One Piece: Starting from Awakening the Cosmo at Marineford

"Hehe, haha! Hahahaha!"

The black-bearded man laughed wildly, raising his hands as he looked at Marco and said, "Captain Marco, I know your strength and Devil Fruit ability very well. But do you know my strength? You should have noticed that I didn't use my full strength when I fought you just now."

Marco remained outwardly calm: "Really?"

Blackbeard glanced at Aaron and said, "That's right. These marines aren't here out of kindness; they're here with ill intentions. I have to be careful. The World Government and the Navy won't completely ignore such a big incident. Perhaps quite a few CP members have already infiltrated here."

Marco laughed and said, "What? Are you scared?"

The man with the black beard said, "What I fear is not them, but the enemy lurking in the shadows."

The gun is easy to hide, and the dark arrow is hard to prevent.

The most terrifying people are those who lurk in the shadows, or even right next to you, who are always smiling and friendly, but who will stab you in the back without hesitation.

Because that's the kind of person he is, with his black beard.

"Hey! Admiral, why waste time talking to him? Let's take him down first!"

Although Burgess's attack power is not great, he is really tanky. After being hit by Jozu a few times, he recovered almost completely after lying down for a while.

"Wave Elbow Strike!"

Bages leaped forward and slammed his right elbow at Marco.

Just as the iron elbow was about to hit his face, Marco slowly raised his foot and launched a flying kick.

Bages flew out, leaving a trail of blood in the air.

Marco raised his hand and touched his face, where there was a bloody mark left by Burgess's attack.

The bloodstain quickly disappeared under Qingyan's healing, as if it had never existed.

"Hahaha! What an amazing ability! Whether I use it myself or sell it for money, it's very tempting!"

"Dark acupoints!"

A thick plume of black smoke billowed from beneath the black-bearded man's feet, spreading rapidly in all directions.

Wherever the black smoke passed, flowers, trees, and grass quickly disappeared, and even the ground slowly sank.

Marco flapped his wings and hovered in mid-air.

Those who cannot fly stand with their feet in the black smoke, and fear rises in their hearts.

"Hey! Admiral, you'll accidentally hurt your own men! The smaller ones will get crushed!"

Lafayette also flew into the air, complaining loudly.

The black-bearded man laughed loudly, "Sorry, Marco! Let's finish this quickly! You don't want to drag this out and let the Navy get away with it, do you?"

Marco said, "That's exactly what I was thinking! Come on, Teach!"

Marco transformed into a streak of blue light and shot towards Blackbeard.

Blackbeard got into position, ready to take Marco's full-force attack head-on.

"Phoenix Seal!"

The blue-green flames condensed into a fist-sized ball, and the moment they touched Blackbeard's body, they transformed into a streak of light that pierced through Blackbeard's body.

"It hurts, it hurts!"

The black-bearded man yelled, but his hands didn't stop. He slashed sharply, trying to grab Marco's foot again.

Marco's other foot had already grabbed the bearded man's wrist, leaving three bloody marks on the back of his hand.

"Damn it!"

The black-bearded man cursed, then burst into laughter, "Marco, you'd better go all out now. The longer this drags on, the more people will die on both sides. You don't want to lose any more comrades, do you?"

Marco took a deep breath, his blue flames burning even more fiercely: "Blackbeard, come on!"

"You scoundrel! Hahaha! Let's have a good beating!"

The man with the black beard charged forward, laughing wildly.

The battle had been going on for some time, and many corpses and wounded lay on the ground.

Blood pooled into streams, streams into rivers, searching for a way out among the corpses, flowing towards the sea.

"This scene can be considered a small-scale Marineford War," Finnbdi remarked.

Hibari added, "After Whitebeard's death, the position of Emperor of the Sea has been vacant. After this battle, that position will likely be filled."

"Indeed," said Finbdi. "If Marco can avenge Whitebeard and Ace with these men, these captains and commanders will naturally rally around him and 'push' him onto the throne of the Four Emperors. If Blackbeard wins, he will undoubtedly also ascend to the position of the Four Emperors."

Yun Que said, "Regardless of which side we're on, if we lose, I'm afraid the morale will completely collapse."

If Marco loses, not only will these people leave him, but the Whitebeard's former territory will also be broken up one by one by the Blackbeard and quickly swallowed up, leaving them powerless to fight back.

If Blackbeard loses, his ambitious dream will likely come to an abrupt end.

The Blackbeard Pirates were originally bound together by interests, with little regard for feelings or morality.

Blackbeard failed to seize the Tremor-Tremor Fruit as planned during the Marineford War, and the people who came out of Impel Down already had grievances.

Not long ago, Basque Jote died during a hunt for Fossa.

Lafayette escaped and returned, and Blackbeard surprisingly didn't even think about avenging Basque Jotte.

Shiliu and his companions didn't say anything, but they began to doubt the already fragile alliance.

They were all escaped convicts from Impel Down, and had served time together. Although they didn't have much affection for each other, they still felt a sense of shared sorrow.

They could easily imagine that one day after they died, Blackbeard wouldn't even think of avenging them.

Blackbeard promised to give them the ability to hunt suitable Devil Fruits, but a year has passed and they haven't even seen the peel of a Devil Fruit.

They also considered what they would do if they left.

After weighing their options, they decided that staying with the Blackbeard Pirates would be more beneficial.

At least, considering that only Blackbeard can ensure that after killing a Devil Fruit user, he can quickly obtain the power and prevent the Devil Fruit power from being transferred to another place, they still have a chance to obtain the Devil Fruit power they want.

The battle between Blackbeard and Marco intensified, the aftershocks shaking the surrounding pirates who were desperately hacking and slashing.

Shiryu was initially a little anxious because he couldn't defeat Vista, but now that he saw Blackbeard handling the situation with ease and firmly in control, he felt more confident and began to calm down.

Vista, on the other hand, was moving faster and faster, eager to win so he could help Marco out of trouble and join forces with him to attack Blackbeard.

Joz was once again entangled with Burgess and couldn't spare the time to help.

Aaron looked up at the sun. It was almost noon, and the sunlight was shining directly down, making the air hot and irritating.

Moreover, it was already mealtime, and the pirates, after a fierce battle, were completely empty-handed and had no strength left.

Aaron said leisurely, "The crucial moment is approaching. Let's see who can gain the upper hand."

Lark nodded in agreement: "That's right. I think Marco and Blackbeard are about to settle their differences."