"The Pirate King has already been surpassed!"

Doflamingo threw his head back and laughed maniacally. His words were met with a heavy silence from many on the battlefield.

Setting aside mere influence, the strength Alucard displayed by instantly killing Redfield might truly be the proof that he has entirely eclipsed the former legends in raw power.

If the "Vampire Form" Redfield had used earlier truly restored him to his prime, yet he was still effortlessly cut down by Alucard, it served as a testament to the latter’s supremacy. At the very least, Roger himself had never been able to finish off Redfield in such a short window of time.

At the Sabaody Archipelago, the Supernovas watching the live broadcast were struck with awe. Among them, Binz, who was moving with Ain, bit down hard on his right index finger in nervous agitation.

Ain’s slender eyebrows furrowed as she said coldly, "It doesn’t matter. We only need to carry out the Justice left behind by Zephyr-sensei."

"Whitebeard, Alucard, Kaido, Big Mom!"

Captain Kid slammed his hand into a nearby Yarukiman Mangrove tree, a savage grin spreading across his face. "None of those four are easy to deal with, but it looks like the old remnants of Whitebeard’s era are about to be finished!"

"Calm down, Kid," Killer advised from the side. "What we should be doing right now is focusing on building our own strength."

...

"Damn it... I handed over a Mythical Zoan just to get Redfield on our side, and he went down that easily..."

Teach gritted his teeth. Whitebeard, seizing the opening, swung a massive fist aimed directly at the side of his head.

Bang! Bang!

Two bullets suddenly whistled through the air, striking Whitebeard’s wrist and forcing his attack to a halt.

Looking up toward the peak of the decimated fortress ruins, the Blackbeard Pirates’ sniper, Van Augur, maintained his characteristic "deadpan" expression as he lowered his rifle. "You were too careless, Captain."

"Zehahaha! You truly are reliable, Augur!"

Teach laughed wildly. It was now a multi-man assault against one. Even if his individual strength was inferior to Whitebeard’s, he held the advantage, especially since Whitebeard was already at death’s door.

Still, Teach couldn’t help but curse inwardly: This damn old man... why won’t he just die?

"Fish-Man Karate: Seven Thousand Brick Roundhouse Kick!"

"Brilliant Punk!"

On the other side, Jinbe and Jozu had already neutralized Burgess and Vasco Shot. Having only just escaped from prison, the newcomers hadn’t quite regained their full combat rhythm. If Jozu and Jinbe were allowed to join the main fray, Teach’s advantage would evaporate.

Teach glared at the charging Jozu, gritting his teeth. "No choice then. It’s a slight deviation from the plan, but I’ll have to take a risk."

Despite his bulky frame, Teach dodged a punch from Whitebeard with surprising agility and bellowed, "Laffitte, assist me!"

Laffitte sheathed his cane-sword, his arms transforming into white wings as he took to the sky. His red-painted lips curled into a smirk. "Hohoho... changing the plan so suddenly is quite a gamble, Captain."

"How can one reach the top without taking risks?"

With that, Teach’s body sank completely into a pool of Black Hole shadows on the ground. Even Whitebeard was momentarily stumped, forced to wait for the moment Teach resurfaced to strike.

"Pops!"

"Whitebeard-san, we’re here to help!"

Jozu and Jinbe rushed forward.

Whitebeard assumed Teach’s target would be himself, but instead, the darkness suddenly erupted directly behind the charging Diamond Jozu.

Before anyone could react, Teach clamped a hand onto the back of Jozu’s neck. "Jozu, you should feel honored to become part of my power!"

Dark Water exploded from Teach’s palm, nullifying Jozu’s ability to transform into diamond. Seizing the window, Teach gave a brutal twist, snapping Jozu’s neck.

High above, Laffitte, like a stage magician, produced a massive black cloth from his top hat and dropped it over them.

"Jozu-san!!"

Jinbe turned to help, but Augur opened fire, his bullets forcing the Fish-Man back. "Please, do not interfere."

The black cloth falling from the sky shrouded both Teach and Jozu. In the final second before they were covered, everyone caught a glimpse of Teach’s hideous smirk. "I’m about to show you all a real show, Zehahahaha!"

"Jozu!!"

Whitebeard gathered the energy of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit in his left hand, intending to shatter the black cloth.

"Stop, Whitebeard-san."

Laffitte descended from the air, tipping his hat low. "Do you wish to shatter your own ’son’ along with it?"

Whitebeard’s pupils shrank. He hesitated for two seconds before the energy sphere in his left hand dissipated. He chose not to strike.

"Now then, everyone, please enjoy the Blackbeard Pirates’ world-shaking performance!" Laffitte said, making a "please wait" gesture toward the Visual Den Den Mushi.

But just because Whitebeard didn’t use a shockwave didn’t mean he was out of options. He lunged forward, swinging his Murakumogiri in a vertical arc to slice through the black cloth.

Laffitte and the others guarding the cloth scrambled to retreat, having no desire to die under Whitebeard’s blade.

Landing on one knee after dodging the strike, Laffitte watched the cloth being torn open. "That was all the time we could buy. Did he make it?"

"Nya-haha!" the newly recovered Avalo Pizarro laughed. "If he dies, I’m taking over as Captain!"

To everyone’s shock, Whitebeard’s naginata only sliced through half of the black cloth before it was ground to a halt.

As the cloth slid away, it revealed a shimmering diamond arm.

"Jozu?"

The Whitebeard crew felt a subconscious surge of hope seeing the diamond arm, but when the cloth fell completely away, the face of the man wielding that power turned their smiles into frozen masks of horror.

"Zehahaha..."

With his left hand transformed into Diamond, Teach blocked Whitebeard’s naginata. Meanwhile, Dark Water erupted from his right hand, which he drove into Whitebeard’s abdomen, punching a fresh, bloody hole through him.

"What’s wrong, Pops? This is my new power!"

"Diamond in the left, darkness in the right..."

Standing beside Alucard, Robin bit her lower lip. "What... what is happening?"