilities, temporarily transforming the ability user into a powerless blank slate—nothing more than an ordinary human stripped of supernatural advantages.
Fire Fist Ace had fallen victim to precisely this technique. He'd become Blackbeard's defeated opponent, his legendary flames extinguished like cheap candles. Marshall D. Teach had then cynically leveraged their "good brotherhood" as a token of allegiance, handing Ace over to the Marine in exchange for Shichibukai status and political protection.
The situation had gradually spiraled from there, eventually evolving into the catastrophic Battle of Marineford that had reshaped the world's power balance.
Marshall D. Teach's ability to somehow seize both the Gura Gura no Mi (Tremor-Tremor Fruit) and the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu (Human-Human Fruit, Great Buddha Model)... Marco and Marine intelligence analysts had reached identical conclusions. The mechanism almost certainly related to the Dark-Dark Fruit's unique properties—its capacity to consume and manipulate Devil Fruit powers at a fundamental level.
Blackbeard's body could accommodate three Devil Fruits simultaneously without exploding into gore. Such a feat defied every known principle of Devil Fruit mechanics. It demonstrated that Marshall D. Teach possessed somewhat inhuman physical constitution—a biological abnormality that allowed the impossible Trinity to exist within one flesh.
This represented the first time such a phenomenon had appeared across all recorded seas.
Blackbeard radiated that signature evil and unhinged aura, coupled with his villainous smile—gaps where teeth should have been only enhancing the predatory impression. When Marco exposed his upgraded abilities so directly, Teach didn't appear particularly concerned.
Being thick-skinned was a fundamental quality required of truly strong individuals. Public embarrassment meant nothing when you possessed overwhelming power.
"You gentlemen don't know whether I can digest other people's Devil Fruit abilities unless you actually try testing me," Blackbeard announced with casual menace, his voice carrying undertones of sadistic amusement.
As a master at playing the fool while devouring the tiger, Marshall D. Teach exhibited considerable path dependence in his tactical approach. Even when facing enemies drastically weaker than himself in terms of raw combat capability, he typically maintained an arrogant attitude. He deliberately avoided revealing trump cards immediately, never stood at the forefront when survival through cunning remained possible.
Why fight when deception serves better?
Blackbeard's malicious eyes scanned the Empress's curvaceous figure with undisguised hunger, lingering on every curve with lecherous intensity. This goddess proved perfect in every physical aspect—her only flaw was that insufferably proud personality. He wanted desperately to obtain both her body and her mind, to savor the exquisite process of conquering the world's most beautiful woman and breaking her spirit completely.
Boa Hancock felt profoundly uncomfortable under the disgusting, lewd scrutiny of this perverted fat man. Revulsion crawled across her skin like insects. She wanted nothing more than to physically dig out Marshall D. Teach's filthy eyes, to make him understand viscerally that enraged women were absolutely not to be trifled with.
"Since Devil Fruit abilities prove useless against him," Hancock declared, her voice carrying steel beneath silk, "I refuse to believe Conqueror's Haki will fail similarly."
Red and black lightning materialized in the atmosphere surrounding the Empress, crackling energy made visible through sheer force of will. She no longer suppressed the sovereign aura dwelling within her body—that innate quality of rulership that separated mere leaders from true monarchs.
A woman's Conqueror's Haki manifested across the sky, venting overwhelming presence from multiple angles simultaneously. The entire venue became enveloped by her domineering spirit, pressure building until weaker individuals struggled to draw breath.
Female monarchs represented exceedingly rare phenomena across all the seas. Marshall D. Teach began sweating profusely despite the display—or perhaps because of it. He didn't restrain his lustful desire whatsoever. The demonstration of power only intensified his obsession. He wished he could claim Boa Hancock immediately, possess her completely. Only by keeping such an extraordinary woman could he prove himself truly worthy of a strong man's status.
What greater trophy than the world's most beautiful woman who also wields Conqueror's Haki?
There existed no need for further diplomatic discussion between the two parties. With overwhelming five-to-one numerical advantage, Nine Snake Island's coalition possessed tremendous confidence. They unanimously agreed that Blackbeard Teach had grown far too arrogant for his own survival.
Facing such a formidable lineup assembled on this island—combatants who could threaten even the former Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku if properly coordinated—any sensible villain who excelled at speculation and opportunism should flee immediately.
Today, Marshall D. Teach would be forced to reveal his true capabilities.
Boa Hancock, serving as hostess of this confrontation, initiated the first attack. She possessed considerable confidence in her physical combat techniques—particularly her pair of impossibly long legs that weren't merely aesthetically perfect but functionally devastating.
She'd literally kicked numerous strong opponents to death with her signature techniques over the years. The Empress absolutely must not be dismissed as a fragile woman who relied solely on Devil Fruit powers.
"Perfume Femur!"
