...
At this moment in the Summit War, the killing intent in Whitebeard's eyes had condensed to such an extent that even the onlookers in God Valley watching through the light screen could feel it!
It was not merely anger—it was the agony of losing a son, the frenzied rage of being schemed against, the ultimate destructive force forged when the belief in protecting family was trampled underfoot.
Through the glowing light screen, every powerhouse in God Valley felt a chill run through them, as though an invisible icy blade had scraped across their skin.
They all turned their gazes toward Whitebeard, their eyes filled with complex emotions. They had never imagined that when Whitebeard truly became enraged, he could exude such overwhelming pressure!
[In the scene, Whitebeard's eyes bulged with fury, bloodshot veins flooding his entire eyeballs!]
[Those eyes no longer carried the domineering gaze of the "World's Strongest Man." They had transformed into those of a lion that had lost its cub—only the enemy's blood could quell the heart-burning pain!]
His right fist clenched tightly. A pale white halo instantly gathered—not ordinary light, but the very space itself being compressed to its extreme, twisted, on the verge of exploding!
Even the surrounding air let out groans of unbearable strain.
"Hmph!!"
A low growl, as if a verdict from hell itself.
Without any superfluous words, Whitebeard unleashed a punch brimming with sky-shaking rage. Wrapped in vibration shockwaves powerful enough to tear the heavens and earth apart, it slammed relentlessly toward Sakazuki, who had just barely stabilized himself!
In his towering fury, Whitebeard held absolutely nothing back—his power was absolute!
"Buzz!!!"
The full might of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit erupted!
The pale white shockwave pressed Sakazuki flat to the ground. This force made Sakazuki's pupils contract sharply—he felt as though he wasn't facing mere energy, but the rejection and crushing pressure of the entire world!
"Ughhh!"
There was no dodging it. This wasn't simple physical impact—it operated on the spatial level before transmitting its terrifying force into his flesh.
The magma body he prided himself on began to destabilize under the high-frequency, violent vibrations. Muscles, bones, and even internal organs endured all-round destructive compression and tearing.
His body twisted and deformed grotesquely. His ribcage let out nauseating cracking sounds.
The surrounding ground no longer merely cracked—it was pulverized like a cookie crushed by an invisible giant hand, collapsing into a massive deep crater.
Cracks radiated outward from Whitebeard's fist in a frenzy. The entire Marineford plaza shook as if struck by the most violent earthquake!
Headquarters swayed. The bay boiled.
This was no longer a battle—it was a natural disaster, the unleashing of Edward Newgate's sky-shaking fury upon Marine Headquarters!
The atmospheric pressure made Sakazuki feel as though he had been sunk into the depths of a ten-thousand-meter ocean. His internal organs felt ready to burst from his mouth.
He tried to elementalize to escape, but the omnipresent vibration force disrupted everything, preventing him from doing so smoothly.
Blood didn't merely flow—it was forcibly squeezed out from his mouth, nose, and even the corners of his eyes by the immense pressure, staining his resolute jaw red!
The drops fell onto the shattered ground with a "sizzle" of evaporation.
But Whitebeard had no intention of letting him off so easily.
There was not a shred of mercy in those bloodshot eyes—only the resolute determination to kill.
After one punch, Whitebeard's massive body displayed astonishing agility that belied his size. He leaped into the air, his enormous shadow instantly enveloping the temporarily immobilized Sakazuki.
On his right foot, that heart-palpitating pale white halo gathered once more. A vibration sphere encased his battle boot!
That kick—laden with endless rage and tremor power—crashed down like a falling meteor, slamming brutally into Sakazuki in the crater…
"BOOM!!!!"
This kick was no longer compression—it was explosive release!
At the point of contact, space first compressed to its extreme, then violently expanded and detonated!
Sakazuki's body was sent flying like a kite with its string cut—or a boulder hurled from a catapult—carried by irresistible force and scattering shockwaves, hurtling backward!
Wherever he passed, the air was torn apart!
[However, as a Marine Admiral possessing the magma fruit with the strongest offensive power, Akainu Sakazuki was no pushover!]
[While being blasted away by Whitebeard, he quickly adjusted his position and, refusing to back down, unleashed a magma fist through the thick smoke toward Whitebeard…]
[Countless magma fists came flying, yet Whitebeard refused to dodge. Even when half his face was blasted apart by the magma fists, he charged relentlessly toward Sakazuki!]
Seeing Whitebeard pressing him too far, Sakazuki charged forward as well, intending to clash in hand-to-hand combat!
But after only a few exchanges, Sakazuki was flung away like a chick by Whitebeard—this scene left him dumbfounded.
Sakazuki had never imagined that even after suffering such grave injuries, Whitebeard could still so easily knock him to the ground!
[Just as Whitebeard prepared to unleash his ability again, Sakazuki clenched both fists and used his ultimate move—Meigou!]
This punch drove straight into the existing wound in Whitebeard's abdomen. Intense, searing pain struck—this was an internal attack!
Even someone as strong as Whitebeard suffered unprecedented heavy damage. He dropped to one knee…
Ace had died after being pierced through the body by Sakazuki, his internal organs destroyed by magma. Now Whitebeard had been hit by almost exactly the same technique.
"Give up already…"
Sakazuki looked down at Whitebeard kneeling on one knee before him. Though covered in blood, his tone remained as arrogant as ever!
Whitebeard's consciousness slipped into brief unconsciousness. Flames still burned on his chest.
