Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: p@treon.com/CosmicKaminari
----------
Mock Town, port.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Huge roars kept coming, and the entire coast was close to collapse from the powerful forces clashing.
People who had been working near the port had already moved far away. Even those in distant parts of town were running because of the terrible shaking coming from the harbor. They feared being caught by the huge flame slashes or the strange black mist if they ran too slowly.
BOOM!
Another loud crash echoed as Ikki and Blackbeard each jumped back several meters.
"Zehahaha! Really good swordsmanship," Blackbeard laughed loudly. "You can even control fire power. It reminds me of an old friend."
He seemed unconcerned about the fight or his companions.
"Thinking of your old shipmate Ace?" Ikki asked, resting Zangetsu on his shoulder and watching Blackbeard with interest. "If my information is right, that guy is looking for you all over the world now, Teach. He might even be in this town."
Ikki continued, "But, Blackbeard, why are you so relaxed? Aren't you worried that the partners you worked so hard to find will be killed by my friends?"
To give Nami and the others a chance to deal with Van Augur and the rest, Ikki had used all his strength from the start to hit Blackbeard with a strike similar to Roger's "Divine Departure." His goal was to prevent Blackbeard from absorbing that slash filled with Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki, and to pull him away from the bar.
Though Van Augur and the others would become leaders in an Emperor-level pirate crew in the future, they certainly didn't have the strength now that they would in two years. Ikki thought Nami and the others could handle them just fine.
"Zehahaha! Man, don't be too confident. My partners are very—huh?"
Blackbeard's laughter was cut short as he suddenly looked up at the sky in surprise. A rapid flash of lightning was heading straight for him.
"Thunder Breathing, Thunderclap and Flash!"
CRACK!
Lightning flashed, and quick slashes carrying thunder and lightning reached Blackbeard in the blink of an eye.
Blackbeard frowned and raised his hands to block. With a loud bang, the lightning knocked him back nearly ten meters, carving two deep lines in the ground before he stopped.
"You? The woman?" Blackbeard was shocked when he saw who was standing before him.
It was Nami—the same one Van Augur had shot at in the bar earlier. If she was here, that meant his crew...
"Woman, where are my partners? What happened to them?" The smile vanished from Blackbeard's face as black mist began to rise from his body. He suddenly realized his Observation Haki could no longer sense his crewmates.
"Want to meet your friends?" Nami smirked. "Don't worry, we'll send you to join those ugly pirates soon."
"Really? Let's see if you have that power," Blackbeard laughed angrily. The black mist around him suddenly shot upward, covering half the sky over Mock Town.
Seeing this, Nami frowned, stepped back, and held Gonryōmaru in front of her.
"Bankai: Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū!" (Golden Lightning Palace)
BOOM!
A massive golden thunderbolt suddenly fell from the sky, striking the sword Nami held high. It destroyed Blackbeard's black mist that had spread overhead, and formed a gorgeous thunder shield around Nami. All the black mist that tried to reach her was blocked.
"What power is this?" Blackbeard's eyes narrowed as he looked at Nami, then at the sky. "Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"
The once clear sky was now completely covered by dark clouds. Golden lightning flashed within them, ready to strike at any moment.
"Dark-Dark Fruit, huh?" Nami felt a rush of excitement using Bankai for the first time. "Let's see if your Dark-Dark Fruit can block my lightning."
In an instant, the golden thunder began to gather above Blackbeard as if responding to her command. A second later, with a deafening crash, a massive lightning pillar filled with destructive power fell directly toward Blackbeard's head. The black mist hanging over him was instantly destroyed.
"Ugh!!!" Blackbeard's eyes widened as he quickly raised his hands.
He tried to use his Dark-Dark Fruit's power to absorb the lightning, but the energy carried by the Bankai Gonryōmaru couldn't be easily absorbed. Unprepared, Blackbeard was struck directly and fell into a crater created by the lightning.
"ARGH! It hurts! It hurts!" Blackbeard wailed in pain, his body rolling around in the giant pit.
Ikki had no intention of giving him time to recover.
"Cleave the heavens and moon, Zangetsu."
Blue spirit energy surrounded Ikki as he leaped over Blackbeard.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
WHOOSH!
The sword swung down, sending a huge blue crescent slash toward Blackbeard.
Sensing danger with his Observation Haki, Blackbeard ignored the pain from the lightning strike and quickly jumped to avoid Ikki's attack.
"Damn, what a lucky woman," Blackbeard gritted his teeth. "She now has Rumble-Rumble Fruit power, and she's already developed it this much." He couldn't afford to be careless anymore.
"But if it's Devil Fruit power, there's a simple answer—Black Hole!"
Blackbeard raised his hand toward Nami as a dark vortex spun in his palm.
Nami simply glanced at him and pointed Gonryōmaru at him again. Another thunderbolt instantly fell, heading straight for Blackbeard.
"What?!" Shocked, Blackbeard quickly raised his hands over his head.
Learning from his earlier mistake, he didn't hold back this time and successfully absorbed Nami's lightning. But at that moment, Ikki's slash arrived in front of him.
With no time to dodge or absorb it, Blackbeard was cut by Ikki's attack. A huge gash opened across his chest, and blood spurted out.
However, within seconds, black smoke began rising from the wound. Clearly, the Dark-Dark Fruit was helping absorb the damage.
Seeing this, both Ikki and Nami frowned.
Ikki thought, 'So we really need to cut off his head to finish this?'
Nami wondered, 'Do I need to blast this man to pieces?'