"Kage Shibari!"
Moria's furious roar echoed across the battlefield. Pitch-black shadows twisted and contorted like living things, transforming into dozens of thick, rope-like strands that lashed out with lightning speed, wrapping around Whitebeard Newgate's limbs.
These shadowy ropes shimmered with an eerie, dark-purple light, each one containing terrifying power enough to crush steel.
However, faced with the might of the World's Strongest Man, these bindings lasted less than a second before they were easily snapped. Yet, that fleeting moment was enough for Bullet's long-prepared attack to find its mark.
An even more dangerous threat came from the air. King, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, forced himself to stand. He extended his right arm, fingers splayed: "Kesseki Sōsa!" As his ability activated, a sinister crimson-red glow emanated from his fingertips. As the user of the Kōmori Kōmori no Mi, Model: Vampire, King possessed the special ability to manipulate blood. At this moment, he was attempting to disrupt Newgate's internal blood circulation.
However, Whitebeard's control over his own body far surpassed ordinary imagination. A slight frown creased his brow, and the blood flow within him immediately returned to normal.
But in that brief instant of distraction, Bullet had completed his cold-energy buildup. His fists, sheathed in biting ice, slammed into Whitebeard's chest.
Crack!
Massive ice crystals spread across Whitebeard's body at a visible pace. In the blink of an eye, he was completely encased within a colossal ice sphere over five meters in diameter. Under the sunlight, the sphere refracted dazzling light, like a small comet that had crashed onto the battlefield.
"Death Convergence Cannon!"
Queen, from a distance, seized this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity. His modified snake head opened its maw wide once more, and an orange-yellow light flashed. A laser beam twice the size of the previous one tore through the sky, leaving a scorching trail in the air as it sped toward the frozen Whitebeard.
"Enjoku: Karyū Shoku!" King, gritting his teeth against the pain, ignited Enma with blazing flames. A lifelike fire dragon roared forth from the tip of the blade.
"Reiki: Ryūsei Ken!" Bullet swung his fists continuously, dozens of ice crystal fists condensed from cold air raining down like meteors toward the same target.
"Busō: Tekken!" Urouge, in his hundred-meter-tall form, thrust out a massive fist, sheathed in pitch-black Busoshoku Haki, that descended with a sound that tore the air.
"Shadow Spear!" Moria's shadow twisted and morphed, forming a pitch-black spear ten meters long that stabbed forward.
The officers of the Beasts Pirates seized this fleeting opening, unleashing their killer moves one after another. For a moment, crimson flames, azure cold, black Haki, and purple lasers intertwined on the battlefield, creating a dazzling yet deadly tapestry.
The barrage of energy attacks poured down on the frozen Whitebeard like a torrential storm. The shockwaves from the explosions swept across the entire battlefield. The ice shattered, smoke and dust shot into the sky—it was as if doomsday had arrived.
As the smoke gradually cleared, an eerie silence fell over the battlefield. Everyone held their breath, their gazes fixed intently on the center of the explosion. The air was thick with tension, as if time itself had frozen.
Suddenly, a hearty laugh split the heavens. "Gurarararara! Now this is more like it, kids!"
Whitebeard's figure emerged, striding steadily from the smoke. Though his white captain's coat was tattered and torn, revealing the powerful muscles beneath, his world-dominating aura had not diminished in the slightest.
The Supreme Grade sword Murakumogiri in his hand gleamed with a chilling light. The power of the Gura Gura no Mi formed visible spatial ripples around him, as if even the air trembled under his pressure.
"However, it's time to end this game!"
Whitebeard raised Murakumogiri high, the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit erupting to its peak instantly. The entire ice surface created by Bullet began to shudder violently. Countless fissures spread out like a spider's web, emitting a grating sound of fracturing ice.
As Murakumogiri swung down, the air before him shattered like glass. A terrifying shockwave, with the force to crush everything in its path, surged toward the Beasts Pirates. Where it passed, the ground caved in and space distorted.
Faced with this world-ending blow, the officers of the Beasts Pirates each summoned their strongest defenses.
"Hyō Tate!" Bullet roared, slamming his fists into the ground. A thick ice wall, several meters across, erupted from the earth.
"Gomori: Karyūen!" King swung Enma. A blazing fire dragon coiled and roared in the void, forming a barrier of flame.
"Kage Tate!" Moria's shadow warped and twisted, becoming a pitch-black protective barrier.
Yet, all of this seemed so fragile before the power of the Gura Gura no Mi. The ice wall disintegrated instantly. The fire dragon dissipated with a mournful wail. The shadow shield shattered like a bubble. The shockwave, its momentum undiminished, blasted all the Beasts Pirates members away. They crashed to the ground like broken kites, blood spurting from their mouths—a scene of utter devastation.
"Gurararara! Kids, now Wano Country is mine! And you are all my prisoners!" Newgate declared, looking down at the officers of the Beasts Pirates lying on the now-shattered ice. Simultaneously, a terrifying Haoshoku Haki was released. Purple-black lightning crackled through the air, adding insult to the injuries of the already-wounded officers.
Upon hearing Newgate's words, a scene from when Kaido left Wano flashed in King's mind. That tall figure had patted his shoulder and said, "King, I'm entrusting Wano to you while I'm away."
He remembered his own resolute reply then: "Big Brother Kaido, don't worry. As long as I'm in Wano for a single day, no one will threaten the Beasts Pirates!"
At this thought, an unyielding flame ignited in King's eyes. Gritting his teeth, he slowly rose to his feet under the terrifying pressure of Newgate's Haoshoku Haki, his black wings straining to spread behind him. "Whitebeard... get out of Wano Country!"
With this roar, an astonishing surge of power erupted from within King. A purple-black Haoshoku Haki clashed on equal footing with Whitebeard's oppressive aura, colliding in mid-air with blinding flashes of lightning.
At the same time, Bullet also stood up. The man who would later be called the "Devil's Heir" wiped the blood from his mouth, a fighting spirit burning in his eyes. "Don't screw with me! I can't lose before I defeat Big Brother Kaido! My goal is to be the World's Strongest!"
A second wave of Haoshoku Haki erupted on the battlefield, resonating with King's aura as they joined forces to oppose Whitebeard's pressure.
"Oh? Two with the Conqueror's Haki!" Newgate's eyes gleamed with golden light as he looked at the two who had awakened Haoshoku Haki. "Gurararara! Interesting!"
Queen, who had collapsed not far from King, saw this and rolled his eyes. He struggled to his feet and shouted loudly, "I am the World's Strongest Scientist!" However, aside from drawing a few confused glances, no special phenomenon occurred.
Feeling the stares of the other officers, Queen yelled in furious embarrassment, "What are you all looking at me for?! I am the World's Strongest Scientist! Got a problem with that?!"
"Kishishishi!" Moria let out his signature eerie laugh, wobbling as he stood. "King, Bullet, how could I possibly lose to you two!" He raised the large sword in his hand, pointing it at the distant Newgate. "A measly Conqueror's Haki! Even without it, I can cut Whitebeard down!"
Hearing this, the others also rose one by one, leveling their weapons at Newgate.
***
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