The thunder dragon descended.
Blackbeard’s piercing screams echoed, even louder than Sakata Gintoki’s.
Van Augur, sensing danger, teleported away immediately.
He couldn't take Blackbeard with him, because at that instant of departure, the Devil Fruit power Blackbeard had used on Sakata Gintoki would disappear, thus allowing Sakata Gintoki to regain his abilities.
At that point, capturing Sakata Gintoki would no longer be so easy.
However, by doing so, both Blackbeard and Sakata Gintoki endured the thunder dragon's fierce attack. Especially Blackbeard, who, possessing the Yami Yami no Mi, had to bear double the pain.
Enel's body was wreathed in lightning. He held a specially crafted thunder staff, excellent at conducting electricity. Two thunder orbs were condensing, continuously emitting explosive sounds.
Upon discovering Sakata Gintoki was being ambushed, Enel had used electromagnetic fields to easily perform a long-distance teleportation, almost instantaneously.
By the time he arrived, it was precisely when Sakata Gintoki and Blackbeard were locked in a desperate struggle.
Whether it was due to their current identities or out of a brotherly affection for Sakata Gintoki's brief existence, Enel would not let Blackbeard’s scheme succeed.
Furthermore, Enel had heard Benedict mention Blackbeard’s existence several times, warning him to be extremely cautious.
Once captured by him, one would lose their Devil Fruit abilities, and even have their Devil Fruit power stolen.
If you didn't possess sufficiently powerful Haki of Armaments and Observation, then congratulations, you were already dead.
This was also why Enel, after appearing, dared not approach Blackbeard and chose to attack from a distance.
Enel stared coldly at Blackbeard and said in a deep voice, "Thunder Whip!"
Wielding his thunder staff, he whipped out arcs of lightning. Amplified by the power of the thunder orbs, the lightning arcs erupted with immense destructive and cutting power.
"Darkness Energy."
Blackbeard extended his other hand, roaring at the incoming lightning arcs.
The lightning arcs that should have struck Blackbeard were absorbed into the miniature black hole that appeared as he acted.
With Blackbeard's control over his ability, a suction force began to pull Enel in.
Enel instantly teleported away, then transformed his twin staffs into pillars of lightning, one end plunging into the ground, the other reaching into the sky-bound thunderclouds.
"Heavenly Thunder!"
*Rrrrriiiip!*
The might of heaven and earth exploded, countless lightning snakes descending. Guided by Enel, they lunged towards Blackbeard.
Facing Enel's relentless attacks, Blackbeard furiously slammed his hand onto the ground, pressing Sakata Gintoki tightly against it.
"Yami Tei!"
Darkness enveloped Blackbeard and Sakata Gintoki, forming a realm that continuously expanded outwards, clashing fiercely with the descending lightning snakes.
Blackbeard’s dark energy was potent. Although lightning had a suppressing effect on darkness, Enel's current strength, despite considerable improvement over time, still lagged far behind Blackbeard's.
Therefore, after merely a moment of resistance, Enel's attacks were crushed.
Enel transformed into lightning and instantly retreated, reappearing a hundred meters in the sky.
Enel struck his thunder staff. The originally blue lightning turned purple, emitting a crackling roar.
In an instant, above the void, the vast thunderclouds seemed to rage with fury, opening their colossal mouths and compressing the power within them. Countless lightning snakes converged, forming a black thunderball.
Blackbeard, hidden in the darkness, had no time to attempt to steal Sakata Gintoki’s Suke Suke no Mi because he had unleashed Yami Tei.
For once he used Kage Kage no Mi, Yami Tei would be dispelled, and Enel’s attacks would fall upon him unimpeded, making his life worse than death.
Yet now, Blackbeard, lurking in the darkness, looked at the thunderball radiating terrifying power in the sky, then at Enel, whose face was pale and clearly struggling. Blackbeard exclaimed in alarm, "You brat who uses lightning, are you playing with your life?"
"Even if you injure me, Sakata Gintoki will surely die."
Although the Yami Yami no Mi could absorb Devil Fruit powers, even without physical wounds, he had to endure double the pain.
A thunderball of such terrifying energy descending, while Yami Tei could resist most of the damage, Blackbeard still did not want to endure such an impact.
At this moment, Sakata Gintoki was held in Blackbeard's grasp. Darkness energy also coiled around him, controlling his body. Combined with the poison, he had lost almost all ability to resist, even though he was still conscious.
Enel’s hands trembled slightly. Controlling such terrifying power was extremely taxing for him.
But this was the strongest attack he could unleash, drawing upon the might of the heavens.
However, if he couldn't control it properly, even as a Logia user of the Goro Goro no Mi, he would be injured, possibly even killed, by such a lightning bombardment.
He had to go all out against someone like Blackbeard.
As for Sakata Gintoki's life or death, that concerned him greatly.
But if he couldn't defeat Blackbeard, it would be very difficult to rescue Sakata Gintoki.
"Release General Kenshi, or we will both perish," Enel said gravely, staring at Blackbeard.
"What a joke. I've been lurking for so long to catch him, how could I let go?" Blackbeard sneered, "Brat, if you have the guts, bring down the thunderball and let's see who dies."
With that, Blackbeard extended his massive hand.
A giant black figure, formed from darkness, stretched out a black hand towards Enel.
"Goro Goro no Tono!"
Enel looked at the grasping giant black hand and abandoned his restraint, roaring as the colossal thunderball rapidly descended.
The terrifying lightning instantly became uncontrollable, rampaging, chaotic, and vast, covering hundreds of meters.
The black hand and the thunderball collided rapidly. The moment they touched, the black hand quickly disintegrated.
Seeing this, Blackbeard snorted coldly. Terrifying power rapidly condensed. The previously collapsing black hand reformed in an instant, becoming even larger, seemingly intending to grip the thunderball, which had a diameter of over a hundred meters.
From afar, the black energy looked like a gaping maw, continuously devouring the thunderball and its terrifying energy.
The black energy gathered forward, converged upwards, and the black energy surrounding Blackbeard gradually shrunk until his form, gripping Sakata Gintoki, was exposed.
Consequently, Blackbeard's expression appeared incredibly ferocious and terrifying.
While resisting, he was also absorbing energy. Only by doing so could he withstand it.
As for whether he would eventually use Sakata Gintoki as a shield, there was no need to consider.
Even if Sakata Gintoki ultimately died, as long as it was within a certain timeframe, he could still plunder the Devil Fruit power from Sakata Gintoki’s corpse.
Large beads of sweat, caused by extreme pain, continuously dripped down. His dark body, due to enduring so much pain, had heated to a slight reddish hue.
A gentle breeze blew past Blackbeard, feeling somewhat cool and offering a sliver of comfort. But soon, Blackbeard's already ferocious expression turned to horror. He could no longer care about anything else and rushed into the darkness.
This wind was unusual.