Chapter 55: Tactical Cooperation

"Great, that guy stopped unleashing those devastating attacks."

Buggy the Clown cried with joy.

Just moments earlier, he had felt that the deck of Whitebeard's broken ship was about to collapse completely, but it had somehow managed to withstand the assault.

At this moment, he couldn't help but feel grateful that the deck was thick enough to save their lives.

‘Fire, then lightning, and that weird power that looks like huge human bones…’

‘What kind of Devil Fruit is this?’

Doflamingo felt deeply confused.

However, he did not doubt that Yami was indeed a Devil Fruit user.

After all, there were people with Devil Fruit abilities who could use multiple powers; Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, was one such example.

At the same time, he became more cautious about Yami.

He sensed that this person possessed extremely huge ambitions.

‘In this war, this man definitely has his own agenda.’

Originally, Doflamingo had been the same.

He felt that Whitebeard would either end up dead or severely injured this time, and was likely to die later.

Then someone would need to take over the territory and interests Whitebeard had vacated, and he felt that he was that person.

"Does this new warlord, Yami, and Blackbeard have some grudge?”

"These Shichibukai have never fought seriously before; they're indeed unreliable…"

Fleet Admiral Sengoku was also surprised by the power Yami had just displayed, while simultaneously feeling vindicated in not trusting pirates.

If the Shichibukai were truly considered an important combat force, who knew when these people would abandon the fight halfway through?

At this time, the only Shichibukai member who fought seriously was Gecko Moria.

He was blocked by Jinbe twice and punched several times, and he felt uncomfortable all over his body.

"This man is such an eyesore! Who among you can kill him?"

Blackbeard seethed with anger.

He had lost four subordinates, all of whom were powerful individuals brought from Impel Down.

Most importantly, the battlefield conditions proved extremely unfavorable for him.

A piece of broken wood couldn't support him using his abilities freely.

Simultaneously, regarding long-range attacks, he truly lacked any powerful techniques, and he knew he couldn't kill this new Shichibukai with the small pistol at his waist.

"Lightning is very troublesome for swordsmen. I don't have much choice in this matter."

Shiryu of the Rain spoke very directly.

This represented the most difficult enemy for a swordsman.

If he wanted to cut through lightning, he felt his current level fell far short of adequate.

Moreover, this opponent appeared very troublesome at first glance, not the kind of enemy who could be slaughtered at will.

Additionally, since the opponent wasn't a swordsman, Shiryu naturally had no interest in working for the captain who had just recruited him.

"Me too."

Catarina Devon replied.

She believed this person was a Natural-type Lightning Fruit user.

As an Animal-type user, it was better not to challenge the majesty of nature.

Most importantly, lightning possessed tremendous destructive power and speed.

Even if she had Observation Haki, she couldn't avoid the opponent's attacks every time.

Coupled with his unknown strength and her distrust of Blackbeard, she also didn't want to risk her life.

"I can try, but you haven't shown any talent to convince me yet."

The Corrupt King, Avalo Pizarro, declared.

No simple-minded character could be imprisoned in Impel Down.

He wouldn't rush forward and fight desperately so easily.

But Blackbeard replied calmly.

"My power represents the biggest trump card."

"If I use it now and someone learns about it, then everything in the plan will be ruined."

"Here, you'll all be captured by the Navy, or even die."

"Do you want to see that ending?"

"If you don't, then someone go ahead and kill the guy already,”

Blackbeard was also not someone to be easily beaten.

The effects of his Dark Fruit ability were his greatest trump card, reserved for use against Whitebeard.

It was too early to expose his power now.

If Whitebeard discovered it, the plan's success rate would be greatly reduced.

So no matter what, he didn't want to expose his strength too early and alert the old man.

He could only force his subordinates to take action.

"Tch, I knew it wouldn't be easy to leave that prison. I wish I had escaped halfway through."

Avalo Pizarro snorted with obvious dissatisfaction.

The other three didn't look pleased either.

After all, no one wanted to be imprisoned in the dark depths of Impel Down again.

But before anyone else could speak, all five simultaneously sensed something wrong and went on alert.

"[Chidori Sharp Spear]"

Yami appeared behind the group, standing directly on the water with his right hand raised to his left shoulder, [Chidori] shining in his right palm.

With a direct horizontal sweep of his right hand, [Chidori] instantly extended to nearly thirty meters during its arc, sweeping directly toward the five people standing on the wooden board.

However, the strength of these five far exceeded that of the four who had died earlier, and everyone reacted accordingly.

Shiryu of the Rain directly coated his weapon with Armament Haki, and several others did the same.

Catarina Devon extended and lengthened her tail, then used Armament Haki covering to protect her entire body.

Avalo Pizarro and Vasco Shot placed their armament-hardened hands in front of themselves to resist.

Blackbeard raised his pitch-black right hand to grab the [Chidori Sharp Spear].

The [Chidori Sharp Spear] first struck Shiryu of the Rain's long sword, knocking him back.

Then the [Chidori Sharp Spear] was caught by Blackbeard.

The electrical current was instantly absorbed, as if touching a conductor, quickly disappearing into the contracted black hole before Blackbeard's right hand.

At the same time, all four subordinates attacked Yami without hesitation.

Slashing attacks, armament-hardened tail strikes, the Corrupt King's charge, and Vasco Shot's massive fist, all coordinated perfectly.

The cooperation in high-level battles was seamless.

They all knew that if they couldn't kill this person, the next battle would prove even more dangerous.

"Poof!"

This Yami transformed directly into smoke.

The five were stunned.

They turned around and saw that the man on the iron wall was still standing there.

But they had no time to look further, because they discovered three ignited paper tags burning rapidly beneath their feet, along with a strange kunai stuck in the deck where they were standing.

"Move!"

All five sensed danger and realized that the wooden board might not support them any longer.

Each displayed their abilities and jumped toward the surrounding iron walls.

Blackbeard was carried by Shiryu of the Rain, who, as a former Navy member, could use [Moonwalk] and [Soru].

Knowing that Blackbeard was the main force for their next plan, Shiryu didn't abandon him.

Catarina Devon extended her tail, pierced it into the iron wall, and pulled herself over.

The Corrupt King could swim, and since he wasn't a Devil Fruit user, he simply dove underwater.

Vasco Shot possessed tremendous physical strength and could actually jump tens of meters away, landing directly on another smaller wooden board nearby.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

Less than a second after they departed, the explosive tags detonated, shattering the board into splinters.

At the same time, Shiryu of the Rain, who was using [Moonwalk] to carry Blackbeard, was greeted by seven or eight cannon shots.

Fugaku and the others didn't expose their positions but hid within some of the gun ports in the iron wall.

Seeing Shiryu of the Rain using [Moonwalk] to transport their target and prevent the enemy from escaping, they acted without revealing their identities.

Using their Sharingan to aim, they opened fire.