One Piece: The user of the Nen-Nen Fruit, who overturned the sea.

Faced with the sudden appearance of Roy, what kind of desperate situation hadn't Blackbeard, a veteran pirate who had been in the New World for decades, seen?

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fear that was rising from his very bones, and tried to force a smile.

"Thief...thief hahaha!"

His laughter was dry and strained, but he managed to force it out.

"Captain Roy! No, King Roy! Is there some misunderstanding between us?"

Roy tilted his head and watched him perform.

"Think about it, we have no grudges against each other. I've never harmed anyone from Beehive Island, nor have I ever robbed any goods from Beehive Island. The Whitebeard Pirates don't have much of a conflict with Beehive Island either."

How about this? I'm announcing my joining Beehive Island. I'm now a Shichibukai.

If it were revealed at this time that the Seven Warlords of the Sea had joined Beehive Island, it would damage the reputation of the World Government and the Navy.

I can also help you deal with the Whitebeard Pirates. With my abilities and understanding of them, I'm confident I can defeat them...

How about it? Let me go! If we join forces, this ocean is—"

Roy looked at Blackbeard Teach, who was now rambling incoherently, desperately trying to get a way out.

"Give up, Teach!"

"From the very beginning, you were the prey of Beehive Island."

I noticed something was wrong with your body back on the island where Whitebeard and Roger fought.

Your fate was sealed the moment you defected from the Whitebeard Pirates.

Roy's words completely shattered Blackbeard's psychological defenses.

His face changed from white to green, then from green to black, and finally became a grotesque and twisted expression.

So it turns out he was just doing all the work for someone else from beginning to end?

He endured for over twenty years, killing Thatch, stealing the Dark-Dark Fruit, scheming against Ace, scheming against Whitebeard, scheming against the Navy—in the end, he was just a pawn on Roy's chessboard?

"No--!!!"

Black beard suddenly sprang to his feet.

He pushed the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit to its limit, and an even more intense vortex of darkness surged from the palm of his right hand.

Darkness churned and boiled in his hands, and a corrosive, acrid smell filled the air.

"My plan cannot fail! I am destined to become the king of the world!"

"Dark Water—!!!"

The dark vortex crashed into Roy again.

Roy remained motionless.

He even took the initiative to remove the psychic barrier in front of him.

The translucent barrier vanished silently into the air, leaving his body completely exposed to the black-bearded man.

The black-bearded man's hand suddenly gripped Roy's wrist.

That hand was twice the size of an average adult man's hand, with five thick fingers like five carrots, and dirt accumulating under the fingernails.

The dark mist in his palm spun rapidly, maximizing the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit.

The fear on the black-bearded man's face was replaced by ecstasy.

"Gotcha—!!!"

His voice was sharp and shrill from excessive excitement.

"My power renders all Devil Fruits ineffective! You're finished!"

Roy!

You will pay the price for your carelessness!

Roy ignored him.

The moment he was caught, Roy felt the flow of psychic energy within his body suddenly freeze.

It's as if some force has severed their connection with the outside world.

He could sense the presence of telekinesis within him; every wisp of power remained obediently within his body.

But when he tried to activate his mental power, it was like hitting a black wall; he couldn't get it out no matter what he did.

Whether it's Observation Haki or Armament Haki, all combat methods that require the assistance of Devil Fruit abilities have come to a standstill.

Roy closed his eyes and turned his Observation Haki inward.

This is an ability he honed through countless battles, allowing him to use Observation Haki to precisely perceive every subtle change within his body.

Without the aid of Devil Fruit powers, the range of Observation Haki is greatly reduced, but the precision of internal perception is actually higher.

He clearly "saw" the mechanism of the Dark-Dark Fruit.

Darkness, like countless fine tentacles, crept into his body from his wrist, coiling around every cell in his body.

These tentacles do not damage cells or absorb energy; they simply "isolate" the cells.

It's like covering each cell with a black membrane, preventing the transmission of signals between cells.

A seal. A pure, physical seal.

Just like when Roy was captured by Seastone before, but the Devil Fruit is different from Seastone. Seastone's seal suppresses Devil power through a special magnetic field.

