A massive pillar of lightning erupted from Doflamingo's hand, appearing before Whitebeard in the blink of an eye to block the force of his shockwave. Whitebeard, who had been about to strike Enel, redirected his punch toward the lightning, shattering the pillar of electricity. Deprived of Doflamingo's power, the residual lightning dissipated into the air.
The entire exchange happened in an instant. Whitebeard's sons had no time to react, no chance to defend their father.
"You bastard! That was a sneak attack!"
"You damn coward!"
Pirates are creatures of impulse, and their tempers run hot. Seeing Doflamingo's underhanded move, Whitebeard's sons erupted in a chorus of furious insults.
Doflamingo listened to their curses with an air of indifference. He knew his actions were improper, but he was a pirate. To speak of honor, morality, and fairness with pirates was the greatest joke in the world. Did they think this was a game? This was the sea, and they were pirates. Slaughter, sneak attacks, conspiracies... wasn't that all just part of the game?
He shook his head, looking at the enraged sons of Whitebeard. He was reminded of what Enel had said. Whitebeard had truly protected them too well. In his own view, deceit, conspiracy, and trickery were all fair game. As long as you won, you were in the right.
Seeing Doflamingo's calm, shameless expression only fueled the anger of Marco and the others.
Only Blackbeard, standing in the crowd, gave Doflamingo a second, appraising look. He felt that Doflamingo's actions were perfectly in line with his own definition of what a pirate should be. A fair fight? What a joke! Wasn't it better to just gang up on your enemy?
Doflamingo, having brought only Enel, was not afraid of being ganged up on. For one, Whitebeard's pride would never allow it. And for another, he was confident in his own ability to escape from Whitebeard's grasp.
Whitebeard glanced at his indignant sons, a sense of pride warming his old heart. He then turned to Doflamingo, his eyes sharp and piercing. Though he was unharmed, he was not pleased to have been attacked from the shadows.
"Thundering brat," Whitebeard said, his voice cold. "You want a taste of this, too?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
The moment the words left his lips, Whitebeard abandoned Enel, who was still hovering in the air. He pushed off with his powerful legs, launching himself toward Doflamingo. The force of his movement was so great that it caused the massive Moby Dick to rock.
The power Doflamingo had been gathering for the past few days erupted from him. His fighting spirit shot to the heavens, and his Conqueror's Haki rippled outwards, dark red lightning crackling around his body.
"Conqueror's Haki!"
"The same as Pops!"
"The disposition of a king!"
Marco and the others, who were watching Doflamingo closely, felt the immense pressure radiate from him. Though he hadn't directed the full force of it at them, the small amount that leaked out was enough to shake them.
"Gurararara! Conqueror's Haki. Not bad, thundering brat."
Seeing the familiar power, Whitebeard let out a rare laugh. At the same time, his own aura exploded outwards, a wave of power even greater than Doflamingo's crashing down upon him.
"As expected of Whitebeard."
Feeling the Conqueror's Haki that was several degrees stronger than his own, Doflamingo couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration, but there was no trace of inferiority in his heart. Unlike Armament and Observation Haki, Conqueror's Haki could not be trained. Just because he was weaker than Whitebeard now didn't mean he would be in the future.
"Whitebeard, take this!"
Doflamingo pushed off with his legs, concentrating most of his power into his right fist as he shot toward the old man.
Whitebeard's face was a mask of calm as he swung Murakumogiri to meet Doflamingo's fist.
BOOM!
Doflamingo's fist and the blade of Murakumogiri collided. In that same instant, their Conqueror's Haki clashed.
"A clash of Conquerors!" Marco exclaimed. The other brothers stared, transfixed by the confrontation.
In the crowd, Whitey Bay's emotions were a complex mess. She never imagined that the Donquixote Pirates, whom she had dismissed so easily, would be so incredibly powerful. From the earlier fight between Enel and Marco, she knew that Enel was not much weaker than their first division commander. And now there was Doflamingo. Her spirit was broken.
Doflamingo's fist and Whitebeard's blade remained locked in a stalemate. The force of their auras sent sand and stones flying around them. The animals on the island fled in terror. The sea churned violently, pushing the Moby Dick ever closer.
