One Piece: Strongest Trait#307: The Power to Challenge the Throne! The True Nature of World Power!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

CRACKLE!!

Violent, ferocious crimson-black lightning erupted from Blackbeard’s body, roaring furiously in the skies above Hachinosu Island.

BAAAAAAAAAAANG!!

Though the power of this crimson-black lightning had not yet reached the Legendary-Class capable of shattering islands, it still caused the ruins of Hachinosu and the ground itself to crack and splinter.

This was undoubtedly Conqueror’s Haki approaching the peak power of an Emperor.

“How terrifying... to possess Conqueror's Haki of this level.”

The eyes behind Borsalino’s sunglasses were filled with grim seriousness.

The Dark-Dark Fruit, which could nullify all Devil Fruit abilities, combined with this level of Conqueror's Haki—in a one-on-one fight, he was certainly no match for Blackbeard.

It was not that Borsalino’s combat strength was weak.

With the Glint-Glint Fruit, Borsalino ranked among the most powerful Admirals. Out of the original three Marine Admirals—Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan—Borsalino's fighting ability was second only to Sakazuki's, putting him ahead of Kuzan.

After all, though the Ice-Ice Fruit was the strongest crowd-control Devil Fruit, making its role in war almost irreplaceable, its lack of direct attack power was a glaring weakness in a one-on-one fight with a powerhouse of the same level.

While Kuzan also possessed Garp's Iron Fist and extremely strong Armament Haki, it was not enough to bridge the gap with the Glint-Glint Fruit's ability.

The Glint-Glint Fruit held a huge advantage even when compared to a top-tier ability like the Ice-Ice Fruit.

At full power, Borsalino could fight on equal terms for a long time, even against a well-rounded powerhouse like Kaido.

The reason he was absolutely no match for Blackbeard came down to one thing: The Devil Fruit.

The Dark-Dark Fruit could nullify all Devil Fruit abilities. Its scary gravity, like a black hole from which even light could not escape—rendered Borsalino's most relied-upon Glint-Glint Fruit less than half as effective.

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"Arara... this is really bad—"

Kuzan’s tone was grave.

Thanks to Rowen's ability to temporarily manifest in this world, his body had become a unique elemental Homie—and the Ice-Ice Fruit was the only power he could use at full strength.

This was a problem that not even Vegapunk's ultimate creation—the Seraphim—could solve.

Vegapunk had not yet cracked the secret of Logia abilities. With Green Blood, he could only implant Paramecia Devil Fruit abilities into the Seraphim.

Even if Kuzan obtained a Seraphim body and could use Haki, he still could not use his Ice-Ice Fruit.

For Kuzan, this was a huge loss.

An Admiral-level Armament Haki user would be greatly restricted by the Ice-Ice Fruit's power. Though their Haki would not be instantly shattered and frozen like a Yonko Commander's, if the battle dragged on, the user of the Ice-Ice Fruit would definitely be the winner.

Combined with the disaster-level crowd-control of the Ice-Ice Fruit, its overall combat strength was far greater than a threshold Admiral-level Armament Haki user like Zephyr.

Therefore, for Kuzan, fighting in his special elemental Homie body and relying solely on his Ice-Ice Fruit ability was the most effective strategy.

This would remain true unless Vegapunk mastered the secret of Logia Devil Fruits and could implant their abilities into a Seraphim's body, similar to how he used Green Blood for Paramecias.

This was not a technology that could be conquered in a short time.

Kuzan was already at an absolute disadvantage against the Dark-Dark Fruit. His combat strength would be stretched just to fight to a draw.

Adding this level of Conqueror's Haki to the equation, he could play almost no significant role in a battle against Blackbeard.

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"How strange... I can sense a great change in Blackbeard's emotions. It's as if... he's become a different person."

Issho's forehead was beaded with sweat.

This was not just because of the pressure from Blackbeard's powerful Conqueror's Haki. It was because, within his Observation Haki's perception, Blackbeard's emotions had undergone a massive shift.

With his eyes closed, his Observation Haki was exceptionally sharp. His perception of others' emotions and auras was more nuanced and acute than that of other powerhouses at his level.

A person's emotions naturally differed in various situations, with feelings like anger, joy, and sorrow. But their fundamental nature would not change much.

But at this moment, in Issho's perception, it was as if Blackbeard had become another man entirely.

At the very beginning, Blackbeard's emotions were filled with arrogance, rashness, and other negative traits. These were not like anger and joy, which could change at any time, but emotions that reflected a person's core character.

Such a core character should not change...

But now, the arrogance and rashness in Blackbeard's emotional signature had all but vanished. Instead, he possessed an extreme, domineering presence.

Though very unstable, there was no doubt that this man's character and emotions had undergone a fundamental change, as if he had become a different person.

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"His core emotions have changed?? That is strange. In our first exchange, Blackbeard wasn't this rational."

Zoro’s eyes flashed with an astonishing crimson-black light.

Among the four Admiral-level or higher combatants present, he was the only non-Devil Fruit user. In a battle against Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit, he was undoubtedly the one who could fight most effectively.

