Light was not entirely sure if what stood before him was truly an Interdimensional Gate.
He had never seen one with his own eyes.
For now, he treated it as one.
As the gate opened, the surrounding space seemed to slow, as if time itself had been restrained.
Everything froze in place until the gate fully formed.
At the same time, Light felt a steady drain on his stamina.
It was not overwhelming, but it was constant, as if the gate relied on his strength to remain open.
Instinctively, he understood that he could close it whenever he wished.
This was completely different from what he had learned.
Over the past two weeks, Light had gathered plenty of information about Interdimensional Gates.
They varied in size, some towering into the sky, visible from miles away, while others were no larger than a doorway.
However, all known gates shared the same traits.
They were uncontrollable when they first appeared, and closing them required immense effort.
None were known to consume a person’s stamina to function.
“Did something change with my transmigration?” Light thought, a hint of anticipation rising in his chest.
“Is this finally my advantage?”
The swirling colors of the gate gradually faded, allowing him to see what lay beyond.
The space on the other side had not fully stabilized yet.
It still carried a frozen, distorted quality.
Taking advantage of that brief moment, Light leaned forward and looked through.
What he saw immediately sharpened his focus.
It was a murder scene.
A man dressed like a chef lay collapsed on a wooden floor, blood spreading across his back from a fatal stab wound.
The killer had not left yet.
From Light’s angle, he could only see the man’s back.
The killer was broad and sturdy, with a black headscarf wrapped around his head.
Thick, unkempt hair spilled from beneath it, hanging loosely over his shoulders.
His posture carried a sense of confidence, even arrogance.
In one hand, he held a bloodstained dagger.
In the other, he raised a strange fruit high into the air, admiring it as if it were a treasure beyond value.
The moment Light saw that fruit, a sense of familiarity struck him.
Then it clicked.
“Isn’t that a Devil Fruit?” he muttered.
The design was unmistakable.
Light had once spent countless hours watching and reading mangas about One Piece.
Now, seeing it in front of him, the memory surfaced instantly.
This was the world of pirates.
And this moment, this exact scene, could only mean one thing.
It was the night Marshall D.
Teach murdered Thatch and stole the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Before Light could think further, the frozen space snapped back to normal.
“Zehahahaha!
Thatch, blame your fate,” Teach laughed wildly, his voice filled with long-suppressed ambition.
“This Dark-Dark Fruit will be mine!”
Light did not hesitate.
The moment reality resumed, he acted.
His hand shot forward through the gate and snatched the Devil Fruit directly from Teach’s grasp.
There was no pause, no second thought.
The instant the fruit was in his hand, Light willed the gate to close.
He knew exactly what he was dealing with.
Even without the Dark-Dark Fruit, Teach was far from weak.
This was a man capable of injuring Shanks in a direct clash.
His low profile within the crew was a choice, not a limitation.
Stealing the fruit from him was the same as declaring a deadly feud.
With his current strength, Light would not survive even a single direct confrontation.
Running was the only option.
At that exact moment, Teach turned around.
What he saw was a stranger retreating into a mysterious gate that had appeared out of nowhere.
“Bastard!
Give me back the Devil Fruit!” Teach roared, his killing intent surging outward.
His aura burst forth as he lunged forward, trying to seize the intruder.
But it was too late.
The gate vanished.
Along with it, the Devil Fruit disappeared completely.
Teach froze.
For a brief second, his expression twisted in disbelief, then turned dark with rage.
He had waited years for this moment.
He had hidden his ambitions, endured everything, all for the chance to obtain this fruit.
And now, at the final step, it had been taken from him.
His fury erupted.
Without hesitation, he unleashed his Observation Haki, sweeping across the ship and even the surrounding sea, searching for any trace of the thief.
At the same time, his outburst alerted the rest of the crew.
The cabin door burst open.
A young man rushed in, his expression tense.
“Teach, what happened?”
It was Portgas D.
Ace.
Before Teach could answer, Ace’s gaze fell on the body lying in a pool of blood.
“Thatch!”
Shock and anger filled his voice as he rushed forward, kneeling beside his fallen crewmate.
Meanwhile, Teach forced himself to regain control.
His Observation Haki had found nothing.
The thief was gone without a trace.
Now, he had to deal with the situation in front of him.
“After we finished drinking, Thatch was seeing me off,” Teach said through clenched teeth, his tone heavy with anger.
“Then someone opened a strange gate inside the cabin.
It must have been an ability user.”
His grip tightened as he continued.
“That bastard took my dagger, stabbed Thatch from behind, and stole his Devil Fruit.”
Ace’s hands clenched.
After confirming that Thatch had no pulse, his expression darkened with grief and fury.
He did not doubt Teach.
Within the Whitebeard Pirates, trust between crewmates ran deep.
To Ace, there was no reason for Teach to commit such an act.
“Did you see his face?” Ace asked, his voice low but filled with killing intent.
“Anyone who dares harm our crew will pay for it.”
Teach nodded slowly.
“I saw him clearly.
I will have his portrait drawn,” he said, his voice cold.
“No matter where he runs, I will find him and tear him apart.”
Back in Newdale, the stairwell fell silent.
Light stood alone in the dim corridor, the strange gate already gone.
In his hand was the Devil Fruit he had just taken.
He studied it carefully, turning it slightly as if trying to confirm its reality.
“Will it still work in this world?” he murmured.
After all, this was no longer its original world.
But then again, the Interdimensional Gates had already brought countless foreign powers into this world.
There was no reason this would be any different.
More importantly, he could still feel the gate within him.
As long as he had enough stamina, he could open it again.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“Looks like things just got interesting.”
===
I sure did pick a bad name, considering his ability involves ‘Darkness’