Delia’s lion-like tail coiled around Kikunojo, then she caught Laffitte’s follow-up attack with one hand. Her free arm, wrapped in crackling electricity, swung out, sending a flurry of white feathers drifting through the air.
Seeing the vicious claw marks on his chest and his nearly broken wing, Laffitte’s already pale face grew even more terrified. With just a casual strike, Delia had completely cut off his escape route—everything he did was almost entirely within her expectations.
This wasn’t the effect of Observation Haki but rather muscle memory. She had always been King’s Vice-Captain and had frequently sparred with him during training. Delia knew the fighting habits of “winged people” better than anyone.
But for Delia, Blackbeard was the real problem. She had used Volt Switch to achieve a special form of teleportation, but Blackbeard didn’t waste much time before catching up to her.
When he realized Delia genuinely cared about Kikunojo, he instead redirected a barrage of attacks toward Kikunojo.
Since Blackbeard possessed considerable strength, Delia didn’t engage him in direct close combat. Instead, she relied on her ranged attacks to continuously strike at him.
Black Vortex released from Blackbeard’s hands absorbed damage without causing him pain, but attacks that landed elsewhere were a different story. The continuous damage from the lightning, combined with the double damage amplification of the Dark-Dark Fruit, made Blackbeard feel an excruciating pain akin to being slowly sliced apart.
Boom!
The barrier formed from Protect blocked Blackbeard’s attack, giving Kikunojo a moment to recover. But at that moment, Blackbeard seized the opportunity to grab Delia’s neck and slammed her onto the ground.
Darkness spread from his palm, expanding across the ground in all directions. The gravitational pull within it bound Kikunojo like ghostly hands, and even Delia felt a tearing sensation assaulting her body.
“Zehahaha! Now you can’t move, can you? This is your last chance—join me and become my crewmate! Otherwise, you and your companion will die right here!”
Blackbeard once again believed he had victory in his grasp. With a hostage in hand, he extended his recruitment offer to Delia once more.
“Heh, has anyone ever told you? You talk way too much for such an ugly guy—just looking at you is disgusting.”
“Damn woman, you really don’t know what’s good for you.”
Seeing Delia still mocking him despite being in his grasp, Blackbeard’s patience was nearly at its limit. He looked her up and down, as if contemplating something, while his grip on her neck slowly tightened.
“Like what you see?… Then you better keep your eyes wide open. Arrogance comes with a… price!”
“Hm? Ahhhh—!”
“My eyes, my eyes!”
Just as he was about to make his move, an intense burst of blinding light erupted from Delia’s body. Even those nearby couldn’t keep their eyes open, while Blackbeard, who had been staring directly at Delia, cried out in pain.
It was the move Flash, originally intended for illumination in cave environments. However, this move could also be used as a highly effective flashbang.
Blackbeard’s hand was still gripping Delia’s neck. The intense Flash made him want to snap her neck immediately, but before he could act, his body suffered a devastating blow.
While he had been busy speaking nonsense, he failed to notice Delia making some strange movements with her legs. At the same moment Flash erupted, the Z-Crystal on Delia’s body also began to glow.
Activating a Z-Move required an embarrassing dance sequence, but this process was merely a way to channel the Z-Crystal’s power within the body.
The dance was a prerequisite, but certain variations were possible.
Just now, Delia had used her feet instead of her hands to perform the Z-Move activation sequence, successfully meeting the conditions for release. But Blackbeard, unaware of this, mistook it for a desperate struggle.
Blackbeard had been kneeling on one knee, pinning Delia to the ground. From this angle, Delia was in the perfect position to land a kick right between his legs.
“Go to hell! Gigavolt Havoc!”
Rather than using a direct strike, Delia channeled the power of lightning into her leg and then launched a kick straight at Blackbeard’s crotch.
Crack…
Even with the Dark-Dark Fruit, the unmistakable sound of something shattering echoed in everyone’s ears. Delia had been wearing a pair of combat boots with thick soles, and with Haki reinforcing them, they were even harder than Tekkai.
With the amplification of the Z-Move, Delia’s attack was far stronger than her previous strikes. And with Blackbeard completely off guard, her kick landed dead center.
This was a pain no human could possibly endure. It wasn’t just men; even a woman would be unable to endure such a kick, let alone Blackbeard, who was already suffering from a debuff that doubled his pain.
“Blissfully” ascending to heaven—this was the only sensation Blackbeard felt at this moment. He couldn’t help but release his grip on Delia, his mouth gaping wide open, yet no sound emerged. The indescribable pain was beyond any verbal expression.
Poking the eyes and kicking the groin—a highly effective combo, perfect for any street fight scenario.
The near-crippling strike completely awakened Blackbeard’s ferocity. Summoning all the strength left in his body, he curled his fingers into claws and lashed out toward Delia and Kikunojo. He had completely forgotten his previous words—now, he only wanted to kill the two before him.
After using the Z-Move, Delia entered a brief state of weakness. Even so, she still managed to push Kikunojo away behind her. A streak of blood followed, splattering into the air.
But Blackbeard no longer had the strength to continue attacking. That last strike had been his final act of defiance. After that, he clutched his groin with both hands and collapsed onto the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably…
“Miss Delia! Y-Your eye…”
“Stop talking, let’s go. I’m just out of stamina, not dead… If that b*stard recovers, we’re screwed…”
Covering her right eye and glancing at Blackbeard’s men, who still hadn’t shaken off the effects of Flash, Delia immediately decided to leave. The Z-Move had already drained her significantly.
On top of that, she had expended a huge amount of stamina throughout the battle, and with her current injuries, she barely had any fight left in her.
Blackbeard’s vitality was something even she found troublesome. If he managed to recover, they would be in serious trouble.
“Understood.”
Kikunojo supported Delia as they rushed toward the distant dock, planning to leave this troublesome place for now…
…
By the time the effects of Delia’s Flash had faded, the two of them were already long gone. Laffitte and the others could only see Blackbeard lying motionless on the ground.
Doc Q approached Blackbeard with a look of reluctance, reaching toward the area he was clutching. Despite his gentle touch, Blackbeard still twitched violently.
“What happened to the captain?”
“Isn’t it obvious? If not for the Dark-Dark Fruit, even a Giant’s would’ve been shattered from that hit. As for the pain… that’s something he’ll have to deal with himself.”
Spreading his hands in resignation, Doc Q gave his diagnosis, making it clear that there was nothing he could do about the situation.
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