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BOOM!
A deafening collision rang out.
The wooden raft beneath their feet creaked loudly, and several planks snapped apart.
Black smoke billowed from Marshall Teach's body. Sweat dripped from his chin, but his eyes shone with madness and excitement.
"Many years ago, when I watched you battle the Old Man... I wondered when I would finally earn the right to stand on the same stage as monsters like you! Zehahahahaha!"
The black smoke surrounding his right fist grew denser and denser.
Beneath Marshall Teach's feet, darkness silently spread outward in every direction.
Without anyone noticing, it had already reached Kojin's feet.
"Now it seems that day isn't far away anymore!"
Amid his laughter, Teach clenched his left fist and launched another attack.
Kojin's expression remained calm as he raised his fist to block it. Feeling the power contained within Teach's punch, Kojin quickly assessed the man's strength.
Compared to a naturally gifted giant like Whitebeard, Teach was still considerably weaker.
The same was true when compared to himself. However, Teach's Armament and Observation Hakis had clearly reached a very high level.
Even more surprising to Kojin was Teach's mastery over the Dark-Dark Fruit.
The tremendous force of his punches seemed to be swallowed by the black smoke surrounding Teach's fists.
"So it can devour all forms of attacks, whether elemental or physical?"
"That makes it somewhat troublesome."
Kojin muttered softly, deciding to test it further.
"Teach, is this all you've got?"
"Is this the power you possess?"
Suddenly, his five fingers crackled with blinding lightning. A massive pillar of thunder roared forth instantly, charging straight toward Teach's face.
"Dark Hole!"
Marshall Teach roared, raising both hands before him.
A black vortex appeared and collided head-on with the thunder pillar.
The brilliant lightning began fading away, visible to the naked eye.
Gradually, the darkness consumed it until nothing remained.
"Zehahahahaha! In front of my fruit, everything returns to nothingness!"
Marshall Teach laughed wildly.
In that moment, he truly felt he had the qualifications to stand among the world's strongest. The power of this Devil Fruit exceeded even his own expectations.
"Is that so?" Kojin smiled.
Suddenly, lightning erupted from his body.
Thousands of electric arcs shot outward in every direction.
Nearby, Van Augur was breathing heavily.
Fear still filled his eyes. He was certain that he had just walked through the gates of hell.
Suddenly, someone violently pulled his arm.
Losing his balance, he fell onto the deck. He turned his head and saw countless bolts of lightning racing toward them.
One bolt struck the spot where he had been standing moments earlier.
"Thanks, Lafitte!" Van Augur said, still shaken.
In such a short span of time, he had experienced the most terrifying moments of his life.
"We need to think of something! The battle between the captain and that man is about to spread across this entire area! This raft won't support us much longer!" Lafitte said urgently.
"We also need to rescue Burgess!" Van Augur replied grimly.
His eyesight was exceptional.
Even through the raging storm, he could make out Burgess drifting helplessly on the distant sea.
At that moment, Marshall Teach's laughter echoed once more.
"Zehahahaha! It's useless! Before my Devil Fruit, all of your attacks are meaningless!"
They looked carefully. The countless lightning bolts emitted by Kojin were absorbed by Teach's Devil Fruit power before they could touch him.
Van Augur couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
"We're going to save Burgess and we're going to find a way to get out of here!"
Lafitte blinked in confusion.
However, Van Augur offered no explanation.
Beside them, Doc Q had already skillfully used the broken planks from the raft to construct a makeshift raft and began paddling away.
The two quickly jumped aboard as well.
"What about the captain?" Lafitte asked.
"Let's worry about ourselves first! The scale of their battle is about to grow even larger!" Van Augur answered in a deep voice.
Having just escaped death, he knew better than anyone that they were incapable of interfering in this fight.
That man's strength far exceeded anyone's imagination.
BOOM!
At that moment, a violent tremor erupted from the raft ahead.
"Zehahahahaha! Do you see it now, Kojin?! This endless darkness will devour everything in the world!"
"You've already been swallowed by the darkness!"
Marshall Teach's laughter echoed across the battlefield.
The darkness spread like a sea of black water.
Without anyone noticing, it had expanded across a vast area, reaching the location of Van Augur and the others.
The violently surging ocean suddenly became completely motionless. The torrential rain falling from the heavens vanished soundlessly the moment it entered the darkened region, as though it had been devoured.
Kojin stood atop the darkness, a slight frown appearing on his face.
Without realizing it, everything around him had become darkness.
Marshall Teach's power had swallowed the raft.
Even the surrounding seawater had disappeared.
Within this domain, light itself seemed to have lost its color.
An invisible force bound his feet. He tried to move them, but he could not break free. It felt as though he had fallen into another world.
The Dark-Dark Fruit's power was truly bizarre.
It was like unleashing a miniature black hole that pulled and attracted everything around it.
