Everyone has weaknesses.
The head, the heart. Even a monster like Kaido, if you can cut off his head, he will not stand back up and reattach it.
Unless you are a special Devil Fruit user like Buggy.
But knowing it and doing it are two different things.
"To defeat me, I need more of that power. More, more!" Whitebeard roared.
Just as Whitebeard swung his blade, a red glint flashed in Luffy's eyes. His Observation Haki was fully deployed. Fragments of future sight flashed rapidly through his mind.
Whitebeard had just finished speaking when his body suddenly stiffened. Amidst the energy storm from their clash, a figure had already shot in front of him.
Luffy grinned fiercely at him. His fist, already poised, exploded. "Gomu Gomu no: Raika Ken!"
Lightning, flames, and a rubber fist like a bullet shot out.
Even though Whitebeard's body had already reacted and was about to block with Murakumogiri, the swift punch hit the hilt of his blade, sending out a huge shockwave.
Bang!
Under the shockwave, Whitebeard shot like a cannonball, crashing into a distant iceberg.
"That seems to have had some effect?"
Luffy's body hung in the air, looking down at the distant iceberg, a hint of confusion on his face.
A power had emerged from his body just now, seeming to counter Whitebeard's immortal body. Was it Conqueror's Haki or Nika's own power?
He needed to test it again.
He clenched his right fist again. A fierce crimson light erupted from his pupils. His whole body, falling freely, seemed to become illusory. Behind him, only a terrifying shadow could be seen.
When Conqueror's Haki reached a certain level, it would become illusory. In the eyes of others, was this not also a demon?
The black-red fist fell from above. As Luffy's body descended, this point of light dragged a long black-red trail, falling before Whitebeard.
This move...
Genkotsu Shōgeki: Hoshizumi!
Luffy growled. The inspiration for this move had clearly come from Garp.
Many moves had a similar essence. Luffy's talent for learning was obviously excellent.
With slight modifications, he made it his own.
A shockwave of energy, laced with black-red lightning, followed by his long-distance punch, spreading out like a splashed ink painting in a storm, forming a hemispherical black-red energy dome.
"A familiar move."
Inside the dome, Whitebeard turned his blade and swung it horizontally.
Suddenly, his demonized expression changed.
Before the shockwave above could fall, a figure had already rushed in front of him and punched him in the face.
Whitebeard was forced to take it on the chin. His face gradually twisted. He was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into another distant iceberg.
Not far away, Garp's eyes widened. His mustache stood on end.
"When did this brat learn my moves and change them into this monstrosity?!"
Was this considered having a successor?
None of the young Marine soldiers Garp was training now knew how to use this move.
They were just young.
"Hey, you are not going to die, are you, Whitebeard?"
Luffy's voice fell with his attack.
Crack.
Just as the black-red dome was about to engulf Whitebeard, a strange vibration sound abruptly rang out.
Luffy's falling body suddenly halted.
"Hey, hey, what is this?"
The space around him instantly became solid yet high frequency vibrating, like jelly.
Omnipresent shockwaves squeezed his body from all sides.
It was as if he had been trapped. He could not move. He could not escape.
He was suspended in midair like a lone boat, and could be capsized at any time.
"Gurarara! I did not expect to be able to use this at a time like this." Whitebeard laughed heartily.
In the rubble of the iceberg, a tall figure slowly straightened.
He clenched both fists. White waves wrapped around them.
The wave was no longer limited to the surface of his fists. It spread outward in rings like ripples, reaching Luffy and forming a shockwave domain.
"This power... it has been a long time."
"Devil Fruit awakening?!"
Luffy's expression changed.
He was familiar with this state.
When a Paramecia-type developed their ability to its limit, the ability could affect the surrounding environment. That was the type of Paramecia.
Of course, what form it took depended on the user's development.
In this regard, Whitebeard was not behind. As a top-tier Devil Fruit user, he had learned this move long ago.
And the thought of the Gura Gura no Mi's awakening alone was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Luffy could feel it firsthand.
The invisible vibrations trapped him completely in this area.
"I have not been able to use this power for several years."
Illness and aging had taken too much.
Whitebeard laughed. His voice made the space hum. "Be careful, kid. Do not let the vibrations of this space shake you to death!"
Before he finished speaking, Whitebeard was punched continuously.
Kūkan Shin!
One after another, white shockwave orbs flew from his hands. They did not hit Luffy directly but precisely struck various points around him.
Hum! Hum!
Every shockwave orb that exploded amplified the vibrations within the surrounding area.
Luffy felt like he was trapped in a sealed tin can being continuously beaten with a giant hammer. There was nowhere to run. He could only tough it out.
What kind of extreme control was this?
If he got caught, he would just be shaken until he died.
They always said Kaido was the strongest in one-on-one fights. What would happen if Kaido got caught in this?
He was always saying he wanted to die. But when death actually came, he would run faster than anyone.
