"That's right!"
Marshall D. Teach spread both arms wide as if he wanted to embrace the entire world.
His expression looked twisted, yet it could not hide the excitement on his face.
Black mist continuously swirled around him, swallowing his body before releasing it again.
The pressure he gave off rose dramatically.
"This is the power I've pursued all my life."
"Absolute power!"
As he spoke, Blackbeard looked toward Renji and said in a tempting tone:
"Vice Captain Renji, you're also someone I've always wanted on my crew."
"As long as you join me, I'll give you the position of vice captain. How about it?"
"Oh?"
Renji revealed a strange smile after hearing Blackbeard's words.
"I just defeated Akainu and even Monkey D. Garp."
"At this point, I'm basically one of the world's greatest criminals."
"You can still protect me from that?"
"Of course!"
Blackbeard answered with complete confidence.
"I'm one of the Seven Warlords."
So he really had become a Warlord.
Renji finally understood why Blackbeard still dared to appear before the Marines at a time like this.
"So?"
"As long as you agree, your status as a Warlord's crewmate will erase every crime you've committed."
"How about joining my ship?"
After hearing Blackbeard's offer, the closest people nearby, Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru, all remained silent.
Naturally, they did not want Renji escaping punishment so easily.
But the problem was this.
If Blackbeard could truly lure Renji into joining his crew, then the odds of destroying the Whitebeard Alliance would become much greater.
That was the most important thing right now.
So even Akainu could only remain silent.
The most unexpected thing, however, was that Renji also stayed silent.
"Vice Captain Renji?"
Nearly half a minute passed.
By now, Portgas D. Ace was almost back beside Edward Newgate thanks to Marco, yet Renji still hadn't spoken.
Blackbeard began growing anxious.
"Well?"
"Have you decided yet?"
"Decided?"
Renji looked at Blackbeard with utter confusion.
"You don't seriously think I'd join a traitor like you, do you?"
The look Renji gave him, as if he were staring at an idiot, deeply pierced Blackbeard's pride.
"You're courting death!"
Since he couldn't recruit him, there was only one possible outcome left.
A fight.
Marshall D. Teach attacked immediately.
His right fist, wrapped in the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, shot toward Renji.
"I admit you're strong, but you don't seriously think you can beat me, do you?"
Renji looked at Blackbeard as if he were an idiot.
At that moment, he wildly condensed the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Then he threw a punch directly at Blackbeard.
"Heh."
The two fists collided.
At this moment, nobody doubted the result of the battle.
After all, Renji had already fought evenly against a serious Sengoku after defeating Monkey D. Garp.
How could Blackbeard possibly withstand Renji's punch?
But just as everyone became convinced Blackbeard would lose.
The black mist surrounding Blackbeard's fist completely devoured the Tremor-Tremor energy on Renji's punch.
"Do you see it now, Vice Captain Renji?"
"This is the power I've always pursued!"
After absorbing Renji's Tremor-Tremor energy, Blackbeard weakened nearly ninety percent of the force behind Renji's attack.
Excitement and madness could both be seen on his face.
Blackbeard continued boasting:
"A power that can swallow everything…"
"A power that can consume every Devil Fruit ability…"
"This is the Dark-Dark Fruit!"
"I see."
Renji quickly retreated.
His brows furrowed slightly.
If the power worked like this, then it was understandable.
But understanding it did not mean he approved of Blackbeard's actions.
His intent to kill him had never changed.
"Still, your complexion doesn't look too good."
"This power has side effects too, doesn't it?"
That question instantly froze Blackbeard's expression.
The excitement on his face gradually disappeared.
"So what?"
"Everything in this world comes with a price."
"As long as what I gain is greater than what I lose, that's enough for me."
As he spoke, Blackbeard raised his right hand.
A mass of black sludge-like darkness was hurled outward.
"Dark-Dark… Black Water!"
A technique designed to forcibly consume Devil Fruit energy?
Based on Blackbeard's own explanation of the Dark-Dark Fruit, Renji quickly figured out the approximate effect of the move.
He couldn't fight them head-on.
Renji swept his gaze around the battlefield.
At the moment, the three Admirals, Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru, were all still present, along with more than a dozen elite Vice Admirals watching nearby.
Under these circumstances, he could not afford to get entangled with Marshall D. Teach.
Twisting his body aside, Renji dodged Blackbeard's "Black Water" and prepared to leave.
"There's no way I'm letting you escape."
Kizaru moved.
Blinding golden light erupted from his right leg as he kicked directly toward Renji.
"Bang!"
A loud impact echoed out.
Renji's right leg also turned golden as it collided directly with Kizaru's kick.
[You picked up one Devil Fruit Growth Experience!]
[You picked up one Armament Haki Comprehension Experience!]
"This time, you're dying here!"
Akainu's voice sounded out at that moment.
A magma fist had already arrived right in front of Renji.
He couldn't confront it directly.
A glint flashed through Renji's eyes.
His body instantly transformed into countless particles of light.
Using the Glint-Glint Fruit's elementalization, he dodged Akainu's punch and appeared behind him.
"Tremor-Tremor…"
Renji condensed the energy of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Then he slammed a punch into Akainu's back.
"Break!"
"Bang!"
A heavy explosion rang out.
Akainu's body shattered apart.
Unfortunately, Akainu had also used elementalization to evade the attack, so Renji's punch failed to inflict any serious damage.
"Ice Age…"
Aokiji seized the opportunity perfectly.
Several ice spears formed behind him.
"Spear!"
At Aokiji's command, the ice spears shot toward Renji.
"Glint-Glint…"
Aokiji's timing was excellent.
Renji could only use the fastest solution available to him.
"Laser Cannon!"
He spread both hands in front of his chest.
A massive laser beam erupted forward, instantly destroying Aokiji's ice spears while continuing straight toward him without slowing down.
[You picked up one Devil Fruit Growth Experience!]
[You picked up one Observation Haki Comprehension Experience!]
"No way!"
"How is this possible?!"
Watching Renji battle the three Admirals and Blackbeard at the same time, everyone stared at the scene in complete disbelief.
Ever since Renji defeated Monkey D. Garp and fought Sengoku to a standstill, people had already acknowledged his strength.
But this…
Wasn't this too ridiculous?!
"Everyone attack together!"
Someone suddenly shouted.
The elite Vice Admirals nearby all raised their weapons and charged toward Renji as well.
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Advance 30 Chapters: patreon .com/StrawFic