Armored Susanoo—just as the name promised, it was the fusion of Susanoo's legendary power and the unyielding might of Armament Haki.
Its massive form shimmered with a metallic luster, casting a shadow so vast it blotted out the sun.
On the Moby Dick—
"What… what kind of monster is that?!" Jozu croaked, his throat tight with fear.
Vista's eyes locked onto the battlefield, his face twisted in shock. "That… that's—!"
He pointed, hand trembling, at the black giant's brow.
Jozu followed Vista's gesture. His pupils shrank, and he gasped, "No way… it's that Marine!?"
On the Navy warship—
Johnson hadn't looked away from the island for a single second. Even without seeing the details, the cracks splintering the sky and sea, and the sudden appearance of the wooden Buddha, kept his nerves stretched to the breaking point.
"It's… it's the Vice Admiral!" shouted a sharp-eyed colonel beside him.
"Where?!" Johnson demanded.
"At the brow of the black giant!" came the reply.
Johnson squinted into the distance. Though the figure was small and blurry, the uniform and the "Justice" cape trailing behind told him everything he needed to know—
That black giant was Kai Mitarashi.
On the battlefield—
For the first time, fear flickered in Whitebeard's eyes.
He didn't know what that first blue-green giant had been, but the metallic sheen of Armament Haki now covering the colossal form was unmistakable.
No one had ever wielded Armament Haki like this.
Kai's Haki enveloped the entire giant—a body as big as the island itself.
What kind of mastery did that require?
Not even Roger, whose Haki had reached the second tier's peak and brushed against the legendary third, had ever managed this.
Could it be… this Marine brat had reached the third tier of Armament Haki?
Impossible! Roger had learned from Laugh Tale that no one in this world was allowed to step into the third tier.
Whitebeard's mind reeled.
But Kai didn't care what Whitebeard was thinking. Even if he knew, he wouldn't have wasted a second on it.
Within Susanoo, Kai clenched his fists and slammed them down toward Whitebeard.
The pitch-black giant fists crashed down. Whitebeard's eyes flashed with dread, but he didn't flinch—he hurled both fists upward to meet the attack.
Compared to Susanoo's fists, Whitebeard's own seemed minuscule.
"Break… for me!!"
Whitebeard roared, voice ragged. A flush crept over his face, and he spat a mouthful of blood.
He'd poured every last ounce of strength into his final attack.
The island itself began to fracture. Chunks of sky seemed to fall, and pitch-black vacuum zones spread overhead—a scene straight out of the apocalypse.
Instantly, Whitebeard's face turned ghostly pale. The Tremor-Tremor Fruit's might was legendary, but its backlash was brutal.
As its wielder, he could control most of the recoil, but compared to vibrations that could shatter the sky, even a trace was more than his battered body could handle.
First, he'd endured the True Several Thousand Hands Buddha's assault. Now, he'd unleashed his ultimate attack. Whitebeard was spent—standing upright was sheer force of will.
Cracks spidered across Susanoo's armored body, but it held firm. The black fists smashed down on Whitebeard.
BOOM!!!
Whitebeard's shockwaves had already riddled the island's foundation with fractures. Kai's final Susanoo punch shattered what remained.
The island, battered and broken, finally began to sink.
On the Moby Dick—
As the black giant's fist descended, a heavy silence fell over the ship. No one spoke. They all understood—
Their Pops. The "Emperor." The "World's Strongest Man."
The man they'd worshipped as a living god…
Had been defeated.
No one could believe it. The crew stared, blank and numb, at the island slipping beneath the waves.
"What are you all standing around for?! Hurry… go save Pops! He's a Devil Fruit user!" Marco staggered from the cabin, shouting at the others.
Jozu, Vista, Thatch—the division commanders snapped out of their daze.
"Full speed ahead—now! Move!" Jozu bellowed.
"But… but Captain Jozu, Pops' Tremor-Tremor Fruit power hasn't faded yet…" a helmsman stammered.
He didn't finish—Vista grabbed him and hurled him into the sea, then seized the wheel himself, steering the Moby Dick at full speed toward the sinking island.
On the Navy warship—
"The Vice Admiral… the Vice Admiral… won!?" Johnson stood frozen, barely able to believe what he'd just witnessed.
But then, seeing the Moby Dick racing for the island, his heart lurched. He roared, "Full speed ahead! We have to reach Vice Admiral Kai before the Whitebeard Pirates do!"
It looked like Kai had won, but Johnson worried it might be a mutual defeat. If the pirates reached Kai first…
He didn't know his worry was completely unnecessary.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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