-Broadcast-
Blackbeard—transformed into the Sixth Heaven Demon King manifestation with three ferocious demonic faces—displayed surprise for only the briefest instant across his grotesque features. Having coexisted with the Yami Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit) for extended periods, he knew secrets that other Devil Fruit users remained ignorant of entirely.
"You are not the Empress," the leftmost head observed with clinical detachment.
"Boa Hancock genuinely possesses this qualification," the center head added, voice carrying grudging respect.
"I'm not surprised she harbors another soul dwelling within her body," the rightmost head concluded matter-of-factly.
While the three demon faces conversed among themselves, their originally petrified and shattered bodies were recovering at speeds visible to the naked eye. It required only several seconds to restore the original appearance—three heads and six arms regenerating through supernatural vitality.
The black lotus platform beneath his feet quietly emitted suffocating and terrifying radiance, resembling dark fire erupting from hell's deepest circles. The emanation seemed capable of devouring everything within proximity.
Behind him loomed a massive black halo, and within that radiance appeared a swastika symbol. This ancient marking exuded strange and mysteriously ominous aura—as though representing forbidden power that inspired primal dread.
In this atmosphere of supernatural confrontation, Blackbeard resembled a demon walking directly from the abyss, radiating terrifying presence that transcended normal human comprehension. Marshall D. Teach's existence seemed to operate beyond conventional time and space, making it impossible to glimpse his authentic nature.
The corrupted light and symbols complemented each other, forming a shocking tableau. The scene was simultaneously beautiful and terrifying—as though declaring to the entire world how powerful and utterly unchallengeable the authority he wielded truly was.
"I am her and she is me," the entity inhabiting Hancock's form spoke with alien coldness. "The two existences can never be separated. Allow me to help you become properly acquainted with Boa Hancock once more."
The Empress's body transformed again with disturbing fluidity. Her originally beautiful legs gradually converted into serpentine tail, scales forming along reformed flesh. The tail made sinuous hissing sounds as it rubbed against ruined earth.
Her face began distorting with terrible purpose. Originally noble and exquisite facial features gradually became deformed through invisible force. The lines of her cheeks sharpened into inhuman angles. Her chin lengthened and protruded forward, as though malevolent power was pulling her face into new configuration.
Her eyes gradually narrowed into reptilian slits, revealing profound coldness utterly alien to human warmth. Her lips thinned dramatically and rose slightly at the corners, revealing sharp teeth resembling snake fangs. Finally, her entire face transformed into serpent's head covered with fine scales—revealing the predatory coldness and hideous beauty of wild beasts.
Her hair had become living serpents, hissing in harmony with her transformed body. Each snake exuded dangerous aura, displaying to the external world her power and absolute inviolability.
The Empress at this moment possessed both the seductive charm of humanity and the predatory agility of serpents. Her existence seemed to transcend boundaries between human and beast, inspiring simultaneous fascination and profound terror.
In this weird and gorgeous transformation, the Empress had become a horrifying existence possessing snake tail and human torso—a living embodiment of ancient Gorgon mythology.
Golden-pupiled snake eyes hidden among the writhing mass of serpent hair could unleash the Mero Mero no Mi's (Love-Love Fruit) petrification ability through simple visual contact with targets. Boa Hancock—or rather, the entity now inhabiting her form—didn't call out any move names. Blackbeard Teach's demonic face began transforming into stone, the phenomenon spreading across his entire body at irreversible velocity.
Earth and sky were affected by peripheral petrification effects. If this location had been adjacent to ocean waters, even Mother Sea herself would have suffered petrification's touch.
This power originated from demonic authority. Normal Devil Fruit mechanics couldn't compare with such fundamental force.
The Yami Yami no Mi couldn't resist this power during initial contact. This law-approaching petrification ability proved extraordinarily troublesome even for Marshall D. Teach. If confronted by anyone else, they would possess zero capacity for resistance whatsoever.
The radiance behind Blackbeard operated at maximum capacity. The Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu (Human-Human Fruit, Great Buddha Model) and Yami Yami no Mi worked in close coordination, helping their host resist the terrifying petrification authority. A multi-directional tug-of-war commenced across the Sixth Heaven Demon King's tall frame.
"The Queen possesses this innate talent," the leftmost head acknowledged, "which has surpassed most individuals dwelling across these seas."
"It's profoundly unfortunate she was burdened by excessive gift," the center head observed with cruel analysis.
