One Piece: The user of the Nen-Nen Fruit, who overturned the sea.

on the sea,

Roy raised his hands and slowly took off his hood.

The sunlight shone on his face, clearly revealing his still young yet composed features.

The sea breeze ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead, revealing a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

The moment the black-bearded man saw that face clearly, all the smiles on his face froze.

The corners of his mouth still held an upward curve, but that upward curve was no longer a smile; it was a twitch caused by uncontrolled muscle movement.

Cold sweat slid down his forehead, running down the fleshy part of his face, and his pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints.

"Heavens... Heavenly Emperor, Roy!"

The black-bearded man's voice changed; it sounded like someone was choking him, each word squeezed out from his throat, dry and trembling.

"What are you doing here!"

Roy hovered in mid-air, hands in his pockets, the sea breeze ruffling his clothes, looking at Blackbeard with calm eyes, as if watching an actor whose fate was already sealed.

"Teach".

"You sang very well."

The bearded man's fingers dug deep marks into the gunwale.

"but--"

Roy's smile deepened, but his eyes remained icy.

"It's time to take the curtain call."

The atmosphere on the deck instantly became extremely tense.

Blackbeard Teach stood on the ship's railing, his hand still on the Shichibukai appointment letter in his pocket, his fingers unconsciously clenching the paper.

Just seconds ago, this piece of paper was his passport to the pinnacle of power, but now it has become a useless piece of waste paper.

Having spent so many years in the New World, Blackbeard knew all too well the weight of the man before him.

Emperor Luo Yi of the Heavenly Way.

The ruler of Beehive Island.

He defeated Big Mom, suppressed Golden Shiki, and forced five top-tier combatants from the Marine Headquarters to retreat.

In the New World, some people fear Kaido, some fear Whitebeard, and some fear Shanks, but no one is unafraid of Roy.

This young emperor, not yet thirty years old, fought his way from the Grand Line to the top of the New World in just a few years, eventually becoming someone even the World Government couldn't handle.

But now is not the time to be afraid.

Blackbeard gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing his fear.

He also has the Dark-Dark Fruit, and he still has his only chance to turn the tide—if he can encounter Roy, the Dark-Dark Fruit can seal his power.

Blackbeard took a deep breath and suddenly exerted force with his feet.

Darkness surged from his palm, spreading across the deck and forming a pitch-black vortex, breaking free from Roy's control.

The ship's planks hissed and sizzled in the darkness, the edges of the planks beginning to curl and char.

"Dark Water—!!!"

The dark vortex expanded wildly toward Roy.

Gravity surged from the center of the vortex, pulling and distorting the surrounding air, and the ship's barrels, ropes, and anchor chains all flew towards the vortex.

Doc Q and his two other henchmen clung desperately to the support to avoid being sucked in.

Roy remained motionless.

He didn't even change his posture in mid-air, he just slightly raised his eyelids.

A semi-transparent barrier of psychic energy silently unfolded in front of him, its surface gleaming with a pale golden light.

The moment the dark vortex collided with the psychic barrier was like a wave crashing against a reef.

Gravity was completely blocked from the barrier. Darkness spun wildly on the surface of the barrier, emitting a dull hum, but not even a crack could penetrate it.

A look of horror flashed in the black-bearded man's eyes.

His Dark-Dark Fruit could absorb everything, even Ace's flames, but the barrier before him felt completely different.

A clash of might?

Roy didn't even lift his eyelids; he just raised them slightly.

The Conqueror's Haki erupted from him.

The Conqueror's Haki contains psychic amplification, giving it substantial physical attack power.

The invisible shockwave struck every corner of the deck like a tangible hammer.

Before Doc Q could even scream, he collapsed onto the deck with his eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth.

The other two henchmen also fell straight to the ground, their eyes instantly losing their light.

Roy casually waved his hand, and two psychic blades as thin as hair flew out, precisely slicing through the throats of the two unconscious subordinates.

Blood gushed from the wound, splashing two dark red arcs on the deck.

The two corpses twitched once and then remained still.

Doc Q was unharmed, and Roy spared his life.

The Disease Fruit on this guy is a powerful weapon; it would be a waste to kill him here. We can't just let it go to waste.

Blackbeard glanced at the carnage on the deck, then looked at Roy, who was suspended in mid-air like a god, and for the first time felt a bone-chilling despair.

His three men were cleared out in less than three seconds.

One was unconscious, and the other two didn't even have intact bodies.

Roy didn't lift a finger from beginning to end, but his sheer presence was enough to stun people. He simply waved his hand and took two lives.

This is not a battle.

This is crushing.

This is the absolute dominance of a top predator over its prey.

Roy landed slowly on the deck.

The leather boots made a soft thud on the wooden planks, but to the black-bearded man, it sounded like the tolling of a death knell.

He walked step by step toward the black-bearded man.

His pace was slow, each step steady and deliberate, as if he were measuring the countdown to the end of Blackbeard's life.

The sound of each step on the deck echoed the Blackbeard's heartbeat, growing closer and deeper.

"Alright. Everything that was in the way is gone."

Roy stopped in front of the black-bearded man, less than three steps away.

"Next—let's talk about the secrets of your body."

Blackbeard took a step back in alarm.

His back slammed against the ship's side, the wooden handrail digging into his back and causing him pain.

But he couldn't care less. He gripped the only escape route behind him tightly with both hands, curling himself up into a ball.

The word Roy used in that sentence sent chills down his spine—the secret of the body.

Why would Roy be interested in his body?

"What...what do you want to do!"

Blackbeard's voice was completely distorted.

All the smugness, arrogance, and ambition he had just displayed at the naval base crumbled into dust as Roy approached step by step.

Right now, he's just a trapped beast whose heart is gripped by fear.

Roy extended his right hand, his fingers slightly bent, and aimed it at Blackbeard.

His lips curled up slightly, revealing a "kind" smile that he had never shown on the Whitebeard's boat.

"Don't be afraid. It's just a small experiment."

The sea breeze swept across the empty sea, scattering Blackbeard's heart-wrenching scream in the wind.

All around was still a vast sea, and the outline of the naval base had long since disappeared below the horizon.

No one knows what's happening in these waters. No one will come to his rescue.

The deck was so quiet that only the howling sea breeze and Blackbeard's heavy breathing could be heard.

The black-bearded man pressed his back firmly against the ship's side, his fingers digging into the wood of the handrail, his fingernails filled with sawdust.

His mind was racing. He couldn't win, he couldn't escape; he had witnessed the man's strength firsthand.

That's a monster that even Whitebeard might not be able to beat.