Everything was drawn into Blackbeard's darkness and swallowed whole.
Ace watched in shock as everything around him vanished.
Blackbeard spoke slowly and deliberately. "Do you understand now?"
"Darkness… is gravity itself!"
"It pulls everything into itself. It is an infinite force of attraction!"
As Blackbeard's power expanded, the darkness swallowed up everything it touched.
Then came Darkness Liberation.
In an instant, the entire town was utterly destroyed and reduced to nothingness.
Blackbeard felt not the slightest bit of guilt or remorse for what he had done.
Instead, he laughed with pure delight.
"Zehahahaha!"
"Now you get it, don't you, Ace!" he shouted. "This is the true power of darkness!"
Ace stood his ground and unleashed the full power of his Flame-Flame Fruit.
Massive waves of fire engulfed Blackbeard, burning him until he seemed on the verge of death.
Blackbeard rolled frantically on the ground, screaming.
"It hurts! It burns! Aghhhh!"
His cries sounded genuine — there was no trace of acting or faking pain in his voice.
Yet, his energy and vitality remained completely unchanged.
He was still as vigorous and alive as ever.
Blackbeard stood up, his body covered in severe burns, and spoke to Ace. "I told you already… this is what fire does to me!"
"Everything in this world… darkness is destined to swallow it all!"
"I endure twice the pain that a normal person would…"
"But in exchange… you are also within my grasp!"
As he spoke, he suddenly thrust his hand outward.
"DARK WATER!"
In that instant, Ace felt a powerful gravitational force pulling violently at his body!
Instinctively, he tried to transform into intangible flames — a power that had never failed him before — only to realize that his Logia transformation… had absolutely no effect this time!
Ace was terrified!
Blackbeard grinned. "The gravity of darkness pulls your physical form right toward me."
"Quite a surprise, isn't it, Ace!"
Ace's body was pulled directly into Blackbeard's grip.
Blackbeard's right fist was already raised and ready.
His muscles bulged, and his fist was coated in pitch-black Armament Haki!
BOOM!
Blackbeard threw a devastating punch!
Ace was sent flying backward dozens of meters, crashing heavily into the ruins of the town.
"Cough… cough… cough…"
Ace struggled to stand up. His body was covered in wounds and bruises.
The two clashed several more times.
Under the relentless assault of flames and darkness…
Even the very earth of the island began to crack and crumble apart.
Ace knew that ever since Blackbeard obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit, his strength had surpassed his own.
Wounded and exhausted… Ace prepared to unleash his ultimate technique.
It was his last hope — the only way he could possibly defeat Blackbeard!
"GREAT FIRE EMPEROR!"
A massive, colossal fireball began to gather and form in Ace's hands, growing to an immense size.
Blackbeard watched Ace's attack and simply shook his head.
Everything was going exactly according to his plan.
BOOM!
RUMBLEEEE!
The power of darkness collided violently with the massive fireball right above the island.
Even the clouds in the sky were blown apart and scattered by the tremendous shockwave.
The small island nearly collapsed under the weight of such destructive power.
When the smoke cleared after the ferocious explosion…
Blackbeard — while still shouting about how much pain he was in — was still standing tall.
But Ace… had lost consciousness completely.
More than ten days later.
Aboard the ships of the Whitebeard Pirates.
There had been no news from Ace for a long time, leaving Whitebeard deeply anxious and worried.
At this moment, he truly felt just like an ordinary father…
Worrying endlessly about the future and safety of his children…
Hoping desperately that they were safe and unharmed.
…
After the sound of seagulls passing overhead… Rapid, heavy footsteps approached.
Marco the Phoenix burst into the room.
In his hand, he held the newly released newspaper of the day.
Marco had always been known for his calm, steady, and composed character…
So seeing him acting so flustered and frantic was extremely rare.
Whitebeard looked at him, and his heart sank to the very bottom.
"Father… Ace has been captured!" Marco announced.
"WHAT?!"
Whitebeard stood up abruptly and snatched the paper from Marco's hand.
The headline news clearly stated Ace's capture.
And at the same time… Blackbeard had been appointed as the new Warlord of the Sea!
"Ace… and Blackbeard…!"
Whitebeard crumpled the newspaper in his grip, squeezing it until it turned into fine powder.
…
Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Dressrosa.
El sat inside his room.
Robin — dressed in her professional attire — walked in, holding that day's newspaper.
"There is big news today," Robin said softly and calmly.
El calculated the timeline in his mind.
It is about time…
He sighed. "So… it finally happened, didn't it?"
"Ace has been captured by the World Government, hasn't he?"
Robin was so shocked she covered her mouth with her hand.
"That is exactly what happened!"
"But… how could you have predicted this?!"
She found it absolutely incredible.
And this wasn't the first time this had happened either.
Often, even before seeing the news or reading a paper, El would make predictions about the current state of the world…
And every single time, his predictions were terrifyingly accurate.
To this day, Robin still couldn't understand how El did it.
It was simply miraculous!
__________________
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