Chapter 439: Can't Pull!?
Blue-purple flames skimmed rapidly across the ground toward Lafitte. When Lafitte instantly judged that he might not be able to dodge this flame, he dared not hold back any longer.
His hands suddenly transformed into a pair of wings, and with a flap, he lifted off the ground! The flame of the Dark Hook passed straight beneath him, grazing his feet.
"Huh!? A Devil Fruit user?" Ian looked at Lafitte with some surprise.
The wings Lafitte had conjured from his arms resembled white bird wings, but Ian couldn't quite determine what kind of fruit ability he possessed.
Ian's first thought was a Zoan flying type, perhaps some kind of bird Zoan fruit. However, oddly enough, Ian couldn't see any Zoan traits on Lafitte.
Zoan Devil Fruits generally have three forms: a human form, a beast form, and a hybrid form between the two. The closer to the beast form, the more the Zoan user can unleash the fruit's power.
But Lafitte had already manifested wings, which should mean he was in hybrid form, yet Ian couldn't tell what animal he was at all!
"Can a Zoan achieve partial transformation like this?" Ian wondered in his mind.
Still, Ian didn't dwell on it too much. He didn't plan to bother figuring out what Devil Fruit Lafitte had. Seeing Lafitte fly up, Ian extended his palm and suddenly pressed it downward!
Crackle! A bolt of blue lightning-fire shot up from the ground beneath Lafitte at incredible speed. Because it was so fast, even though it rose from the ground, it looked like it was striking down from the sky.
Lafitte had no chance to dodge. He was struck directly by the Flame Descent's lightning-fire, his entire body turning into a mass of blue flame as he fell from the air.
Ian hadn't held back at all. He took out Lafitte of the Blackbeard Pirates in one go. While this wasn't enough to kill Lafitte, it would likely leave him incapacitated.
However, just as Ian was about to strike at the shocked Van Augur, a massive shadow suddenly loomed over him.
Looking up, Ian saw an enormous rock hurtling straight toward his head.
It was Burgess! He had punched a nearby building to pieces and hurled the largest fragment at Ian!
"Hmph! Idiot!" Ian snorted. Such an attack looked impressive but was ultimately useless. He lightly leaped to dodge out of the way.
But as the sniper of the Blackbeard Pirates, Van Augur was excellent at seizing attack opportunities. Seeing Ian about to jump, he immediately fired several more shots.
Ian's initial instinct to take out Van Augur first wasn't unfounded. Having a long-range sniper like him around was incredibly annoying—he could constantly harass you in battle.
If he jumped, he'd be hit by the bullets. If he didn't, he'd be crushed by Burgess's rock. The coordination among the Blackbeard Pirates members was quite seamless.
Frustrated by their teamwork, Ian decided not to dodge anymore. Facing the massive rock thrown by Burgess, he directly unleashed a Black Dragon Wave at it!
The moment it touched the rock, the Black Dragon Wave melted it, turning it into dripping magma!
The writhing demon-world fire dragon roared as it soared into the sky, descending once again over Saint Ding Island.
Feeling the scorching heat in the air, Van Augur and Burgess broke out in cold sweat. This was their first time fighting Ian, and in less than half a minute, they were already completely suppressed.
Three against one, not only had they gained no advantage, but Lafitte had also been taken out by Ian!
Meanwhile, as Ian fought the three, the battle between Ace and Teach had reached a fever pitch.
At the start of the fight, Ace had punched Teach directly in the face. The power of the Flame-Flame Fruit instantly set Teach's entire body ablaze.
"It hurts! It hurts so much!" Teach screamed in pain, rolling on the ground several times to extinguish the flames.
By the time he got up, Ace's two Flame Guns had also struck him.
Only then did Teach realize that, having just escaped a shipwreck, they were exhausted and hungry, in a weakened state, making their reactions sluggish.
Howling in pain, Teach didn't waste words with Ace like in the original timeline. Instead, he directly activated his Dark-Dark Fruit's power.
He knew well that if they couldn't get through this, the entire Blackbeard Pirates would be doomed.
Void-like shadows began to appear behind Teach, writhing and twisting as if blown by the wind. Spreading his five fingers, a swirling vortex of shadow formed in his hand.
"Dark Water!"
Teach aimed his palm at the charging Ace and activated his fruit ability.
Ace suddenly felt his body lose control, flying toward Teach's hand as if pulled.
"Damn! What's going on!?"
Before Ace could figure it out, Teach grabbed him!
Teach was naturally large and burly. He snatched the shorter Ace like a chick, then punched him hard in the face!
Boom! Ace was knocked straight out of the air, crashing into the ground.
A sharp pain shot through his face, and he couldn't help spitting out a mouthful of blood, his mind going blank for a moment.
What's happening? My body... Am I not made of fire? How did he grab me!?
When he came to, that was the first thought in Ace's mind. He had no understanding of the Dark-Dark Fruit's power, which put him at a severe disadvantage.
The strength of the Dark-Dark Fruit lay here. Its power was somewhat similar to Seastone but completely different. Strictly speaking, the Dark-Dark Fruit was a form of gravity! It could not only pull people or objects toward it but also "attract" the opponent's Devil Fruit ability. Once caught by this gravity, even Logia users couldn't use their fruit powers, preventing them from elementalizing.
Ace had been careless. He was used to relying on the Flame-Flame Fruit's power, thinking that elementalization would protect him from physical attacks. He never expected the Dark-Dark Fruit to counter him so effectively, and he fell for it immediately.
Teach's physical combat skills were also formidable. That punch to Ace's face nearly broke his neck. Ace staggered to his feet, spat out a few teeth mixed with blood.
"Zehahaha! See that, Ace-san?" Teach couldn't help laughing loudly. "This is the power of my Dark-Dark Fruit! You can't beat me!"
But just as he was laughing arrogantly, a voice suddenly sounded behind him: "Oh, really?"
Teach was startled, and the next second, a sharp, intense pain shot through his back.
The attacker was, of course, Ian. While forcing Burgess and Van Augur to scatter with his Black Dragon Wave, he had also been keeping an eye on Ace's fight. Seeing Ace at a disadvantage, he immediately rushed over to help.
Teach, focused on Ace, hadn't noticed Ian, allowing him to close in and slash down hard with his sword from behind!
This strike left a gash dozens of centimeters long on Teach's back, cutting through skin and flesh, nearly exposing the bone!
Although the Dark-Dark Fruit was powerful, it had a clear drawback: the user suffered double the damage from attacks. Ian knew this well, so he showed no mercy.
Teach screamed in agony from the wound.
"IAN!!!" Teach roared in madness, reaching out with his five fingers to grab Ian, intending to use Dark Water to take him out like he had Ace.
But his usually foolproof Dark Water failed this time!
Ian had braced himself to be caught by Teach's ability, but when Teach activated it, Ian found he wasn't pulled at all.
What's going on!? Ian was stunned, but then he realized it might be because he wasn't a true Devil Fruit user!
In an instant, Ian reacted. He pulled his left hand back, and a dazzling flash of lightning arced through the air. Crackle! He fired a Lightning Spear at Teach!