Blackbeard's Arrival, The End of the War

"Huff...Huff...Man I'm so tired!!" Kai gasped, flopping onto his back and panting hard. Every inch of him hurt, and he could hardly budge.

Kai shifted his eyes to Wang Zhi, taking in his appearance for a moment "That was one hell of a fight. He must have been a monster, Rocks D. Xebec to have gathered that kind of crew under him..."

Kai closed his eyes, taking a moment to relax and catch his breath before he forced himself on his feet again "Kid and the others must've finished their fights as well"

Crocodile and Law, who were nearby, approached him after seeing the fight's conclusion.

Crocodile was wearing a smirk on his face while smoking a large cigar. He calmly addressed his ally afterwards "Nice work...*Puff*...I'll be honest with you, even after all I've seen from you guys, I still had some doubts about this whole conflict. But you've proven me wrong yet again and gained my trust"

"Well I'm glad that's the case" Kai responded.

Law, standing nearby with a neutral expression and his sword resting on his shoulder, said "I suppose my trust in your abilities and plan wasn't misplaced. But now, our alliance ends here. I've achieved my goal, and you've achieved yours. I'll be taking my leave. You'll handle whatever comes next on your own, Eustass-ya"

"I have no complaints, I'm a man of my words" Kai replied, as Law turned back and walked away. Kai reached for his pocket and took out something, it was Captain John's armband which indicates the location of where his treasure is hidden.

'The only hint I know about it is that the treasure is hidden on an island with a skull. But although that description is vague and there might be various islands that has a skull on them but considering Captain John's history with Rocks and this island I'm pretty sure it should be somewhere here' Kai thought in his head while examining the armband that has two small glass orbs with small directional needles inside.

"Hmm? What's that armband?" Crocodile asked, his curiosity piqued as he glanced over at it.

"This is how I'm gonna find John's treasure"

The two then used the armband to located the treasure's hidden location.

Back at Rocky Port,

After Wang Zhi and his key allies, including Silver Axe, were defeated, the remaining pirates under his command chose to surrender and end the fight, calling it a day.

One by one, ships departed from Rocky Port as people scrambled to flee the battlefield. Recognizing the futility of further bloodshed, the Eustass Pirates and their allies opted to allow their adversaries to depart without confrontation.

"Just let them go, there is no point in chasing after someone who already admitted defeat" Whitey Bay said to her crew as she slowly put her sword back to its sheath and took a deep breath of relief "It's finally over, that bastard really did it" She smiled, then turned to her old crewmates from her days sailing on Whitebeard's ship. They were all captains now, each leading their own crew.

"Thank you for helping out in this, I really appreciate it guys" she thanked them sincerely.

"What are you talking about? How can we refuse helping you after all we've been through together, Bay-chan?" Kinga replied with a smile.

"If you ever need help again just call us, we'll be there for you!" Andre added.

"But...I wonder what kind of man had you go through all of this trouble just to help him out?" Islewan wrapped his arm around Whitey Bay with a smirk "Don't tell me--"

Without even letting him finish his sentence, Whitey Bay retorted with a slight blush on her cheeks "I said it before, he saved my life and I owe him a favor!"

"I don't believe that's everything there is to it, I wanna hear it all"

"..."

Nearby, Law and his crew were preparing their submarine for a swift departure before Law was confronted by a sizable group of pirates, all of them got their hearts taken by him.

"Hey, Law! We've fought on your side just like you said, we want our hearts back right now!" One of them spoke up.

"Yeah! That was the deal!!" In a short period of time the owners of the hundred and so hearts all gathered up and surrounded Law and his crew.

"A deal?" Law calmly questioned "I don't remember striking any deal with you guys, I only said 'If you guys wanna take back your hearts you better start fighting' which means fighting on my side would up your chances of getting back your hearts but not guaranteed"

"You bastard!! Are you trying to fool us?!"

Law swiftly snatched a heart at random and flung it into the air. With a quick motion, he pierced it with his sword, causing one of the pirates in the group to immediately collapse to the ground dead.

"H-He killed him!"

"I can easily kill burn up this crate that holds your heart and kill you all in an instant...don't even think about getting in my way" Law flashed a menacing look at their direction, successfully intimidating them.

"Let's go guys, we're leaving this place!!" Law ordered his crew before walking inside the submarine.

"Yes captain!!"

At the same time Captain Koby who managed to save hundreds of civilians from Wang Zhi's from Wang Zhi's forces during the conflict, led them to safety aboard a sizable vessel, facilitating their evacuation from the island.

On the Victoria Punk,

Everyone except Kai have already come back to the ship and gotten treatment from Kureha.

"Where's Kai?" Kid asked, noticing his brother's absence.

