Gun smoke filled the air above the turbulent sea. The Beasts Pirates' three warships had tightly surrounded the Whitebeard Pirates' flagship, their dark gun ports gleaming with a cold, metallic luster.
Suddenly, a roar that shook the heavens tore through the sky: "Whitebeard! Let me see it—the World's Strongest!"
A bolt of white lightning shot up from the flagship of the Beasts Pirates. The nine-meter-tall wolf-man Bullet, his muscles bulging, had pitch-black Busoshoku Haki coiled around his iron fists. His blood-red wolf eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty light as he charged straight at Whitebeard Edward Newgate with the force to shatter mountains.
In that split second, a figure even faster arrived first. The right-hand man of the Beasts Pirates, King, spread his black wings and descended from the heavens, Enma ablaze in his hand. The searing blade scorched the very air, distorting it as it cleaved straight toward Whitebeard's face.
Simultaneously, a strange, flickering shadow materialized at Whitebeard's side. Gecko Moria, brandishing a large sword, suddenly appeared, his sharp blade slashing toward Whitebeard's back from a tricky angle.
The attacks of these three powerhouses formed a perfect triangular pincer, completely enveloping Whitebeard. Such a sudden and deadly coordinated assault would be difficult for even the top-tier fighters of the New World to escape unscathed.
A fierce gale whipped up across the sea, churning waves several meters high, as if cheering on this earth-shattering clash.
"Pops!"
"Pops, watch out!"
"Pops!"
Whitby, Marco, and the other crew members of the Whitebeard Pirates cried out in alarm. Though they understood their father's strength deeply, facing such a perilous, coordinated attack still made their hearts clench.
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard's booming laughter echoed across the sea, rippling the surrounding water. "No need to worry about me! I am Whitebeard, Edward Newgate!"
The World's Strongest Man calmly raised his left hand. With a slight, precise shift of Murakumogiri, he perfectly parried Bullet's mountain-shattering heavy punch. Astonishingly, this devastating blow didn't budge Murakumogiri an inch. Not even a single crack appeared on the deck beneath Whitebeard's feet, a testament to his terrifying control over his power.
Immediately, Whitebeard flicked his wrist. Murakumogiri swept out with an overwhelming force. Bullet's massive frame was sent flying by what seemed like a casual blow, tracing a parabola through the air.
At the same time, the blade of Murakumogiri met King's Enma. The collision of the two famed swords sparked dazzling flames that lit up the entire sea.
Whitebeard's right hand was faster than lightning. The instant before Moria's longsword could strike his body, his five fingers clamped down on the blade like iron pincers. Moria realized in horror that no matter how much strength he exerted, he couldn't wrench his sword free from Whitebeard's grip.
"Keh!" A wild grin spread across Whitebeard's face as he suddenly unleashed the force in both arms.
In that split second, King and Moria were sent flying backwards like kites with severed strings. Whitebeard's series of fluid, seamless counterattacks perfectly displayed the might of the World's Strongest Man.
King, flung into the air, beat his wings once to stabilize himself. Heavy, ragged breaths came from beneath his mask; clearly, that blow had injured him significantly. Moria used a similar method, his shadow forming wings to carry him aloft, his expression shifting darkly.
Bullet, meanwhile, kicked off the air itself, using the Navy's Rokushiki technique, Geppo (Moonwalk). He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, the fighting spirit in his eyes burning brighter. "As expected of Whitebeard!"
When Whitebeard Edward Newgate effortlessly neutralized the enemy's assault, his crew's spirits soared.
"Bastards, you dare to launch a sneak attack?!" the Whitebeard Pirates roared, grabbing their weapons, ready to fight. Marco had already transformed into his phoenix form, azure flames blazing around him, poised to strike at any moment.
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard let out his signature laugh, raising a hand to stop his crew's advance. "Stand down, all of you. Let me see what Kaido's underlings are made of." His voice carried an unquestionable authority, and the crew immediately halted.
It was at that moment that a massive figure suddenly appeared on the pirate ship to the left and front. Queen, in his Yamata no Orochi form, revealed himself, his eight ferocious snake heads swaying in the sea breeze, their crimson tongues flickering. The scientist of the Beasts Pirates let out his signature laugh. "Muhahaha! Whitebeard! Taste the fruits of my latest research!"
Strangely, one of Queen's seven secondary heads looked distinctly different—this snake head had a dull, metallic sheen, unlike the other six. Queen's primary head reared up high. The six normal snake heads encircled the special one, which suddenly opened its maw wide, revealing a massive cannon barrel. An orange-yellow light grew brighter and brighter at the cannon's mouth, distorting the surrounding air with its intense heat.
"Death Convergence Cannon!"
With Queen's roar, an orange-yellow beam of light—thick as a grown man's torso—shot forth, aimed directly at Whitebeard's position.
Wherever the beam passed, seawater instantly vaporized, creating a vacuum channel. This deadly attack, potent enough to obliterate an entire mountain peak, made even the Whitebeard Pirates' crew members hold their breath.
"Gurararara! Now that's interesting!" Whitebeard remained unruffled. He clenched the right hand that had been restraining his crew into a fist. Thick, flowing Busoshoku Haki enveloped his knuckles, faintly shimmering with a white aura. He met the oncoming beam with a single, mighty punch.
An invisible shockwave collided head-on with the death beam in mid-air. The two cataclysmic energies tore at and compressed against each other. The sea surface caved in from the terrible impact, forming a massive whirlpool.
Then—
BOOM!
An earsplitting explosion thundered across the sky. A ring-shaped shockwave expanded outward, churning up towering waves. The nearby pirate ships rocked violently in the force, and vessels that had been drawing close were pushed back by the swells.
Just as the thick smoke from the explosion hadn't yet cleared, a figure appeared before Bullet with speed faster than a thunderclap. Whitebeard's velocity was so incredible that no one present could react in time.
"Kid, be a good boy and take a nap in the sea!" Newgate's fist, carrying the terrifying power of vibrations, blasted toward Bullet. The very space around the punch developed fine, web-like cracks.
At the critical moment, Bullet could only cross his arms before his chest in defense, pouring all his strength into his Busoshoku Haki. Yet, even so, he was sent flying by this heavy blow, his body plummeting like a cannonball toward the churning sea below.
***
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