Chapter 431

Regarding why Blackbeard had come, Kuzan had thought of ten thousand possibilities, but he never in a million years expected that this little black fatty had actually come to challenge him.

"A duel between real men?"

"He's looking down on me."

As everyone knows, there are three Admirals, yet Blackbeard neither challenged Akainu nor Kizaru, but specifically chose to challenge him, Kuzan.

Isn't this precisely looking down on him, Kuzan?

Little black fatty, I hope this layer of fat on your body is as hard as your mouth.

Kuzan tore off his Marine Justice cloak with one hand; seeing this, Vergo instinctively reached out to catch it.

Seeing this situation, the corners of Blackbeard's eyes suddenly began to twitch wildly; he had a feeling that next, he would get a thorough beating from Kuzan.

Just a moment ago, Kuzan was still smiling happily; how could his aura suddenly change completely?!

Even the onlookers felt the surrounding temperature plummet, as if they were in an icy wasteland, their whole bodies shivering uncontrollably.

Blackbeard immediately felt the urge to retreat.

But thinking that he hadn't yet obtained the sponsorship fee from the North Blue Noble Alliance, he could only grit his teeth and leap into the fighting arena.

At this moment, the champion of the North Blue Fighting Tournament, Avaro Pizarro, known as the Tyrant King, bowed slightly and requested of Kuzan.

"Mr. Admiral, let me handle this."

The Tyrant King hated the black fatty to death; originally, as a pirate, he had barely won the North Blue Fighting Tournament championship and was about to completely wash himself clean and go ashore.

Once he reached the Holy Land Sky City for the finals, even if he couldn't become the champion, he could at least secure a minor official position in the United Kingdom.

However, a hideously fat black fatty suddenly appeared and described his match against his opponent as children playing house.

If he, Avaro Pizarro, could tolerate this, then he wouldn't be called the Tyrant King.

"Next time, definitely next time."

Kuzan rejected the Tyrant King's request and looked at Blackbeard with a slight smile.

"A duel between real men does not allow surrender, you know."

To Blackbeard, this smile seemed like that of a demon that had starved for tens of thousands of years, just crawling out of the Nine Nether Hell, eyeing his fresh flesh and blood.

"Competition comes second, friendship comes first, ha."

Blackbeard ignited the Lunarian flames again, wrapping his vital parts, fearing that Kuzan would disregard martial ethics and use underhanded tricks.

His grandfather had a son, his father had a son.

But he, Blackbeard, had yet to leave behind a single son or daughter; a certain part absolutely could not be frostbitten.

"Well said, well said."

As the words fell, Kuzan moved.

"Ice~Age~"

Seeing Kuzan unleash his ultimate move right from the start, Blackbeard mustered two hundred percent of his spirit, burning the flames surrounding his body to the extreme.

Blackbeard was all too familiar with Ice Age; this technique could instantly freeze the sea within the range of several islands, with ice layers reaching ten or even dozens of meters thick.

Back then, it was also in the North Blue.

Just like this, Blackbeard had been completely cut off from any hope of escaping by jumping into the sea and was captured alive by Kuzan.

Almost instantly, Blackbeard's legs were frozen solid by hard ice, rendering him unable to move.

Immediately following, a sandbag-sized iron fist, wrapped in flowing Armament Haki, rushed straight at him, striking Blackbeard squarely in the face.

Boom~

Blackbeard's fat face was directly punched inward; not only did blood gush from his nose like a pillar, but two front teeth were forcibly driven down his throat.

The only thought remaining in Blackbeard's mind was: Lafitte, you have doomed me.

Using the force of the punch that struck his face, Blackbeard gathered all the Lunarian flames into his legs, and finally, at the very moment Kuzan's second punch arrived, he frantically retreated by a hair's breadth.

And Kuzan's iron fists still relentlessly followed close behind.

At this very same moment.

Blackbeard finally realized: Kuzan's fist technique very likely inherited from Garp; back then in the East Blue, he had been beaten up by Garp just like this.

The wretched memories struck again.

It seemed that except for Fleet Admiral Sengoku, all of the Marine's top combat powers had beaten him up: Garp beat him in the East Blue, Akainu blocked him in the West Blue, and Kizaru speed-kicked him in the South Blue.

If this time is counted, Kuzan in the North Blue had beaten him up twice, back and forth.

Perhaps it was because he had not yet adapted to the fighting style of the Lunarian and Ancient Giant bloodlines, or perhaps the Barbanian bloodline fusion was not complete.

Blackbeard was ultimately caught up by Kuzan, pinned to the ground, and beaten frantically with punch after punch.

Boom~ Boom~ Boom~

In his heart, Blackbeard felt nothing but regret: how could he have suddenly lost his mind and chosen to challenge Kuzan?

However, as Kuzan struck his face time and time again, amidst the excruciating pain, Blackbeard was shocked to discover that the Ancient Giant bloodline within his body, which had never displayed its power, seemed... to have awakened.

"Awooo~"

After a miserable roar, Blackbeard's body began to grow gigantic; in the blink of an eye, he shot from over three meters to over thirty meters.

Seeing this, Kuzan cursed under his breath.

Damn Vegapunk, what exactly did he do to Blackbeard in recent years?

Not only did he give Blackbeard the same flames as Saint Seven, but he also became as tall as a giant.

"Thief hahaha~"

Giant Blackbeard raised his massive fists, grinning wildly: "Marine Admiral, thank you for helping me successfully awaken."

"Next~ it's my turn."

"Is that so?" Kuzan leaped backward; instantly, several ice spears and a giant ice bird condensed around him.

"Two-Spear Lance—"

"Burst Pheasant Beak—"

Blackbeard awkwardly discovered his legs were frozen solid once more, and with his body enlarged, he had now become a live target for Aokiji.

Four spears, eight spears, sixteen spears... dense rows of ice spears all pierced into Blackbeard's body.

From a distance, he looked unmistakably like an ice hedgehog.

At this moment, Blackbeard finally understood completely what tier his strength truly belonged to: infinitely close to an Admiral of the Navy.

Setting aside Loki, who possessed King-level strength for now.

It was precisely because of this slight gap that he could never defeat the Navy Admiral Aokiji no matter what; facing Akainu, he would only suffer a crushing defeat, and facing Kizaru, he couldn't even grab a corner of his clothes.

Blackbeard had never, as at this moment, so desperately longed to obtain the Dark-Dark Fruit.

If he held the Dark-Dark Fruit ability at this moment, he would not only avoid being ruthlessly crushed and severely wounded by Aokiji, but might even be able to win.

Blackbeard used his last strength to raise both hands high, deciding to temporarily get through this immediate crisis.

"I surrender~"

"I surrender~ I am a good citizen under the rule of the United Kingdom, a very good citizen indeed."

Hearing these words, Aokiji sneered coldly.

Then, mimicking his teacher Garp's punching stance, he gathered all the martial arts, body techniques, Devil Fruit abilities, and Haki he had ever learned into his fist, and swung a punch that sent the giant-sized Blackbeard flying.

On a distant high tower, Lafitte and Lu Bianyi each held a telescope, constantly monitoring the battle situation.

Seeing Blackbeard... sink into the sea once again, Lu Bianyi remained silent for a long time before squeezing out a sentence.

"The Captain has sunk into the sea again."

Lafitte nodded: "I saw it."

"Let's go steer the ship over there; the Captain has Lunarian bloodline, so perhaps tomorrow he will surface just like nothing happened."