But the issue now was not the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability.

Blackbeard's Conqueror's Haki was unusually strong.

While not comparable to Rowen's—the intensity of his Haki had surpassed that of Luffy and the others. It was even on par with the current Kaido, who, having experienced life and death, had pushed his Conqueror's Haki close to the Emperor limit.

In the previous siege, Blackbeard had not displayed such powerful Conqueror's Haki. Otherwise, against this level of power, their siege and blockade would not have gone so smoothly.

"This guy... definitely has a secret."

Zoro stared at Blackbeard.

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"ZEHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

Blackbeard laughed with immense power.

The crimson-black lightning churning in the atmosphere began to converge around his entire body, forming a sheath of crimson-black energy.

Haōshoku Coating.

The symbol of having completely mastered Haōshoku Coating!

In this state, his attack power, defense, and speed were all ridiculously enhanced!

Possessing such power marked a True Emperor of the sea.

And Blackbeard's current Conqueror's Haki was almost at the absolute limit for the Emperor level. Even without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit—he was still incredibly terrifying!

"No matter what secrets he has, we just have to take him down."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Violent, ferocious crimson-black lightning roared from Zoro's body. Then, it formed a sheath of crimson-black energy around him!

Zoro—had also mastered Haōshoku Coating!

After so many experiences, surpassing the intensity of the life-and-death battles from the original story, and with Rowen's help, Zoro had finally, not long ago, completely mastered Haōshoku Coating!

His combat strength had reached a new level!

And that was not all—

CLANG!

With the piercing sound of a sword being unsheathed, two black blades were held in Zoro's mouth and right hand respectively.

Wado Ichimonji and the new Supreme Grade Sword—Kitetsu!

They had been completely forged by Zoro into his own Black Blades!

Among Zoro's three swords, only Enma, which he had obtained most recently, had not yet been completely forged into a black blade.

To forge a black blade required the pure heart of a swordsman! And one's swordsmanship had to reach a considerable height.

A swordsman who wanted to forge their sword into a black blade had to be a non-Devil Fruit user. Eating a Devil Fruit introduces other desires into the heart, making it impure for the path of the sword.

Naturally, they could not forge their blade into a black one.

Whitebeard was an example of this. The moment he ate the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he was destined to be unable to forge his blade into a black one.

The same was true for the Pirate King, Roger.

While Roger had not eaten a Devil Fruit, his greatest desire was to become the Pirate King, not to master swordsmanship—

—But Zoro was different. His dream was to become the World's Greatest Swordsman. This fit the conditions for forging a black blade perfectly!

The pure desire for swordsmanship in a swordsman's heart can forge their blade into a black one. The essence of this world's power is still spiritual power.

The second requirement was time.

To forge a sword into a black blade required time...

The desire for swordsmanship in Zoro's heart was already strong enough to forge his swords into black blades.

But Enma had been with Zoro for too short a time, not enough for him to forge it into a black blade.

Though Kitetsu was newly forged, its core consciousness was still based on Zoro's Sandai Kitetsu.

After the desire for swordsmanship in his heart reached the standard, Kitetsu, along with Wado Ichimonji, became Zoro's exclusive black blades.

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"A BLACK BLADE AND HAŌSHOKU COATING! RORONOA—"

Cold sweat beaded on the forehead of Shiryu as he looked at Zoro in horror.

As Blackbeard's undisputed right-hand man, even without the Clear-Clear Fruit, his combat strength had reached the edge of Admiral level.

Shiryu had initially been enraged by Zoro's cocky declaration about using him as a test dummy for his sword. The man was a bloodthirsty psychopath who'd been locked up in Impel Down by Magellan for butchering prisoners.

Facing Zoro's provocation, Shiryu wanted nothing more than to make him pay for his foolish arrogance in blood.

But at this moment, Shiryu's heart was filled only with horror.

This Haki and two black blades... This man truly had what it took to challenge for the title of World's Greatest Swordsman—to dethrone the man who had occupied that throne for many years—Hawk-Eyes Mihawk!

Before this power, no matter how arrogant or crazy Shiryu was, he knew very well that he was no match for Roronoa.

This man was really using him to test his blade.

"ZEHAHAHAHA! What an unexpectedly powerful man! Pirate Hunter."

Blackbeard's eyes held a trace of seriousness.

A Great Swordsman who had completely mastered Haōshoku Coating and wielded black blades was someone that even a powerhouse of his level had to treat with caution.

The Dark-Dark Fruit's real strength lay in its inescapable gravitational pull and its ability to cancel out other Devil Fruit powers. Its raw offensive capability wasn't anything special.

That's exactly why Blackbeard in the original story was so desperate to get his hands on the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Once he obtained it, that became his primary weapon—the Dark-Dark Fruit alone just wasn't enough firepower.

"The Glint-Glint Fruit, the Press-Press Fruit... are also good choices."

More darkness emerged from Blackbeard's body.

Facing both the Glint-Glint Fruit and the Press-Press Fruit—two absolutely top-tier Devil Fruits, Blackbeard couldn't help but be tempted.

"Black Hole—!!!"