Glancing at the remaining five members of the Sacred Knight Order at his side, Gringo Saint's expression darkened to an almost tangible thickness, as if water could drip from it. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the scene before him, his mind filled with rage, frustration, and regret. A plan executed with such confidence had ended in such disastrous failure! This outcome was far beyond anything he had anticipated.
Standing nearby, Schgerdel Saint also looked grim. He furrowed his brows and stared anxiously at Gringo Saint, cautiously asking, "Brother, what should we do next? Should we continue?" His tone betrayed a mixture of hesitation and uncertainty.
Gringo Saint drew a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. After careful consideration, he shook his head slowly. "This operation has already failed. Continuing to tangle with them is meaningless. For now, we hold our positions and wait for the right moment. The three famed Whitebeard Emperors each possess strength not inferior to that of kings. Even combined, against Eli Winters's strange spatial abilities, they may not prevail. When both sides are worn down, that may be our best chance to strike."
Meanwhile, as Schgerdel Saint and the others opted to retreat, Hawkeye, Don Lee, and Brokey seemed to move with an unspoken coordination, simultaneously ceasing their attacks. They silently watched the opponents' backs recede, their eyes sharp with vigilance and contemplation.
At that moment, their hearts were a storm barely restrained. None had expected the reckless and impulsive Eli Winters to have concealed such a powerful contingency, protecting his closely bonded companions even in his absence from the battlefield.
When Gringo Saint and the other formidable foes appeared so suddenly, an ominous sense of foreboding had immediately gripped them. Yet no matter how they imagined potential outcomes, nothing could have prepared them for this turn of events.
On the other side, Eli Winters, having keenly assessed the final outcome of the fierce battle in the small garden, finally allowed the tension that had gripped him to ease. Although he had previously set spatial markers on Da Pan and the others, he had yet to witness their effectiveness firsthand. Even while facing the three Whitebeard Emperors, he had maintained utmost caution, keeping a strand of his consciousness tightly focused on his allies. Any sudden danger could be countered instantly, ensuring Fiona and the others remained safe.
With Da Pan and the others safely within his personal Divine Might Space, Eli Winters had no lingering concerns. He was free to fully unleash his strength, prepared for a life-or-death clash with these three unparalleled top-tier fighters.
"Hahaha, the three of you, now I will show you my true power!" Eli Winters shouted with exhilaration after a head-on clash with Whitebeard, his voice echoing across the battlefield.
Whitebeard, Kaido, and Charlotte Linlin's faces changed drastically at his words. They had not expected the battle to have reached such a white-hot intensity, yet Eli Winters had still held back.
Eli Winters left them no time to ponder. In an instant, his aura erupted like a volcanic explosion, surging violently in all directions. The terrifying Haki rippled through the air with a crackling, almost tangible sound.
As the three readied themselves, Eli Winters vanished like a ghost, disappearing from sight entirely. Charlotte Linlin's heart skipped a beat. Using her superior Observation Haki, she sensed his presence far beyond what Kaido and Whitebeard could detect. Her face turned pale as she shouted to Kaido, "Kaido, watch out "
Before her warning could finish, a blade of incredible sharpness roared toward Kaido. In a flash, Kaido, eyes wide with alarm, raised his massive, terrifying spiked club to counter the strike.
But this Eli Winters was no longer the same as before. The black blade, Nullification, shimmered with a chilling light. Its pitch-black surface radiated Armament Haki, with an edge tinged with a faint cyan glow, crackling like lightning, brimming with latent power.
Eli Winters whispered, "Void Slash."
The black blade became a streak of black light, moving faster than the eye could follow. Evading Kaido's club with ghostly grace, it slashed across Kaido's massive body, leaving a bone-deep, gruesome wound.
Even Kaido, with his inhuman durability, nearly split in two by the strike, screamed in agonizing pain. Blood gushed, his mighty form plummeting toward the tumultuous sea.
From the sidelines, the Beast Pirates' "Quake" Quinn leapt like a predator, catching the falling Kaido just in time. Without hesitation, Quinn used his full strength to return the injured Kaido to the ship. Though no doctor accompanied them, Quinn possessed basic medical knowledge, enough to stabilize Kaido. Eli Winters had no intention of killing him, so the former Emperor survived.
Kaido was crippled in just a single encounter with Eli Winters, leaving everyone present dumbfounded, especially Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin. Their expressions darkened instantly, realizing that the time for decisive action had arrived.