Her leg became wrapped entirely in jet-black Armament Haki, hardened to steel-like density. Simultaneously, her body radiated crackling Conqueror's Haki that distorted the air itself. The power of the Love-Love Fruit was injected into the attack as well—three distinct abilities gathering together, converging into a single devastating strike aimed directly at Blackbeard Teach's skull.
The kick connected with tremendous force.
Just as Boa Hancock had suspected, Marshall D. Teach proved to be a pathetically useless combatant in close-quarters engagement. He was sent flying backward by the Empress's single blow, his massive body soaring through the air like a broken kite with severed strings.
Marshall D. Teach's bulk crashed into the jungle occupying Nine Snake Island's outer perimeter, his impact raising tremendous clouds of dust and pulverized vegetation.
Everyone felt genuinely pleased with this result. The Empress's leg had made solid contact with Blackbeard's head—direct, devastating physical trauma enhanced by both forms of Haki. Although the Love-Love Fruit's petrification ability had been nullified by the Dark-Dark Fruit's aura, the Haki-enhanced strike itself was absolutely genuine.
Even if the opponent survived through sheer durability, he would definitely be severely injured at minimum. Blackbeard would lose skin even if death somehow eluded him.
"The fat bastard won't die immediately," Hancock observed coldly, her battle instincts telling her the fight wasn't finished. "Let's move quickly to confirm the kill while he's vulnerable."
The Empress invited everyone to advance together, to witness the death of one of the Four Emperors as a collective experience. They absolutely must not demonstrate soft-heartedness now, must not provide any opportunity for survival or counterattack.
Mercy at sea was a taboo that got good people killed. Hancock had learned this lesson through blood and suffering.
"It shouldn't be that simple..." Marco muttered, his combat-hardened instincts screaming warnings. "Teach wouldn't be this weak."
The Phoenix's eyes narrowed, scanning the dust cloud with supernatural perception. If Blackbeard truly operated at only this pathetic level, he would have been murdered by ambitious subordinates within the Blackbeard Pirates long ago—assassinated and replaced by someone with actual competence.
Teach hadn't gathered his pirate organization through gratitude or loyalty. He'd assembled it through naked violence and promised power sharing. Such brutal pragmatism possessed advantages and disadvantages in equal measure—and the disadvantages would eventually backfire catastrophically.
Once Marshall D. Teach demonstrated insufficient strength to maintain dominance, ambitious pirates who coveted his position would immediately cut off the Governor's head and claim the Yonko throne for themselves.
The moment Marco's warning finished echoing across the plaza, terrifying black thunder exploded from the heavens themselves.
From the precise location where Marshall D. Teach had crashed, overwhelming Conqueror's Haki erupted outward like a tsunami of pure willpower. The domineering aura swept across the entire Amazon Lily Kingdom, forcing every inhabitant of Nine Snake Island to experience existential terror on a primal level.
The Conqueror's Haki carried by that black thunder seemed to drain color from the sky itself. Even the weaker warriors of Nine Snake Island—women who could reliably wield both Armament and Observation Haki through years of disciplined training—found everything utterly futile before this apocalyptic level of sovereign will.
Like ordinary citizens without Haki capabilities, the warriors rapidly lost consciousness. They entered the most dangerous state of suspended animation, bodies collapsing where they stood as their minds simply... stopped functioning under the crushing pressure.
Empress Boa Hancock and Dark King Silvers Rayleigh both deployed their own Conqueror's Haki simultaneously, attempting to counter Blackbeard's overwhelming display through combined resistance.
They were unilaterally crushed in terms of sheer magnitude and intensity.
Their combined Haki—two legendary wielders of Conqueror's will acting in perfect coordination—couldn't even slow the black thunder's advance. The gap in power was simply too vast, too fundamental to bridge through numerical advantage alone.
Wonder Woman Diana drew her sword in one fluid motion while raising her shield into defensive posture, muscles coiling for imminent combat. The azure electrical discharge surrounding Admiral Raizumi Kennen intensified dramatically, voltage climbing to lethal peaks as crackling energy was transmitted continuously into the atmosphere—preparation for a devastating finishing technique.
Phoenix Marco transformed into his beast form, brilliant blue flames wreathing his body as he took flight. He hovered in the air like a mythical bird of legend, every sense alert to the enemy's slightest movement.
Setting aside their original contempt completely, everyone on Nine Snake Island entered maximum combat readiness. Battle could erupt at any microsecond.
Yet the five-against-one numerical advantage still provided them with considerable confidence. They possessed coordination, tactical flexibility, complementary abilities that could exploit any weakness.
How much stronger could this fat black man—someone who'd only recently ascended to Yonko status—possibly be compared to the older generation of Four Emperors like Whitebeard or Kaido?
The answer to that unspoken question would determine whether they survived the next few minutes.