The appearance of the five Admirals rekindled the interest of pirates in the New World, who had been planning to leave after the spectacle.
However, fewer pirates lingered compared to when Zyhark and Kaido first clashed. After all, the earlier shockwaves of battle meant watching came with the risk of being reduced to ash!
Those still present were the few who had confidence in their own strength.
On the ship farthest from Wano, a simple vessel bound with large wooden stakes, the surrounding pirate captains dared not approach, keeping a safe distance.
The ship, flying a flag with three skulls, belonged to none other than the Blackbeard Pirates, who had recently earned the title of the Fifth Emperor of the Sea! Several unsightly figures stood on the bow.
"Captain, the battle on the island is getting more intense," the sniper Van Augur remarked as he watched the Wano battlefield.
"To think the Navy deployed five Admirals at once. Quite the show,"
Burgess said, chuckling as he took a swig, his drunken grin unsettling.
After the recent mass escape from Impel Down led by Shiki, numerous infamous criminals had broken free. Unlike the original events, some continued to follow Shiki, while others were absorbed by Blackbeard's rapidly rising power.
Listening to his crew's chatter, their leader spread his arms with a wide, wicked grin.
"Zehahaha! Isn't that even better? We came to claim Kaido's and Big Mom's Devil Fruit powers, and now we have a few Admirals here too. Maybe we can grab a Rumble-Rumble Fruit! That kind of haul would be incredible!"
Teach's gaze was fixed on the distant battlefield, eyes brimming with greed.
In the three years since obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, they had seized several powerful fruits, including the Teleport-Teleport and Pegasus Fruits. If they could grab those so-called invincible Logia fruits here in Wano, his dream of ruling the seas would be within reach!
Normally, the cunning Teach wouldn't dare to challenge a Yonko or Admiral head-on.
But now, with the Demon King Organization openly waging war against Kaido and Big Mom, he had a golden opportunity!
"I really should thank Zyhark for helping me out!" Teach laughed.
"Oh? Is that so? You're quite polite."
"Zehahaha! Of course—wait, what?!"
Teach instinctively replied, then quickly realized the voice was unfamiliar. He turned and broke out in a cold sweat.
There, standing on the mast of his ship, blue lightning crackling around him, was Zyhark—the man who should have been far away on the Wano battlefield!
The Blackbeard Pirates' officers immediately went on high alert, weapons at the ready, their faces tense.
They had personally witnessed Zyhark's terrifying power, having seen him defeat the so-called strongest creature, Kaido, in a direct fight! Just meeting his calm gaze made their hearts race with overwhelming fear!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The piercing sound of gunfire shattered the silence as Van Augur decisively fired.
Crackle, crackle.
Zyhark's forehead, throat, and heart were pierced, but electric arcs danced in the transparent holes.
Van Augur frowned slightly.
His bullets had been coated in Armament Haki, making elementalization avoidance impossible.
The only explanation was that Zyhark's Observation Haki far surpassed his own, allowing him to elementalize preemptively!
"What a terrifying man…"
Van Augur muttered, but in the next instant, his pupils shrank.
Sensing extreme danger, he activated his newly acquired Teleportation Fruit ability.
Boom!
The moment he vanished, a bolt of blue lightning struck the plank he had stood on, charring it.
But that wasn't the only bolt—another fell at the ship's stern, where Van Augur had reappeared, striking him directly!
In the blink of an eye, from firing his gun to collapsing on the deck, Van Augur lay unmoving by the time the Blackbeard Pirates registered what had happened…
The Teleportation Fruit was indeed a powerful ability, but unfortunately, Van Augur encountered Zyhark, whose Observation Haki spanned thousands of meters and whose speed was unparalleled!
"Fool! That man is way out of your league!"
Teach cursed, watching as Lafitte and others carried the unconscious Van Augur away.
"This is just a small warning, Marshall D. Teach," Zyhark said calmly.
Hearing this, Teach's fierce eyes grew darker, and a thick black mist started to seep from his body.
"Arrogant brat, don't get ahead of yourself. You think you can take us all on with that worn-out body of yours?"
Seizing the moment Zyhark's attention shifted, Teach swiftly attacked, his fingers curling as darkness writhed.
"Dark Vortex!"
No matter the target's exceptional physical gifts or reflexes, if they were a Devil Fruit user, they couldn't possibly withstand his power!
Black mist gathered in his palm, forming a dark vortex resembling a black hole.
Invisibly, a terrifying force crossed the distance, attempting to pull Zyhark in.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
Zyhark stood atop the mast with his hands in his pockets, completely unaffected.
Teach's sneering grin, confident in his ambush, slowly froze, his missing teeth clearly visible.
Even as he increased the pull of his Dark-Dark Fruit, the scene he envisioned of Zyhark helplessly flying toward him, spitting blood from his fists, refused to materialize!
"What? Impossible!"
Teach's forehead beaded with cold sweat, his wide-eyed gaze brimming with disbelief.
The supposedly invincible power of the Dark-Dark Fruit was utterly ineffective against Zyhark, a user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?!
"Give it up, Teach. I know all your tricks."
Zyhark smiled calmly, relishing the look of shock on Teach's face.
His Devil Fruit power had been purified by a ditzy goddess, turning it into a clean, toxin-free version.
If he could ignore the sea's weakness, a mere Dark-Dark Fruit was no threat!
Crackle!
A red-and-black electric arc surged from Zyhark's back, accompanied by countless golden rings that illuminated the entire Blackbeard ship.
Standing high above, he gazed down on the chaotic Blackbeard Pirates.
"Fight me or get lost—choose, Teach!"
Just as Teach had suspected, despite absorbing considerable strength from Yamato, Zyhark could only barely counter the side effects of his passive ability.
