Seeing Whitebeard come to a stop, Cyrus gripped his sword with both hands.
The ground beneath his feet exploded, and in the next instant, his figure was already in front of Whitebeard, both hands bringing the blade across in a horizontal slash.
Flames surged along the sword, and the burning edge traced a massive arc as it cut toward Whitebeard's neck.
Buzz!
A white sphere appeared around Whitebeard's fist.
The high-frequency vibrations made the surrounding air release a rapid, humming tremor.
Then Whitebeard, unwilling to believe it would not work, punched again and met Cyrus's sweeping blade head-on.
Amid the black lightning, white light suddenly expanded and swallowed Cyrus whole.
It was as though countless fine cracks had appeared in the air.
Those cracks spread across Cyrus's body as well, and from within them, flames abruptly erupted.
A huge fireball appeared before Whitebeard, then exploded violently.
Whitebeard's body bent sharply backward. His feet dug into the earth as he retreated several steps.
The flames gathered back together, forming a cloak of fire around Cyrus.
He floated in midair, his eyes fixed on the retreating Whitebeard.
His combination of flame ability and swordsmanship had grown even smoother.
Whitebeard's Devil Fruit ability was undoubtedly powerful, but against Cyrus, a Logia, it could not display its full effect.
Whitebeard steadied himself. His crescent-shaped mustache had been scorched yellow by the flames.
"Gurarararara! Looks like this trip really wasn't wasted."
Whitebeard planted Murakumogiri against the ground. Then his left arm swung violently, shaking loose the coat draped over his shoulders.
After that, he bent forward suddenly, crossing both arms in front of himself. The muscles in his arms swelled fiercely.
Seeing that posture, Cyrus narrowed his eyes.
That looked familiar.
"Useless!"
Whitebeard's movement was very familiar. White spheres appeared around both of his fists, and then he pulled both fists back sharply.
The air cracked open.
White fissures spread through the atmosphere.
But they did not affect Cyrus.
"Gurarararara! I never expected this move to work on you!"
Boom!
Behind Whitebeard, the sea suddenly split apart.
The entire ocean fractured in every direction, like the earth's crust during a massive earthquake.
The ships on the sea were like houses caught in the upheaval of a collapsing continent.
Cyrus raised his eyes and immediately understood what Whitebeard intended to do.
Because a meteorite was falling from the sky!
Issho had made his move.
"You still have time to pay attention to others? Looks like I'm not putting enough pressure on you."
As Cyrus spoke, the sword in his hand instantly became clear and radiant.
Red ripples of light appeared across the blade, releasing a dazzling crimson glow.
The current Cyrus could transform his sword into a state suited for his ability in an instant.
Swish!
"Taimatsu!"
Cyrus appeared behind Whitebeard, and flames surged upward, swallowing Whitebeard within them.
Cyrus released his Observation Haki, spreading it out to cover everything on the surface of the sea.
That included the Moby Dick.
In an instant, his Observation Haki locked onto a figure aboard the Moby Dick—a man grinning widely, the gaps in his missing teeth making that smile especially obvious.
Blackbeard, Teach.
'Good. He came.'
'Otherwise, it would have been troublesome to go looking for him.'
As that thought crossed Cyrus's mind, his figure shifted horizontally through the air, leaving a trail of afterimages behind him.
The fiery afterimage he left behind was smashed apart by a single punch.
Whitebeard walked out of the flames and swung Murakumogiri violently.
The fire tornado Cyrus had released twisted a few times before exploding apart.
Whitebeard emerged from the flames with his back straight, the fire tornado from earlier seemed to have caused him no real harm.
However, Cyrus could clearly sense the Haki covering the surface of his body.
Whitebeard's Armament Haki could not be seen.
His use of Haki had truly reached an extraordinary level.
The flaming long blade and Murakumogiri collided again, unleashing another shockwave.
Here, Cyrus and Whitebeard's battle continued.
On the surface of the sea, Whitebeard's ability had directly split the ocean apart, completely separating the Big Mom Pirates from the Moby Dick.
But the meteorite falling from the sky was aimed straight at the Moby Dick.
"It's that man."
Seeing the meteorite overhead, flames appeared around Marco's body.
He transformed into a phoenix wreathed in blue fire and shot into the sky.
The ability to call down meteorites had appeared in reports about Cyrus before.
The newspapers had also speculated that it belonged to the blind swordsman, Issho, who traveled beside Cyrus.
Now, that was basically confirmed.
Facing the meteorite falling from the sky, Marco charged straight up.
Blue flames collided with the descending rock, but there was not even the slightest stalemate.
The meteorite continued falling at its original speed.
Swish, swish!
Dozens of sword beams appeared.
On the Moby Dick, several figures leapt into the air at once. Their flying slashes shot out and struck the falling meteorite.
This time, deep sword marks appeared across the meteorite.
The cracked rock scattered apart and rained down from the sky.
Everyone aboard the Moby Dick moved together, shattering the meteorite fragments that might have damaged the ship.
Countless pieces of stone fell into the sea, raising huge waves. The entire Moby Dick rose and dipped among the surging swells.
"That's… Golden Lion?"
Marco had only just knocked down the meteorite and landed back on the ship, his face pale, when he suddenly turned his head.
Then he saw a ship with a rose-shaped bow flying toward them.
That sight made Marco, who had followed Whitebeard for many years, widen his eyes sharply.
A floating ship.
'Golden Lion?'
Then everyone aboard saw the blind swordsman standing at the bow.
He held his sword in a reverse grip, his eyes rolled white.
"It seems the others on Whitebeard's ship are not particularly impressive," Issho said.
From the way they had reacted when the meteorite fell, he could roughly judge their strength.
In the sky, several figures stepped across the air, crossing the split ocean as they approached.
"Issho-san?" Robin spoke.
"Mm. This old man knows. I won't deal with all these pirates alone."
The moment Issho finished speaking, his body suddenly sank slightly.
The Moby Dick, which had already been rocking amid the waves, abruptly dropped lower.
Many people aboard the ship were directly forced flat against the deck by the sudden pressure of gravity.
Everyone's expression changed.
"He's on the ship. The person Cyrus wants." Robin spoke again.
From above, everything on the Moby Dick could be seen clearly.
Blackbeard, who was being pressed flat against the deck like a dead fish, had been spotted by Robin.
"This old man sees him too."
Issho, his white eyes rolled upward, nodded lightly. Then his figure leapt up suddenly.
On the Moby Dick, most people could not adapt to the immense gravity that had appeared without warning.
A few physically powerful individuals resisted the pressure and forced themselves to their feet, only to see Issho land directly on the ship.
"Ragghhh!"
Half of Jozu's body turned into diamond as he slammed toward the descending Issho.
Issho lowered his head and looked at Blackbeard, who was still lying flat on the deck.
Then he bent down and reached out.
The people who saw this were all somewhat confused.
But Blackbeard, who had been lying on the ground pretending to be dead, suddenly sprang up the instant Issho extended his hand, as though he had not been affected at all.
"As expected, someone who drew Cyrus's attention was never going to be simple."
Noticing this, Issho grinned as he spoke.