"How long has it been since we last met?"
In the plaza, Whitebeard's long coat billowed violently behind him as his sharp gaze locked onto Kong's calm, unreadable face.
"It has been more than thirty years, hasn't it?"
Kong loosened his tie and removed it completely. Steam slowly rose from his body as he paused, searching his memories before answering.
"Yes. More than thirty years."
A translucent air pressure shield formed around Whitebeard's fists, and his expression hardened instantly.
"This time, I never intended to leave this place alive," Whitebeard said coldly. "Are you prepared to lose a Commander in Chief and two Admirals today?"
"Then let us see if you can step over my corpse first."
Steam poured off Kong's body in thick waves. His Haoshoku Haki erupted outward, colliding violently with Whitebeard's own overwhelming presence. The clash sent tremors through all of Marineford as the already chaotic sky began to fracture.
"Gurararara! I am still younger than you."
"Then prove it."
A murderous aura swept across the battlefield as Whitebeard's fist smashed forward, colliding head on with Kong's air pressure defense.
Whoosh.
Both figures vanished.
In the next instant, they reappeared over a hundred meters away, their knees slamming together like colliding meteors. A catastrophic shockwave tore through the ground, ripping up layers of earth and ice as if nature itself had been struck by a divine punishment.
Whitebeard abandoned his bisento entirely, engaging Kong in brutal close range combat.
Black and crimson lightning surged around their bodies, carving the battlefield into a massive canyon in the blink of an eye. Mountains collapsed, the earth split open, and the air itself screamed under the pressure.
Crack.
The atmosphere fractured audibly.
Kong's muscles swelled as he twisted his body aside. A shockwave grazed past him, cleaving the ground and distant hills cleanly in two before slicing through the ice plain and vanishing into the sky.
At the same moment, Whitebeard's left hand descended, wrapped in a condensed air pressure shield, aimed directly at Kong's head.
Kong raised his arm instantly. Thick veins bulged as top tier Armament Haki coated it completely, forming an impenetrable defense in front of his face.
A deafening explosion followed.
Enormous chunks of rock were ripped from the ground and launched into the sky like cannonballs, scattering in every direction.
The next second, both figures appeared in midair.
Kong swept his leg out in a devastating kick, causing the atmosphere itself to rumble violently. But Whitebeard had already vanished an instant earlier.
Sensing danger, Kong disappeared as well.
In the space they had just occupied, the air shattered completely. The residual force formed a massive arc that crushed the mountains created moments earlier, splitting the sky itself before fading into the distant horizon.
Kong reappeared behind Whitebeard, his right arm drawn back, veins coiling tightly as he threw a full powered punch.
But Whitebeard vanished once again.
Kong's eyes narrowed as he disappeared a split second later.
Below them, the ground collapsed into a bottomless sinkhole where Kong's punch had landed, the destruction effortless and absolute.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Moving at speeds far beyond comprehension, everything in their path disintegrated. Shockwaves tore across the sky repeatedly, briefly illuminating the darkened heavens like flashes of dying stars.
A crushing kick descended like a falling mountain, unleashing a catastrophic collapse that erased everything beneath it.
"Oh my god…"
"This battle is beyond imagination."
"These two are monsters. How can their speed and strength be this terrifying?"
"Whitebeard has to be over seventy, right? Kong must be over a hundred. How are they still this strong?"
"The older the monster, the fiercer it becomes. This is not human anymore."
The world erupted in disbelief.
Whether it was Whitebeard or Kong, their ages were undeniable. Yet their battle was filled with a savage, violent beauty, utterly unlike anything fought by ordinary men of such age.
Every movement looked simple, yet each carried the weight of countless battles and refined experience. Merely watching them felt fundamentally different from any other fight.
Everything else could be explained.
Their age could not.
Boom. Rumble.
