The moment Alex's slap landed on Blackbeard's face, the latter finally regained his senses and realized what had just happened. He leapt backward, putting distance between himself and Alex, then collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.
The power of the Dark-Dark Fruit was immense, capable of consuming everything and nullifying any Devil Fruit abilities upon physical contact.
However, the Dark-Dark Fruit had a fatal flaw—any damage inflicted upon its user was felt several times more intensely than normal.
The pain from having his arm forcibly ripped off by Alex's devastating tremor was unbearable. Amplified by the fruit's drawback, the agony became excruciating beyond comprehension.
Watching Blackbeard rolling on the ground, Alex couldn't help but feel disgusted by the pathetic sight. He frowned in annoyance and said coldly:
"Blackbeard, if you keep screaming, you might lose your other limbs too."
Blackbeard instantly felt a suffocating malice envelop him. His entire body broke out in goosebumps, and death seemed to loom over him, waiting for the white-haired man's command to claim his life.
Scrambling to his feet, Blackbeard abandoned his earlier arrogance and bowed obsequiously to Alex, groveling: "Mr. Alex, it's all a huge misunderstanding! I've heard of your unparalleled reputation, and I wouldn't dare get angry no matter how you treat me!"
While bowing and fawning, Blackbeard slowly inched closer to Alex, clearly scheming.
Alex didn't mind. He knew exactly what Blackbeard was trying to do, but to him, it was nothing more than futile struggle.
Sure enough, when Blackbeard was within three meters of him, he suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Alex's leg while lying on the ground.
Though disheveled and battered, Blackbeard's demeanor shifted from desperation back to confidence. He laughed maniacally:
"Hahaha! You fool! You actually let me touch your body!
With the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, your Devil Fruit abilities are now completely nullified.
You damned bastard, how dare you humiliate me? I'll tear you limb from limb!
"Black Hole!"
A rolling darkness spread outward from Blackbeard, enveloping dozens of square meters.
This was the consuming effect of the Dark-Dark Fruit, capable of devouring everything within its domain and compressing it with infinite force until it was utterly destroyed.
Previously, in his battle against Ace, Blackbeard had used this ability to obliterate an entire town in an instant. Now, while the area of effect had shrunk, its gravitational pull had increased dramatically.
"Alex!" Whitebeard shouted in concern, his expression grim.
He wasn't sure if Alex's abilities would be countered by the Dark-Dark Fruit. If they were, Alex's combat prowess would be severely diminished, possibly leaving him vulnerable to Blackbeard.
Up until now, Alex had only demonstrated exceptional Devil Fruit mastery, never showcasing his physical abilities. As such, Whitebeard and the others had no idea how formidable Alex's physical body truly was.
From a distance, the Straw Hat crew watched anxiously. Although they had faith in Alex, Blackbeard's confident demeanor made them uneasy.
Meanwhile, Sengoku and the other Marines remained indifferent, secretly hoping that Alex and Blackbeard would destroy each other. If that happened, they could easily capture two of the most dangerous figures on the seas without lifting a finger.
As soon as Blackbeard made contact, Alex felt a familiar energy reaction.
The Dark-Dark Fruit's suppressive ability was remarkably similar to the mutant suppression device he had encountered before—so similar, in fact, that their energy signatures were nearly identical. The only difference was that the Dark-Dark Fruit suppressed Devil Fruit powers, while the suppression device targeted the X-gene in mutants.
Having long since adapted to such suppression abilities, Alex was entirely unaffected.
He remained silent, calmly watching Blackbeard's theatrics. He stood motionless as Blackbeard's expression shifted from smug satisfaction to utter terror.
Blackbeard soon realized, to his horror, that while his hand could touch Alex's leg, he couldn't make contact with any other part of Alex's body. It was as if an invisible wall separated them, keeping him from reaching Alex no matter how hard he tried.
What terrified Blackbeard even more was the realization that this invisible wall was undeniably real. Yet, aside from feeling it while attacking Alex, he couldn't detect it by any other means.
Under his Observation Haki, there was nothing in front of him—no sign of Alex, much less the invisible wall blocking his efforts.
Cold sweat trickled down Blackbeard's forehead as he stammered: "W-What did you do? Why can you still use your abilities even though I've already made contact with you?"