This move was indeed a god-tier technique for one-on-one fights. But on the sea now, no one gave you a one-on-one chance.
If you could overwhelm with numbers, why would you have a real man's one-on-one battle?
"Do not forget this old man!"
In the distance, a figure leaped. At the highest point of the shaking space, he threw a punch.
Crack.
The sound of shattering glass came from above Luffy's head.
"Gramps's fist really can break anything."
Luffy looked up. At the highest point of the shaking space, a fist wrapped in dense Conqueror's Haki had forcibly cracked the shaking space.
Though the crack was immediately filled by more vibrations, an opening had appeared. That was easier to handle.
The worst was when there was no opening.
The black-red figure slipped through the crack like a precise scalpel, cutting into the weak point of the shockwave domain.
Boom!
A loud crash.
The red-white figure collided with the black-red dome. The escaping strong waves allowed Luffy to find a way to escape the ubiquitous space-quake.
White flame clouds flashed. Luffy seized the fleeting opportunity, stepping back with several white shockwaves, and left the area.
"Yo, Gramps. You came just in time."
Luffy grinned, showing an easy smile at Garp. "I was about to get punched by Whitebeard."
Garp rolled his eyes.
In that situation, the worst that would have happened to Luffy was being sent flying. What difference was there between taking a punch from Whitebeard and taking one from him?
Now, the flame clouds around Luffy surged and pulsed. The injuries he had just received healed rapidly.
His recovery was almost catching up to Kaido's.
In all his life, Garp had seen many Devil Fruit users. Luffy's ability was the strangest he had ever seen.
Was this the Gomu Gomu no Mi?
Even if developed to its limit, it should not have this kind of Zoan characteristic.
But what he wanted to complain about even more was the names Luffy gave his moves.
Garp shook his fist, turned back, and glared at Luffy. "You brat, when you fight, just fight. Do not learn these messy move names!"
Hoshizumi? What flashy nonsense.
"What is that? Zoro is the expert in this area. I will introduce you to him someday."
Luffy had learned this from Zoro.
Who wants to meet a pirate? That is your ship's vice-captain, is it not?
Garp had a toothache. If he met Zoro, the best he could do was not capture that green-haired idiot.
In the distance, Whitebeard was forced to stop his assault. The terrifying shockwave domain around him slowly retracted, but the white wave on his fists remained strong.
"Good, you two."
He looked at Garp and Luffy standing side by side and laughed. "You work well together!"
Both were users of extreme Conqueror's Haki.
Whitebeard felt that the power within him was being effectively countered.
Was it also a Devil Fruit ability?
That Devil Fruit user who had turned both him and Rocks into this state... it felt too strange.
Haki was supposed to to reign supreme over all. Even stronger Conqueror's Haki could not undo this ability.
Whitebeard had a feeling that, compared to Haki, Luffy's fruit ability was more effective.
That meant there were mutual restraint relationships between Devil Fruits?
Whitebeard's remaining consciousness was still active, but his body had already moved on its own.
On the ice, Garp straightened up. He clenched his fists again. Deep black-red Conqueror's Haki began to condense on them.
He had rested enough.
The Marine Hero was just old, not weak.
Back in the day, he could face Whitebeard head-on alone and fight him to a standstill.
But now, Whitebeard's body had returned to its prime, plus a strange immortal body.
And Garp had not gotten any younger.
Though Luffy's growth rate was frighteningly fast, seeing his grandfather's still-imposing iron fist, he could not help but wince.
The body memory of those fists hitting him was coming back.
"Devil Fruit awakening?"
Garp grinned, looking directly at Whitebeard. "How does it feel to be back in your prime, Whitebeard?"
Whitebeard laughed. "It feels good. But it also does not feel good."
He would rather not be back in his prime if he had to use this power against his sons.
Devil Fruit awakening, Conqueror's Haki Infusion, Internal Destruction... these were powers that only the top strong fighters at the peak of the sea had the right to master and use.
As the recognized World's Strongest Man, it was no surprise that Whitebeard had mastered these.
It was just that aging and illness had prevented him from using them freely.
And now, after being eroded by that dark power, he had regained his youth in another form. All these sealed powers had returned.
Not far away, the person least pleased to see Whitebeard display his awakened ability was undoubtedly Sengoku.
Whitebeard had now become a fully indiscriminate natural disaster of destruction.
The only ones who could stop him were Garp and Luffy, with their Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
To subdue or kill him would probably require the two of them working together, and even then, they would pay a heavy price.
And what about them, the Marines?
The elite forces were as useful as paper in a fight of this level. They could do nothing.
The three Admirals had immense destructive power, but they lacked the crucial Conqueror's Haki. Their threat to Whitebeard in this state was limited.
He, Sengoku, could potentially help, but he was the Fleet Admiral. He had to oversee the whole situation and be prepared for other possible changes.
"An alliance with pirates?!"
The thought made Sengoku's stomach twist.
