The gravity field released by Fujitora was pressing heavily on Blackbeard, who was deep underground.
However, Blackbeard, who should have been unable to move, stood up from the deep pit, resisting the terrifying pressure from above.
Fujitora seemed to sense Blackbeard's actions and increased the gravity again. Despite Blackbeard's body swaying under the increased weight, he still did not fall.
As the dark energy, like black flames, rose from his body, the effect of the gravity Fujitora applied on him became increasingly insignificant.
Nicolas, who had been locking onto Blackbeard with his Observation Haki, was not surprised by this.
After all, Blackbeard, who replaced Whitebeard as one of the Four Emperors in the original story and had enormous ambitions, would not be so easily defeated. If it weren't for the appearance of the Dark-Dark Fruit, he would have planned to spend his days in the Whitebeard Pirates.
Such a mindset could only be described as terrifyingly bold.
Blackbeard looked up at the sky, blood dripping from his cheek onto the ground.
Despite repeatedly enduring the attacks from Nicolas and Fujitora, Blackbeard's physical condition remained good.
This was not only due to his strong Armament Haki and the damage reduction effect of his Devil Fruit abilities but also because of his naturally strong physique.
"Zehahahaha! It won't be that easy to take me down! My dream won't stop here!"
Blackbeard's face twisted into a grim expression, his eyes bloodshot. It was clear that the situation he faced now was the most perilous he had ever encountered. If he couldn't overcome this, his dreams would end here.
As Blackbeard laughed, a large amount of darkness surged from his shoulders, shooting up into the sky like rolling smoke.
With the darkness surging, Blackbeard easily dispelled the gravity Fujitora had placed on him.
Freed from the oppressive gravity, Blackbeard leaped out of the deep pit.
Back on solid ground, Blackbeard turned his head to glance coldly at Fujitora.
But soon, his gaze shifted away from Fujitora. After all, compared to Fujitora, Nicolas was the real trouble he had to deal with.
Not far away, feeling the sudden loss of his ability's effect on Blackbeard, Fujitora couldn't help but frown in surprise.
Obviously, he did not fully understand the Dark-Dark Fruit's powers.
The sudden loss of his ability was an unprecedented experience for him.
It also made him continuously raise the danger level of Blackbeard in his mind.
"As expected of the most dangerous ability in history..."
Facing the cold glance Blackbeard hastily shot his way, Fujitora muttered softly and unsheathed his cane-sword, clearly ready to go all out. After all, there were too many enemies for Shiryu to handle on his own, and Fujitora couldn't easily get involved.
Shiryu: Damn it! Are the Marines just here to bully people!?
Meanwhile, Nicolas calmly watched Blackbeard, who was suddenly emanating large amounts of darkness.
After retracting his gaze from Fujitora, Blackbeard directly walked toward Nicolas.
"This guy..."
Nicolas squinted his eyes slightly at Blackbeard's actions. He had to admit, this man had the qualities of a natural-born overlord.
"Oh, still not giving up?"
"Zehahaha, Albert Nicolas, don't underestimate a man's persistence for his dreams!"
Blackbeard glared coldly at Nicolas, showing a fierce smile.
"Come, witness true darkness! Zehahahaha!"
With his laughter, more darkness emerged from behind Blackbeard, surrounding him completely, and the area covered by darkness expanded wildly.
The rising darkness seemed to connect heaven and earth, with dark clouds churning above, lightning flashing around the edges of the black clouds.
The sea breeze coming from the ocean became increasingly violent, even whistling.
Blackbeard's tattered clothes fluttered in the wind, but the darkness around him, like black flames, remained unaffected.
"Keep your eyes wide open and watch, Nicolas!"
Blackbeard stretched out his clawed hand, wrapped in dark energy, toward Nicolas.
Suddenly, a terrifying gravitational force emerged in his right palm, forming a vortex of darkness.
In a flash—
Nicolas tried to break free from the gravitational pull of Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit, but to his surprise, this time he seemed to be firmly locked in place by Blackbeard.
"Zehahahaha... You can't resist in the face of darkness!"
Seeing Nicolas about to be captured by him, Blackbeard couldn't help but laugh arrogantly before actually grabbing Nicolas.
At this moment, the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, considered the most dangerous and unique among Devil Fruits, revealed its true fangs!
"It's over, Nicolas!"
Blackbeard's eyes were filled with a cold killing intent.
The vortex in his palm was equivalent to a small black hole.
This means that if he could pull Nicolas into the black hole, the immense force within would continuously compress Nicolas until he was crushed into powder.
Meanwhile, Nicolas was drawn within a few meters of Blackbeard due to the gravitational pull.
"You're done for, Nicolas!"
Soon, Nicolas would be pulled into the black hole and disappear forever.
"Zehaha...!"
Just as Blackbeard was imagining Nicolas's desperate expression while waiting for death inside the black hole, he suddenly saw Nicolas pull out a pistol, pointing the dark barrel at him.
"Zehahaha! At this point, do you still think you can turn the tables with such a toy?"
Although Blackbeard didn't understand why Nicolas pulled out a gun, something laughably weak against them, he remained cautious. However, most of his focus was still on his hands, with no extra energy to focus elsewhere.
Blackbeard was well aware that the key to victory was to pull Nicolas into the black hole!
As long as Nicolas was sucked into the black hole, he would win!
So, at this decisive moment, Blackbeard was ready to take the shot head-on. Trading injury for a life, he wouldn't lose!
Nicolas ignored Blackbeard and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
With a gunshot, a Haki-imbued bullet shot straight toward Blackbeard's abdomen.
Splat!
A burst of blood instantly blossomed.
The bullet, empowered by Nicolas's formidable Haki, easily tore through the scales and Armament Haki on Blackbeard's abdomen, then lodged itself into his body.
The pain in his abdomen made Blackbeard cry out.
But the battle was over; he, Blackbeard, had won!
"It's over, I'll remember you, Nicola... huh!?"
As he watched Nicolas about to be swallowed by the black hole, a triumphant smile appeared on Blackbeard's face. But the sudden weakness inside his body and the dark energy dissipating from his hand, along with the scales receding, made him stop mid-sentence.
"This is...!?"
Blackbeard's eyes widened in shock. Then, as if realizing something, he immediately wore a vicious expression and reached toward the spot where Nicolas's bullet had hit.
Clearly, he understood that the strange feeling was caused by the bullet inside him.
But before he could act, a slash of a sword flashed, and Blackbeard's arm, which was reaching for his abdomen, was cut off and fell to the ground.
Bang!
Nicolas ruthlessly stomped on Blackbeard's chest, pinning him down, then fired several shots into his body.
"Teach, hasn't anyone ever told you? Your greatest weakness is your arrogance."
Standing on Blackbeard's body, Nicolas looked down at him.
Blackbeard glared at Nicolas, his eyes filled with intense unwillingness.
He had endured for decades, finally waiting for his chance, only to be thwarted by Nicolas now.
These old guys on the sea were indeed insidious and cunning!
"Sea-Prism Stone bullets... Truly despicable..."
"Despicable?"
Nicolas interrupted Blackbeard, smiling.
"Only the victor gets to judge the loser. Losers never have the right to judge the winner."
Not far away, Fujitora, hearing Nicolas's words, silently sheathed his cane-sword.
It seemed there was no need for him to intervene anymore.