From hope to despair and back again, all within a span of mere seconds—facing Alex, whose abilities were unaffected, Blackbeard no longer felt confident in his victory.
Alex smiled brightly at him, raising his index finger. At its tip, a red-and-white singularity rapidly formed.
Sensing the overwhelming power emanating from the tiny red-and-white dot, Blackbeard immediately let go of Alex and scrambled backward. Summoning all his strength, he unleashed his Devil Fruit ability: "Black Vortex!"
The Black Vortex, a technique of the Dark-Dark Fruit, could absorb and nullify attacks from other Devil Fruits. In the original timeline, Blackbeard had once used it to neutralize Whitebeard's tremors. If not for his arrogance, he might have been able to kill the already weakened Whitebeard single-handedly.
But now, the seemingly invincible Black Vortex was powerless. Against the red-and-white singularity no larger than a thumb, the vortex strained to absorb its energy, managing to capture only a minuscule fraction of its total power. The remaining energy broke free from the vortex's grasp and hurtled toward Blackbeard.
The singularity pierced through Blackbeard's chest in an instant. It continued on its path, tearing apart the massive body of Sanjuan Wolf behind him, and finally blasted through the entirety of Marineford.
"Arghhh!"
Blackbeard clutched his chest, screaming in agony. The pain from his left arm and the new wound in his chest, amplified by the Dark-Dark Fruit's weakness, became unbearable.
Sensing the dire situation, Blackbeard's crew didn't hesitate for a second—they turned tail and fled, abandoning their wounded captain.
"Y-You cowards… don't leave… Come save me!"
Blood poured from Blackbeard's wounds, staining the ground beneath him as he struggled to rise and called out desperately to his crew.
But the Blackbeard Pirates were nothing like the Whitebeard Pirates, who shared bonds strong enough to sacrifice themselves for their comrades. The members of Blackbeard's crew were bound together solely by their individual ambitions. None of them would risk their lives for another.
Blackbeard knew this well, yet in the face of death, he couldn't stop himself from pleading, hoping for a sliver of salvation. If they didn't come to his aid, he was doomed.
Alex, however, had no intention of letting them escape. With a snap of his fingers, the fleeing crew, already kilometers away, vanished from their positions and reappeared in front of him.
The Blackbeard Pirates froze, their expressions a mixture of shock, fear, and disbelief as they faced Alex once again.
Grinning, Alex addressed them:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to play a game with you."
The crew's faces darkened, their expressions shifting as they realized just how terrifying Alex was. His Devil Fruit abilities seemed limitless, and now he had revealed yet another power to teleport them back effortlessly.
They knew there was no escaping this man, no matter how hard they tried.
After a moment of hesitation, Lafitte asked cautiously: "What… game?"
Alex's grin widened. "All of you will attack me together. If any of you can make me take even a single step back, I'll let you go free."
As Alex finished speaking, the remaining members of the Blackbeard Pirates launched themselves at him with all their strength, unleashing their most powerful attacks.
But as time passed, despair began to grip them.
No matter how hard they tried, their attacks couldn't even approach Alex, let alone push him back a single step.
Eventually, they stopped attacking, realizing that all their efforts were futile. Among them, Vasco Shot, unable to accept the reality of their situation, tried to flee. However, before he could get far, Alex struck him with a single slap. The overwhelming repulsion force compressed Vasco into a bloody pulp.
Seeing Vasco Shot's grisly fate, the remaining Blackbeard Pirates didn't dare to move a muscle.
Looking at their expressions of utter despair, Alex smiled and said in a soothing tone: "Relax. There's always a way out. Look, I'll even take a step back."
With that, Alex deliberately took a step backward.
The group was overjoyed. Blackbeard immediately asked, "Since you stepped back, does that mean we can leave now?"
Under their hopeful gazes, Alex suddenly laughed. "Hahaha! Did you really think I was serious? I lied."
The crew's faces froze, dread filling their hearts. In the face of certain death, even the strongest of them were no different from ordinary people.
Alex nodded as if to confirm their worst fears. "No matter what, whether I step back or not, you're all going to die. Now, feel free to struggle if you like!"
"Damn you, bastard!"