And amid those flames, in Whitebeard's mind, he saw Ace—he heard Ace calling out to him…
[Even at his last gasp, even with his body broken beyond repair, even having reached his absolute limit, Whitebeard still stretched out his hand and gripped Sakazuki's collar with unyielding force!]
[As Whitebeard slowly rose, the massive height difference made it effortless—like lifting a doll—he hoisted Sakazuki, a full-grown man, straight up!]
[Sakazuki tried to resist, but having just unleashed his ultimate move, his body had fallen into a weakened state and could not stop Whitebeard's actions…]
With a powerful swing, Whitebeard hurled Sakazuki into the air. Then his right hand activated the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power once more…
Under Whitebeard's contemptuous gaze, he delivered a perfectly aimed punch straight into Sakazuki's body!
This punch carried unprecedented force. Sakazuki vomited blood nonstop—his body felt as though it would be torn apart…
But things were not that simple!
This single blow not only gravely wounded Sakazuki—it shattered the surrounding earth and the buildings of Marine Headquarters in one fell swoop.
Yet even this strike did not claim Sakazuki's life. In an instant, the ground tilted. Marine Headquarters began to collapse. Sakazuki fell into the pitch-black void…
Not long after, the smoke cleared.
Whether Marines or pirates, everyone stared in stunned silence at the scene before them!
Whitebeard had now carved a chasm like an abyss into the ground behind him.
This chasm completely severed the Marines' advance—and concealed his own figure!
"Next… I will be your opponent!"
Whitebeard slammed Murakumogiri into the ground with force. His entire being seemed to surge with a final burst of vitality, his spirit blazing once more.
"Everyone—get back to the pirate ships now!"
Seeing Whitebeard's battle-ready figure, tears filled Marco's eyes. He shouted for the Whitebeard Pirates behind him to run.
Though filled with reluctance, they had to obey Whitebeard's command—they could not let everything their Pops had done go to waste!
With the Marines no longer obstructing them, all the pirates rushed toward the ships.
But while everyone else left, Marco alone remained motionless. He simply stared silently at Whitebeard's back…
Whitebeard fought with increasing ferocity. And at that moment, from the shadows, an extremely sleazy laugh rang out!
At this point, the chaotic battle between both sides temporarily paused. The Marines also noticed a massive figure hiding behind the collapsed buildings…
It was none other than the Blackbeard Pirates!
And the owner of that laugh was Blackbeard—Marshall D. Teach… or perhaps more accurately, Davy D. Teach!
…
"Teach?!"
Two voices—shocked and hesitant—rang out almost simultaneously.
When that familiar yet utterly alien figure once again filled the light screen, even Rocks and his wife Eris—who had already known his future fate—could not help but freeze in place.
Though they knew this was a distant future scene, witnessing that completely changed "son" with their own eyes still brought an irrepressible wave of profound complexity to their expressions.
Eris instinctively tightened her arms around little Teach, as though seeking from this warm, tiny body in her embrace some proof that differed entirely from the madman of the future.
Rocks's gaze sharpened like an eagle's as he scrutinized the face on the light screen—distorted by ambition yet still faintly bearing traces of his own features.
"Rocks, your son's face does look like yours, but that flabby gut…"
Golden Lion Shiki, arms crossed beside him, smacked his lips. His tone carried undisguised disgust.
"Compared to your lean and mean look, it's like night and day. No spirit at all!"
Golden Lion's eyes locked onto Teach. A strange, intense sense of displeasure surged in his chest.
Perhaps it stemmed from Teach's years of patient scheming and backstabbing treachery—completely at odds with Shiki's preference for bold, domineering flair.
Or perhaps it was simply seeing a face so similar to Rocks's yet committing so many despicable acts that filled him with revulsion.
However, this pure loathing, Shiki clearly confined to the "Blackbeard" on the light screen.
He glanced at little Teach in Eris's arms—babbling innocently—and gave a cold snort without saying more.
Even someone as wild as Shiki would not take out his anger on a child.
"Waaah!"
At that moment, little Shanks—held in Roger's arms—suddenly became agitated.
He waved his chubby little hands. His flushed face turned bright red. His big, bright eyes stared fixedly at Teach on the light screen, letting out rapid, uneasy cries.
As though instinctively repelled and disgusted by that figure.
This unusual reaction made Roger look down at the little one in his arms, then up at the light screen. A thoughtful look passed across his rugged features.
"Ambitious… yet utterly revolting."
Charlotte Linlin, who had been silently observing, licked her lips. Her evaluation was direct and brutal.
"That level of cruelty toward his own comrades—even I have to admit I'm outdone. Mamama…"
Her laughter carried a faint, barely concealed wariness and contempt.
"Relying on stealing his comrades' Devil Fruit powers to gain strength—ultimately a low-class method."
Rayleigh and Scopper Gaban spoke in low, heavy tones, their voices filled with disdain for Teach's principles.
"Teach… what exactly is he planning?!"
Rocks finally stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Whitebeard.
His profound gaze shifted away from his youngest son and returned to the light screen reflecting the future. His brows furrowed tightly, as though trying to pierce through time and space to see clearly into the heart of this son named "Marshall D. Teach"…
The light screen had previously covered Teach's story, so Rocks had seen his son's name. Though not sharing his own surname surprised him, Rocks quickly came to terms with it.
Roger's son didn't share his surname either. But now, it only confirmed to Rocks that in the future, he himself must already be dead…
Yet Rocks still could not fully understand what astonishing scheme his son was hiding—and where that scheme would ultimately lead him, and the entire era.
Young Whitebeard stood beside Rocks. His massive frame emanated silence. Two overlords of an era, now plunged into heavy quiet because of the same "son's" future.
...