Chapter 527: The Curtain Falls on Loyalty and Betrayal

Almost as if showing off, he revealed everything he’d done, clearing up some of Sengoku’s doubts at the same time.

“The Straw Hats.”

So that’s it. Luffy and the rest only made it safely through the opened Gate of Justice because there were two Navy warships behind them.

What nobody knew was that the Navy guarding the engine room had already been taken out, replaced by a new crew. Even without Lafitte’s hypnosis, the Straw Hats could have passed through the Gate of Justice without a hitch.

After all, they were at the eye of this storm—if they didn’t get involved, there’d be no way to kick off an all-out war.

“When you’re a pirate, if the World Government sees you as an enemy, you can’t open the Gate of Justice or break into Impel Down.”

“I only accepted the title of Warlord for this. Now, I don’t need it anymore.”

Now that his plan was coming together, Blackbeard saw no need to hide his ambition.

The reason he’d come to Navy Headquarters was to kill Whitebeard and steal his Tremor-Tremor Fruit—becoming the new Emperor.

Success was within reach now. If he managed to take Whitebeard’s life, no half-crippled Navy could stop him with his newfound power.

But no one realized the tide of battle had already turned.

“Your goal… was to free these men?”

Even though Sengoku had finally seen through Blackbeard’s plot, it was too late. No one knew what had happened to Magellan.

Right now, the most urgent thing was executing Whitebeard. If possible, they should take down Blackbeard too—letting a man with ambition like his escape would just create another Emperor.

“That’s right. It was my plan all along—actually, it’s my only goal. You’ll understand soon enough.”

“Zehahaha!”

Blackbeard cackled, arrogance on display. He never once considered whether the Navy could actually stop him. He simply believed that if he toppled Whitebeard and claimed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he could walk away untouched.

“Things like that don’t matter anymore.”

Beaten but not defeated, Whitebeard stood tall, turned his left side, and unleashed his Tremor-Tremor Fruit—throwing a condensed left fist and sending a powerful shockwave straight at the wall where Blackbeard’s crew were standing.

The shockwave sent every Navy soldier in its path flying. In an instant, the wall Blackbeard and his crew stood on collapsed.

With rocks crashing down, Blackbeard’s group slowly emerged from the haze on the icy field.

“That was close!”

Blackbeard shoved away a huge boulder and slowly got to his feet.

“So much for old ties—guess mercy is out of the question!”

He knew full well that what he’d done went against every rule of the Whitebeard Pirates. Killing your own captain was unforgivable in any crew.

Especially in Whitebeard’s crew—where family meant everything.

But did it really matter anymore?

Back when he joined the crew, it was simply because Whitebeard’s was one of the strongest pirate crews in the world. He figured if he waited long enough in a top crew, he’d get a shot at the fruit he dreamed of.

He’d almost given up on that hope, never expecting to actually find that legendary Devil Fruit.

“You’re the only one unworthy of being my son, Teach!”

Whitebeard couldn’t contain his fury. Waves of energy rippled off him in every direction.

Even Sengoku, watching from the side, couldn’t help but frown. Whitebeard seemed to be going berserk, his strength reaching new heights and shattering Sengoku’s expectations again and again.

By now, not even Sengoku had any confidence they could keep Whitebeard here.

“You broke the one rule on my ship—you murdered your own crewmate.”

“As captain, I’ll avenge Thatch, the Fourth Division Commander. I’ll take your miserable life and let him rest in peace.”

Though Whitebeard’s injuries weren’t too serious, to make absolutely sure he took Blackbeard down, he pulled a green pill from his pocket and swallowed it in front of everyone.

“What’s that?”

“Teach, you’re the one I’ll never forgive.”

Whitebeard gave him no chance to talk back. Gripping Cloud Cutter, he charged.

Though skirmishes continued on the edges of the battlefield, the Admirals and division commanders like Marco had all stopped fighting, turning to watch.

“Old man, let me show you the power of my Devil Fruit!”

“It’s time to settle this, Teach.”

“Zehahaha, just what I wanted!”

Thick black smoke began pouring from Blackbeard’s body, rising into the sky.

He crouched, slammed his right hand to the ground, and a flood of dark mist erupted, spreading out to cover the ground all around.

“Dark Vortex!”

“This is the power of the Devil Fruit I took after killing Thatch.”

“The strongest force—the Dark-Dark Fruit.”

“Let me show you its true power.”

“Listen, old man. Thatch is dead. I once truly respected you, even looked up to you, but you’re old now—so old you almost failed to save a man about to be executed. And to think, I once spared Ace for your sake.”

The more he heard, the angrier Whitebeard became. He felt the dark mist on the ground dragging him in, but even as he was pulled forward, he raised his left fist, wreathed in the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

“It’s useless. None of your powers will work on me now.”

“Dark Water!”

Just as Whitebeard’s fist was about to smash into Blackbeard, Blackbeard grabbed his arm with his right hand, instantly nullifying the Tremor-Tremor Fruit’s power.

“How about that, old man?”

“With my darkness, I can now absorb and neutralize even Devil Fruit powers.”

“In other words, you can’t cause earthquakes anymore.”

Blackbeard followed up with a brutal left punch straight into Whitebeard’s chest.

Bang!

Even at his peak, Whitebeard would have felt the pain from that blow.

Unwilling to back down, Whitebeard wrenched his left arm free and threw another punch at Blackbeard, his fist still surging with power.

“You still don’t get it, do you?”

Blackbeard taunted him, raising his right hand to block the punch, nullifying the Tremor-Tremor Fruit yet again.

“How’s that for power?”

Whitebeard threw two more punches, but Blackbeard neutralized every bit of energy each time.

Suddenly, with a swift spin, Whitebeard’s right hand swept Cloud Cutter around twice. In Blackbeard’s shocked eyes, the blade struck him square in the chest.

As blood smeared the blade, a spray of Blackbeard’s blood shot three meters into the air.

Blackbeard was knocked back by the blow, sent flying and sprawled out on the ground.

“It hurts! Damn it, that’s agony!”

That’s the curse of this Devil Fruit—pain doubled. It hurts enough to make grown men cry.

Bang!

Grab!

With his left hand gripping the sword and pinning Blackbeard’s right hand, Whitebeard reached forward with his right, clamping Blackbeard’s chin.

“Arrogance, recklessness—that’s your weakness.”