Chapter 256: Luffy Fails? The Kingdom on the Brink of Destruction

Boom—

A blast of Zhire Tuoxi struck Blackbeard's body.

"Aaaagh, that hurts! I came to help you, Kaido!"

Blackbeard lay on the ground, rolling continuously to reduce the damage the breath caused him.

This was a side effect of the Dark-Dark Fruit — when injured, he suffered double the pain.

Originally,

everything had been worth it for the Dark-Dark Fruit.

But the appearance of the Samsara Game left a knot of frustration in Blackbeard's heart, an ever-present sense of having given himself to the wrong cause.

The Dark-Dark Fruit, obtained after painstaking effort, wasn't even as good as some of the slightly better-quality skills of Game Players — something he simply could not accept.

What he could accept least of all was

that the intelligence he had learned from the World Government said even the Nika Fruit eaten by the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates was stronger than his own Dark-Dark Fruit.

Then what had all those years of waiting been for?

Therefore,

it wasn't only because of the World Government's orders — Blackbeard's own desire to kill Caomao Lufei was just as great.

"If you can't even withstand my Zhire Tuoxi, how are you going to help me?"

Kaido watched coldly as Blackbeard rolled about,

seeing clearly that although Blackbeard kept wailing, he hadn't actually been burned by the Zhire Tuoxi — not even his skin was scorched.

"Naturally."

Blackbeard laughed heartily, showing none of the anger an ordinary person would feel after a sudden attack.

He seemed like an optimist, just like Caomao Lufei.

But those in the know understood that, although both were equally unbothered by such things, Blackbeard and Caomao Lufei were complete opposites.

The latter was pure malice.

He would not let such trivial matters interfere with the plans in his heart — a thorough and true Pirate through and through.

"Caomao Lufei, in the name of the God Clan's envoy, I arrest you!"

Blackbeard laughed wildly, black currents of air erupting from his shoulders and spreading outward.

Image Den Den Mushi had already begun recording this battle that would decide the fate of Oikot Kingdom.

Blackbeard's words were clearly transmitted into the ears of the common people,

"The God Clan's envoy?"

"Kaido is clearly the villain, the evil side — why is the God Clan's envoy helping Kaido defeat the Rubber Man?"

The God Clan was the World Government.

Oikot Kingdom, being an affiliated nation, naturally knew about the World Government's name change.

They just hadn't expected that the World Government's people would actually help an evil Pirate.

"Shut up!"

"A bunch of weak, ignorant fools — justice and evil? Even if you searched the entire sea, you wouldn't find an answer to that!"

With Blackbeard at the center, dark currents spread across the entire ruins of the Colosseum,

and a powerful suction force suddenly seized Fourth Gear Luffy's throat like a giant hand, pulling him toward Blackbeard.

"The Dark-Dark Fruit?"

The well-traveled Kaido recognized Blackbeard's method at a glance,

and seeing Fourth Gear Luffy immobilized, the blue dragon opened his mouth and spewed Heat Breath.

"Hahahahaha"

"The power inside me is coming out!"

At the critical moment,

Fourth Gear Luffy's uncontrollable laughter rang out, and a pure white that seemed capable of purifying the world dyed his hair.

White flame clouds enveloped his body,

and the Nika Fruit fully Awakened, transforming him into Fifth Gear.

Bang.

The Heat Breath was batted away like a rubber ball, sent flying back along its original path, and just as it was about to hit Kaido, it gradually lost its force.

It fell to the ground.

"So this is the Nika Fruit, called 【the Most Ridiculous Ability】 by the God Clan? What an terrifying presence."

Blackbeard extended both hands, and black smoke weakened the fruit's power.

The Dark-Dark Fruit's greatest ability was to nullify all Devil Fruit powers and to seize the target's fruit ability.

Originally,

he had wanted to seize the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power — he had even worked out a complete plan to provoke a war between Marine Headquarters and the Whitebeard Pirates, then reap the rewards while they fought.

Unfortunately, the world had changed too drastically,

but seizing the Nika Fruit should also be a fine choice, shouldn't it?

"Xiangpi. Baise Tianqian Juanfeng!"

Fifth Gear Luffy threw a heavy punch, and the violent fist wind twisted into a pure-white tornado that rose from the ground.

Carrying the power of the Nika Fruit, it turned everything it blew over soft and rubbery, spinning endlessly.

"Pure fruit ability would be countered by me, but when game skills are attached, it's far too troublesome!"

Blackbeard's brows knit tightly as he kept retreating backward,

Black smoke blanketed the battlefield, steadily weakening the Nika Fruit's power.

"Dragon Twister Demolition Wind!"

A cyan dragon spun like a top, generating a tornado of tremendous force, its dragon roar transforming into countless wind blades.

In an instant, it sliced the Heavenly Punishment Hurricane to pieces.

"What an irritating fellow. Clearly just a brat who's only recently set out to sea, yet by relying on game abilities, he actually has the strength to match me."

The more this was so, the more jealous Blackbeard became.

He had endured for twenty years, disguised himself as a good-natured sort, built good relations with everyone, and only through bitter effort achieved his current level of strength.

Yet a brat who had only been out at sea for a few months could already trade blows with him evenly.

It was truly infuriating.

"Dark Hole!"

Blackbeard slammed both hands against the ground, and countless streams of black water spread outward,

their tremendous suction—like a miniature black hole—binding Gear Fifth Luffy's legs.

"Hahahahahaha"

Gear Fifth Luffy, who kept laughing, had springs under his feet as if by magic, breaking free of the miniature black hole's grip and leaping up.

Now—

Azure Dragon Kaido directly swayed his massive body, his thick dragon tail whipping across Gear Fifth Luffy's body.

He smote Luffy, who could not change direction midair, deep into a crater in the earth.

"Is it over?"

Inside the Game House, Fang Yi watched the battle in Oikot Kingdom with great interest.

Even though the Pirate World Consciousness played favorites, forcibly boosting Luffy's strength and letting him activate Gear Fifth in a short time, he was still no match for Kaido.

Originally, he could have held out a bit longer,

but Blackbeard also refused to play by the rules, lying low within the World Government and bypassing Ace to come capture Luffy.

There was no turning things around.

The power of the Pirate World Consciousness alone was no longer enough to twist the fate of the Pirate World back to its original course.

"It's over. You really aren't Joy Boy either!"

Kaido coiled in the sky,

and Gear Fifth Luffy in the crater had vanished, replaced by an aged figure, his breath so weak it was a sorry sight.

Stamina exhausted, Energy Value exhausted, recovery potions exhausted.

This also signaled the end of the battle.

In fact, without the support of potions and game skills, this battle wouldn't have had the slightest suspense.

However,

despite clearly winning the fight, there was no joy in Kaido's eyes; he seemed full of disappointment toward Caomao Lufei.

Even with the so-called God-class fruit, after Nika Awakened, the Joy Boy who could defeat him still hadn't appeared?

If that's the case,

then let the so-called evil dragon continue to ravage the world!

Flame Clouds!

Purple flame clouds spread continuously, instantly enveloping the shattered earth,

the battered ground—full of holes, rocks, and debris everywhere—being wrapped by the flame clouds and lifted into the sky.

In the blink of an eye,

a massive cluster of rocks resembling a floating island stretched across the sky above Oikot Kingdom.

Then it plummeted!

(End of chapter)