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Endless darkness swept across the battlefield, surging like a tidal wave.
The "Yoruichi"—a blade forged from the fusion of the King's soul and Memory Alloy—unleashed a blackness as deep and unyielding as the dark waters of the Uzumaki. The swirling void continued to condense, its ominous presence chilling everyone who laid eyes on it.
Witnessing this strange, oppressive phenomenon, countless onlookers felt an instinctive dread. The "magical" power wielded in this chaotic sea seemed boundless.
"What... what is that?!"
"Darkness?! My God! Could it be another Devil Fruit ability?"
"Impossible! That would mean... a triple Devil Fruit user..." The speaker's voice trembled as they struggled to comprehend what they were seeing, fear forcing them to swallow hard.
Alex pointed "Yoruichi" at Whitebeard, the darkness surging forth from the blade like a ravenous abyss. Even light couldn't escape its pull. The overwhelming gravitational force of a black hole radiated outward, slowly but inexorably dragging Whitebeard into its depths.
The shattered ground beneath Whitebeard crumbled under the immense pressure, revealing a barren wasteland below. Though the process seemed agonizingly slow, by the time anyone could react, Whitebeard's body had already vanished into the inky void surrounding Alex's weapon.
"Dad!! What have you done, you bastard?!"
The anguished cry tore through the chaos. Marco, consumed by rage and grief at the sight of his captain's apparent demise, abandoned all reason. His usual composure as Whitebeard's first division commander snapped under the weight of despair.
With a fierce battle cry, Marco transformed into his phoenix form and soared over the canyon that split the battlefield, aiming directly for Alex.
Boom!
A devastating strike met Marco mid-air. The vibrant flames of his phoenix form were snuffed out in an instant. The impact sent Marco hurtling backward, slamming into the ground with a thunderous crash.
Kaido, in his hybrid dragon-beast form, lowered his weapon, having intercepted Marco with a brutal swing. The towering figure landed beside Alex with a dull thud, his feral grin revealing his eagerness for carnage.
Simultaneously, several soldiers of Big Mom legion unleashed electromagnetic artillery attacks, their bodies radiating Armament Haki as they advanced like an unstoppable tide. These were merely reserve troops—fighters whose Devil Fruits hadn't even awakened yet. Among them, however, was Number 0, endowed with the Castle-Castle Fruit, transformed into a living humanoid weapon of destruction.
Amidst the mounting tension, Alex calmly walked toward Number 0, who stood protected at the center of the legion. With a single gesture, Alex activated his Devil Fruit ability, and the battlefield seemed to shift unnaturally as Alex vanished into the void.
Witnessing this turn of events, Fleet Admiral Sengoku snarled at Kaido, his voice filled with righteous fury.
"Kaido! You're a Yonko too—when did you stoop so low as to become Alex's lapdog? Don't forget, he's the one who destroyed your former Beast Pirates!"
Despite the apparent victory at Marineford, Sengoku couldn't shake the bitter taste left by Whitebeard's final words, broadcast live across the world. He could already feel the ripples of chaos those words would unleash upon the seas. Though the Marines had technically triumphed in battle, it felt as though they had lost everything.
And Alex—cunning and ruthless—was no doubt one of the masterminds behind this nightmare. Sengoku doubted Alex could have foreseen Whitebeard's declaration, but his methods and opportunism made him one of the key instigators of this crisis.
There was no way Sengoku would allow him to leave unscathed. But first, he had to deal with Kaido.
"You've resorted to cheap tricks now, Sengoku?!" Kaido roared with laughter, his booming voice shaking the air. "Wororororo! It doesn't matter! I've already enjoyed the thrill of a strong fight. And soon, I'll witness the grand spectacle that person spoke of!"
Sengoku's face twisted with unease as he processed the unfolding events. His thoughts raced as he tried to piece together what Alex was planning. A faint, almost unthinkable suspicion formed in his mind—but when it came to Alex, such wild notions often proved plausible.
"Could it be…!" Sengoku's expression darkened, his composure momentarily breaking.
For a long time, Alex hadn't openly displayed the strange ability that allowed him to take the powers of others' Devil Fruits. But in light of Whitebeard's ominous final words and the terrifying events unfolding, Sengoku realized he had overlooked a critical possibility for ten whole days.
"Don't let the Flying Admiral succeed!!" he roared, urgency in his voice.
At that very moment, a loud, manic voice echoed from the side of the battlefield. It was none other than Blackbeard Teach, his excitement barely contained. His eyes gleamed with dark ambition as he observed Alex's actions—the darkness swallowing Whitebeard, the same darkness Teach coveted.
"Hey! Look at him!" Teach bellowed, his voice cutting through the battlefield chaos. "The Flying Admiral just used the Dark-Dark Fruit! He's taking Whitebeard's powers! That bastard wants to steal the Quake-Quake Fruit!!"
His words sent a jolt through everyone present. The Quake-Quake Fruit—the power Whitebeard wielded to cause devastating earthquakes—was considered the most destructive Devil Fruit in existence. The implications were horrifying.
For a brief moment, everyone froze, their faces reflecting a mix of disbelief and terror. Then, without waiting for Sengoku's orders, the Marines—who had momentarily eased their assault—exploded into action, their spirits igniting like a tidal wave of fury. At the same time, Whitebeard's crew erupted in rage, unleashing attacks on the Big Mom legion, desperate to stop Alexe.
However, the Big Mom legion had fortified their defenses with an impenetrable barrier of steel balloons reinforced with Armament Haki. The Whitebeard Pirates' furious long-range attacks were rendered ineffective. Even Weevil, fueled by the legacy of the man he regarded as his "father" roared in fury as he charged at the Big Mom legion, determined to reclaim what belonged to Whitebeard.
The coordinated assault was overwhelming. Despite their formidable defenses, the Big Mom legion began to falter under the sheer intensity of the combined onslaught. Several of their units were annihilated, and a gap in their formation appeared at last.
It was then that Kizaru seized the moment. While Kaido was locked in battle with Admiral Ryokugyu, Kizaru flashed forward with blinding speed, appearing directly above Big Mom's Unit 0. Crossing his hands, he unleashed a barrage of laser attacks, raining destruction like a storm of light.
The lasers were infused with advanced Armament Haki, making them especially lethal. Even Big Mom herself might struggle to withstand such an attack, let alone a clone incapable of wielding Haki.
Unit 0, however, responded by activating a mechanism in its abdomen. Instead of being obliterated by the lasers, a massive gate-like structure opened from within its chest, revealing an interior that resembled a fortress.
And then it happened.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion reverberated across the battlefield like a world-shaking gong. The sound was so immense it felt as though the air itself was trembling.
In the sky, cracks suddenly appeared—clear and jagged, spreading like spiderwebs across the atmosphere. The space itself fractured under the overwhelming power of vibration energy.
The lasers Kizaru had unleashed were disrupted mid-air, scattering wildly under the force of the tremors. But the vibrations didn't stop there. With relentless momentum, the shockwave surged toward Kizaru, catching him completely off-guard.
The Admiral, despite his speed, was blasted backward. His body streaked through the air like a beam of light, crashing into the rear lines of the battlefield with devastating force, leaving a massive wave of energy in his wake.