"I'm not sure. He hasn't returned to the ship yet" Kureha replied.

"Maybe he's looking around for Captain John's treasure that he's been talking about" Killer assumed, being the second closest one to Kai after Kid, Kai often tells him stuff and seek his consultation for important matters.

"Oh yeah, he's pretty sure it's in this island. It's gonna be helpful if we find it, after all we need a lot of money to start building a fleet to attack Big Mom" Kid stated.

Somewhere else on the island,

"Come on dig deeper!! We don't have all day!!" Kai urged, holding a massive shovel made of clouds as he was digging down with it along with Crocodile and some of his men.

A massive hole yawned in the ground as people tirelessly dug deeper without pause.

"Huff...how much are we gonna dig? We're already meters below the ground" Someone complained.

"Stop complaining and get to work!" Crocodile scolded him.

Thud! Thud! As Kai dug, his shovel struck something metallic, catching his attention.

"Something's here" he muttered, making the cloud shovel vanish before plunging his hands into the earth and pulling out a very big object.

"What's that?!"

"I think we've got!..." exclaimed Kai, his face lit up with excitement as he lowered a hefty metal chest onto the ground. And that was just the beginning. There were countless other chests scattered around, waiting to be uncovered.

"There is another one here!"

"--and here!"

"You should open it" Crocodile said to Kai and the latter proceeded to break the lock and lifted the lid of the metal chest. His eyes lit up at the sight of glittering jewels and gold.

"We've hit the jackpot!"

When they opened the remaining chests, they discovered additional gold, jewels, valuable items, and even rare weapons. Considering the continuous stream of valuable findings in each chest, it's fair to estimate that Captain John's treasure is worth billions.

Kai swiftly directed everyone to move the chests onto the ships without delay. Afterwards, he promptly returned to the Victoria Punk to attend to his injuries.

[Somewhere on the Sea Around Hachinosu]

A massive battleship resembling a raft that has black sails and bares the Jolly Roger of the Blackbeard Pirates was approaching the island.

On the ship's deck, all the Ten Titanic Captains along with their Commodore Blackbeard could be seen together.

"Their ship is still docked at Rocky Port, fate most be on our side today" Van Augur remarked, spotting the Victoria Punk from a faraway distance without even the need of using a spyglass.

"Zehahaha! So, we've made it on time" Blackbeard grinned wickedly while looking at Pirate Island.

"But Commodore! Why did all of us had to come along here?! Aren't you overestimating their power, they're just a bunch of rookies that we beat up a year and a half ago?!" Burgess questioned with a wide grin on his face.

"You moron, they've brough some troublesome people with them, we can't let our guard down. Zehahaha! They might be called rookies, but I still don't trust their captain, Eustass Kai, he's a smart fella"

"We're still going with same plane, right?" Laffitte asked him while adjusting his hat.

"Yeah, if they try to fight back, we'll just take them all out at once, Zehahaha!" Blackbeard laughed maniacally before glancing back at the tall figure standing behind him, he's around 3 meters tall "You keep an eye on Kid as well"

"Whatever you say, Teach" The man responded with a laid back attitude. He has black, curly hair cut to chin length that fans out at the tips, tanned skin, and an altogether lean, long build. He's wearing a light-colored frilled dress shirt with a cravat, dark pants, and a dark-colored trench coat with a fur collar which he wears draped on his shoulders and a pair of green round sunglasses "Let's finish this quickly, I wanna take a nap"

[One of the Ten Titanic Captains – Tenth Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates, Kuzan]

"Let's go ashore!!"

…

Meanwhile at Rocky Port,

Kai, Kid, Crocodile, Whitey Bay, and a few of their crewmates relaxed in one of the intact buildings at the port before their departure. Law and the pirate captains Whitey Bay had brought along had already left some time ago.

Kai and Kid were having a drink while chatting. They were just drinking juice and soda since having alcohol is bad while healing from injuries, both the red-haired captains were wrapped up in bandages after getting treated by Kureha. They were still exhausted from the fight and their bodies would needs at least a week or two to fully recover "*Gulp*-*Gulp*…*Thud*…Puhaah--! Seriously? You fucking Awakened your Devil Fruit power?" Kai was a little bit surprised after Kid told him about that, but then he remembered that Kid managed to Awaken his fruit in the series as well so it's not something out of the ordinary, specially that Paramecia fruits are easier to Awaken compared to the other types.

"Hehe, are you jealous? I surely got stronger than you. I'll beat your ass next time we fight!!" Kid declared with confidence while smirking at his brother.

"Not really, I've got something better than that"

"—What?! What is it?!"

"Hahaha, its—" Before Kai couldn't finish his sentence someone interrupted their conversation.