But the most terrifying sight was in the sky above. A deep, dark chasm split the heavens in two. The birds, startled, dared not cross the celestial rift and fled in a panic.
"Marco, Vista, look at the sky!" someone shouted.
"The... the sky is splitting apart!"
"This is terrifying."
The onlookers gasped. Even Enel, who had seen such a sight before, was deeply shaken, his heart filled with a yearning for that level of power.
Thousands of miles away, the unique phenomenon on Bugara Island was noticed by others. Though not as terrifying as seeing it up close, the change was still apparent, most notably in the frantic flight of the birds.
So this is a battle between the truly strong? The thought flashed through the minds of Marco and the others. A bitter, unwilling smile touched their lips. Then, they lifted their heads again, their eyes shining with pride as they watched their father.
Though the clash of Conquerors seemed to be an even match, Doflamingo knew his own limits. He didn't prolong the struggle. With a surge of power, he broke the stalemate.
Whitebeard pushed back with equal force, and the two separated, each pushed back several meters.
A brilliant light erupted from Doflamingo's hand. His Haki-coated fist, bathed in the bright lightning, looked deceptively harmless.
Whitebeard saw his move and understood. He gripped his blade with both hands, preparing to give Doflamingo a proper lesson with his next attack.
The two gathered their power, the next clash promising to be even more terrifying than the last.
"Thunder Thrust!"
Doflamingo struck first, his fists flying toward Whitebeard's face.
"Quake Blade!"
Whitebeard swung his blade with both hands, bringing it down on Doflamingo with immense force.
Doflamingo met the attack with his fists. Another deafening roar echoed across the island. The two combatants were unfazed, but the audience suffered, the sound piercing their ears.
Seeing Doflamingo block his attack, Whitebeard put more force into his swing, pressing the blade down. Feeling the immense pressure, Doflamingo's expression changed. He quickly brought his other hand up to block, determined to stop Murakumogiri.
Still unable to overpower him, Whitebeard felt his pride was on the line. He lifted his blade, leaped into the air, and brought it crashing down on Doflamingo with the force of a falling mountain.
Doflamingo crossed his arms above his head to block, but Whitebeard's strength was now several times greater than before. He also had to contend with the force of the shockwaves. He was thrown back, his legs sinking into the sandy ground, his entire body gradually disappearing under the force of Whitebeard's attack.
"Alright! Pops is amazing!"
"Pops really is the strongest!"
Seeing this, Marco and the others cheered with delight. Even Blackbeard was happy. He didn't want anyone to be able to defeat Whitebeard. If anyone was going to do it, it had to be him.
Enel, resting in the air, was not overly anxious. He believed in Doflamingo. He knew he wouldn't go down like this.
Seeing Doflamingo buried in the sand, Whitebeard showed no mercy. He raised his blade again, preparing to give him another surprise.
Just as the blade was about to fall, Doflamingo's slightly battered voice reached their ears.
"Whitebeard, that's some serious power you've got!"
A ball of lightning formed behind Whitebeard, and Doflamingo shot toward his head without a hint of politeness.
"Gurararara! Thundering brat."
Whitebeard wasn't flustered. He clenched his left hand into a fist and punched the space beside him, shattering Doflamingo's newly formed body.
But Doflamingo's Future Sight was not just for show. The moment Whitebeard had moved, he had already elementalized and dodged. The lightning fell to the ground, not dissipating, but rapidly re-forming into Doflamingo.
It was a trick he had learned from the Admirals. Using Future Sight to elementalize in advance was incredibly useful.
The two stood facing each other once more. The first round of testing was over. Doflamingo had taken a small hit, but he was not seriously injured. Whitebeard, on the other hand, showed no signs of fatigue, and in fact, seemed even more invigorated.
With their stamina, a fight of three days and three nights would be perfectly normal.
"The warm-up is over, right, Whitebeard?" Doflamingo said softly.
"Gurararara! Thundering brat, what, you want to light me up?" Whitebeard said, his blade held at his side, the aura of a conqueror radiating from him.
"Fuffuffu... If you want me to light you up, then come on!"
The taunts were exchanged. Without another word, the two charged at each other.
Bugara Island once again became a battlefield.