The Dark-Dark Fruit is the bane of ordinary ability users. Even strong individuals like Sengoku and Whitebeard can't use their abilities under its influence.
He couldn't easily interfere with Whitebeard's frontline, watching the battle between Kaidou and Sengoku, Blackbeard had two thoughts.
Help Sengoku ambush Kaidou, or help Kaidou ambush Sengoku.
Both the Great Buddha Fruit and the Azure Dragon Fruit are immensely powerful, and the abilities of these two Mythical Zoans have him envious.
The reason for choosing to ambush Sengoku is the result of Blackbeard's deliberation.
When picking companions from Impel Down, he had already fought with these people. Prisoners from the sixth level are far from being easy to deal with, and from them, Blackbeard confirmed one thing: his Dark-Dark Fruit is useful.
So the issue wasn't with himself, but with the Hundred Beasts group.
Drake and King nearly gave him a complex. He didn't understand what kind of monsters these Hundred Beasts people were. If his ability was ineffective on Kaidou, then he'd become a joke.
Moreover, as the leader of the Impel Down breakout event, he was already on a confrontational path with the Navy. Watching Kaidou fighting two adversaries at once, he finally chose to ambush Sengoku.
He had considerable friction with King, but in Blackbeard's view, it was nothing significant.
The unfortunate one had always been him. Even if there was the issue with Drake's eye, he also lost an eye, so it should be considered even.
In Blackbeard's heart, profit is most important, and trust never existed, not even with his subordinates whom he gave little trust to.
His courage to use these people stems from their shared goals; as long as interests align, they can form alliances, which is essentially what pirates are about.
Hence, Kaidou is not an unsuitable ally.
Sengoku is Kaidou's enemy, and if he targets Sengoku, Kaidou shouldn't swing at him, right?
Kaidou wouldn't ally with Whitebeard either. Once he takes Sengoku's ability, the Whitebeard situation might be close to concluding, allowing him to decide what to do next.
Prideful, arrogant, and self-assured, these are Blackbeard's traits.
The fundamental interests of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Hundred Beasts Pirates are contradictory. In Blackbeard's view, these two behemoths can never unite. Kaidou's presence here surely has another agenda, hence he made this decision.
He admitted there was an element of gambling, but he had always been a reckless gambler, ever since he boarded Whitebeard's pirate ship decades ago, starting on the gambler's path.
The combat between top-tier powers might seem ordinary, but each strike is a life-and-death struggle. In the original timeline, Oden was knocked down by Kaidou because of a momentary distraction.
For Sengoku, an ability user, that moment could be even more fatal.
Blackbeard considered this a risk-free gamble. Since storming Impel Down, he had established an unbreakable conflict with the Navy, so attacking Sengoku wouldn't make a difference.
However, he lacked understanding of Kaidou, utterly ignorant of how much Kaidou values the process of combat.
"You two bastards... dare to interfere in my battle?!"
Seeing Blackbeard and Pizarro who merged with the ground, Kaidou was surprisingly enraged, even more so than when Yamato declared she didn't want to fight and lay down flat.
Earth-colored energy flowed into his foot as Kaidou stomped hard on the ground.
Boom!
The ground began to tremble, the tidy streets flipped up and became tattered in the blink of an eye. Pizarro, merged with the island, felt his blood surge and was forced out by a single stomp from Kaidou.
"Shock...shocking?!"
Blackbeard widened his remaining eye, seeing that dreamt-of ability used by Kaidou.
"Just an earthquake. I don't particularly like using this ability, but right now I'm really pissed..."
"Zehahaha, Kaidou, join forces with me! Together, we can surely dominate this world! Combined, our abilities are enough to turn this world upside down!"
Looking at the furious Kaidou, Blackbeard not only showed no fear or retreat but instead made a proposal to ally with him.
"By then, you can have as many opponents as you want to fight to your heart's content!"
"Wugorogoro, you truly have guts, talking about world domination? Such big talk."
Seeing Blackbeard's arrogant face, Kaidou was both infuriated and amused by him.
"What's wrong? Can't you even handle this much? Ambition fuels dreams. A person's dream won't end. As long as one lives, they strive towards their dreams!
A person's dream will never end!"
"Well said, a person's dream won't end, but your life ends here."
Kaidou agreed with Blackbeard on that point, yet his murderous intent didn't wane a bit. Disturbing his battle was unforgivable, even if it was Yamato who did it, without days of fighting, don't expect to move past it.
At this moment, sensing Kaidou's Supreme King's presence, King returned, seeing Blackbeard's repulsive face.
"Kaidou-nii..."
"King, I'll give you one more chance, deal with this guy, don't disappoint me."
Kaidou was fully aware that King's main target in this top war was Blackbeard, and he hadn't acted because he was waiting for King.
For a subordinate he valued, Kaidou also had his own considerations. King, considered his right-hand man, was worth Kaidou's patience for a little while longer.
But if King hadn't come, he wouldn't have held back anymore.
"Rest assured, Kaidou-nii, I won't let him escape again. Betting on the honor of our race, I will bring back his head."
"It's up to you, this guy's ruined all my interest."
Kaidou withdrew his weapon, looking at the defeated Sengoku and Zephyr beside him, he even lost the interest to continue the fight, merely gauging Blackbeard.
No matter what contingency plans he had, Kaidou wouldn't allow him another chance.
"You madman, is our conflict worth this life-or-death struggle?! I also lost an eye! As for other matters, I can apologize...."
Swish!
Blue flame blade energy slashed past Blackbeard, as King directly went into Blue Flame Mode.
"Your nonsense, is too much. This time, I'll cut off your head to see if this anomaly can still live."
"Bastard... this guy is not easy to handle! You guys, quick..."
Blackbeard shouted to his companions for assistance, to find a chance to slip away, but before he could finish, he heard a burst of screams.
Scarlet flames formed a terrifying cage, covering all his subordinates within it, and it was not King who unleashed these flames, but rather Shaina.
"Do what you need to, I'll take care of these nuisances for you."