"She cannot suppress the Devil Fruit consciousness dwelling within her body," the rightmost head concluded. "It was only a matter of time before she became the vessel for demonic will."
Marshall D. Teach possessed three Devil Fruits inhabiting his physical form. After training all three fruits to Awakened state simultaneously, he'd pushed open the door to his inner sanctuary—entering the so-called Pure Land of Heart through deliberate spiritual exploration.
The difference between Blackbeard and Boa Hancock was fundamental: he'd encountered three separate versions of himself dwelling within that mental landscape.
The three consciousnesses originating from Devil Fruit essences weren't benevolent entities—they resembled Blackbeard Teach's own ruthless ambition perfectly. Four souls had commenced brutal warfare for bodily control rights, each consciousness desiring to enslave others and establish themselves as absolute king.
However, throughout that internal conflict, the Yami Yami no Mi's consciousness had reached a pragmatic deal with Marshall D. Teach's original personality. The two souls worked cooperatively within the Pure Land of Heart, suppressing the other two consciousnesses through combined violent means.
This alliance allowed Blackbeard to fully control the power of all three fruits simultaneously. He'd become the ultimate victor in the King versus Mount competition—maintaining authentic selfhood while wielding demonic power.
Now, the authority of three Devil Fruits complemented each other within a single body, achieving strange equilibrium and forming an impossible triangle. This allowed Marshall D. Teach to exert the most primitive and devastating power of Devil Fruit abilities without sacrificing his true self to demonic consumption.
Although the Mero Mero no Mi had enhanced the Empress's petrification capability tremendously, her physical endurance couldn't compare with the Sixth Heaven Demon King's catastrophic resilience.
Blackbeard Teach needed to exploit his advantages fully—enduring petrification ability while approaching Boa Hancock's position. As long as he captured this beautiful serpent, he could do absolutely anything he desired with her.
The entity inhabiting Hancock's form realized the vast gap in raw power between combatants. But this woman—this ancient consciousness wearing borrowed flesh—wouldn't surrender easily. Surrendering and accepting defeat would never occur in this existence or any previous incarnation. Nobody would pity the defeated. Losers had to overcome obstacles through their own desperate effort.
The serpents transformed from the Empress's hair gradually became longer and thicker, opening mouths to display venomous fangs toward the enemy. In the next instant, hundreds of serpents launched themselves at the Sixth Heaven Demon King simultaneously.
Fangs pierced through demonic skin, injecting deadly venom directly into Marshall D. Teach's circulatory system. If ordinary humans suffered even a single bite, a single drop of venom would claim their lives within heartbeats.
However, the Sixth Heaven Demon King's dark skin began automatically decomposing toxins at molecular level, refusing to permit snake venom entry into internal organs. As for the accompanying petrification ability, he possessed other Devil Fruits to resist such assault.
Medusa's serpent attack didn't halt the enemy's advance. Multiple arms would tear attacking serpents into fragments periodically, causing the Empress to experience sensation equivalent to hair being violently ripped from her scalp.
"Boa Hancock," the ancient consciousness muttered with frustration, "you genuinely know how to cause tremendous trouble. Observe what manner of enemy you've provoked. The Sixth Heaven Demon King represents an obstacle that Buddhist practitioners can never overcome through conventional means."
After deploying identical techniques to test opponent quality, the entity realized Marshall D. Teach wasn't merely powerful facade. Fraudulent imitations couldn't withstand Medusa's petrification authority—they would transform into harmless stone statues instantly.
As an ancient being who'd existed across countless human generations, the consciousness had certainly possessed fortune to hear of the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. If precise categorization was required, the two didn't belong to identical power systems. Nevertheless, Medusa understood the opponent's terrible reputation intimately.
If Buddhist disciples wished to achieve authentic Buddhahood, they must overcome the obstacle represented by the Sixth Heaven Demon King. Failure to surpass this trial meant never achieving true enlightenment. Inability to pass this threshold resulted in becoming false Buddha at best—a hollow imitation of genuine transcendence. No shortcuts existed along this spiritual path.
If the Sixth Heaven Demon King appeared before mortal humans, he would be functionally indistinguishable from a demon god wielding absolute authority. Currently, he maintained merely ten meters of height—not his authentic form, not even a legitimate clone.
At most, this was a minuscule projection of demonic divinity manifesting within the human world—a fragment of terrible power constrained by physical reality.
Yet even this fraction proved overwhelming for ordinary combatants to confront.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~