Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

The rest of the Blackbeard Pirates froze for a moment as they watched Teach writhe on the ground screaming.

Then Van Augur raised his rifle.

The barrel immediately locked onto Haruto several hundred meters above them, his finger already resting on the trigger.

The expressions of the others turned serious as well.

They had all learned about the Dark-Dark Fruit beforehand, and its reputation as one of the most dangerous Devil Fruits was well deserved.

None of them had expected Haruto’s attack to completely ignore its power and reduce Blackbeard to such a miserable state.

But there was no time to think about that now.

Haruto’s attack had already dragged the entire Blackbeard Pirates into the spotlight.

Garp and Sengoku near the execution platform, Whitebeard and the three Admirals on the battlefield, and the Whitebeard Pirates’ Division Commanders all turned toward them.

After hiding for so long and waiting to profit from the aftermath, the Blackbeard Pirates had been forced into full view by a single attack from Haruto.

Sengoku’s expression sank to its darkest point.

A vein bulged across his forehead as his gaze locked onto Shiryu.

Long before Ace’s execution began, Sengoku had already received an emergency report from Impel Down.

But by then, Marineford had already committed virtually all of its elite forces to the confrontation with Whitebeard. There was simply no manpower available to send halfway across the sea to reinforce the prison.

Even so, Sengoku had trusted Magellan.

Inside Impel Down, Magellan could display terrifying combat power comparable to that of a Marine Admiral. Even if a few prisoners caused trouble, Sengoku had believed he would be more than capable of bringing the situation back under control.

Then Straw Hat Luffy arrived at Marineford accompanied by a group of escaped prisoners.

That alone had already filled Sengoku with a growing sense of unease.

The situation at Impel Down was clearly far worse than he had initially assumed.

And now Shiryu of the Rain—the man once regarded alongside Magellan as one of the two great pillars protecting Impel Down—had appeared here as a member of the Blackbeard Pirates.

Worse still, Sanjuan Wolf, Catarina Devon, and several other criminals who had been imprisoned on Level 6 were standing beside him.

Whatever had happened at Impel Down was probably far more catastrophic than Sengoku had imagined.

What had happened to Magellan?

What had become of the prison itself?

"Shiryu, you bastard!" Sengoku roared. "What happened to Magellan?! What the hell happened at Impel Down?! And how did all of you get here?!"

Shiryu remained remarkably calm in the face of Sengoku’s furious questioning.

He slowly exhaled a stream of white cigar smoke.

"We’re standing right here, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Doesn’t that answer your question already?"

His lips curled faintly.

"If you want the details, why don’t you go inspect whatever’s left of Impel Down after this war?"

He took another drag from his cigar before continuing.

"Either way, I’ve decided to join these people."

"From today onward, I’m a pirate."

"So I suppose the Marines and I will be seeing quite a lot of each other."

Having already escaped Impel Down, Shiryu had no intention of maintaining any lingering loyalty toward the Marines.

From this point forward, they were enemies.

Sengoku’s expression grew even uglier.

Whitebeard, who should have already been on the verge of death, was now radiating a presence that did not seem inferior to his prime.

And with the situation at Impel Down still unknown, the Marines suddenly found themselves facing far more problems than anticipated.

Before Sengoku could continue questioning Shiryu, however, an even more overwhelming wave of Conqueror’s Haki erupted from Whitebeard at the center of the battlefield.

It carried such intense fury and killing intent that even the chaotic battlefield seemed to quiet beneath it.

Then Whitebeard’s roar tore through the smoke like thunder.

"TEACH!"

Blackbeard had only just dragged himself back to his feet when he heard that voice.

His entire body stiffened.

The roar was so familiar that it might as well have been carved into his bones, and an uncontrollable shudder ran through him.

Teach slowly raised his head.

The moment he met Whitebeard’s rage-filled eyes, his legs nearly gave out beneath him.

No one needed to explain to Blackbeard how terrifying Whitebeard was.

He had boarded the Moby Dick as a child and lived under Whitebeard’s protection for twenty or thirty years.

