Several cannonballs exploded against one of the pirate ships sailing beside the Moby Dick.
Boom!!
Boom!!
Flames immediately erupted across its deck.
Smoke billowed into the sky.
The Marines had fired first.
Whitebeard's eyes shifted toward the returning Marine warship.
Instead of anger…
A trace of admiration appeared.
"They turned back…"
"So they truly chose death."
One of the Whitebeard Pirates shouted loudly.
"Since they dared fire upon us…"
"They'd better be prepared to die!"
Another pirate raised his weapon.
"Whitebeard Pirates!"
"Return fire!"
"Give those Marines the salute they deserve!"
"Fire!!"
Boom!
Boom!!
Boom!!!
The entire Whitebeard fleet adjusted formation.
Dozens of cannons roared simultaneously.
An endless rain of cannonballs streaked toward the approaching Marine warship.
Whitebeard quietly watched the exchange.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"I spoke too soon."
"That Marine ship…"
"Doesn't carry a single coward."
At that exact moment
His Observation Haki detected another overwhelming presence.
He turned his head.
The silver-haired Marine clad in jet-black armor had already returned from the sea.
She stood before him once again.
Marco immediately descended from the sky.
He intended to intercept her.
Then
Boom!!
The battlefield shook violently.
Marco's body was slammed into the frozen sea by the black-armored knight before anyone could react.
Fragments of ice exploded into the air.
"Marco!"
Several Division Commanders cried out simultaneously.
…
Whitebeard slowly lifted Murakumogiri onto his shoulder.
His expression finally became serious.
"I don't know what that armor is…"
"But…"
"I'll show you…"
"What Whitebeard truly is."
The air trembled.
Murakumogiri descended.
The overwhelming force behind the massive Supreme Grade Blade distorted the atmosphere itself.
The World's Strongest Man attacked without holding anything back.
…
Seraphina stepped across the frozen sea.
Using the speed granted by Awakening Sparrow, she instantly returned to the battlefield.
Without hesitation…
She swung Winter Solstice.
The silver blade met Murakumogiri head-on.
Boom!!
The collision between two Supreme Grade Blades (Saijō Ō Wazamono) shook the sea.
Whitebeard's overwhelming physical strength combined with the terrifying vibrations of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit (Gura Gura no Mi).
The world itself seemed to crack apart.
Only Seraphina, standing directly before him, could truly understand how monstrous Whitebeard's strength was.
His power resembled an immovable mountain.
An overwhelming force capable of crushing everything before it.
Whitebeard pressed forward.
Murakumogiri descended with terrifying momentum.
Even the protection granted by the black armor seemed insufficient to completely absorb the impact.
Yet Seraphina did not retreat.
She raised Winter Solstice once more.
"Winter Solstice "
"Ultimate Technique…"
"Closure of All Things!"
The world instantly became white.
An endless blizzard engulfed the battlefield.
The freezing power of Winter Solstice merged perfectly with the mysterious black armor.
The two powers resonated as though they had always belonged together.
Ancient magic.
Supreme swordsmanship.
Unmatched cold.
The sea froze once again.
Layer after layer of ice spread across the ocean.
Within moments…
The frozen surface exceeded one hundred meters in thickness.
Whitebeard narrowed his eyes.
Then
"Cloud Cutter!"
Murakumogiri swept downward once more.
Invisible vibrations coated the massive blade.
The destructive force of the Gura Gura no Mi merged with his Armament Haki and monstrous physical strength.
Even against the endless winter…
Whitebeard's power showed no sign of weakening.
Boom!!!!!
The two attacks collided.
A gigantic shockwave erupted in every direction.
The Moby Dick and the surrounding pirate ships were blown backward across the sea.
The newly formed hundred-meter-thick glacier cracked from end to end.
At the center of the collision…
The ice simply disappeared.
The overwhelming force pulverized it into nothingness.
Even the enormous frozen continent beneath their feet sank noticeably beneath the sea.
This…
Was the true power of the World's Strongest Man.
Edward Newgate.
Whitebeard.
Standing directly before him, Seraphina experienced that overwhelming might more clearly than anyone else.
It was not merely strength.
It was an existence that had stood at the summit of the sea alongside Gol D. Roger.
"How is that possible?!"
One of the commanders shouted in disbelief.