Now, given the hidden secrets within Teach, who once injured Shanks, along with the ongoing battles in Wano, Zyhark had no plans to eliminate the Blackbeard Pirates here.
After all, he wasn't Whitebeard; he had no obligation to discipline someone else's "sons!"
On deck, Teach glared fiercely at Zyhark, his eyes practically aflame.
After a few seconds of tension, Teach finally laughed it off. "Zehahaha! Now's not the time to fight a man like him."
"Alright, men, retreat!"
Under the watchful eyes of the wary New World pirates, the Blackbeard Pirates raised their sails and slinked away from Wano's waters.
"Are you all still hoping to pick up scraps here?"
Suspended in mid-air, Zyhark glanced sideways at the pirate ships gathered offshore.
Those who felt the Demon King's pressure didn't dare linger. No matter how unwilling they were, they had to give up, cursing under their breath as they sailed away.
Not that they left empty-handed; those who spat out foul curses got a free one-billion-volt lightning strike~
After clearing the potential threats offshore, Zyhark disappeared in a flash of lightning, returning to the icy battlefield.
The scene was slightly different from his initial expectations; rather than being overwhelmed, his companions had started gradually pressuring the Admirals.
The primary reason was clear—during her fierce battle with Kizaru, Hancock had broken her limits, awakening the ultimate skill of top-tier fighters: Conqueror's Haki Infusion!
Beyond the gradual, well-earned strength gained through belief, Hancock had an advantage Moria didn't possess.
Her overwhelming desire to become stronger stemmed from one thing…
Love!
This unexpected development took Zyhark by surprise.
In his plan, Hancock should have needed more time to break through to the ranks of the top elite.
This training had already yielded remarkable results, and it was time to bring it to a close!
Meanwhile, the world's strongest man was on his way, riding a boar.
On the front lines, after a grueling battle, both the Demon King's forces and the five Admirals bore visible wounds, their once-powerful auras now dwindling.
In this high-stakes clash, even the usually easygoing Kizaru and Aokiji couldn't avoid bloodstained clothing and scratches.
But the worst off were Moria and Green Bull. While the others fought with restraint, these two were battling to the death, covered in blood and gasping heavily.
As the two sides prepared to clash again, a brand-new flying warship broke through the clouds and descended quickly over the battlefield.
The Justice cloak billowed gently, and a large group of Marines assembled on the deck, led by two figures—an elderly woman and a young man.
They were Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Navy's Grand Strategist, and the new Navy Hero, Smoker the White Serpent!
The sudden appearance of the flying warship interrupted the powerful combatants on the battlefield.
The Admirals secretly sighed with relief, while Hancock and the others grew serious.
"Right on time. Sengoku, that old fox, is as cunning as ever…"
Zyhark's face remained calm, though he silently admired Sengoku's impeccable timing.
Clearly, Vice Admiral Tsuru and Smoker hadn't come to reinforce the Admirals!
Tsuru cast a sweeping gaze over the Demon King's group, her eyes lingering on Moria with his awakened power and Hancock with her Conqueror's Haki, before turning to the bloodied Akainu.
"Sakazuki, Sengoku's orders: retreat."
"What did you say?!" Akainu was shocked.
After struggling to push the Demon King's forces this far, suddenly calling it off was hard to accept.
"The New World's Emperors are stirring. If we keep dragging this out, the situation will turn against us,"
Tsuru said calmly. "The final battleground is not Wano. We've obtained what we need; let's withdraw."
Magma bubbled as Akainu clenched his fists, locking eyes with Tsuru.
Despite wanting to eliminate the Demon King's members and defeat the dragon hatchling, he wasn't reckless.
From Kizaru, he'd learned that King, the strongest member of the Demon King's group, was in Wano, most likely lying in wait for an opportune moment.
Even if King weren't there, Zyhark, who hadn't yet joined the fight, along with the elusive Water Goddess and Dark King Rayleigh, meant they stood little chance of victory.
After some hesitation, Akainu chose to follow orders, boarding the flying warship with a grim face.
With his idol obeying orders, Green Bull naturally had no intention of staying behind and quickly followed.
Aokiji, Kizaru, and Fujitora also turned to leave.
As the flying warship vanished into the distant sky, not a word was exchanged between the two sides.
Thus, the battle for Wano came to a close, marking the Demon King Organization as the undeniable victors!
Shortly after the Navy departed, King finally arrived, reuniting with the others on his boar.
Seeing the massive boar carrying King, the exhausted Ishtar and others wore wicked grins.
And so, the boar, thinking it was finally free, carried everyone back to Kuri in Wano.
With Onigashima's fall, Wano had descended into chaos.
While the Demon King Organization and the Admirals clashed, the long-dormant samurai rose up, launching an assault on the remnants of the Beast Pirates and the Kurozumi family. The entire country was left in post-battle devastation.
This monumental war would have shocked the New World on its own, but it had merely become a backdrop to the greater struggle among the strongest.
Zyhark felt no interest in the samurai's fight against Kurozumi Orochi's forces. Whether the Kozuki Clan triumphed or Orochi returned, none of it mattered to him in the slightest!
Only a fool would clean up Kozuki Oden's mess!
After briefing his companions, Zyhark, who had recovered some energy, turned into a bolt of lightning and headed to the old Wano, submerged below the sea.
Using his Observation Haki, he quickly located the hidden red Poneglyph.
"I really wonder how this thing was crafted…"
Even though it wasn't his first time seeing the massive stone engraved with ancient text, Zyhark couldn't help but admire the ancient craftsmen's skill.
After his brief admiration, Zyhark took out his camera and captured every detail of the Poneglyph's contents.
With this final road marker in hand, all that remained was to decode the ancient text and journey to the final island—Raftel!
(End of Chapter)