Chapter 426: Disgracing Your Father

In the Flower Province waters, on the Queen’s deck.

The moment Hiyori appeared, Blackbeard’s forehead broke into cold sweat, his heart flooded with bitter resentment and fury.

What are you doing? What the hell are you doing?

He, Blackbeard, had endured for half a lifetime, plotted for years, and finally seized the chance to grow strong—only to be met face-to-face by Marine Admiral Hiyori...

And as Blackbeard was still reeling from the shock...

His gaze passed Hiyori and saw a colossal, sky-blocking entity hurtling toward them from the horizon—he froze in place, eyes wide, utterly stunned.

An unprecedented sense of despair and absurdity slammed into Blackbeard’s mind.

What the hell is that?!

Far larger than any Sea King he’d ever seen...

When did Little White Hair acquire such a massive black dragon? Is this clearly meant to wipe him out completely, leaving him not a single path to escape?!

“Marshall D. Tich.”

Hiyori smiled lazily: “No, it’s David D. Tich. Under the United Kingdom’s Minor Protection Act, you’re arrested for kidnapping the minor, Vaporeon.”

Before Blackbeard could object, Vaporeon burst into loud, wailing sobs.

“I’m Vaporeon.”

“Save me! Quick, save me!”

Vaporeon cried and laughed: Farewell, cage.

Praise Admiral Hiyori! Praise the United Kingdom! Praise Saint Seven!

Saint Seven’s grace can never be repaid in a thousand lifetimes.

From now on, I, Vaporeon, will serve the United Kingdom faithfully, live in a mansion, drive a luxury car, find a beautiful wife, and never leave the Holy Land.

As Blackbeard stood frozen, Lafitte stepped forward with a nervous smile.

“Admiral, this is all a misunderstanding.”

“We found Vaporeon in the Paradise waters—not kidnapped him.”

Lafitte explained while signaling to Blackbeard: Captain, the enemy is too strong—we can’t fight. We must retreat for now and buy time with lies.

Blackbeard blinked: I don’t get it.

Lafitte had no choice but to glance at the three Devil Fruits in Blackbeard’s arms—only then did Blackbeard realize... but these three Devil Fruits were the very foundation of the Black Crew’s growth—he could never hand them over to Hiyori.

At that moment, Loki had shifted into his giant form, clad in a black cloak, hovering above the sea.

“Why waste words? You go save him—I’ll deal with Lox’s son.”

Loki, gripping his massive hammer, Iron Thunder, smiled at Blackbeard.

“Little Black Fatty,

You really do look like your father, Loxx. I hope your strength matches his too.”

With that, Loki swung Iron Thunder.

“Primordial~ World—”

The sea surface within a radius of several kilometers, centered on the Queen, instantly froze, cutting off any chance of Blackbeard escaping into the ocean.

Loki had used the minimum force possible—after all, the entire ocean belonged to Little White Hair’s domain.

Little White Hair had been kind to him, letting Iron Thunder accompany him on this outing—but if he angered Little White Hair, Iron Thunder might be recalled to the Holy Land.

How could that be allowed?

Seeing this, Blackbeard had no choice but to fight—and handed the Devil Fruits to Lu Bianyi, signaling him to eat one first.

“Hehehehe!”

“Brother Loki,

My father and the Giant King were like brothers. Today, I, the younger brother, come to test your skills.”

Flames erupted around Blackbeard’s body.

According to Vegapunk, when the Lunaria tribe ignites their flames, their defense skyrockets—Blackbeard intended to test this claim against Loki.

Loki said nothing, only gripped his hammer tighter and slammed it down hard at Blackbeard.

He too wanted to see: just how strong was Loxx’s son, Blackbeard?

Facing Loki’s hammer, Blackbeard took a deep breath, coating both fists in Armament Haki while concentrating all his flames into one point.

But to avoid damaging the Queen, he stomped the deck for leverage, leapt into the air, then used Moon Step to charge straight toward the hammer.

How many years...

Since joining the Whitebeard Crew, Blackbeard had never unleashed his full power without holding back—not until this moment.

“I am Blackbeard!”

The Blackbeard who carries the David bloodline, fused with the divine Lunaria tribe, and the ancient Giant race’s blood!

His fist, infused with every ounce of his will and all his hidden cards, collided violently with the hammer.

Meanwhile, Hiyori had already grabbed Vaporeon and the two stolen Devil Fruits, retreating from the battle zone.

On the Queen’s deck, only Lafitte remained, pale-faced, while Lu Bianyi continued chewing the Devil Fruit.

BOOM—

A violent explosion thundered across the sea.

The shockwave from their clashing forces swept outward, churning the calm ocean into towering white waves; the Queen’s hull cracked with countless fissures, nearly capsizing.

THUD—

Immediately after, a figure was slammed deep into the ocean.

Loki retracted Iron Thunder and grumbled discontentedly.

“Way weaker than Loxx. Little Black Fatty, you’ve disgraced your father beyond repair.”

“Boring. I’m leaving.”

Seeing this, Hiyori had no intention of pursuing Blackbeard further—after all, Blackbeard was tied to the Captain’s grand plan.

“Gentlemen, don’t do anything illegal, okay?”

Lafitte and Lu Bianyi nodded frantically.

“Admiral, we’re law-abiding citizens! Honest ones! Look, we’re registered merchant vessels—no pirate flags flying!”

As if this worked, Hiyori dropped one last line before leaving with Vaporeon.

“Keep it up.”

Watching Hiyori and Loki depart, Lafitte and Lu Bianyi collapsed onto the deck, gasping for breath.

Lafitte: The Captain hasn’t forgotten me.

Lu Bianyi: The Captain’s fallen into the sea again.

After a moment, Lu Bianyi broke the silence.

“Go save the Captain?”

“Wait a bit longer,

The Captain has Lunaria blood—he can survive any extreme environment. We’re both Devil Fruit users—we can’t dive in to rescue him.”

Remembering A Long still training in Impel Down, Lafitte muttered.

“We must advise the Captain to recruit a Fishman crewmember soon—otherwise, when we fall in, no one will dive down to pull us out.”

Only at noon the next day did Blackbeard, after spending a full day and night submerged, surface with a swollen, puffy face.

Seeing this, Lafitte quickly flew over and hauled Blackbeard onto the Queen’s deck.

Blackbeard lay motionless, staring blankly at the sky, his pent-up grievance exploding.

“Vegapunk... you lied to me.”

You said Lunaria flames grant unmatched defense—but I couldn’t even take one of Loki’s hammer strikes.

What kind of “unmatched defense” is that?

That doesn’t make sense.

Why is Little White Hair’s defense so strong?

Even Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, couldn’t break through Little White Hair’s defense with his strongest attack—

Could Vegapunk’s Lunaria blood factor... be fake?

Seeing Blackbeard on the verge of losing all confidence after Loki’s blow, Lafitte knew: it was his turn to act.

“Captain, don’t be discouraged.”

“Prince Loki of the Giants likely has already reached Royal-level power.”

“Yet you stood firm against his Royal-level strike—this proves you already possess the strength to become a Four Emperor!”

“Really?” Blackbeard’s eyes lit up.

“Absolutely!” Lafitte nodded firmly.

Blackbeard sat up from the deck and turned to Lu Bianyi.

“Brother Lu, which Devil Fruit did you eat?”

During his battle with Loki, Blackbeard had caught a glimpse of Hiyori snatching Vaporeon and two Devil Fruits—hence the question.

Lu Bianyi’s face fell.

“Captain... I ate the Mantis Fruit.”