From within the shadows, a towering figure slowly emerged.
His body was completely enveloped by the darkness, but his exaggerated laughter and massive frame made him instantly recognizable.
"Blackbeard!"
Jin narrowed his eyes and hissed, a hint of coldness instantly appearing in his gaze.
Accompanied by that familiar laughter, Blackbeard's figure fully materialized.
He stood at the heart of the shadows, arms outstretched, a look of extreme arrogance on his face.
Blackbeard's eyes were filled with madness and greed, the aura of the Dark-Dark Fruit swirling around him like the tentacles of an abyss, devouring everything around him.
"Zehahahahaha!"
Blackbeard roared with laughter as he strode towards Jin and Im.
He pointed his thick fingers at the two of them, his face full of triumph and arrogance.
"I've waited so long, and I've finally got you! Today, neither of you will escape!"
Jin gripped his longsword, his eyes fixed on Blackbeard with a cold stare.
His heart churned with anger and vigilance, along with a hint of confusion at the sudden change in the situation.
He knew Blackbeard was an extremely dangerous opponent, but his purpose in appearing now was puzzling.
"Blackbeard, what trick are you playing now?"
Jin asked coldly, his voice filled with intense hostility.
Blackbeard laughed wildly, spread his hands, and his smile became even more arrogant:
"A trick? Zehahaha, Jin, don't you understand yet?
I'm not here to help you, nor am I here to help the World Government.
I'm here to reap everything!"
Im's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Blackbeard, a look of disgust and disdain on her face.
Although Blackbeard's appearance in her battle disrupted her plans, she did not take him seriously.
She snorted coldly, her voice filled with intense pressure:
"A jumping clown dares to be presumptuous in front of me?"
Blackbeard laughed, his eyes filled with a manic light:
"Im, I'm not one of those fools who die easily at your hands! You're strong, that's true, but don't forget, I am 'darkness itself'!"
As he spoke, he flung his arms wide, and the surrounding shadows instantly expanded, the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit surging wildly, as if to devour the entire Mary Geoise.
A series of low roars came from the shadows, like countless ghosts crying, or like the abyss roaring.
"What I want is simple—"
Blackbeard's voice gradually lowered, but it was filled with a chilling greed,
"I want both of your lives, and… everything you have!"
As he said the last sentence, he suddenly reached out, and the tentacles of darkness swept towards Jin and Im like a tide, mixed with a suffocating devouring force, turning everything around them into nothingness.
Jin took a deep breath and quickly slashed the tentacles of darkness with his sword, while coldly looking at Im.
He knew that although their battle had not yet ended, the Blackbeard before him was a more significant threat than Im.
"It seems everyone underestimated him."
Jin said coldly, his eyes sharply sweeping in Blackbeard's direction.
Im did not speak, her eyes coldly fixed on Blackbeard.
The dark energy in her hands continued to surge, and the surrounding space distorted again.
Although she still maintained that god-like indifference and majesty on her face, deep down she felt a hint of disgust at Blackbeard's ambition.
"You two, stop fighting each other."
Blackbeard laughed wildly, pointing his hands at the two of them,
"Today, whether god or rebel, you must all submit to my power! Zehahahaha!"
With Blackbeard's wild laughter, the gravity of the space suddenly became abnormally heavy, and the power of darkness swept over like a tide, instantly engulfing Jin and Im completely.
The surrounding air seemed to be completely evacuated, and even light could not penetrate, plunging into complete darkness.
Jin's vision was blurred, as if surrounded by an invisible black curtain.
This space was like another world, with no sound, no light, only suffocating loneliness.
Every inch of air seemed to be filled with a deathly sense of oppression, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Even the sound of his heartbeat became so faint, as if even the power of life was being stripped away in this void.
However, Jin did not panic.
He gripped his longsword tightly, his eyes slightly narrowed, his heart filled with vigilance and calculation.
This environment was not unfamiliar to him—Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit was indeed powerful, capable of causing space to lose its regular laws, but for him, the real challenge was not in these sensory oppressions, but in the gradually increasing gravity.
"Darkness and gravity…"
Jin muttered to himself, a flash of calm light in his eyes.
He could clearly feel that the gravity of the space was constantly increasing, as if an irresistible force was being pulled between the surrounding air and the earth, pulling him towards the ground little by little.
Every second, he felt himself sinking, as if he would be swallowed by this invisible force forever.
Moreover, this gravity did not seem to be a normal physical phenomenon, but was closely related to Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit, and even the structure of space was distorted like a swamp.
If Jin lost his balance even slightly, he would be completely swallowed.
However, he was not intimidated by this sense of oppression.
Whenever darkness and gravity pressed in, his mind became clearer, as if he had entered a state of deep meditation.
Jin slowly exhaled, his footsteps slightly adjusted, and under the gradually increasing gravity, his every move seemed extremely heavy.
Nevertheless, he could still feel the surging power within him, a power different from before, as if drawing some special energy from this lightless space, constantly surging towards his limbs.
He concentrated for a moment, a look of determination flashing in his eyes:
"Blackbeard, do you think darkness can trap me?"
In this silent darkness, Jin's figure suddenly leaped forward.
His movements, although seemingly clumsy, were extremely precise, each step landing in an appropriate position, as if he had fully adapted to this unbalanced environment.
In this lightless space, he could still maintain absolute composure by relying on some kind of keen intuition and a deep understanding of combat.
At the same time, Im's reaction was not slow either. She also felt a hint of unease about Blackbeard's dark space, but she was clearly more composed than Jin.
Her figure slowly rotated, and black air currents surged around her constantly, as if to draw her out of this darkness.
Her expression was extremely cold, and there was no trace of fear in her eyes, only a faint hint of disdain.
"You think this is all there is?"
Im said indifferently, her voice sounding as if it came from the abyss, calm and resolute.
Blackbeard's laughter rang out again, filled with malice and mockery:
"Hahaha, that's right, you two are trapped here and have no way out.
My darkness and gravity will crush you completely!
Here, there is no possibility of escape!"