"Boss Kai!! Boss Kid!! We've got a problem!!" Heat rushed inside in panic before he addressed his captains "It's Blackbeard!!..."

The room fell silent as all eyes snapped to Heat upon hearing that.

"…The Emperor of the Sea Blackbeard is approaching the island!!"

"Blackbeard?!" Kai exclaimed, eyes widening as the name reached his ears. He promptly stood up with a furrowed brow "Fuck, he got here so fast"

"That ugly motherfucker?!" Kid said in surprise.

"Blackbeard…" Whitey Bay experienced a whirlwind of emotions when she heard that. She harbored a deep personal grudge against him, but she knows that she doesn't stand a chance against him.

"They don't look like they're here to hang out, what do you wanna do?" Heat asked.

"I don't know if I should call this bad luck or fate, but we were just about to set off…" Kai looked serious as he walked up to the door "Guess we have no choice but to see what he's up to, let's go Kid!"

Kid quickly finished his drink and got up before he addressed Killer who was sitting on a table nearby "Killer, gather everyone outside! Crocodile and Kai's girl get your crews to provide support in case anything happen!"

"--Don't order me around, I don't work for anyone!" Crocodile responded with a glare, whether its Kai or Kid, Crocodile only considers them as business partners and equal allies.

"We're in no condition to take on an Emperor of the Sea. We have just finished fighting and everyone is still tired and injured" Wyper informed his captains while walking behind them.

"We still have some unfinished business with him. Remember the beating we took a year and a half ago?" Kid said to Kai, he then added "But the guy is dangerous, we can't recklessly attack him…he somehow knew how to steal abilities from people and can survive eating two Devil Fruits at the same time, the strong Gura Gura no Mi of Whitebeard and that darkness fruit of his that negate other abilities when he's touching the user"

'That's why I'm trying to avoid him for now, he's a sneaky one and you never know what he might be hiding under his sleeves' Kai thought in his head while resting his hand on his sheathed sword handle.

Soon after, everyone was outside as Blackbeard's ship anchored on Rocky Port and Blackbeard lead his crew to where Kai and the others were gathered.

"Zehahaha!! It's been a while hasn't it, Eustass Kai?!"

Kai fixed a serious gaze on Blackbeard and his crew "Blackbeard, what do you want?" Even as he posed the question, Kai already had a notion of the answer.

"Isn't that a little cold greeting, we're all from the Worst Generation here you know" Blackbeard said in a jovial manner while slowly approaching him before he stopped a few meters away "I didn't expect you guys to take down both Wang Zhi and Silver Axe right here, you're pretty strong…oh! And thanks for the information you gave me last time, it was really helpful!" a wicked grin suddenly formed on his face saying that.

"Cut the crap, I don't have time to play around"

"Zehahaha! You're impatient…I'm here for Pirate Island and Wang Zhi fruit and Silver Axe's Devil Fruits!!" Blackbeard declared, clenching his fists tightly.

Kai immediately raised the middle finger at his direction "Get fucked!"

"Hahaha! Nice one bro!" Kid laughed with amusement.

"You damn punk!!" Blackbeard raised his arm back in rage, getting ready to attack him.

"He did it, that brat angered Teach" Shiryu calmly remarked while smoking a large cigar.

'Shit! he's gonna use his quake power!' Kai hurriedly turned to Killer "Have everyone disperse at once!"

<Soru >

FWOOOSH!!

In an instant Kai closed the distance between him and Blackbeard, taking him by surprise and striking him before he could perform his attack.

"Arara…" Kuzan's deep voice sounded before he stepped forward, trying to stop Kai's attack "…To think you'd reach this level in a short period of time, this new generation is scary"

With neutral expressions, Kuzan charged towards Kai but not before Kid blocked his way.

"I won't let you?!" Kid exclaimed, suddenly appearing in front of him while throwing a strong right punch.

Kuzan swiftly swiped his open palmed hand sideways, freezing Kid in a giant sphere of ice from a distance.

"Ice Ball!!"

"KID!!!" Killer called out, concern etched in his voice as he looked at his captain "That guy!!…"

"He's the previous Marine Admiral Aokiji!" Saga stated, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

"…"

*Crack*…

*Crack*…

*Shatter*-!! The giant sphere of ice around Kid was shattered just a few seconds after freezing him as he generated electromagnetic energy around himself before it could freeze him truly solid.

"Huff…Huff…Damn it…" Kid collapsed on one knee afterwards, holding his stomach in pain.

"Looks like you're still injured from your previous battle" Kuzan commented as he walked towards him "Too bad we're pirates, we don't play fair"

But before Kuzan could strike him down, something shocking happened near them.

Kai was charging towards Blackbeard at incredible speed.