Faced with the absolute certainty of death, the Blackbeard Pirates lost their minds and charged at Alex. They attacked his Infinity with everything they had, shouting curses and hurling the vilest insults they could think of.
Alex's smile didn't falter. Instead, he calmly pointed at Lafitte, who had just cursed, "I hope your soul is tormented by devils."
Alex chuckled. "Fine, let's grant your wish."
Thanks to the magical texts he had acquired from the Sorcerer Supreme, Alex, despite his limited magical aptitude, could easily wield magic given his immense strength.
With a single move, Alex struck Lafitte's spirit out of his body, capturing it. He then opened a portal to his pocket dimension, where the Eternal Flame resided, and cast Lafitte's soul into its flames to burn endlessly.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"
Lafitte's screams, more agonizing than anything Blackbeard himself had endured, echoed through the portal, chilling the hearts of those who heard them.
Alex turned his gaze to another.
"Doc Q, you wanted to tear my body apart, didn't you? Let me repay the favor."
In mere moments, Alex used poetic justice to deal with each remaining member of the Blackbeard Pirates. The air was filled with their piercing screams, spreading terror throughout Marineford. Everyone who witnessed the scene now held a completely new and even greater fear of Alex's power.
At last, only Blackbeard remained. Alex turned to him with an unsettling smile. "You, however, didn't curse me with anything…"
Blackbeard crawled and stumbled his way to Alex's feet, repeatedly pleading:
"Yes, yes, Lord Alex, I didn't curse you! Please spare me!"
However, Alex ignored his pleas and, after a moment of thought, said:
"That's quite troublesome. How about I amplify your pain by hundreds of times and then have you slowly torn apart?"
"No! No, please!" Blackbeard begged, struggling to resist, but before Alex's universe-level power, these efforts were useless. Another fresh, heartbreaking scream echoed throughout Marineford, only ceasing once Alex closed the portal.
Looking around at the now-ruined Marineford, Alex saw the pirates and Marines, some cautious and some terrified, watching him. He smiled lightly and, with a small bow, opened a portal to return to Fish-Man Island. He had plans to execute next.
As Alex departed, Sengoku, Garp, and the three Admirals finally relaxed.
Garp wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, sighing, "I really don't know where Alex came from. He appeared out of nowhere, and in just a short time, defeated Aokiji and Kizaru. After this war, even if we all teamed up, we might not be able to beat him."
Sengoku nodded, equally stunned.
"Exactly, what's worse is the sheer number of abilities he possesses. From strengthening to negating the weaknesses of Devil Fruits, and worst of all, he can even revive the dead."
He paused, but the others knew what he was implying.
If Alex could use his abilities on a large scale, the World Government might not stand a chance.
"If he wanted to, he could easily overthrow the existing government and create a new one," Sengoku finished grimly.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard and his crew looked toward the place where Alex had vanished, but unlike the Marines, they were filled with gratitude.
Because of Alex, their "old man" was alive, and Ace had been rescued.
In this battle against the Marines, Whitebeard's crew had emerged victorious.
Suddenly, a portal opened, and Alex, who had just disappeared, walked back through. Amplifying his voice with energy, he said:
"Right, I was in such a hurry earlier I forgot to mention something."
"I'm giving the World Government one month. After that, I want to see every Celestial Dragon evacuated from Mary Geoise, and all armed forces surrendered to me unconditionally."
At this moment, Buggy and the others had discarded their Den Den Mushi and fled, but the Den Den Mushi was still recording, transmitting Alex's message to Sabaody Archipelago and then to the entire world.
Alex continued, "Of course, you can choose to resist, but if you surrender, I'll consider your crimes and punish you accordingly. Those who resist will be killed."
After finishing his proclamation, Alex paid no mind to the worldwide chaos his words would cause. He was already back on Fish-Man Island, preparing to bring it into his pocket dimension.
Back on the ground, everyone stood stunned, staring at the place where Alex had disappeared, mouths agape in shock.
It had been many years, but finally, someone had openly declared war on the World Government!
No, this wasn't a declaration of war. It was a notice. The most dangerous man in the world, Alex, was looking down on the World Government with contempt, making it clear that he didn't regard them at all.
°°°
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