Sheathing his sword, Cyrus turned his head toward the Moby Dick, where the battle was still unfolding in the distance.
He was just about to scoop Whitebeard up before the man fell into the sea and end this brief clash when his brows suddenly furrowed.
He turned and looked downward.
From Whitebeard's body, just before it touched the surface of the water, an incredibly violent aura surged out.
A blast of air erupted from him, striking the sea below.
Boom!
The surface of the sea exploded.
Whitebeard, who had been falling face-first, suddenly shot upward, instantly rising to the same height as Cyrus.
His eyes glowed red, and an almost tangible pressure rolled out from his body.
That extremely condensed Conqueror's Haki seemed to change the color of the entire world.
"Gurarararara! Cyrus, are you looking down on me?"
Whitebeard's red-glowing eyes stared fiercely at Cyrus.
Even his white crescent mustache was blown into slight disorder by that overwhelming aura.
"You're not my opponent."
Cyrus frowned as he looked at Whitebeard, whose eyes were shining with red light.
His tone became somewhat unfriendly.
He did not have much dislike for Whitebeard. Of course, that feeling came from the impression he had before crossing over, back when he had watched the original work.
But someone who could become one of the Four Emperors of the New World and dominate the sea for so many years was no saint.
Of course, that had little to do with Cyrus.
The reason he had not struck too hard earlier was partly because of that lingering feeling from before he crossed over.
On top of that, it had been a long time since he had fought a true powerhouse, and he had felt like stretching himself a little.
But now, Whitebeard had taken Cyrus's mercy as contempt.
That was being a little too ungrateful.
"I'm Whitebeard!"
Hearing Cyrus's words, Whitebeard's eyes widened, and the aura around him grew even stronger.
His roar spread outward together with his Conqueror's Haki, instantly enveloping the entire Moby Dick.
"That won't do anything. None of those sons of yours are getting away."
As Cyrus spoke, he raised a hand to the hilt of his sword and slowly drew the blade.
The sound of steel sliding against the sheath rang out.
A streak of red light appeared along the blade.
In the next instant, Cyrus dragged that crimson glow with him and appeared in front of Whitebeard, bringing the blood-red blade down in a single slash.
Murakumogiri's shaft rose to block it.
But this time, the instant blade and shaft made contact, Whitebeard's heart shook.
Then his entire body sank downward uncontrollably.
Boom!
The two figures smashed into the sea below at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.
The sea surface exploded directly.
The two figures plunged into the water, and then the shockwave shoved the seawater apart.
Where the island had vanished, the ocean was forced open.
The sword in Cyrus's hands pressed Murakumogiri's shaft down completely.
Whitebeard's legs sank into the mud and sand of the seabed, while the red glow in his eyes intensified.
Black lightning born from the clash of Conqueror's Haki spread outward together with the shockwave.
Cyrus held his sword with one hand, pressing down.
Seeing Whitebeard's state, a red gleam flashed through his eyes.
Boom!
He withdrew his sword and kicked in one seamless motion, his right leg striking straight into Whitebeard's chest.
Whitebeard's massive body flew backward, crashing through the seawater that had been pushed aside and carving out a trench through the ocean.
Then a tremor wave appeared, and the seawater that had been split into a trench churned and cracked apart.
Whitebeard's figure leapt from the water and shot directly into the sky.
On the Moby Dick, many people saw Whitebeard rising from the split sea.
"Pops!"
Marco saw Whitebeard's figure and cried out instinctively, worry filling his voice.
"Mochi Bomb!"
Katakuri's voice suddenly rang out.
The mochi that had rushed in front of Marco abruptly exploded, blasting away nearly half of Marco's body.
Flames burned across Marco's remaining half, and his body repaired itself in an extremely short time, but his face had clearly turned pale.
Before Marco could draw his attention back, a streak of fire shot out of the seawater and reached Whitebeard in the sky in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out in the sky.
Black lightning burst across the heavens.
The next moment, the entire Moby Dick shook violently, followed by the sound of the hull cracking.
Everyone froze for an instant, then was blown away by the shockwave.
Cyrus's figure emerged from the fire.
He had boarded the Moby Dick.
His calm eyes looked at Whitebeard, who was half-lying amid the wreckage.
Then Cyrus lifted his gaze and swept it around.