Shing! In swift motion, he unsheathed his sword. Holding it in his right hand, he imbued it with Advanced Armament Haki and infused it with Conqueror's Haki causing thin streams of black lightning with red hue to radiate from it, and then he swung his sword horizontally, creating a powerful slash attack.

"What?! C-Conqueror's…Haki?!!" Blackbeard's eyes widened in shock when he saw that.

"Hoi, hoi! Are you serious?!" Even Aokji looked at him in disbelieve.

"!!!"

.

"Divine Doom!!!"

.

*Thunder*-*Thunder*--!! BOOOOM!! Kai slashed Blackbeard across the chest, sending him flying backward toward the sea. He passed through his crew, leaving the astonished Blackbeard Pirates in disbelief.

"AAUUUGGHH!!!" Blackbeard screamed in pain while throwing a mouthful of blood after receiving that attack.

"Hey!! He's gonna fall into the sea!!" Burgess warned everyone while glancing back at his Commodore.

"It seems that we have severely underestimated the enemy's strength this time" Van Augur said while resting his rifle on his shoulder before he used his Warp-Warp Fruit to warp to Blackbeard's location and grabbed him before he fell to the sea and then warped him back to the island midair.

"Warp."

"Should we still proceed with this, Commodore?" Augur asked him.

Blackbeard was all bloody and looked visibly hurt after Kai's attack "COUGH-COUGH!!...Huff…Huff…Is that even a question? Zehahahaha! Tell everyone to back away, I'll take care of that brat!!"

..

"Here he comes!" Kai looked skywards at the airborne Blackbeard.

"Take this!!" Blackbeard raised his arm back and then slammed the air with his fist, cracking it and creating powerful shock waves.

.

"Tremor Crush!!"

.

*Crack*-KA-BOOOOM!!! His attack left the already ravaged island in ruins. Everyone, including Kai, was overwhelmed by the shockwaves' intensity, brought to their knees.

"U-Ughh—That fucker!"

"Zehahaha!!" Blackbeard laughed wickedly as he descended beside Kai, peering down at him with a sinister grin. He proceeded to extend his right arm towards his him, activating the gravity power of his darkness to pull him into his grasp.

"KAI!!"

"Where is your confidence now, huh? Now that you're in my grasp, your fate belongs to me!" Blackbeard said while holding Kai by the neck.

The latter smirked before responding "Were you afraid to face me in my full power? That's why you waited until I finished my fight with Wang Zhi to attack me, right? Kahahaha! You fucking pussy!"

Kai's words hit a nerve with Blackbeard, making his veins bulge as he tightened his grip around Kai's neck "You…"

'The real problem is not just Blackbeard, but Kuzan as well. That guy can freeze an entire island if he's serious…If I fight here today, I will not stand any chance with my injured body, but I'm not gonna submit to this fucker and let him take both Wang Zhi and Silver Axe's fruits' Kai thought in his mind.

"I'll slice you into pieces, Blackbeard!!" Killer looked enraged as he started spinning his Punishers rapidly and dashed towards Blackbeard, but Shiryu was alerted and didn't allow him to get close.

However, all of a sudden a rising sand blade erupted from the ground between Kai and Blackbeard with a great speed and slashed Blackbeard across his chest and stomach, forcing him to let go of Kai and take a few steps backwards.

<Desert Spada>

"You're acting as if I'm not here, you little punk!" Crocodile glared at Blackbeard "I still remember how you killed Whitebeard in the Summit War in a disgraceful way!" Crocodile proceeded to summon a tornado of sand from the palm of his hand and sent it on a rampage towards him.

"Sables!!"

"The previous Warlord Crocodile" Blackbeard remarked, his grin not fading away.

The tornado kept growing in size and it threatened Blackbeard and his crew, but Kuzan easily froze it before it reached them.

"KAI!!" Whitey Bay quickly rushed to Kai to check on him.

"I'm okay"

"So, what is it gonna be? Do you want to fight? or are you calmly gonna hand over Wang Zhi and Silver Axe's bodies? The choice is yours" Blackbeard said.

Kai didn't crave Wang Zhi's or Silver Axe's Devil Fruits. It wasn't about the fruits themselves, but about refusing to bow down to others. Ahead lay battles against formidable foes. Without the courage to risk their lives, they wouldn't stand a chance.

"How about this? if you wanna save yourself some casualties and an ass beating I'll take one fruit and you take one" Kai said and two gazed at each other intensely.

"I was originally after Wang Zhi's ability and Silver Axe's appearance wasn't planned at all…"

"…"

The two parties managed to come into an agreement afterwards. The Eustass Pirates and their allies left Hachinosu and Blackbeard became the new boss and declared the island as one of his territories as well as his base of operation.