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"Hand me the son of Dragon!!!"Akainu bellowed, his body towering like a god of fire. His gaze locked on Jinbei.
"Akainu? He's still alive?!""I thought Pops finished him!""He must've survived by sinking into his own magma underground!" the pirates whispered in shock.
"Jinbei…"
The fish-man clenched his teeth. "I've already decided. Even if it costs me my life—I'll protect this boy."
Akainu lifted his molten fist, heat boiling the air around him. "Then I'll stop asking."
The Whitebeard Pirates leapt to shield Jinbei."We'll protect Ace's brother!""This was Pops' final wish!""Ace's family is our family!"
"Family?!" Akainu spat, fire roaring higher. "Disgusting! You claim to care about Ace, about that old man you worship—yet all you do is run and hide!"
The pirates roared back, unleashing a barrage of cannon fire. Explosions ripped across Akainu's chest, tearing holes straight through him—
But the magma flowed, filled the wounds, and his body healed instantly.
"Out of my way, cowards!!"Akainu raised his blazing fist high, firestorm surging to the sky.
Just then, a figure rushed in.
"Emporio… Face Growth Hormone!!" Ivankov's voice rang out as her face ballooned grotesquely.
From her hair leapt a hidden figure—Lightning, the Revolutionary Army commander."Iva! Let me back you up!"
"Giant Claw!!!"
The ground split apart in jagged chunks, rising up into a wall of stone shields just in time to block the searing blast of magma.
"You won't lay a hand on Straw Hat!"
Akainu's voice was like molten iron, unwavering."The son of Dragon must be erased completely!"
Ivankov's massive face twisted with rage."Death Wink!!!"
A colossal wave of pink energy blasted straight at Akainu.
BOOM!!!
The explosion shook the air, smoke and dust flooding the battlefield.
Ivankov landed heavily, his face shrinking back to normal."If I'm here and still let the Straw Hat boy get hurt, then I'd never be able to face Dragon, our Revolutionary commander, again."
Akainu's entire body churned with lava, rivers of fire flowing across his skin as his blazing form began to reconstitute itself.
"I don't have time to waste on the likes of you.""Both of you—get out of my way!!!"
Ivankov's grin widened."Perfect. I'm fired up too—and my flames burn brighter than yours!"
…
Beneath a shroud of black cloth, Teach's ragged breathing steadied, and his crew huddled close with anticipation.
"Looks like the preparations are done, Captain.""Come on, show us already!"
"Alright, sorry to keep you waiting!" Teach's voice rang out, thick with triumph. "Now, feast your eyes on the world-class performance brought to you by Captain Marshall D. Teach and the Blackbeard Pirates!"
With a yank, his men tore away the black cloth.
And there he stood—Blackbeard revealed at last.
The marines froze in shock."What the hell did he do…?""Whitebeard doesn't look… changed at all!"
Teach stepped forward slowly, grinning."Time for you all to witness my true power.""In other words… we're enemies again, officially."
A torrent of darkness surged from his body, swallowing the ground in an ocean of writhing black mist.
"Dark Vortex!!!"
The marines felt their bodies dragged downward, as though the earth itself was trying to consume them.
"This is the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit!" Teach bellowed. "But that's not all…"
He raised his left hand, in the exact stance Whitebeard had once used.
Everyone's eyes widened."That pose—!!!"
His fist slammed into the air itself. The very fabric of space cracked apart like shattered glass, spiderweb fractures spreading wide.
Marineford shook violently, the foundations buckling under a destructive force no one thought possible.
Fissures ripped through the earth, the battlefield collapsing all around them.
"That… that's the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!" gasped a marine, eyes bulging."But how—how can that monster wield Whitebeard's power? He's dead!"
Teach threw his head back in wild laughter.
"The darkness that swallows everything!""The quake that destroys everything!""Now both powers belong to me! With this, nothing can stop me!"
"I am the strongest!!!"
Sweat poured down the marines' faces."We don't know how he did it… but he's stolen Whitebeard's ability!""Does this mean the terror of the Tremor Fruit isn't over after all?!"
Marco stared across the battlefield, horrified."It shouldn't be possible for one body to hold two Devil Fruit powers… but Teach is different. His body is built unlike anyone else's."
"So this is the result…?"
Blackbeard's laughter shook the heavens."See this, world? See this, Navy? From today on, this is MY era!!!""Marineford… sink into the sea where you belong!"
…
In the Naruto world
"What?!" Naruto's face fell, fists clenching. "Uncle Whitebeard's dead? And that Blackbeard—he's the worst! Stealing someone else's power like that—what a damn thief!"
Kakashi's lone eye narrowed at the screen."Blackbeard… killing comrades to gain strength. A true scum. If I could, I'd cross over myself to deal with trash like him."
The Third Hokage exhaled smoke from his pipe."A cancer of the world. Every world has its ambitious tyrants. But I believe this—the Will of Fire will always defeat the darkness."
…
In the Dragon Ball world
Piccolo's arms were crossed, his gaze fixed on Whitebeard's unmoving body."I didn't think much of their power at first… but that man was worthy of respect."
Goku's face hardened, eyes on Blackbeard."Another bad guy, huh? I won't forgive him!"
…
Back to the screen
Just as Blackbeard reveled in his victory, the heavens split with a blinding golden light.
A colossal golden figure descended, palm raised high. A crushing wave of energy struck down like divine judgment. Blackbeard had no time to react—he was hurled backward, blood spraying from his mouth.
"Shockwave!!!"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku loomed in his Buddha form, unleashing a devastating golden blast that crashed over the Blackbeard Pirates.
The explosion ripped through the battlefield, the world drowned in white.
When the dust finally cleared, the Whitebeard Pirates were battered and bloodied, but still struggling to their feet.
The golden giant Buddha's voice echoed slowly across the battlefield.
"A fortress can always be rebuilt… but this island, Marineford, lies at the very center of the world!"
"For the people across the globe, terrified of wicked men running rampant, our presence here carries deep meaning."
"Justice born of compassion and righteousness will never die!"
"So don't you dare speak so lightly about sinking this place!"
"Brat!!!"
Blackbeard's mad laughter rang out again."What a noble conviction, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
"In that case… let's see you protect it!"
A thick shroud of darkness spilled from Blackbeard's right hand.
Sengoku raised his massive golden palm, ready to strike down.
"It's about time to end this, Akainu!!!"Ivankov's cold voice cut through the chaos.
"Newkama Kenpo, Secret Beauty Technique #44—Laser Healing Fist!!!"
His fingertips sharpened into deadly claws, gleaming with a chilling aura.
"..."
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