"Marco lost?!"
"The Whitebeard Pirates are in serious trouble!"
"One blow… Just one blow took down Marco. Blackbeard's strength is overwhelming. With both the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Quake-Quake Fruit, there are few on the seas who can rival him."
Around the island, various factions and observers watching this battle unfold were left in stunned silence.
Marco's defeat wasn't due to weakness—it was simply because Blackbeard was too strong.
For many, this was the first time they had witnessed the terrifying synergy of Blackbeard's dual Devil Fruit powers. And in that moment, his name was etched into their memories like a brand.
On the battlefield, Marco had taken the full brunt of the Gura Gura no Mi's power. The blow left him badly wounded—his entire body wracked with pain, internal organs damaged, and his strength waning rapidly.
Even a Yonko like Kaido wouldn't walk away unharmed from such an attack.
---
Marco's defeat sent a ripple of despair through the Whitebeard Pirates.
Their momentum crumbled.
In a matter of seconds, several captains were overwhelmed and seriously injured by their opponents.
"Zehahahaha! Marco, you see this? This is Whitebeard's power!"
"I've inherited it—and with it, I'll become the next Emperor of the Sea! You're nothing more than relics, clinging to the shadow of a dead man!"
Blackbeard walked toward Marco, each step pressing into the ground with deliberate weight. His words were like knives, sharp and unforgiving.
Clinging to the past?
Maybe Marco hadn't, but he couldn't deny that many of his comrades had.
Whitebeard's sudden death had left a hole in their hearts. They had been unable to move on.
And in that helplessness, their dependence on him became glaringly clear.
"Agh… You're not worthy to speak his name, Blackbe—No, Teach!"
Marco's voice was hoarse, blood staining the corner of his lips. The pain from his injuries made every breath difficult, but his gaze never wavered.
The very first rule of the Whitebeard Pirates was never betray your family.
Blackbeard had broken it time and time again—murdering Thatch, leading Ace to his doom, and finally striking down Whitebeard himself.
There was no forgiveness for that.
But Blackbeard just kept laughing.
"The world belongs to the victors. Losers have no say in how history is written."
"Whitebeard was a loser. So are you. And I… I'm the final winner. The one who decides how it all ends!"
Gasps echoed across the sea.
No one expected Blackbeard to speak so brazenly, so directly. But his words weren't wrong.
In this world, history is always written by the victors.
And the defeated? They're reduced to footnotes in someone else's story.
Marco clenched his jaw. He couldn't refute it—Whitebeard had died, and today, they might all be wiped out too.
"No more talking," he growled. "I'll never accept you. Let's end this, Blackbeard!"
His will flared like a dying flame given new air. His eyes were sharper than ever. He was ready to give his life.
"Still stubborn, huh?" Blackbeard sneered. "Then I'll take that Phoenix Fruit for myself, Marco."
White energy surged into his left fist—the power of the Quake-Quake Fruit. The air trembled violently, and cracks spread across the battlefield.
Time seemed to freeze.
Just as Blackbeard prepared to strike again…
A voice thundered from above.
"Fire Fist!"
BOOM!
A massive fireball tore through the sky, shattering the clouds as it screamed toward the battlefield—straight for Blackbeard.
"What the—!?"
"Who is that?!"
"Someone was hiding in the sky this whole time? Or did they just arrive?"
"Wait… That attack—it looks like Fire Fist Ace's technique!"
"Did someone inherit the Flame-Flame Fruit?!"
All eyes turned skyward—pirates, Navy officers, spies from the underworld—everyone stared in stunned silence.
Even the warriors on both sides paused their fighting.
"Zehahaha… What a blazing welcome!"
Blackbeard raised his head and grinned, mad as ever. His quake-charged fist, once aimed at Marco, now turned toward the heavens.
BOOM!
With a roar, a powerful shockwave erupted from his arm. The island shook violently.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the battlefield as the earth split and the air twisted.
KRAKOOOM!
The fireball and the shockwave collided in a thunderous explosion.
The impact lit up the entire sky. The fireball shattered into a hail of blazing fragments, each piece crashing down like meteors.
The battlefield was instantly engulfed in fire.
Each fragment carved a crater into the ground, igniting the terrain. The temperature across the island spiked dangerously in mere moments.
Even seasoned fighters broke into a sweat.
And above it all, in the smoke-choked sky, a shadow descended.
---
Kaelen Tsukishiro had arrived.
---
Get access to chapters in advance by becoming patrons.
patreon.com/Zphyr_