"She actually blocked Father's attack!"
Smoke slowly dispersed.
The black-armored knight still stood.
Winter Solstice remained raised.
Its silver edge firmly held back the descending Murakumogiri.
Meanwhile…
After rescuing Marco from the freezing sea, the Whitebeard Pirates' commanders gathered near the battlefield once again.
None of them dared approach.
They understood perfectly.
This battlefield no longer belonged to them.
Only monsters could survive there.
Whitebeard and Roger had once fought continuously for three days and three nights.
The battle unfolding before them…
Carried that same overwhelming presence.
Murakumogiri remained locked against Winter Solstice.
Neither side yielded.
Whitebeard carefully observed the armored Marine before him.
For the first time since this encounter began…
His expression became completely serious.
The towering old pirate stood more than three times her height.
Yet…
The smaller figure standing before him possessed strength great enough to halt his blade.
Even Whitebeard found it astonishing.
Where…
Had such a monster appeared from?
Seraphina understood one thing clearly.
She could not surpass Whitebeard in raw physical strength.
Therefore…
She abandoned that contest entirely.
Boom!!
An overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki (Haoshoku Haki) erupted from her body.
The pressure of a true king descended upon the battlefield.
Using that explosive burst of Haki, she forced Murakumogiri away before immediately retreating several meters.
The clash of blades ended.
Now…
Another battle began.
Whitebeard smiled.
"So…"
"You possess the qualities of a king."
The next instant
His own Conqueror's Haki erupted.
Boom!!!
Invisible lightning exploded throughout the sky.
The atmosphere itself seemed to split apart.
Seraphina gripped Winter Solstice with both hands.
Her silver eyes remained fixed upon Whitebeard.
Across from her…
Whitebeard planted Murakumogiri firmly into the frozen ground.
The old pirate stared directly at her.
Neither moved.
Yet the battlefield shook violently.
The clash between two supreme wills had begun.
One belonged to the ruler of an endless winter.
The other…
To a conqueror who had dominated the seas for decades.
Blue-black lightning collided endlessly with Whitebeard's overwhelming Haki.
The ocean trembled.
The heavens roared.
The surrounding pirates and Marines struggled even to remain standing.
"They're both monsters…"
One commander muttered unconsciously.
"Marco losing to her…"
"Isn't disgraceful at all."
The Whitebeard Pirates could hardly believe what they were witnessing.
A Marine Rear Admiral…
Someone whose name was virtually unknown throughout the New World…
Was matching Whitebeard's presence head-on.
Marco silently watched everything.
Had this happened earlier…
He would already have rejoined the battle.
Now…
He understood better than anyone else.
Interfering would only dishonor both combatants.
The scene before him reminded him of another battle long ago.
Whitebeard.
Gol D. Roger.
The same overwhelming clash of supreme wills.
The only difference…
Was that Roger was no longer alive.
While countless memories surfaced within the hearts of Whitebeard's veteran crew…
The battle resumed.
Seraphina struck first.
A brilliant flying slash cut across the battlefield.
She had already realized the truth.
Competing against Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki through sheer force was impossible.
His Haki had been tempered through decades of life-and-death battles.
Instead…
She returned to what she trusted most.
Her swordsmanship.
Whitebeard immediately understood her intention.
He refused to allow her to dictate the pace.
Boom!!
His gigantic body exploded forward with astonishing speed.
Despite his enormous size…
His movement resembled a flash of lightning.
Murakumogiri became coated in dense Armament Haki (Busoshoku Haki).
The tremendous black aura surrounding the Supreme Grade Blade distorted the air.
Whitebeard swung.
Seraphina answered immediately.
Clang!!
Yet
The blades never actually touched.
"What?!"
Vista's eyes widened.
His years as a Great Swordsman immediately revealed the truth.
"The weapons…"
"They aren't making contact!"
Every commander looked closely.
Only then did they understand.
Whitebeard and Seraphina had coated their weapons in extraordinarily advanced Armament Haki.
The compressed Haki surrounding each blade collided before the steel itself could meet.
The violent shockwaves produced the unmistakable sound of clashing swords…
Without the blades ever touching.
Even among masters of Armament Haki…
Such control was exceedingly rare.
The duel had reached an entirely different realm.
A realm where only the strongest on the seas could cross blades.
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