Chapter 157: Better Late Than Never

Tilting my head in confusion, I looked at Blackbeard like he was an idiot, as I had just said I wished to do as I please, yet here he was, asking if I wanted to work under him, and honestly, it slightly peeved me. I'd rather die than ever be required to follow someone's orders; having experienced the freedom of not being forced to conform to society's standards was so refreshing, and it wasn't something I'd ever give up, not in this life or in the next one.

"Hehe, I think that's enough cherry pie for you, Blackbeard." Said Diddy with a slight chuckle, and without any sudden warning, he twisted his body, powerfully kicking Blackbeard's side, crashing him through the wall of the bar.

Leaping off the stool, I took off the fur cloak and tossed it to Trenza in the distance as I didn't really want it to get damaged and waited for Blackbeard to emerge from the pile of rubble, which didn't take too long. Once he appeared, he was sporting an ugly expression, which was befitting of his ugly face as he slowly approached me while my instincts began to send me warning signals, causing me to grin uncontrollably.

"I'll give you one more chance, Mink; join my crew; from that kick alone, I can tell you've got the strength to back it up. I could use someone strong like you on my crew." Remarked Blackbeard solemnly as he stood before Diddy, towering over him while glaring at him, though all he got was a burst of chaotic laughter.

"Hahaha, no! I'll never join your crew or anyone else's; besides, I'm already the Captain of my own crew. Speaking of my own crew, Trenza, I'd recommend you return to the ship; I can already tell Blackbeard is a true pirate." Stated Diddy with laughter as he crouched down to all fours before glancing back at Trenza, who rapidly nodded without any hesitation before exiting the bar while wearing the fur cloak.

"B-Be careful, Captain!" Yelled Trenza as she and nearly everyone else in the bar ran away, leaving only Blackbeard, Diddy, and the bartender.

Watching Trenza leave, I was about to look back at Blackbeard, but I wasn't given a chance as I was forced to swiftly evade a kick from him; sidestepping the attack, I spun on my hands and kicked Blackbeard in the gut, though now that he had his footing, I only managed to push him back a few meters. However, that was more than enough for me to get onto my feet and lunge toward him while timing my punch with the rhythm of my heartbeat, increasing my power, and even though he blocked it, he was once again flung into the distance, only this time, he crashed through the building and into the street.

Dashing out of the building, I leaped into the air and clutched my hands together before bringing them overhead, only to slam them down atop Blackbeard, who was still in the process of getting up from the previous attack, causing him to crash into the ground while the surrounding Earth cracked from the might of my blow.

'Eh, were my instincts wrong? Have I mistaken his strength? Why is he hardly fighting back?' Mused Diddy with a frown as he leaped off Blackbeard and stood in the distance, giving him a chance to regain his bearings.

From what's displayed so far, he hasn't proved to be very strong; he's definitely strong since, in my last attack, I used roughly all of my strength, yet he was still relatively fine; he was only bleeding a little.

"Tch, c'mon, Blackbeard, either display your true strength now, or I'll kill you for wasting my time and getting my hopes up." Remarks Diddy with a frown as he folded his arms and stood at a distance while watching Blackbeard stand up.

"Zehahaha; you pack quite a punch for someone in Paradise; with strength like that, you'd be able to sail New World with relative ease; you'd probably even make a name for yourself. Though, too bad you insist on fighting; I'll have to kill you now." Remarked Blackbeard with a laugh as he wiped the blood leaking from his mouth while eying Diddy, his hand tanking on abysmal darkness.

"Black Vortex!" Yelled Blackbeard as he pointed his hand, which was made of pure darkness, toward Diddy, causing him to be lifted into the air.

Feeling myself being lifted into the air, I could tell it was innately different whenever Sebas did it, so I couldn't just break out of it without enough strength, though before I could even do anything, I was sent flying right toward Blackbeard's hand. Clutching Naga-sa on my back, I unholstered it before slamming it atop his hand, just in time to fly right past him while also kicking him in the face, flinging him a few meters away.