The sealing of the Dark-Dark Fruit involves forcibly severing the pathways of its power using dark energy.

One is "suppression," and the other is "blocking." They are fundamentally different, but the results are similar.

Roy silently noted down this key difference in his mind.

"Hahaha! Die!"

Blackbeard finally got the opportunity he needed.

Those few seconds when Roy closed his eyes and remained motionless were, in his eyes, a golden opportunity.

He clenched his left fist and slammed it into Roy's face with all his might.

Although Blackbeard was arrogant, he had spent twenty years on Whitebeard's ship and his basic physical skills were quite solid.

With his unique physique and innate superhuman strength, the force of his punch was enough to shatter a stone wall.

Blackbeard could even picture Roy being smashed through the air.

Without Devil Fruit powers, Roy is just an ordinary human body, and this punch would at least leave him with a bloody head.

As long as it can inflict damage, the Dark-Dark Fruit can continuously absorb the opponent's stamina during contact, growing stronger with each battle, until finally—

The fist landed precisely on Roy's left cheek.

A muffled thud was heard.

Blackbeard felt a cracking sound coming from his finger bones.

The sensation was not like being hit in the face, but rather like hitting a solid piece of sea stone.

A tearing pain shot through his knuckles, and all five of his fingers went numb at the same time.

Roy's head didn't budge.

It wasn't off by even a millimeter.

There wasn't even a red mark on his face.

Blackbeard was stunned.

Roy opened his eyes and looked down at Blackbeard.

His gaze was calm, devoid of anger or contempt, only the nonchalance of someone who had drawn a conclusion after completing an experiment.

"I see."

Roy's voice was neither hurried nor slow.

"It only seals the ability to cut through the fruit. It has no effect on pure physical strength or Haki."

He moved his wrist, which was being held, as if testing the performance of a mechanical part.

Then he raised his head, a slight smile playing on his lips, and gave the black-bearded man his final conclusion.

"Moreover, this seal is not absolute."

As long as you don't touch it, it won't be restricted.

Even if I catch them, at most they'll just fight me with physical skills and sheer brute force.

"So this is what you're relying on?"

Blackbeard's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

Roy's arm muscles bulged slightly.

Enhanced by the core technology of Beehive Island, his physical strength has been honed through decades of countless battles.

Blackbeard felt as if he were gripping not a human wrist, but the claw of an awakened dragon.

The immense power erupted from Roy's arm, causing his five fingers to be flung apart one by one.

The tiger's mouth was torn open, and fresh blood gushed out from the wound.

My entire hand felt like it had been burned by fire, and my fingers were still trembling uncontrollably when I opened them. I could no longer clench my fist.

Roy glanced down at his loosened wrist, rubbed it, and casually flicked the blood off his hand.

"Your ability is very interesting."

Roy's tone suggested he was evaluating a less-than-successful new product.

"But the limitations are too great."

I wonder what the effects will be after awakening.

But now..."

Roy raised his right hand, and a visible psychic shockwave condensed at his fingertips.

The shockwave compressed at his fingertips into a fist-sized, translucent sphere of light, its surface shimmering with a pale golden luster.

"It is nothing in the face of absolute power."

The psychic shockwave was released from his hand.

The ball of light struck the black-bearded man precisely between the eyebrows. There was no explosion, no sound; it disappeared into his forehead like a drop of water merging into the surface of water.

The black-bearded man's body suddenly stiffened.

His pupils were dilated, and the terrified expression remained on his lips, but his eyes had lost all their luster.

His consciousness was completely shattered by an extremely domineering mental shock, and he fell forward like a puppet with its strings cut.

Roy reached out and grabbed his collar.

Then he took to the air, lifting the massive body of the black-bearded man and controlling Doc Q as it floated towards Hive Island.

The sea breeze lifted the hem of his cloak, carrying the lingering smell of blood from the deck into the air.

The wrecked ship drifted alone on the sea, rising and falling slowly with the waves.

The sails were still hanging, the rudder was still creaking, and all that remained on the deck was a pool of blood and a puddle of white foam.

Roy pressed his palm down from high above.

A moment later, the sea returned to calm.

A wrecked ship, without an owner or crew, simply vanished on the surface of the Grand Line.

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