He had personally witnessed countless times how the man called the Strongest Man in the World shattered arrogant enemies who believed themselves invincible.

Even in his later years, when illness and decades of accumulated injuries had weakened Whitebeard’s body, that deeply rooted fear had never disappeared from Teach’s heart.

It was precisely because he understood Whitebeard so well that, after murdering Thatch, Blackbeard had fled without a moment’s hesitation.

And after capturing Ace, he handed him over to the Marines.

Teach knew Whitebeard would never abandon Ace.

He had been certain the old man would bring his entire fleet straight to Marine Headquarters.

That would force the Marines and Whitebeard Pirates into a brutal war that would leave both sides exhausted.

Teach only needed to remain hidden until Whitebeard had been worn down to the brink of death.

Then he could emerge at the end, finish him off, and steal the Tremor-Tremor Fruit he had coveted for so long.

Up until now, everything had gone almost exactly according to plan.

Whitebeard had suffered devastating injuries under the Marines’ relentless assault and was already approaching the end of his life.

The next act should have belonged to Teach.

He was supposed to step onto the stage, personally claim Whitebeard’s head, and begin his own era atop the old man’s corpse.

Then Haruto appeared.

Two dishes.

That was all it had taken.

Two damned dishes had restored most of Whitebeard’s condition and allowed him to release Conqueror’s Haki with terrifying force once again.

The thought alone filled Blackbeard with rage.

But anger was one thing.

Teach still refused to believe Whitebeard had genuinely recovered to his peak.

The old man’s body had been failing for years.

He had endured chronic illness, accumulated countless old wounds, and suffered multiple lethal injuries during this battle.

There was no way two plates of food could completely reverse all of that.

As far as Blackbeard was concerned, Whitebeard had to be experiencing one final burst of strength before death.

A last flash from a dying flame.

Teach drew a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the fear rising inside him.

A twisted smile appeared on his face as he looked toward Whitebeard and deliberately spoke as casually as possible.

"Been a long time, Pops."

High above Marineford, Haruto sat cross-legged on Charizard’s broad back.

He was holding half of a Soda Watermelon in one hand and casually scooping out spoonfuls of crisp, sweet flesh with the other.

Cold watermelon juice mixed with fizzy soda bubbles across his tongue, leaving him in an excellent mood.

Watching Teach’s expression shift from fear, to forced composure, and finally to desperate self-reassurance, Haruto raised an eyebrow and took another large bite.

Haruto knew perfectly well that the Creamy Puffer Whale Stew could not permanently restore Whitebeard’s failing body.

But until the energy contained in the dish was exhausted, Whitebeard could maintain something very close to his peak condition.

As for how long that would last...

"One hour."

Haruto suddenly called down toward Whitebeard before casually returning to his watermelon.

That should be more than enough time.

Now all he had to do was sit back and watch Blackbeard get beaten into the ground.

Whitebeard gave no verbal response.

One hour was plenty.

His gaze remained fixed on Teach, rage burning so intensely in his eyes that it seemed ready to spill out.

This was someone he had sheltered for decades.

Someone who had murdered Thatch, his own crewmate, and broken the one absolute rule aboard Whitebeard’s ship.

Teach was also the man who captured Ace, handed him over to the Marines, and set this entire war into motion.

"Teach."

Whitebeard slowly raised his fist.

"You are the one man I will never forgive."

His fury erupted.

Whitebeard drove his fist toward the Blackbeard Pirates.

The Tremor-Tremor Fruit activated the instant he struck.

The air in front of his fist twisted violently as cracks spread through space itself.

Yet even in his rage, Whitebeard restrained most of his power.

He understood the destructive capability of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit better than anyone. If he attacked at full strength, the entire battlefield would be overturned, and countless members of his own crew would inevitably be caught in the destruction.

More importantly, Whitebeard knew Teach’s greatest weakness.

Arrogance.

Recklessness.

Even with most of the power held back, the attack was still horrifying.

Marine Headquarters’ main building collapsed beneath the tremor with a deafening roar.

Stone and debris poured down like a landslide, burying Blackbeard and his entire crew beneath a mountain of rubble.

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