Chapter 458: The Dark Parade Begins

Karl had known from the start that Teach’s intentions for boarding the ship were far from pure, but he kept that to himself. All he wanted was for the coming war at Marineford to escalate—a true final battle. Sacrificing a person or two was nothing in Karl’s eyes.

After decades surviving in the world of pirates, Karl had grown ruthless.

If he hadn’t used such harsh methods, he could never have built such a massive pirate crew.

Even if he started out differently, the sheer size of the crew soon forced him to make decisions he never wanted. Instead of letting circumstances dictate his actions, he chose to change first, ready for any storm on the horizon.

As for Thatch, his body had already been handed over to Dr. Vegapunk for remodeling.

They kept his original consciousness, but parts of his body were turned mechanical. You could say the new Thatch would likely appear on the battlefield during the war at the Summit.

Ace listened to Teach’s story, unable to comprehend how someone could be so unreasonable.

“So what? You killed Thatch and stole the Fruit?”

“Zehahaha!”

“It was just chance! This power chose me, Ace!”

“Now that I’ve got this Devil Fruit, I’m the strongest of them all, Ace.”

Teach stretched out his right hand, practically buzzing with excitement.

“Watch closely—this is a freak among Logia powers.”

His right hand flooded with black smoke, which soon engulfed his entire body, spiraling upward into a jet-black tornado that pierced the sky.

“Ace, your body is fire, right?”

“Zehahaha!”

“Mine is darkness.”

Ace frowned. “Darkness?”

“That’s right, Captain Ace. I won’t die at your hands.”

“In all of Devil Fruit history, nothing is more brutal than this power: the Logia-type Dark-Dark Fruit. I’m a man of darkness now. Just how strong is this power? I’ll give you a taste.”

“Heh, do whatever you want, Teach—if you think you can!”

Ace’s pride wouldn’t let him acknowledge Teach’s strength. For him, Teach was just another crew member of the Whitebeard Pirates, nothing near a division commander.

He had even forgotten Ye Fan’s warning to stay alert around Teach.

As for Burgess, Lafitte and the others, they were already scrambling to escape.

They knew firsthand Teach’s power was uncontrollable when he used it. Anyone, friend or foe, could be caught in the blast—should a fight break out, they’d be toast too.

“Zehahaha!”

Darkness poured from Teach’s Devil Fruit, its inky clouds spreading across the entire town.

“The power of the Dark-Dark Fruit is to attract and swallow everything—a limitless gravitational pull that leaves no light behind.”

Despite being surrounded by these black mists, Ace stood tall on the ruins, hands on his hips, still unafraid.

“So far, it hasn’t touched the most important thing—me.”

“I’m not going to attack you yet.”

“Just stay there and watch what happens to this town!”

“Dark Vortex!”

Teach finally had an appreciative audience, the urge to show off his Dark-Dark Fruit power almost gleeful. It was rare to have a real witness after plotting for years.

Performing alone was agony. No one else could truly appreciate the depths of his schemes, but Ace could at least satisfy a part of his twisted need for recognition.

Under Ace’s watchful gaze, the town wrapped in black smoke seemed to open up below. The ground warped, and everything on it started to sink away.

In the blink of an eye, every building disappeared into the smoke, swallowed whole by the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit.

“Dark Gravity—an endless force that drags things in, then wipes them out.”

As the darkness collapsed in on itself, every last building was gone, leaving only bare, uneven earth.

“You saw the town vanish, now see what comes next.”

“Release!”

Smoke circled above Teach’s head. With a flick, he spat out all the demolished buildings, the rubble crashing down in chaotic heaps.

“Zehahaha!”

“Do you get it now, Ace? This is the power I gained.”

“Ah…”

Teach was still basking in triumph when a few glowing green motes appeared overhead, zeroing in on him.

“Firefly—Higan!”

Ace’s head snapped up. The green fireballs flared yellow and blazed across dozens of spots on Teach’s body.

“Hot, hot, hot!”

The surprise attack left Teach flailing. The Dark-Dark Fruit’s side effect forced him to roll helplessly across the ground.

Though he looked vulnerable, it was just an act—he needed to lure a Logia user like Ace into close combat.

“I know the power of darkness now.”

“But it’s strange—Logia users should shrug off attacks like this easily.”

Ace found it odd. Logia-type Devil Fruit users can turn into their element; why hadn’t Teach done so?

Did Teach just look down on him?

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, than black smoke burst from Teach, smothering the flames and exposing his charred belly.

“I already told you—darkness can swallow anything. Bullets, swords, blunt attacks, lightning—it’s all the same.”

“Unlike the rest of you, I can’t dodge those attacks. My body absorbs much more pain than normal.”

“But in return, I can take something else from you.”

“Dark Water!”

Suddenly, Teach thrust out his left hand. Black mist twisted into a vortex, the immense gravitational pull surging straight at Ace.

“Dark Gravity lets me grab hold of a Devil Fruit user’s body perfectly.”

“Gravity?”

Before Ace could react, he was yanked into Teach’s grip. Even his hat was knocked off, spinning in the air before landing softly on the ground.

“Hey, Ace, you’ve realized it, haven’t you?”

“Could it be…?”

The moment Teach caught him, Ace found his abilities sealed—Teach’s Devil Fruit could suppress Logia powers, just like Seastone.

“Zehahaha!”

Bang!

Teach’s right fist slammed into Ace’s chest, smashing him down hard into the debris below.

The impact had Ace coughing up blood before he even landed.

Good thing that back in Alabasta, Ye Fan had slipped a Great Revitalizing Pill into his flask. Without it, Ace might have died from that single blow.

Ye Fan’s plan all along was to save Ace at Marineford—if Ace was killed by Akainu, it would ruin Luffy’s fighting spirit and throw off everything.

Even so, the attack left Ace writhing in pain.

“Zehahaha!”

“Hahaha!”

“Been a while since you took a beating, huh, Ace?”

“The moment I got my hands on you, you should have known what was coming.”