If there were still video Den Den Mushi broadcasting, Sengoku could not imagine how low the Marines' prestige would fall after this war.
They had been set up by the World Government to create an uncontrollable monster, and in the end, they had to rely on an alliance with pirates to deal with it?
This was the biggest joke of the World Government's eight hundred years.
But there was no choice.
Sengoku gritted his teeth, his fists cracking.
"What kind of monster did the World Government unleash?!"
The Five Elders had not revealed a single thing about this strange power.
What were they trying to do?
Were they willing to let the Marines suffer heavy losses just to maintain the so-called balance of the sea?
In that moment, Sengoku's dissatisfaction and suspicion of the World Government reached its peak.
That was it.
Let it all be destroyed.
He had to preserve the Marines' remaining strength.
"Gurararara. It seems I need to be completely destroyed now."
Whitebeard cracked his neck, making a snapping sound. His gaze swept over Garp and Luffy, finally stopping on Luffy. The praise in his eyes grew even stronger.
"Can you do it, kid?"
Luffy clenched his fist. "Hahaha. Do not worry. Just make sure you have that drink money ready."
What he really cared about was not the drink, but the banquet.
"He is a monster. It is truly surprising for a young man to grow to this level." Whitebeard sincerely praised Luffy.
"You have a nerve to say that, Whitebeard, still acting all high and mighty."
Garp was grinding his teeth. "Do you know how much trouble you are causing us right now?"
"You can stop me, can you not?"
Whitebeard did not look worried. Instead, he looked at Luffy with approval. "The times have changed. It is time for us remnants of the old era to step down. Let Straw Hat take my place as an Emperor!"
"An Emperor?"
Luffy was stunned, then burst out laughing. "Whitebeard, I do not want the position of Emperor!"
He raised his finger, pointing at Whitebeard and at the sea that held countless dreams and ambitions. He said decisively, "The position I want to compete with you for is Pirate King!"
"Pirate King? Yes, every newbie says that. Those arrogant bastards are all too ambitious. But you... you actually seem like you could do it."
Whitebeard took a deep breath. "Show me you can do it!"
He clenched his intact left fist and his half-demonized right fist simultaneously. White quake ripples and black-red Conqueror's Haki lightning rose again.
Then he picked up his blade.
His body was instinctively carrying out Imu's final order.
Kill all enemies standing before him.
"He does not look tired at all."
Luffy felt the vibrations around him, looking ahead. "Is this the special of that body?"
He had already experienced the power of the Gura Gura no Mi's awakening.
It was a power that could twist everything.
Whitebeard had not completely lost consciousness, just control of his body.
His combat experience and physical reactions were almost instinctual. Seeing his ability not very effective head-on, he immediately switched tactics, intending to use Haki and swordsmanship.
To stop him, a head-on collision might not be the best approach.
After all, Luffy did not want to kill him.
"Seawater and Seastone?"
An idea flashed through Luffy's mind.
Whitebeard was a Devil Fruit user. That was his weakness.
If he could be made to contact a large amount of seawater or Seastone, it would negate his ability and weaken his body.
This was easy to do.
Luffy voiced his idea.
"No. It is not as simple as you think."
Garp said, "Even if all the ice here breaks, the one falling into the sea will be us, not Whitebeard."
With the Gura Gura no Mi, Whitebeard could walk on air using its vibrations.
So, to stop Whitebeard, they still had to beat him until he could no longer move.
"I understand. I will try my way."
Facing this situation, Luffy showed no fear.
An Emperor?
To him, he was j
ust an opponent.
Not just an Emperor. Even the Pirate King was the same in Luffy's eyes.
"Gramps."
Luffy turned to look at Garp, his smile bright. "I am going first."
Before he finished speaking, Luffy's figure had already vanished.
Gomu Gomu no Mogura Gun!
Boom, crash.
The ground beneath Whitebeard rippled like waves, turning into rubber. Luffy's arm stretched out like an endlessly extending elastic cable. His fist appeared beneath Whitebeard's feet in an instant and then suddenly shot upward.
Bang!
Observation Haki did not sense it? Was it Haki Killing?
Caught off guard, Whitebeard was hit by the attack from below. His body tilted, his feet left the ground, briefly airborne.
Lightning flashed.
In the distance, all the observers were surprised, watching Luffy colliding with Whitebeard.
He just went in like that?
Currently still standing were the Warlords, the Whitebeard Pirates' commanders on the Moby Dick, the hidden Blackbeard Pirates, and the great Buggy-sama, who, as a Conqueror's Haki luck fruit user, had not passed out even in this situation.
"Back when I was on Captain Roger's ship, I charged right up to Whitebeard just like that!"
Buggy excitedly explained to his men.
But when he turned around, he realized his escaped prisoner subordinates were still unconscious.
How weak.
But,
"Even this special Den Den Mushi has passed out. Conqueror's Haki is terrifying indeed."
Buggy was still continuously slapping the Den Den Mushi in his hands.
***
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