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However, what Blackbeard didn't know was that Elior wasn't a Devil Fruit user at all!

So, what if his Dark-Dark Fruit was ridiculously broken? Even the so-called ability of the Dark-Dark Fruit to suppress all Devil Fruits only worked on small-scale attacks. For large-scale attacks—take Akainu's Hound Blaze for example — how could Blackbeard possibly defend against something like that?

When it came to arrogance, no one beat Blackbeard. Even Whitebeard had once said that Teach was a man excessively full of himself.

But Elior's confidence was built upon foresight and knowing both himself and his enemies inside and out.

"The Dark-Dark Fruit, huh? That's indeed a troublesome ability… I've heard a thing or two about it,"

said Bullet.

Shiryu also added, "The most evil of all Logias. But unlike other Logia types, the user cannot transform into their element."

"If that's true… doesn't that mean the Captain, being a Devil Fruit user, is at a disadvantage?"

Law frowned in confusion.

Crocodile scoffed, "Let's wait and see. I've been sailing with the Captain for quite a while now, and I've never seen him suffer a loss."

"Dark Vortex!"

At that moment, Blackbeard roared, thrusting his right palm toward Elior. A swirling vortex of darkness erupted—it was the move that dragged Devil Fruit users toward him. Just moments ago, Luffy had been sucked in by this very technique and slammed to the ground.

As the vortex surged toward him, Elior stepped forward, charging straight ahead.

"Zehahaha! Brat, as a Devil Fruit user, you're destined to be helpless against me!"

Blackbeard truly believed that Elior was being pulled in by his ability.

Boom!

Elior's fist smashed forward, completely ignoring Blackbeard's Dark Vortex, and landed squarely on Blackbeard's enormous belly.

With a dull thud, Elior could clearly see Blackbeard's face twist into a mask of agony — a look of excruciating pain.

Immediately after, Blackbeard was sent flying by the tremendous force, crashing into Burgess and the others behind him, sending them sprawling like ragdolls.

"Argh…!"

"Damn it! Damn it! It hurts like hell!"

Blackbeard slammed into a prison wall, rolling on the floor in sheer agony. The curse of the Dark-Dark Fruit forced him to endure double the pain. The crushing pain in his stomach combined with the impact to his back almost made him pass out.

Boom!

"And this guy dreams of ruling the New World?"

Shiryu looked at the writhing Blackbeard with nothing but disdain. Where was the dignity of a so-called strong man now?

A true powerhouse… would he be rolling on the ground in pain?

Yet this man dared to dream of ruling the New World?

To be honest, seeing Blackbeard in such a pathetic state made Shiryu and the others look down on him even more.

The surviving prisoners watched as Blackbeard screamed and rolled in pain, and an icy chill settled in their hearts.

"This guy?"

"He wants to be our boss?"

"We must be out of our damn minds."

Immediately, curses and insults echoed from the prison cells. They realized they had been fooled by Blackbeard. If they could get out of their cells right now, they'd rip Blackbeard to shreds!

It took nearly a full minute before Blackbeard managed to recover. Hearing the scorn and curses from the prisoners only made his face burn hotter with humiliation.

"You brat… I'm gonna rip you to pieces!"

"Black Hole!"

Blackbeard slammed his palm onto the ground. Burgess and the others, familiar with this move, instantly darted to the side to avoid it.

"Don't underestimate me, brat!"

The eerie blackness rapidly spread across the floor, crawling toward Elior's feet.

But right as it was about to reach him, Elior slammed his own palm into the ground.

BOOM!

The floor was instantly engulfed in ice, freezing everything in its path. The creeping blackness was swallowed up by the thick ice, and Blackbeard himself was sent flying by the sudden eruption, landing heavily onto the ground.

"The Dark-Dark Fruit may be strong… but clearly, you've yet to reach a level where you can contend with me."

Elior strode toward Blackbeard. The latter's expression had shifted drastically, staring at Elior with unprecedented seriousness.

Suddenly, Blackbeard lunged forward, hands reaching out for Elior, moving at incredible speed — so fast it was almost like using Soru.

Before obtaining any Devil Fruit, Blackbeard was already a man capable of scarring the face of a young Shanks. His physical prowess was not to be underestimated.

Boom!

Their fists collided, but Blackbeard instantly felt like he had struck solid steel. Without Armament Haki reinforcing his punch, his knuckles felt like they were about to shatter. The doubled pain only intensified the agony. Still, Blackbeard gritted his teeth and launched his left hand toward Elior's eyes.

His palm radiated with the swirling pull of Dark Vortex.

Can't win head-on?

Then fight dirty.

To Blackbeard, there was nothing shameful about that.

Elior was an obstacle in his path!

But with advanced Observation Haki capable of glimpsing the future, how could Elior not know what Blackbeard's next move would be? Not to mention—Blackbeard's claw strike was actually a bit slow.

Boom!

Elior sidestepped cleanly, grabbed Blackbeard's right arm, and with a mighty heave, slammed him into the ground on the opposite side. A heavy thud rang out, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of bones cracking.

Once again, Blackbeard was rolling on the ground, wailing in agony like a tortured soul.

"What a pity. I thought he was something special… clearly, I overestimated him."

Bullet shook his head, thoroughly losing interest in Blackbeard. The others felt the same.

It honestly seemed like Elior had exaggerated Blackbeard's threat. He clearly wasn't that terrifying.

But to be fair… that was because Elior was simply too strong.

Just like in the original story, where Whitebeard completely overwhelmed Blackbeard at the start. Had it not been for Blackbeard calling him Old Man, stirring Whitebeard's emotions, Teach and his crew would've been wiped out right there.

Even then, Whitebeard was critically wounded and still crushed Blackbeard.

Without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Blackbeard's strength was indeed formidable—but to someone of Elior's caliber, it simply wasn't enough.

"He's clearly a Devil Fruit user… so why doesn't my ability work on him?"

The swirling pull of Dark Vortex had clearly touched Elior earlier, and yet he had completely ignored it. This realization filled Blackbeard with horror. The pain all over his body was so intense that his nerves were going numb.

"Come on, show me your strongest move, Blackbeard. Just like when you crushed Ace."

Elior looked down at him with icy disdain.

The prison grew deathly silent.

Elior's overwhelming power made every prisoner feel their scalp go numb.