Chapter 443: SVOP - 443

Chapter 443: SVOP: Chapter 443

At his thought, a wisp of black smoke flashed and quickly solidified into the form of the Shadow Fiend.

The next moment, the Shadow Fiend closed its eyes. Its consciousness appeared in the star map, locked onto the star representing Blackbeard, and with a single thought, teleported away.

Instantly, the world around shifted and changed.

On a street in a town on an island somewhere in the New World, a group of five men walked side by side.

"Captain... did that Warlord agree?"

The speaker was a sickly-looking man who seemed on the verge of death. He was slumped over the back of a large horse, speaking weakly.

"Zehahahahaha... Of course he did. I know exactly who he really is — he definitely won’t refuse an alliance with the Blackbeard Pirates!" Blackbeard laughed heartily.

This was the entire crew: only five members, including the captain himself.

They were:

- Doc Q – Ship’s Doctor and Undertaker, known as "The Grim Reaper." Distinguished by his sickly appearance and constant state of near-death.

- Laffitte – Navigator. User of the Bird-Bird Fruit. Formerly a Sheriff in a West Blue kingdom, now nicknamed "The Demon Patrol."

- Van Augur – Sniper. Armed with a Maxim rifle. Claims he can hit targets kilometers away without a sound. Nicknamed "Sound Cutter."

- Jesus Burgess – Helmsman. Former World Wrestling Champion, known simply as "The Champion." Possesses immense strength and still wears his championship belt.

- And finally, Marshall D. Teach – Captain, also known as Blackbeard.

Right now, all five were walking casually down the main street. Civilians quickly stepped aside to let them pass.

They weren’t particularly famous yet, but anyone could tell at a glance — these were not men to be trifled with.

"Wahahahaha... Captain, since that Warlord agreed to join forces, can we go raid the Celestial Tribute fleet next? We’ll grab a fortune and buy ourselves a huge ship!" Burgess laughed in his booming voice.

"Why do you always have to shout so loud?" Doc Q wheezed. "Even if we wanted to raid it, we’d need intelligence from the Warlord first... cough, cough..."

The route of the Celestial Tribute was top-secret. Even with the status of a Warlord, getting information wasn’t easy.

Without intelligence, finding the fleet in the vast ocean was like looking for a needle in a haystack — pure luck.

"We still have to avoid Whitebeard’s pursuit. Raiding the Tribute draws too much attention and exposes us," Laffitte adjusted his top hat and looked at Blackbeard.

"Besides, we can just sell some Devil Fruits instead. Most of them are useless trash anyway. Naturally, we follow your orders, Captain."

"Zehahahahaha... Money isn’t what matters right now. We need to find crew members!"

Blackbeard grinned broadly. "I made contact with Kuzan some time ago. We’re here now to invite him to join us. He is on this very island!"

"Kuzan?!" The others were shocked. "You mean the former Admiral — Aokiji?!"

They were all stunned, never expecting to find Aokiji here.

Just then, a chilling, ghost-like voice echoed.

"Oh? Interesting... so you intend to recruit Aokiji."

"Who goes there?!"

Blackbeard’s expression shifted. He leaped forward, turning swiftly to face the source of the sound.

Behind them, a thick mass of black smoke had appeared out of nowhere. It rapidly expanded outward, forming a dark barrier that enclosed Blackbeard and his crew entirely.

"The Shadow Fiend!!"

Gasps of shock rose instantly from all five men as they stared ahead, their faces turning grave.

Before them, the black smoke swirled and elongated, shaping itself into a humanoid figure made entirely of darkness. Nothing could be seen except a pair of glowing eyes.

"Blackbeard... I will give you one chance. Kneel now, and obediently return the fruits you stole. I may yet show you mercy."

"It really is you...!" Blackbeard stared in disbelief. "Impossible! You vanished ages ago — why appear now?!"

"Hahaha... We have always been here, watching you from a higher dimension. Someone like you could never understand."

Vladimir watched him with amusement. "Don’t try anything foolish. If you want to live, hand over the fruits you stole from Whitebeard."

"Those belong to Whitebeard... what business is it of yours?" Burgess growled.

It was just an excuse. Deep down, he knew the truth: Whitebeard had gathered those fruits specifically to hand over to Phantom as repayment for the blueprint of the Pluton battleship.

No one expected Phantom to ever return.

"Zehahahahaha... Shadow Fiend... are you alone?"

After the initial shock, Blackbeard quickly regained his composure. "I know you can track me and cross space instantly. But what if I kill you right here? Then Phantom will never find me again!"

Before Vladimir could reply, Blackbeard’s body began to emit dark wisps of smoke.

BOOM!

Vladimir suddenly felt a powerful, pulling force locking onto him.

"Hmm?" Vladimir raised an eyebrow, surprised. "I see... So aside from the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, the Dark-Dark Fruit is also a natural counter to me."

This was truly unexpected. The Shadow Fiend had few rivals in this world — physical attacks, elemental powers, even Haki could barely touch him.

Only Gecko Moria’s Shadow-Shadow Fruit had been able to interact with him... until now.

The power of the Dark-Dark Fruit was remarkably similar to the Shadow Fiend’s own dark essence.

"Zehahahahaha... Dark Void!"

Blackbeard thrust his palm forward from a distance, forcibly dragging the Shadow Fiend toward him.

"I have finally obtained this power! Recorded in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia as the most evil ability in history — the Logia-type Dark-Dark Fruit!"

Seeing this, Vladimir sighed. "Pointless bravado... I call upon Lord Aizen!"

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