Charlotte Linlin's iconic pirate hat suddenly glowed with a strange light, transforming into a gleaming longsword. The surrounding thunderclouds and the sun, seemingly sensing their master's determination, erupted with immense energy, threatening to tear the heavens and earth apart.
"Now, Newgate!" Charlotte Linlin roared as she lunged at Eli Winters, sword in hand. Whitebeard followed with uncanny synchronicity, both aiming to crush him with coordinated ferocity.
Eli Winters, however, showed no fear. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he darted with ghostlike speed, effortlessly avoiding their combined attacks.
Though their strikes missed, the shockwaves sent tremors through the surrounding space, like a violent storm sweeping outward.
Eli Winters's eyes glinted sharply. With a swing of his arm, vast spatial energy coalesced in his palm. "Spatial Binding!" he shouted. Ribbons of energy surged toward Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin, attempting to lock them in place.
But these two were far from ordinary. Both immediately reacted: Whitebeard swung his massive bisento with earth-shattering force, while Charlotte Linlin slammed her transformed sword with equal intensity, trying to break free.
Eli Winters's spatial power was unyielding. Neither could escape.
As the pair faced imminent imprisonment, Whitebeard's powerful fist erupted with dazzling white light, reminiscent of a shooting star. His Devil Fruit the Tremor-Tremor Fruit unleashed in full force, shattering the spatial bindings with a resounding crack, scattering fragments everywhere.
Eli Winters narrowed his eyes, impressed by Whitebeard's mastery. He hadn't expected the Tremor-Tremor Fruit to reach such a level. This would not happen again.
Like a shadow, Eli Winters appeared behind Charlotte Linlin, raising Nullification with deadly precision.
Whitebeard, in a shocking move, abandoned his defense and charged at Eli Winters, willing to risk injury for an opening.
Sensing danger, Eli Winters activated Divine Might Phasing, his body becoming an ethereal, almost intangible illusion. The charge seemed to miss.
Even while phased, Eli Winters struck at Charlotte Linlin. But to his surprise, someone could actually break through his phasing.
Whitebeard's eyes glinted coldly as he unleashed his Devil Fruit to full potential. His bisento, imbued with blinding light, cleaved through Eli Winters's first phasing barrier. Though Eli Winters was unharmed, the sheer impact forcibly disrupted his phasing.
Charlotte Linlin saw this and rejoiced. Eli Winters's elusive phasing had always infuriated her. Now, with his phase broken, she seized the opportunity to unleash her ultimate attack.
Her sword, Napoleon, synchronized with the sun Hozumi, creating a blinding energy ring. She swung it, firing a high-density beam. "Radiant Cannon!" she yelled.
The beam roared toward Eli Winters. He reacted instantly, using Spatial Shift. Still, with his phasing disrupted, he couldn't fully evade, and the laser grazed his thigh, leaving a deep wound. Blood spurted, staining the ground. He quickly ingested a healing pill, sealing the wound, and smiled at Whitebeard. "As the strongest man on the seas, you're the first to break my phasing. But that was a one-time thing. Next time, it won't happen."
Whitebeard's eyes blazed. "If I could break it once, I can do it again! Today, you'll pay for my sons' lives!" Though Charlotte Linlin's attack hadn't killed Eli Winters outright, breaking his phase reignited his fighting spirit. United with her, he believed Eli Winters would surely die.
Eli Winters's lips curved into a contemptuous smile. "Oh? We'll see about that."
Until now, Eli Winters's Divine Might Phasing had been used only in its most basic form, hiding him between reality and void. He had reinforced the spatial barrier, so Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit shattered it. After this, Eli Winters had learned his lesson he would never give Whitebeard another chance.
Whitebeard's Devil Fruit, powerful enough to shatter space, could never breach Eli Winters's fully reinforced spatial barrier. Mastery over space was far beyond simple Devil Fruit awakening.
Over the next half-hour of intense combat, Eli Winters ultimately defeated both Charlotte Linlin and Whitebeard.
Hovering mid-air like a god, Eli Winters looked down at the three massive pirate ships. He briefly contemplated annihilating the pirates aboard but restrained himself. Though they were not good people, the world still needed them tragically, yet necessarily.
Before he could speak, a voice called from afar: "Lord Eli Winters, might you grant me this courtesy and let this matter end here?"