Wind and clouds inverted violently. Amid the raging storm, a massive halo forced its way through the clouds and slammed downward. On the ice plain far from Marineford, a massive chasm split open from the center, stretching all the way back toward the island.
Earthquakes, tsunamis, and tectonic shifts erupted once more.
Under Kong's deliberate guidance, the two had already drawn the battlefield away from Marineford. The shattered island would never have survived their full power otherwise.
Whoosh.
The atmosphere collapsed into dust as a streak of light plummeted from the sky.
Kong crashed into the ruptured ice plain below, blood spraying from his mouth as his body skidded violently across the surface.
A moment later, another shockwave slammed down.
The already shattered pit burst open like a crushed fruit. At its center was a bottomless abyss connected directly to the sea below, as massive torrents of seawater rushed upward.
In seconds, a vast lake formed, boiling violently as if a volcano had erupted.
Whitebeard descended from above, landing on a floating slab of ice. His breathing was noticeably heavier now.
Water exploded upward as Kong emerged from the lake, landing among the ruins. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as broken bones in his chest audibly shifted back into place.
He was soaked in sweat, his face pale, coughing blood repeatedly.
At over a hundred years old, he could no longer deny reality. Just a handful of high intensity exchanges left him feeling as though he had fought nonstop for days.
"Gurararara! It has been more than thirty years since I fought like this. How nostalgic."
Whitebeard clenched his fists. The air pressure around him cracked continuously, distorting the atmosphere.
Only men like Kong, Roger, Garp, and Sengoku could push him to this extent.
Only they were qualified to endure his power for so long.
If they were any weaker, a punch or two would have ended the fight long ago.
Kong coughed but did not answer.
Then his expression changed abruptly.
Crack. Crack, crackle.
Whitebeard leaned sideways and grasped the air in front of him. With a thunderous roar, he yanked downward.
The lightning filled sky froze instantly, then visibly tilted.
At the same time, the frozen sea fractured violently, massive slabs rising into towering mountains as endless chasms spread outward.
Marineford itself began to tilt.
The entire island slowly stood upright.
Marines, pirates, and revolutionaries alike stared upward in terror as an enormous shadow swallowed the battlefield. Across the world, viewers watching through transponder screens were struck speechless.
"Marineford…"
"Marineford is flipping over."
"Oh my god!"
On the screens, the island appeared to stand vertically, everyone falling helplessly toward a bottomless abyss.
"This is the power of the World's Strongest Man."
"Damn Whitebeard…"
Blinding golden light erupted from Sengoku.
In an instant, he appeared beneath the roiling black clouds and slammed his palm into the shifting crust. A tremendous force surged outward, forcing Marineford back into its original position.
Had it flipped completely, everyone would have been buried alive.
"Now!"
Luffy and Sabo, closest to the execution platform, exploded forward at the same time and landed directly atop it.
"Luffy! Sabo!"
Ace's hands were bound by Sea Stone cuffs. When he saw the two of them appear together, tears immediately welled in his eyes.
"Ace, we are here to save you!"
Luffy and Sabo grinned widely.
Reality, however, was merciless.
Two shadows appeared behind them without warning.
Ace's smile vanished as his eyes widened in horror.
"Luffy! Sabo, watch out!"
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Kizaru materialized beside Luffy. Blinding golden light flared, and before Luffy could react, his body was sent flying like a beam, slamming diagonally into the ground as chunks of earth erupted upward like a meteor shower.
"Hellhound."
Sabo was struck next.
Though he managed to raise both arms to block, the force that met him was like a volcanic eruption. In the blink of an eye, he was sent crashing after Luffy.
"Luffy! Sabo!"
Ace screamed.
"You will not leave Marineford alive."
Kizaru and Akainu stood firmly atop the execution platform. Though battered and bloodied, they loomed like immovable mountains, sealing every escape route.
Akainu turned slowly, his face stained with blood, and fixed his gaze on Ace.
His eyes were filled with pure killing intent.
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Patreon = _Zeph