Could it be that the newly appointed Marine Admiral had deliberately arranged all of this?
Spandine felt a chill run down his spine.
He glanced at Jack the Drought, who was still bound like a dumpling, and then at Ulti, whose face was covered in blood and grime.
For a moment, Spandine couldn’t make up his mind.
He desperately looked toward Blackbeard.
The instant he did, Spandine’s eyes met Lucas’s.
Their gazes locked.
The faint uneasiness that had been growing inside Spandine was magnified infinitely.
That’s right!
It had to be!
Spandine was certain that his guess was correct.
There was absolutely no way Ulti would have suddenly spoken up at such a critical moment unless this newly appointed fourth Marine Admiral had deliberately allowed it.
And the biggest reason was probably the salary and performance bonuses.
As a Marine Admiral who was obsessed with money, Lucas had just been removed from the mission.
If a tempting opportunity was delivered straight to his doorstep, could he really resist it?
It was like having a completely naked woman standing right in front of you.
Whether you should take the opportunity or not seemed like a pretty simple question.
With that thought, Spandine hurriedly shouted,
"Blackbeard Teach! He’s bluffing!"
"He’s bluffing?"
Blackbeard was stunned for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing wildly.
"Hahaha! I know he’s deliberately trying to fool me!"
"He defeated Jack the Drought, a pirate with a one-billion-Berry bounty. There’s no way I believe he came out of that battle completely unharmed."
"Kid, you’re unlucky enough to become a stepping stone for me, Blackbeard Teach, to make my name!"
"Men! Attack!"
His roar thundered across the sea.
Burgess and the others, who had been waiting nearby, froze for a moment before immediately reacting.
Every one of the men Blackbeard had chosen was a vicious criminal.
Lucas’s true strength was indeed an unknown factor.
However, now that their captain had given the order, they could only fight with everything they had.
More importantly, they also refused to believe that after defeating Jack the Drought, a pirate with a one-billion-Berry bounty, this newly appointed Marine Admiral could withstand their combined assault.
Not to mention that their captain possessed the Dark-Dark Fruit , an ability that was the natural enemy of Devil Fruit users.
Bang!
Van Augur, who had remained on the lookout tower atop the mast, fired first.
The instant his sniper rifle was aimed at Lucas’s chest, he pulled the trigger.
The scorching bullet tore through the air.
At the same time, Burgess, Laffitte, and the others scattered and charged forward.
Blackbeard unleashed a massive cloud of darkness that surged straight toward Lucas.
Smoker and the others immediately changed expression and hurried forward to provide support.
But before they could take even half a step, Lucas smiled and shook his head.
Spandine, watching from a distance, was completely dumbfounded.
Had he somehow gotten his words backward and caused Blackbeard to completely misunderstand him?
What he had meant was to warn Blackbeard that there was a trap and that he absolutely shouldn’t do anything foolish.
But somehow, his words had turned into a divine assist, making Blackbeard believe that Lucas was merely bluffing.
Unfortunately, the arrow was already nocked.
There was no turning back now.
Spandine could only hope that Lucas really was bluffing.
Bang!
The incoming bullet was stopped by a dazzling golden light before it could reach Lucas.
At the same moment, the enormous mass of darkness came surging forward.
Blackbeard’s voice echoed through the sky.
"Hahaha! Kid, you’re telling them to stand back because you don’t want them to get dragged into this, aren’t you?"
"But don’t worry."
"Once you become my stepping stone, I’ll definitely treat them well."
"Shockwave Elbow!"
Burgess moved first, appearing at Lucas’s left side.
At the same time, Laffitte appeared on the opposite side.
Having transformed into his bird-like form, Laffitte wielded his cane sword, which flashed with a dazzling, razor-sharp gleam.
The two attacked from both sides, forming a pincer assault.
The sudden eruption of violence instantly put everyone’s nerves on edge.
Lucas remained where he stood.
He didn’t even spare Burgess and Laffitte a glance.
The Conqueror’s Haki dormant within his body erupted once again.
Bang!
The tangible force of the Haki collided head-on with Burgess and Laffitte’s attacks.
The two men immediately felt their blood and energy churn violently inside their bodies.
Their bodies were sent flying backward like cannonballs.
Feeling the terrifying impact still chasing after them, neither man had time to think.
They plunged directly into the approaching dark tide.
The instant they disappeared into the darkness, Lucas’s soaring Conqueror’s Haki collided with the dark tide once again.
Boom!
The violent force swept outward in all directions.
The resulting waves once again engulfed the entire sea.
Even the warship secured at the harbor entrance began to shake violently.
Smoker and the others had already retreated into the cabin, leaving the battlefield to Lucas.
Even so, watching the two forces collide like raging ocean waves still made their scalps tingle.
But as they watched the dark tide being repelled yet again, Smoker and the others couldn’t understand something.
Why was Blackbeard using the dark tide again after it had already failed once?
Yet the moment this thought surfaced in their minds, the answer appeared.
Amid the swirling dust and darkness, a ghostlike figure emerged behind Lucas.
The darkness flowing around his right hand caused Smoker and the others’ expressions to change dramatically.
As expected!
From the very beginning, whether it was Burgess, Laffitte, or even the dark-tide assault, everything had merely been a distraction.
The true killing blow had been hidden until the very end.
Blackbeard himself!
"Admiral Lucas, watch out! Get out of the way!"
Ain was the first to cry out in alarm.
"Hahaha! It’s too late to run now!"
"Captain Ace already told you that I’m the natural enemy of all Devil Fruit users!"
"Just obediently let me take away your Devil Fruit power and become my stepping stone!"
Blackbeard laughed ferociously.
The darkness violently swirling around his right hand condensed into a small vortex before he slammed it toward Lucas’s back.
"Blackbeard: Black Vortex—Black Hole!"
The air seemed to tremble.
The distance of barely five or six meters was crossed in the blink of an eye.
Facing Blackbeard’s sudden and vicious attack, Lucas seemed to react a fraction too slowly.
He remained standing exactly where he was and calmly took another sip of his drink.
His strange behavior made everyone’s hearts skip a beat.
Bang!
The vortex formed from the black darkness slammed down.
The muffled impact sounded like thunder exploding across the heavens, echoing through the surrounding sky for a long time.
Unfortunately, what they saw next caused everyone’s pupils to contract violently.
Even Blackbeard’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
In their minds, this attack should not only have stripped Lucas of his Devil Fruit power.
It should also have sent him flying and severely injured the Marines’ fourth Admiral in a single blow.
But the scene before them completely overturned their understanding.
Blackbeard’s Black Vortex, which had always worked without fail, had been forcibly blocked by the golden light protecting Lucas’s body.
And then they saw what had rapidly condensed around Lucas’s body.
A gigantic Thousand Hands formation.
Was this guy using a fake Dark-Dark Fruit ?
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ Chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789