"Zehahahahaha! You will all disappear within a ten-thousand-meter radius of the sea... Kojin!"
Marshall Teach laughed loudly.
This was one of the rare occasions when he fought with his full strength.
The power of darkness spread silently in all directions. It had already wrapped around Kojin's feet while swallowing massive amounts of seawater.
"Are you really that confident?"
"Teach?"
Kojin asked calmly.
"No. You're the one who's too arrogant, Kojin!"
"You don't understand my power at all!"
Marshall Teach laughed.
As he watched the darkness climb up to Kojin's calves, his laughter became even more unrestrained. The power of the Dark-Dark Fruit could devour and drag in everything it touched, then compress and crush it with seemingly limitless force.
It was a terrifying ability capable of destroying an entire town—or even an island—in an instant.
"I've already gained a rough understanding of it."
"It is indeed interesting."
Kojin frowned slightly.
He could already feel the invisible force continuously compressing and crushing his legs. Because he had not yet been fully swallowed by the darkness, the force was still relatively weak, like fierce winds brushing against him.
"But that's enough." He raised his head.
A cold glint flashed through his eyes. The next second, his right hand settled onto the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Shing!
The sound of steel scraping against the scabbard rang out.
A brilliant flash of light burst forth.
"I've seen your ability. It's interesting, but that's all it is."
The moment Marshall Teach saw Kojin draw his sword, his pupils contracted and the smile vanished from his face. He had personally witnessed Kojin's battle with the Old Man from beginning to end.
He believed he understood some of Kojin's powers.
His overwhelming physical strength.
His mastery of Rokushiki.
His Goro Goro no Mi abilities.
And against all of those, the Dark-Dark Fruit could provide targeted defenses.
But what other tricks did Kojin still possess?
Suddenly, Marshall Teach's body trembled.
A black-and-red radiance entered his vision as an overwhelming Conqueror's Haki crashed toward him like a tidal wave.
At the same moment, the man before him swung his blade.
"Kamusari (Divine Departure)!"
The low words echoed through the air, and Marshall Teach felt his scalp go numb.
He had seen this technique before.
On the Pirate King, Roger.
And on that red-haired brat.
Black-and-red lightning erupted violently, forming dragon-like streaks as the sword slashed outward.
Whoosh!
Lightning flashed. Thunder rumbled faintly through the void.
The darkness itself was split apart.
Marshall Teach's pupils shrank as black smoke surged around him.
The slash was unbelievably fast. Even Observation Haki could not help him evade it.
Slash!
Blood suddenly sprayed from his right shoulder.
A sword wound over a meter long appeared across his body.
Agonizing pain flooded his mind instantly.
His entire body trembled violently.
"AAAAAAARGH!!"
A miserable scream erupted from his mouth. The pain felt as though it would shatter his mind. The wound caused by that slash rapidly drained blood from his body, and his vitality began slipping away.
"It's over, Marshall Teach." A cold voice sounded beside his ear.
Teach suddenly raised his head.
His eyes were bloodshot. Both hands shot upward instinctively, crossing in front of him.
Buzz!
Black smoke erupted.
It formed into the shape of a demonic specter above his head, roaring ferociously.
Almost the instant he completed his defense… Kojin's fist arrived above him.
BOOOOM!!
Black-and-red lightning exploded across the sky, causing the entire heavens turned black and crimson.
"Fist Bone.. Impact!"
An overwhelming shockwave of fist force crashed downward.
Marshall Teach's eyes widened and his face was filled with terror.
BANG!
The darkness shattered.
Like glass, it cracked apart into countless fragments.
Marshall Teach vomited blood toward the sky as his body suffered catastrophic damage.
Countless bones throughout his body broke. Blood covered his head, face, and nearly every inch of his body.
"IT HURTS!!"
A heart-rending scream echoed across the sea. Yet his vitality was astonishing.
He still did not die. Instead, while howling in pain, he raised both hands toward Kojin, who floated in the air ahead. His blood-red eyes stared forward as he roared with a twisted expression:
"Release!!"
The swirling black smoke instantly transformed into a gigantic tornado that surged toward Kojin.
At the same time…
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
A sound like a world-ending tsunami erupted from within the darkness as an enormous amount of seawater burst forth all at once, flooding everything in its path.
Kojin flashed away.
Lightning infused with Conqueror's Haki crackled around him as he swiftly evaded.
Everything the black tornado had previously swallowed was now violently expelled.
The result was a colossal tsunami.
At the same time, the towering pillar of seawater behind Kojin seemed to lose all support.
It twisted and collapsed.
BOOM!
Vast torrents of water crashed downward.
Mist filled the air, obscuring everything from sight.
Powerful currents spread across the sea, creating enormous ripples.
Marshall Teach's figure gradually disappeared from view.
Kojin surveyed the magnificent scene unfolding around him.
At first, he frowned.
Then his expression relaxed.
"Things… Have become interesting."
(End of Chapter)