"Just what I wanted."
Fresh off mastering infusion, Tengetsu Ares was itching for a fight to grind it in through real combat.
And big bro Whitebeard
Was one of the best partners he could ask for.
The Golden Lion, Kaido, and Slardar stepped back to give them room.
Whitebeard Newgate threw his head back and laughed, calling out in advance, "Gurara... Ares, let us agree to pull our punches.
"We are only sparring. Do not go all out, do not get carried away."
He had no desire to level Hachinosu by accident.
What he truly feared was Ares getting serious. The Ares of today was not the Ares of yesterday. If they really went at it, half the island might be rubble.
"Deal." A fierce light flashed in Ares's tiger eyes. His voice ran hot. "I just want to get familiar with infusion."
If he tried it several times in battle, then leveraged his prodigious memory,
He could compare the feel and effect of each use, pinpoint what was right, drill it, and make his infusion both stronger and smoother.
Whitebeard's mouth twitched. The words pricked him right in the heart.
Inwardly he sighed:
"This kid Ares really did overtake me.
"He even got infusion before I did."
He flicked Murakumogiri off to the side with a shout. "Kaido, watch my weapon."
Whitebeard chose not to use his naginata.
He wanted to fight Ares with bare fists,
To feel the power of infusion in the most direct collision.
Zzz.
Black and red lightning crawled over Ares's corded arms.
"I am coming."
He gave the warning, bent his arm to store power. Thick veins like rebar swelled under the skin as his will drove Conqueror's Haki to surge into his fist like a tide.
He stepped in hard.
Thud.
His coiled arm snapped out, textbook-perfect, like a prizefighter's ideal cross.
Power and speed, both frightening.
The wind off his fist howled.
The air seemed to rupture under the blow.
"Even a casual strike hits this hard," Whitebeard muttered, half admiring, half bracing.
His arm muscles ballooned like pumped leather. Veins stood out, blood thundering through them.
He met Ares's fist with his own.
Before their knuckles even touched, Newgate felt a tremendous force crash into his punch.
Boom.
A dull thunderclap blasted in every ear.
Their fists had not met.
It felt like impact through open air.
The black-red lightning on Ares's arm burst, splitting into jagged, erratic teeth of light that crackled as if the air itself were tearing.
The ground beneath both men could not stand the shock of their exchanged blows.
Long cracks raced outward.
On Ares's chiseled, hard-edged face, excitement burned bright.
He knew Whitebeard's strength. Trading punches like this was a delight he could feel in his bones.
He swung again, heavier than before.
Boom.
…
Watching the two trade blows, Slardar breathed, "There really are that many monsters in the world outside.
"In raw body strength, Newgate definitely tops me."
He could only admire it.
Since following Ares to Hachinosu, he had met more monsters than he could count.
And he now understood why Kaido fought to grow stronger like a madman.
Among this pack of beasts, if you do not become a beast yourself, you have no right to stand with them.
Kaido chuckled. "Rororo... of course. Newgate is a monster to the core. Even giants cannot match his strength.
"Right now, even with my Devil Fruit, I might not beat him in raw power."
Judged by physique alone, Whitebeard was absurd.
At least before Ares appeared, no one could truly match him in sheer physical force.
That is also why he pushed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit so far that Sengoku once said his strength could destroy the world.
After eating the Paramecia Tremor-Tremor Fruit,
Whitebeard doubled down on training his body, and the fruit shone all the brighter in his hands.
It became known as the strongest Paramecia.
You could say the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and Whitebeard made each other.
The whole sea came to know how terrifying that power of destruction truly was,
And not because of a protagonist miracle like turning the Rubber Fruit into a Mythical Zoan, Nika form.
"Two complete monsters," the Golden Lion said, a touch of awe in his voice. "But if it is raw strength, Ares still edges him.
"If we are only talking power, Ares might already be the strongest on the sea."
He had his rivalry with Whitebeard, sure, but even he had to admit Newgate's strength was frightening.
Ares's strength
Was worse, in the best sense.
He was the strongest body Shiki had ever seen.
A speculative smile crossed Shiki's face. "Give it a few years. How high will Ares's power climb?
"Perhaps to a height we can only look up to."
"After all, the kid is sixteen or seventeen. For many people, life is just beginning."
The thought left Shiki oddly wistful.
He and Whitebeard were both in their thirties, right at their peak.
And Ares
Was just getting started. It was hard to even imagine what his future would be.
…
"Enough, enough.
"Without a Devil Fruit I cannot match you."
Whitebeard sprang back and called the bout, straightforward as ever in admitting defeat.
They had been at it for hours.
Power for power, he lost.
Haki for Haki, he did not lead by much.
As for infusion, Ares was already a step ahead.
Without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, a body-only fight was not one he could win.
The Golden Lion drew deep on his cigar and teased with a crooked grin, "White-bearded one, you have a Devil Fruit. It is not like Ares does not.
"A loss is a loss. Save your excuses."
Whitebeard had no retort.
Shiki was not wrong.
He had the Paramecia Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Ares had the Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon.
Which one was stronger was not easy to call.
Ares strode up. "Big bro Newgate held back for me, really. You wanted me to find the feel for infusion."
After hours of exchanges, his progress was obvious.
He no longer shoved all his Conqueror's into his arm in one rush, but began to route and meter it through his body with purpose.
His control over Conqueror's tightened another notch.
With more practice and a few more fights against the strong,
He was confident his infusion would advance rapidly, and catching up to Captain Rocks would be only a matter of time.
Whitebeard clapped Ares's tower-like shoulder and laughed from the chest. "Gurara... Ares, you do know how to save an old man's face.
"But I have to admit it. That slow, dull look and that hulking frame are a lie.
"In the fight I could feel your infusion getting smoother and smoother."
The change was clear.
Each exchange, each shift in the weight of Ares's punches,
Told him Ares was trying variations of the technique. As Ares grew more practiced,
Newgate could sense, through power alone, that the kid was getting stronger,
And deliberately holding back, keeping it tidy.
Watching Ares grow stronger made Newgate genuinely happy. He beamed. "Gurara... thanks to you, I have finally learned infusion.
"Funny, is it not? I used to teach you.
"Now it is the other way around. You are teaching me."
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