The waves churned violently. Spilling flames and Sword Qi turned the world upside down!
The Red Force was pushed back again and again by the ferocious impact!
...
Boom—!!!!
The final shockwave forced the Red Hair Pirates' ship back several thousand meters!
...
Beckman raised a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light, staring at the man wreathed in flames.
"Flame Wolf Beria... So strong!"
"What are the Marines doing... How could a man like this have such a low bounty!"
Pirates were accustomed to judging strength by bounty amounts. Anyone under one hundred million was a rookie in the New World. Only those with bounties of several hundred million were barely worth mentioning.
One billion was a threshold.
Only those with bounties over a billion were considered great pirates, either ruling over a territory or holding a significant position within a Pirate Emperor's crew.
They were commonly known as the right and left hands of an emperor, or simply a vice-captain.
...
Shanks steadied the violently rocking ship and shook his wrist.
"So heavy... This guy's strength is immense!"
And so fast!
He had instantly broken through his Observation Haki, forcing him to use Divine Departure without proper preparation.
To be honest, he had been at a disadvantage in that first clash!
...
Griffin's feet stamped on the air at a speed invisible to the naked eye, keeping him suspended.
Moonwalk was not exclusive to the Marines. Any powerful individual could learn this ability if they were willing to put in the effort.
To put it bluntly, it was a technique that relied on a powerful physique to kick off the air, enabling aerial combat.
...
Marco flew to Griffin's side and sneered, "You're a hundred years too early to challenge Pops! You'll have to get past the Flame Wolf first!"
"Isn't that the wrong line? You should be saying 'get past me first.' You're the first division captain, after all," Griffin said with a faint smile, rubbing his numb arm.
Marco was unfazed. "First or second, it's all the same. We are both Pops's wings."
...
"How disgusting. Don't say things like that."
Griffin glanced back, a cruel smile touching his lips. "Old man Whitebeard, this is the one guy I don't want to hand over to you!"
That utterly detestable face... he really wanted to tear it to shreds!
"Gurarararara!" Whitebeard swung his Murakumo Splitter with one hand, creating afterimages, before slamming the hilt onto the deck.
"Since it's your request, I'll grant it!"
"If you lose, just come running over to Pops's side!"
...
"What nonsense are you spouting... I won't lose!"
Griffin turned to face Shanks. The tips of his hair were tinged with crimson, and scorching flames ignited in his palm.
ROAR!!!
A colossal wolf's howl shook the sea's surface as Griffin transformed into a great wolf of fire and lunged forward.
Clang—!!
Shanks leaped from the bow, raising his sword with one hand to block the giant wolf's claws.
...
"For some reason, you in this form feel strangely familiar."
Shanks grinned. "I know a Devil Fruit user of the same type as you, but he uses a completely different power of ice."
"Speaking of which, I haven't heard any news about that guy in years. His name is a bit of a mouthful, Uchiha Griffin. Have you heard of him?"
...
"It's a better name than your vulgar one," Griffin snorted, swiping a claw toward Shanks's severed arm side.
Zing—
Shanks twisted his wrist with extreme speed, the blade of his sword tracing a crescent arc that forced Griffin back.
He frowned and asked, "Hey, why do I feel so much malice from you? We've never met before, have we?"
...
"I don't know. Maybe you just have a naturally punchable face."
...
"You bastard... you're really pissing me off!"
"In that case, I'll just have to beat you down before I challenge Whitebeard!"
...
"We can't let him waste too much stamina on a captain-level fighter. Our target is Whitebeard..."
Beckman raised his gun, aiming at the two combatants and waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Phoenix Seal!"
A brilliant light flooded his vision as Marco launched an attack on Beckman.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing to my crewmate!"
...
Beckman coated his arm in black Armament Haki, blocking Marco's fierce kick with his elbow. The impact sent him sinking into the deck, shattering the wood beneath him.
"Oh my... Looks like helping out will be difficult."
The Moby Dick drew close to the Red Force. One by one, the division captains leaped across, like a giant white whale closing in to tear apart and strangle a red dragon!
...
Vista drew his twin swords. The Sword Qi he unleashed was like a sky full of dancing rose petals—beautiful yet deadly, elegant and fatal.
"A very beautiful sword technique, but it's too conspicuous."
Yasopp stood atop the mast, casually firing his sniper rifle. Each bullet seemed to have eyes of its own, precisely piercing the gaps in the petal-like Sword Qi and disrupting Vista's attack.
Ding, ding, clang—
A glittering figure blocked the bullets in front of Vista. They sparked as they struck his diamond skin.
"That doesn't hurt at all, kid!"
Jozu, like a diamond fortress, charged ferociously toward the mast.
This was his favorite way to fight: start by snapping the enemy's mast, knocking down their pirate flag, and establishing overwhelming dominance!
THUD—!!
A deep, muffled impact sent a violent tremor through the ship.
Jozu's diamond head had slammed into a wall of pure black flesh.
Lucky Roux tossed the bone-in meat he was holding into his mouth, crunching it up, bones and all.
His stout body was entirely covered in pure black Armament Haki, creating an extreme contrast of light and dark against the glittering Jozu.
...
"I can't let you touch the pirate flag, Diamond Jozu!"
Jozu sneered and pushed harder. "Try and stop me if you can!"
...
On the deck, the clang of swords and the clash of Haki rose and fell.
Each captain had found an opponent, but both sides were still fighting with restraint, no one using large-scale attacks.
At their level, the ships were the weakest link.
...
The two fighting on the more distant battlefield had no such concerns.
A rain of fire fell from the sky, and Sword Qi split the sea.
Every collision was a full-powered strike, and the eyes that met were filled with killing intent.
...
"You want to kill me..."
Black and red arcs of electricity danced on Shanks's longsword. An unimaginably powerful torrent of energy erupted from his body.
Conqueror's Haki—Impact!
BOOM!!!!
The materialized Haki blasted the giant wolf high into the sky, as black and red lightning danced wildly across the sea's surface!
...
That kid from Roger's ship... has his Haki reached such a level?
A trace of worry appeared in Whitebeard's eyes.
Kid... don't push yourself too hard.
...
Shanks looked up, gripping his sword hilt and gathering power.
The next second,
Woommm—
The atmosphere let out a groan as if under immense strain, and the clouds were torn apart by an invisible shockwave.
The sky seemed to shatter, producing a sound like breaking glass.
The falling Griffin returned to his human form and spread his arms.
An unprecedentedly majestic aura, with him at its center, erupted like a supernova, exploding with a deafening roar.
Everyone couldn't help but look up, their bodies and souls trembling.
...
Dark purple arcs of electricity spread out from a crimson ball of light. It was like a sun falling from the sky, crushing the heavens with a will to destroy everything.
"Conqueror's Haki Infusion—"
"Doomsday."
The merciless, blazing sun plummeted