Landing on the ground, I watched Blackbeard get back up; this time, he was bleeding from his nose, though he didn't seem too bothered by it, not that I cared.

"Tsk, take this!" Yelled Blackbeard as he manifested a sphere of darkness from his hand before hurling it toward Diddy, who, having learned his lesson from Mael, didn't try to knock it back.

Seeing the incoming sphere, I took a second to focus on my arm before reaching forward, catching the ball in my hand, which nearly flung me away in the process; eyeing Blackbeard, who looked surprised that I caught his attack, I threw it back toward him with an even greater amount of force, though just as I expected, it did nothing and was absorbed back into his body.

"Hmm, logia; you've eaten a logia devil fruit. Since that's the case, why can I touch you?" Remarked Diddy lightly as he eyed Blackbeard curiously while lunging toward him.

Clutching Naga-sa, I leaped off the ground and slammed it over Blackbeard's head, yet he managed to stop it with his arms, which were covered in darkness, seemingly absorbing the impact. Pushing off his arms, I spun in the air and hit him even harder than before, yet the same thing happened, the darkness covering his arms looked to be absorbing the impact of our clashes, protecting him from harm's way.

"Tsk, cheap; whatever, since you want to fight like that." Said Diddy with a click of his tongue as he landed on the ground before Blackbeard, using his bo-staff to block an attack that nearly broke his stance.

'Fuck me, that was strong; is that his true strength?' Thought Diddy with furrowed brows as he retaliated by powerfully swinging his bo-staff to Blackbeard's side, causing him to groan in pain.

Now that I was prepared, his punch didn't catch me off guard, and I was able to properly block it without nearly faltering, though I will admit, he was strong, about as strong as me. However, from this little fight, the usage of his devil fruit is mediocre at best; it's like he had just gotten it not too long ago.

Leaping back while kicking him in the face, I landed on the ground a few meters away from him and swung Naga-sa, launching a few bolts of lightning at him, though they were promptly absorbing into his arms darkness, which seemed to absorb just about every one of my attacks, making close combat with his rather irksome if I will add.

Just as I was about to leap back towards him, he raised his hand into the air before slamming it into the ground; the Earth beneath his feet turned into a mass of darkness that expanded several meters around, enveloping my feet as well.

"Zehahaha, black hole!" Stated Blackbeard with a grin and a bloody face as he stared at Diddy, who started sinking into the pit of abysmal darkness.

Feeling my feet and legs sink into this weird darkness that felt super viscous, even thicker than honey, I threw Naga-sa into the air before slapping the air beneath me, causing me to shoot out of the darkness that was previously swallowing me and into the sky, where I caught Naga-sa.

"Beast Lance!" Yelled Diddy as he enveloped Naga-sa in lightning before throwing it toward Blackbeard, hitting him square in the stomach and slamming him into the Earth.

Waiting for the darkness to recede, I landed back on the ground, standing before Blackbeard, who took my attack like a champ and seemed hardly injured; I couldn't tell if it was his devil fruit coming into play or his endurance, but either way if we really fought, while the use of his abilities was a little mediocre right now, he was still a strong pirate.

'However, instead of fighting right now, I think it would be better to save this for the future, for when he's gotten even stronger, that'll be fun.' Thought Diddy with a grin as he eyed Blackbeard, who got up and raised his arm toward him, prompting him to use soru and back away.

"Heh, this was a little enjoyable, but I think we should save this for later; killing strong prey is always more satisfying. Diddy D. Kong, that's my name." Stated Diddy with a smirk as he eyed Blackbeard, who frowned before leaping into the air and propelling himself through the sky.

"Tch, he's strong. Diddy D. Kong, huh." Muttered Blackbeard as he watched Diddy dash through the sky before calming down and loudly laughing.

"Zehahaha, Red Hair was right; this new age is going to be something else; it's only a matter of time before the stupid emperors of the sea are replaced!" Declared Blackbeard eagerly as he clenched his fist of darkness before walking back into the bar and sitting down.