"Luffy, Sabo!"
Ace stood on the execution platform, his face pale with anxiety as he watched the battlefield below. His heart tightened painfully as he saw Luffy and Sabo fall one after another. On a battlefield like this, severe injuries were often a death sentence.
His fear deepened when he noticed two Vice Admirals already charging toward Luffy and Sabo, their killing intent unmistakable.
On the right side of the grand plaza, the atmosphere seemed to rupture.
Akainu, his face smeared with blood, glared viciously at Whitebeard. His right arm transformed, magma surging and shaping itself into a ferocious hound. The molten jaws snapped forward, slicing cleanly through Whitebeard's upward-curving crescent mustache.
At the same time, Whitebeard's fist slammed into Akainu head-on.
Even though Akainu had partially elementalized, the sheer force still tore through him. His internal organs were violently shaken, and his body was sent tumbling across the ground, carving a deep trench before finally coming to a stop. He lay there gasping, magma dripping and steam rising from his body.
"Damn it…"
Whether Akainu wanted to admit it or not, he was completely outmatched by this old man.
According to Marine intelligence, Whitebeard was supposed to be aged and riddled with hidden injuries, a shadow of his former self. Yet the power before him was overwhelming, terrifyingly complete.
What Akainu did not know was that Ace's desperate plea to Kuma had erased Whitebeard's accumulated injuries, restoring his body and vitality. It was as if ten years had been stripped away.
At this moment, Whitebeard stood just one step away from his true peak.
As the strongest man in the world, even an Admiral like Akainu was never meant to defeat him head-on.
"Whoosh!"
A sharp beam of light suddenly pierced the air, streaking straight toward Whitebeard's chest.
Golden light gathered and condensed, revealing Kizaru hovering mid-air.
Marco, who had previously been fighting Kizaru, was now blocked by Vice Admiral Tokikake and an elderly Vice Admiral. The Marines had clearly noticed Akainu's dire situation and were trying to free Kizaru so he could intervene.
Whitebeard could not be allowed to advance any further.
If he did, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"Boom!"
The laser beam detonated mid-air, intercepted by a sudden force. Flames and black smoke roared upward, whipping the battlefield into chaos. Debris scattered in every direction as a massive silhouette emerged from the smoke.
Whitebeard strode forward, his bisento gripped firmly in his hands. Each step he took pressed down on the battlefield like a mountain, instilling fear deep into the hearts of all who watched.
"Kizaru, kid."
His gaze was calm, utterly unshaken. His coat billowed violently in the raging wind as he stared at the Admiral.
"He really is an old monster…"
Kizaru's entire body tensed. With a swift motion, he formed a cross-shaped light sword in his hand, its glow sharp and dangerous.
Black and red lightning crackled in the air as Whitebeard swung his bisento.
Metal clashed violently.
Sparks flew as Kizaru barely managed to parry the strike. His hands trembled violently, and he was forced backward step by step.
In contrast, Whitebeard swung his bisento freely, each strike wide and devastating, completely unconcerned with defense.
Kizaru retreated continuously, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
Each blow carried crushing power that numbed his arms to the bone.
What made it even worse was Whitebeard's overwhelming Haoshoku Haki and top-tier Armament Haki, both radiating pressure far beyond Kizaru's expectations.
Whitebeard was not the strongest man in the world merely because of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. His mastery of all three types of Haki was equally terrifying. Without it, he could never have ruled an era for so long.
Cracks spread across the light sword as Armament Haki overwhelmed it. The weapon shattered.
Kizaru's pupils shrank.
He instantly transformed into photons and vanished. A heartbeat later, Whitebeard's bisento slammed into the ground, and a monstrous shockwave tore through the surface, carving an unfathomably deep trench that extended across the frozen sea.
Golden light gathered once more in mid-air.
Kizaru crossed his arms, radiant brilliance surging around him like a blazing sun.
"Eight Shaku Jewel."
Dense light bullets poured down like a meteor shower. The ground buckled and heaved as explosions chained together, sand, stone, and ice flying everywhere.
Amid the rain of light, Whitebeard spun his bisento and charged straight upward, directly into the barrage.
"Old monster!"
Kizaru cursed in disbelief. His body shone brighter as countless beams converged above his head. A colossal golden spear, stretching for thousands of meters, began to take shape.
"Sacred Spear."
With a downward motion, the spear plummeted toward Whitebeard like a falling star.
The blinding brilliance made it impossible to keep one's eyes open.
Whitebeard clenched his left fist. A white pressure field formed around it as he punched forward.
The air shattered like broken glass.
The golden spear froze mid-air, then cracked apart, detonating in a thunderous explosion. Flames and black smoke surged skyward.
Using Observation Haki, Kizaru barely had time to react before his instincts screamed danger.
Whitebeard appeared at his side.
A brutal punch smashed into Kizaru's stomach before he could fully elementalize.
Golden light streaked diagonally as Kizaru was sent flying, crashing through multiple icebergs. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he skidded across the shattered terrain before finally reforming.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The earth within a thousand meters erupted upward.
Whitebeard's right foot, wrapped in crushing force, was embedded deep into the ground. He swung his bisento, now coated in pressure, and unleashed a devastating tremor.
A tsunami-like shockwave surged forward.
"Damn it."
Kizaru's hair stood on end. He abandoned reforming his body and fled.
A thousand meters away, Kizaru barely reassembled himself when Whitebeard appeared again. Kizaru lashed out with a light-speed kick, but Whitebeard blocked it effortlessly with one hand.
With a slight downward motion of his elbow, Whitebeard stopped the attack cold, his eyes filled with lethal intent.
Kizaru elementalized instantly.
Whitebeard swept his leg across the battlefield, explosions erasing several icebergs. Laser beams struck from behind, but Whitebeard took them head-on, barely slowing.
The beams bent away under his Armament Haki.
"Damn Armament Haki…"
Kizaru cursed bitterly. The difference was overwhelming.
A light sword formed once more. Kizaru slashed fiercely, but Whitebeard blocked it with a pressure-coated hand. His bisento followed immediately.
Kizaru vanished again.
Despite his massive frame, Whitebeard's speed was anything but slow.
"Is this really the power of the strongest man?"
"This is terrifying. Even an Admiral can't fight back."
"That's Kizaru, and he's being suppressed the entire time."
"No wonder he's called the strongest man in the world."
Across the seas, countless viewers fell silent.
Those who once dreamed of claiming Whitebeard's head felt their courage evaporate.
This was not a dying legend.
This was a living calamity.
Kizaru retreated again and again, every exchange shaking him to the core.
Gathering light above his head once more, the massive golden spear reformed and was hurled forward.
Whitebeard remained unmoved.
His muscles swelled beneath Armament Haki as he punched the spear's tip head-on. His feet dug deep into the ground, coat snapping wildly behind him.
"Ama no Murakumo, Pierce."
Kizaru reappeared behind him in a flash, light sword thrusting toward Whitebeard's back.
Before the strike could land, Whitebeard kicked backward.
The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield. Kizaru's bones cracked audibly as blood sprayed from his mouth. He transformed into light and fled, barely escaping.
The ground behind him collapsed into a vast abyss.
Whitebeard burst forward once more.
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100 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter
200 Powerstones = 3 Bonus Chapters
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