Silence.
The entirety of Marineford fell deathly quiet in an instant.
No—deathly quiet was no exaggeration.
Every single person stared wide-eyed at Alex, gazes frozen in disbelief, as if their minds had completely stopped working.
Who in the world was this young man?
He had knocked Whitebeard down… with just one punch?
Was this some kind of joke?
That was Whitebeard!
One of the Four Emperors who dominated the seas, Whitebeard!
The man whose Quake-Quake Fruit possessed world-shattering power, the very man Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself had called "the strongest man in the world."
A man who stood unmistakably at the very pinnacle of the sea.
And yet now—
He had been knocked down with a single punch?
How was that even possible?!
Wait—
A sudden chill ran through the crowd.
Whether Marines or pirates, everyone realized something terribly wrong.
Why wasn't Whitebeard getting back up?
He was just lying there, completely motionless.
Don't tell me…
Was he killed in one punch?
Impossible!
That thought was far too absurd to believe.
No one wanted to believe it.
But Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, the three Admirals, and the Seven Warlords—those with powerful Observation Haki—had already sensed the truth.
Whitebeard… was dead.
Hiss!
One by one, these top figures sucked in sharp breaths of cold air.
Even Sengoku and the others, who had already witnessed Alex's terrifying strength, were violently shaken.
Shockwaves tore through their hearts.
Whitebeard…
Dead?
Killed by a single punch?!
This had to be a nightmare!
That was Whitebeard!
In an instant, the Seven Warlords' gazes once again locked onto Alex.
This time, not a single one of them could remain calm.
"Who… exactly is this man?"
Dracule Mihawk's hawk-like eyes sharpened to their limit as they fixed on Alex.
Instinctively, he activated his Observation Haki to sense Alex's presence—
And his expression changed violently, just like Rayleigh's had before.
"Impossible!"
"How is this possible?!"
Cold sweat poured down Mihawk's face as he cried out in disbelief.
He glanced sideways—
Doflamingo. Boa Hancock.
The other Warlords who possessed Observation Haki were in the same state.
Their faces were pale, bodies trembling faintly, expressions twisted in pure shock.
They were terrified.
"What's wrong with you guys?"
"Why are you so scared?!"
Gecko Moria, who lacked Observation Haki, looked completely confused.
What was going on?
Sure, that guy had punched Whitebeard down—but did it really warrant this kind of reaction?
"Dad!"
"Dad!"
After several seconds of deathly silence, members of the Whitebeard Pirates finally snapped out of it and rushed forward in panic.
They checked Whitebeard's condition.
Then—
Boom.
Their minds exploded.
"Dad… is dead!"
"Dad is already dead!"
The pirate screamed in utter horror.
"What?! Whitebeard is dead?!"
"No way—Whitebeard was killed with one punch?!"
"I don't believe it! That was Whitebeard!"
"This… this has to be a joke!"
Marineford exploded like a nuclear bomb had gone off.
Shock, disbelief, terror—countless cries rang out one after another.
Everyone was completely shattered by the news, struck dumb as if by divine lightning.
One of the Four Emperors…
Killed with a single punch?
This was the kind of story no one would dare write, even in fiction.
"Dad!"
"You killed Dad!"
"I'll kill you!"
A furious roar filled with killing intent rang out.
Diamond Jozu charged forward like a small mountain, smashing toward Alex.
His entire body was coated in dazzling diamond, leaving only half his face exposed—eyes bloodshot, filled with hatred.
Whitebeard was dead.
He would tear this monster apart with his own hands!
Alex had originally planned to kill Whitebeard and then leave, washing his hands of the rest.
In his eyes, if Whitebeard himself was trash-tier, then everyone else in the Whitebeard Pirates was trash among trash.
He couldn't even be bothered to act.
But since someone insisted on delivering themselves to death—
What choice did he have?
Alex casually lifted a hand.
A vast, terrifying telekinetic force instantly enveloped Diamond Jozu's entire body.
Then—
It compressed.
And crushed.
Boom!
Diamond Jozu exploded on the spot.
He shattered into sparkling fragments, which then quickly reverted into mangled flesh.
Dead beyond any doubt.
Diamond—indestructible?
That was just an illusion.
Diamonds were only "indestructible" because they hadn't encountered truly overwhelming power.
When they did—
Even diamonds had to kneel.
Gulp.
Sounds of frantic swallowing echoed throughout the battlefield.
Everyone felt their scalp go numb, their minds completely detonating.
A simple clench of the hand—
And Diamond Jozu exploded?
Wasn't diamond supposed to be the hardest substance in the world?
Wasn't Jozu supposed to have the strongest defense?
And yet he was instantly killed?
This had to be fake.
It had to be fake!
In the seas near Marineford, the Red-Haired Pirates were leisurely making their way forward.
A full-scale war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines would completely reshape the world—something Shanks did not want to see.
So he had come to mediate.
After all, his "face" had always been very effective.
Even the Marines had to give him some respect, right?
"I hope… we're not too late."
Watching the live broadcast of Marineford through a projection Den Den Mushi, Shanks silently prayed.
Then—
In the next instant—
He saw a young man punch Whitebeard down with a single blow.
The entire Red-Haired crew froze.
"Boss… who is that guy?"
"He knocked Whitebeard down with one punch?!"
Yasopp nearly popped his eyes out as he shouted in disbelief.
Across the entire sea—
No one should have been capable of doing something like that.
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