Chapter 62: Yami Intervenes

Everyone on the battlefield was shocked by Whitebeard's blow, and almost everyone's eyes were drawn to it.

The smoke in the center quickly dispersed, revealing the situation within.

Whitebeard's Murakumogiri was pressing firmly against the black mist released by Blackbeard.

Blackbeard's feet had sunk into the ground, with half his calves swallowed by the earth.

His entire body was trembling uncontrollably, and blood constantly overflowed from the corners of his mouth.

It seemed as if he was just a hair's breadth from collapse.

"Gah!"

The stalemate lasted less than a second before Whitebeard coughed heavily, and blood leaked.

The blow just now had caused his internal organs to churn; his spleen couldn't bear the pressure and burst.

The blood falling to the ground almost formed a small puddle.

But at this moment, Blackbeard's body obviously hadn't recovered yet, and even seeing this perfect opportunity, he couldn't attack.

However, the venomous snake lurking nearby, Shiryu, chose to strike without hesitation.

Whitebeard dodged slightly on instinct, but his body couldn't support him properly.

Still, he avoided a fatal injury.

The attack, originally intended to pierce Whitebeard's heart, instead aimed for his chest, deflecting slightly as the long sword penetrated Whitebeard's torso directly.

It was a near-fatal strike.

But Whitebeard was also stimulated by the pain, his body regaining strength as he punched Shiryu away.

However, after this exchange, Whitebeard was close to exhaustion.

He was unsteady on his feet and could only plant Murakumogiri in the ground to maintain his body's balance.

Sakazuki and the other three Admirals had relaxed their attacks on the Whitebeard Pirates, focusing more attention on Whitebeard.

After all, Ace definitely couldn't compare to Whitebeard's head.

This man was the most terrifying figure on the seas.

Bloodlines and such were just for show.

If the real Monkey D. Dragon were here, Sakazuki wouldn't even glance at the Straw Hat kid.

The two weren't on the same level at all.

The fear of the strongest made them all attach great importance to Whitebeard.

As long as they could kill him, all their preparations would be worthwhile.

"Pops… It’s my win."

Blackbeard showed a strained smile, looking quite comical with several missing teeth.

When most people saw a guy like this, they would never think he harbored such ambitions.

Blackbeard, having recovered considerably, walked directly toward his father.

He knew his plan was only for this moment.

The Marines were happy to see him kill Whitebeard, and then they would capitalize on it and kill him in turn.

But the Marines didn't know that Blackbeard's target was Whitebeard's [Gura-Gura no Mi], so this was his only chance.

"Huff... huff... Teach…"

Whitebeard gasped for air.

The injury to his chest seemed to have affected his lungs, making breathing extremely difficult.

He truly wanted to kill Blackbeard, but he had fought three Marine Admirals in succession and consumed most of his energy.

When he battled Blackbeard, he no longer had much physical strength.

He hadn't expected to die at Teach's hands, and couldn't help but feel self-deprecating.

At the same time, Sengoku on the sidelines was also watching this scene intently.

As soon as Blackbeard killed Whitebeard, he would strike against this man without hesitation, kill him, and then place the credit for defeating Whitebeard on the Marines.

Blackbeard stopped about five meters from Whitebeard.

This distance made him feel secure.

Then he drew the pistol from his waist, aimed it at Whitebeard, and prepared to shoot through Whitebeard's head.

"Bang!"

The bullet flew from the muzzle.

Then, suddenly, two meters in front of Whitebeard, it was blocked by a dark red figure.

The bullet struck the [Susanoo] skeleton emerging from Yami's body, unable to penetrate at all.

"You again!"

Blackbeard looked at Yami with eyes full of anger.

This Shichibukai had already killed almost all of his subordinates.

Now that he appeared here, it proved the two remaining crew members had also failed; there was no need to guess their fate.

A full six or seven people had died at this Shichibukai's hands.

Now he was hindering the final step of his plan.

Whitebeard also looked at Yami's back with a puzzled expression.

He didn't know this young man and had never even met him before today.

As a Shichibukai, why would he save him?

Ace, who was about to rush over from the side, was stopped by Sakazuki.

Now seeing his father being rescued, he felt relieved and continued fighting seriously.

"Yamikage, what are you doing?!"

"Are you going to disobey the World Government's orders and forfeit your identity as a Shichibukai?"

Sengoku was also furious.

Why did this have to happen at the critical moment?

He questioned Yami directly and loudly.

Part of him wished he could go up and take action against Whitebeard himself.

"The orders I received were to take action against the Whitebeard Pirates…"

"However, Blackbeard is the person I must kill. After eliminating this guy, I will kill Whitebeard with my own hands."

Yami responded very coldly.

Now his Shichibukai identity wasn't that important.

He wasn't prepared to let Whitebeard die at Blackbeard's hands.

Who knew what else might happen? It was best to kill this guy before Whitebeard died.

And Whitebeard had just demonstrated that as long as Blackbeard's absorption limit was exceeded, he would also suffer injury.

This was enough to confirm his hypothesis.

"You brat!"

Sengoku was furious.

But at this moment, he didn't want to completely fall out with Yami, to prevent this guy from actually helping Whitebeard.

"Get out of my way."

Blackbeard could no longer stand it.

He was just about to take the final step. How could he let this unknown person block his path?

Grasping black mist in his hand, he released it directly toward Yami, just like Smoker's smoke.

"[Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku]!"

On Yami's side, he simply formed four hand seals.

Then he expelled a sea of fire that instantly completely engulfed the battlefield crater created by Whitebeard.

Blackbeard looked at this scene in shock.

If Ace hadn't been fighting Sakazuki behind him, he would have wondered whether the person before him was the one to eat the flame devil fruit.

"So hot!"

At the same time, Blackbeard screamed in pain.

Although he wasn't injured and had wrapped himself in black mist, the pain caused by the heat was still very difficult for him to endure.

This was a side effect of the [Yami-Yami no Mi] and couldn't be avoided.

The massive sea of fire also affected the three Admirals and Whitebeard's group, who were still fighting behind them.

Ace used flames of the same magnitude to protect the Moby Dick.

Kuzan and Kizaru chose to evade, while Sakazuki resisted the heat of the flames and continued fighting Ace.

"Is this his goal?"

"Blackbeard?"

"And what kind of Devil Fruit power is this? He hasn't fought seriously before, only now is he going to show his true depths…"

Doflamingo, who had been observing Yami, couldn't help but wonder.

At the same time, his wariness toward Yami deepened even further, and he felt the pressure of their next encounter.