The members of the Charlotte Family instinctively stopped fighting and backed away the moment Cyrus's eyes passed over them.
The Whitebeard Pirates, however, gathered together and stood in front of Whitebeard.
"I caught him."
Issho's voice sounded behind Cyrus.
Cyrus turned his head and looked.
Blackbeard Teach was being held by Issho, his eyes rolled white, his face bruised and swollen.
It seemed even more teeth had been knocked out of his mouth.
However, the slightly chaotic aura around Blackbeard proved that this guy was only pretending to be unconscious.
But now was not the time to deal with him.
Clang!
A sound rang out from behind Marco and the others, making them instinctively turn their heads.
Whitebeard held his chest with his left hand, while his right hand gripped Murakumogiri and used it to support himself as he stood.
On his chest, the clearly sunken fist print and footprint were extremely obvious.
"Pops!"
Marco and the others immediately called out, their voices full of worry.
Cyrus watched Whitebeard rise, and the sword in his hand lifted once more.
"I admit defeat."
Whitebeard spoke the moment he saw Cyrus raise his blade.
The moment those words came out, Cyrus's expression did not change much, but Marco and the others' faces shifted dramatically.
"Pops!"
"I wasn't his match."
Hearing his sons cry out, Whitebeard released his right hand.
Murakumogiri stood upright beside him, its lower end already buried deep into the thick deck.
"I lost. Let them leave."
Whitebeard stared straight at Cyrus as he spoke.
"Don't be so naive."
Looking at Whitebeard, Cyrus spoke softly and sheathed his sword.
"You're not qualified to negotiate any conditions with me right now."
Whitebeard frowned.
His lowered right hand instinctively moved toward the shaft of his weapon.
"But I wasn't planning to kill them either. Still, they won't be leaving."
Cyrus added another sentence, making Whitebeard relax the hand he had almost raised.
Whitebeard glanced toward Katakuri and the others, his expression shifting slightly before he nodded.
Of course he recognized Katakuri and the rest.
Back when he fought Big Mom before, these people had appeared more than once.
So Cyrus had absorbed them.
"Pops!"
Marco and the others heard the conversation between Cyrus and Whitebeard and called out again.
"Enough. Follow behind." Cyrus suddenly spoke.
His body rose sharply, turning into a mass of flame as he left directly.
Issho carried Blackbeard Teach and floated into the air as well.
"Brother Katakuri!"
Smoothie saw this, then looked at Marco, the others, and Whitebeard.
She swallowed before speaking.
"We're going back too."
Hearing her, Katakuri immediately gave the order.
After that, the members of the Charlotte Family left very quickly.
In the blink of an eye, only the Whitebeard Pirates remained aboard the ship.
Perhaps if they wanted to leave, now was their best chance.
But everyone understood that there was no such chance.
"Pops!"
"Follow them, Marco."
Whitebeard spoke, then sat down where he was. His breathing had already grown heavier.
Seeing this, Marco hurried forward to examine him.
The moment he did, his heart sank.
Aside from the external injuries, the most serious damage was to Whitebeard's internal organs.
Marco immediately began stabilizing Whitebeard's condition.
As for the others, after exchanging looks, they turned the ship around and steered toward the place where the Charlotte Family's ships were anchored.
...
On the Rose Hunter, Cyrus returned.
"It's over?"
Seeing Cyrus, Robin let out a breath of relief before asking.
"Mm. It's over."
Cyrus nodded, then sat down on the steps near the bow, looking at Issho as he returned after him, and at Blackbeard, who had been thrown onto the deck.
"Stop pretending."
Cyrus's tone was calm.
Blackbeard Teach still did not move.
"If you keep pretending, I'll chop you up and feed you to the fish."
Seeing that, Cyrus narrowed his eyes and spoke.
Robin, Baby 5, and Issho all looked toward Teach, who was lying on the deck.
"I don't think I ever offended you."
This time, Teach did not dare continue pretending.
He had a feeling that if he kept it up, Cyrus really would throw him into the sea and feed him to the fish.
Maybe he would not actually chop him up first, but killing him was very possible.
"You didn't offend me."
Cyrus stared at Blackbeard and examined him carefully before nodding lightly.
"I just admire you. My ship is short on crew members right now, and I've taken a liking to you. From now on, you'll serve aboard this ship as a crewman."
"Of course, you have the right to refuse."
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