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Akira stood there, his eyes flashing, thoughts racing through his mind.
He had a lot on his mind at this moment.
At the same time, he formed a general plan for completing the next two tasks.
"No, I can't hold on anymore. I can't take it any longer."
Hal Acheson withdrew his hand, collapsed to the ground, and spoke weakly.
At this point, not only was his face pale and bloodless, but his body was trembling uncontrollably.
It was clear that even though his contact with the stone door only lasted a few minutes, all his physical strength had been completely drained.
This level of exhaustion was even more intense than using leaves to copy a powerful person.
"W-what the hell is this?"
"It's terrifying!"
Hal Acheson gasped heavily, staring at the stone door with wide, shocked eyes.
This was the first time in his decades of traveling across the sea that he had seen something like this—a door draining physical strength like a vampire.
The scariest part was that after the initial moments, he lost all control.
He could only passively watch as his strength was drained, unable to stop it even if he wanted to.
If not for the fact that his energy had bottomed out and the door released him on its own, he was sure it would have drained him to death.
Overpowering, terrifying...
That was Hal Acheson's impression of the stone door.
If his legs weren't so weak right now, he would have moved far away from it.
Akira snapped out of his thoughts, suppressing the whirlwind in his mind.
After checking on Hal Acheson and confirming that he was merely out of strength and not in danger, Akira turned his attention back to the stone door.
Judging by the appearance of the stone door at this moment, it looked exactly the same as when Akira summoned it. It seemed like all of Hal Acheson's physical strength had been absorbed without leaving any visible change.
However, as the owner of the stone door, Akira could sense that there were indeed subtle changes.
It was like pouring a glass of water into a dry ocean—small, but still noticeable.
'I need more strength,' Akira thought to himself before turning his gaze to Hal Acheson. "Are you alright?"
"Not dead yet," Hal Acheson replied, taking a deep breath and waving his hand. "But I've used up all my energy. I need time to recover before I can fight you."
"No."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Hal Acheson asked, confused.
Akira looked at him calmly. "Exactly what I said. You're of no use anymore."
He had brought Hal Acheson here today specifically to test the stone door, not to have him as a sparring partner. Now that the results were clear, there was no reason to waste any more time or effort.
But Hal Acheson, unaware of Akira's original intentions, was taken aback. "What about the promises you made earlier?" he asked.
Akira chuckled lightly. "You didn't even train with me. Why should I fulfill them?"
"You bastard! Are you messing with me?"
"You're the one who came here because of me, the one who agreed to my terms, and the one who used your strength on that stone door."
"And now, you're just tossing me aside? You broke your word, and there's no honor in that."
"And you're still the Marine's Fleet Admiral, huh?"
"Disgusting..."
Hal Acheson was instantly furious, glaring at Akira with wide, enraged eyes, spitting out insults like a machine gun.
His filthy words echoed throughout Freezing Hell.
Akira simply watched, unfazed.
It wasn't until Hal Acheson had exhausted himself from all the yelling that Akira took a step forward.
Hal Acheson's breath hitched.
As Akira slowly approached, a look of fear flashed deep in his eyes. Only now did he fully grasp the situation.
This wasn't out on the sea, nor was it on his ship.
Akira wasn't some subordinate he could yell at and boss around.
He was a pirate prisoner, and he had just been angrily cursing the powerful Fleet Admiral of the Marines.
Now, panic and fear gripped Hal Acheson.
It's often said that the older a person gets, the more they value their life, and Hal Acheson was no exception.
"You... what are you doing? Don't come any closer."
"That's enough. I don't want anything anymore. Just let me go back down."
As Hal Acheson tried to feign calm, Akira silently closed the distance between them.
Without a word, Akira's hand, coated in Armament Haki, shaped itself into a claw and gripped Hal Acheson's neck, slowly lifting him off the ground.
"You enjoyed running your mouth, huh? Well, time to hit the road," Akira said, a slight smirk curling his lips.
As he spoke, his grip tightened.
"Ho... ho..."
Hal Acheson's pale face flushed red, his pupils bloodshot from the pain. He clawed desperately at Akira's iron grip, but it was useless.
Even at his peak, he wouldn't have stood a chance against Akira. And now, with all his energy drained, he was utterly powerless.
All he could do was thrash helplessly, his anger reduced to nothing.
Soon enough...
Bang.
Hal Acheson's lifeless body hit the ground with a dull thud.
Akira's eyes remained cold and unmoved.
Hal Acheson's fate had been sealed long ago.
The only question had been whether he would die of old age or at Akira's hands.
"It's time to do the second thing," Akira said, taking out a leaf from his cloak and tossing it forward.
"Zehahaha..."
In a puff of smoke, a clone of Blackbeard appeared. "Sir, Teach sends his regards," the clone said with a grin.
"Good. Now, get the Munch-Munch Fruit out of him," Akira ordered, glancing at the lifeless body of Hal Acheson.
"Leave it to me," the Blackbeard clone replied confidently, pounding his chest as he spoke.
Without any hesitation, dark energy gathered in the clone's hands.
Moments later, a freshly transformed Paramecia Devil Fruit materialized and was handed over to Akira.
Akira stowed it away, gave a nod, and the Blackbeard clone vanished.
With a swish of his cloak, Akira turned toward the exit.
Now that Hal Acheson's role was finished and he had secured the Devil Fruit he desired, it was time to set his next plan into motion: unleashing the prisoners of the sixth level of Impel Down—those monstrous pirates—to serve him.
By harnessing their untapped physical strength, he could fully open the stone door.
And beyond that door, other powerful worlds awaited—places where Akira could amass even greater power.