"Perfect. Then let me properly witness the power of the world's strongest!" Rosinante said as he drew his long blade.
"Kurararara, kid, let me see just how fierce the wave is that flipped that bastard Shiki over!" Whitebeard stepped forward and stopped in front of Rosinante, knocking the handle of his bisento against the deck.
"Everyone, fall back. Anyone with insufficient willpower or strength below a hundred million, return to the cabins immediately. This is no longer a battle you can safely watch!" Marco commanded with practiced authority.
Hearing Marco's order, the crew immediately retreated. Some who knew their own strength was lacking pulled back without hesitation.
"Isn't this a bit overkill? We're just watching a fight, right? Isn't it a shame to miss Whitebeard Pops' battle?" a new crew member muttered.
"You don't understand anything," an older crewman replied. "This is a battle between kings. Just the shockwaves from their clashes, or the impact formed by colliding Conqueror's Haki, are already more than ordinary pirates can withstand. If your strength hasn't reached a hundred million, even watching is extremely dangerous!"
At this moment, Whitebeard and Rosinante looked straight at each other.
Clang!
In the very next instant, their blades had already collided.
Their speed was beyond imagination. Many people did not even see how they drew their weapons before the two blades had already crashed together.
The collision of their blades did not produce an especially loud sound, yet the violent shockwaves instantly spread outward. The sky seemed to be split apart, and the deck was torn open by the sharp force.
Powerful, tyrannical auras collided head-on. Some crew members who had not managed to retreat in time slowly lost consciousness.
The Conqueror's Haki clashing now was far stronger than the Haki Rosinante had casually released earlier.
"Heh, not bad power," Whitebeard said with a grin.
"Take this. Tyrant Collapse!" Rosinante lifted his other hand and threw a punch.
Seeing that punch, even Whitebeard's expression shifted slightly.
As Rosinante's fist shot forward, an overwhelming aura surged toward Whitebeard along with it.
The Conqueror's Haki compressed into that fist exploded outward, like an ancient ferocious beast suddenly appearing. For an instant, Whitebeard seemed to see a black flood dragon charging at him, carrying unmatched draconic.
Such violent and domineering Conqueror's Haki impact caused even Whitebeard to waver for a brief moment.
But immediately after, Whitebeard raised his own fist, Armament Haki gathering upon it, and struck forward to meet Rosinante's punch.
Their fists collided fiercely, yet no shockwave spread outward. Both of them controlled their haki extremely well, concentrating it entirely into the blow delivered to the opponent.
Whitebeard's expression changed again. The explosive force and penetrating power transmitted through the punch far exceeded his expectations.
Wave after wave of powerful force tore through his defenses and burrowed into Whitebeard's body.
Whitebeard's body stepped back abruptly, his foot stamping down and shattering a large section of the deck beneath it.
Seeing Whitebeard forced back by a single punch, all members of the Whitebeard Pirates changed color.
"How is that possible? Pops was actually pushed back?" one crew member said in disbelief, his face turning ashen as if the sky itself had collapsed.
To the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitebeard was the world's strongest. Whitebeard was sacred and invincible.
Yet now, that sacred and invincible Whitebeard had been forced back in a head-on clash of fists. To them, it was like the heavens falling.
"Dragon King Rosinante really is a troublesome opponent. His explosive power is actually stronger than Pops'," Jozu said.
"Will Pops be alright?" a crew member asked anxiously.
"Relax. Pops is the world's strongest, Whitebeard. He hasn't even started getting serious yet," Marco said calmly.
"As expected of Whitebeard. Your combat experience really is astonishing," Rosinante said. Even after forcing Whitebeard back a step, there was no joy on his face.
Rosinante's Tyrant Collapse was a crashing punch fused with Conqueror's Haki. The defining traits of the crashing punch were charge-up and penetrating force.
That punch had unleashed an extremely compressed and condensed burst of power, instantly drilling into Whitebeard's body.
With such force entering the body, even someone as physically monstrous as Whitebeard should have suffered some damage.
However, Whitebeard used his step back to unload most of that power through sheer experience.
So although it looked like Whitebeard had been pushed back a step, in reality he had taken little to no injury.
"Heh heh. To force me back a step, that was a fine punch. Impressive. You even fused Conqueror's Haki into your fist. I almost lost focus for a moment. The explosive power in that punch was tremendous, and more importantly, the force had incredible penetration. It actually broke through Armament Haki and struck directly into the body. If it were an ordinary person, they'd already have been blown apart," Whitebeard said.
"The problem is, that punch wasn't meant for an ordinary person. Getting this kind of result is honestly a bit chilling. Looks like if I want to become the world's strongest, I still need to work harder," Rosinante said calmly.
"If you want to surpass me, you're still far too early. After all, I'm Whitebeard," Whitebeard said with a smile. Yet his hands showed no mercy as he raised his fist and assumed a classic siege-hammer posture.
"Hey, hey, you're serious about this?" Rosinante said in surprise.
"That's bad. Pops is about to really unleash his power," Marco and the others said as their expressions changed drastically.
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