Whitebeard Jr. seemed to have anticipated Roya's arrival. With a sudden twist of his blade, he slashed diagonally upward toward Roya's lower leg in an almost impossible counter.
At the same time, the blade was instantly coated in a layer of Armament Haki.
Had that strike landed, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
In that instant, Roya realized—Whitebeard Jr.'s Observation Haki had been honed to an extreme level.
Not only that, but he had also somehow acquired Whitebeard's improved version of Life Return.
Only with such mastery could he execute a counter like that with such precision, in a split second.
In fact, even his earlier attack on Marco had likely been a trap, triggered upon sensing Roya's arrival—a preemptive move to seize the initiative.
Roya let out a cold snort. He now understood that he had slightly underestimated this so-called "Prototype No. 1."
"This guy's learning ability and cunning are off the charts. That idiot act is just a facade to lower his enemies' guard."
"His overall combat strength is definitely not to be taken lightly. It seems I'll have to use him to extract more intel on Vegapunk."
With a subtle spin of his toes, Roya simulated a small gravitational trap beneath his foot, causing his body to suddenly drop just enough to easily dodge the edge of the naginata, then launched a spinning kick toward the long hilt of Murakumogiri.
Whitebeard Jr. let out a strange laugh—unclear whether mocking or pleased—and spun with the force of the blow. Murakumogiri trailed a shimmering afterimage, spinning like a windmill as it swept horizontally toward Roya's waist.
Roya had just landed. With his left elbow raised and a half-step forward, he closed the gap, aiming another elbow strike toward the naginata's hilt.
Whitebeard Jr. swiftly adapted—switching to a one-handed grip with his right hand.
Then, with an almost miraculous movement of his fingers, he slid most of the long hilt under his armpit, leaving only the blade exposed—
Just enough to slash directly at Roya's incoming elbow.
At the same time, his left fist rose high, pulsing with a strange suction force, crashing down toward Roya's head.
This flurry of counters and adaptations between the two happened in the blink of an eye.
The captains watching nearby were dumbfounded.
In their minds, they imagined themselves in Roya's position and were horrified to realize:
There was no way to survive this dual-pronged killing blow from Whitebeard Jr.
But in that split second, Roya shifted again.
His left arm suddenly shot straight, and with a half-spin of his body, he turned sideways to face Whitebeard Jr.
Then—he reached out with his left hand and pinched the incoming blade between his thumb and index finger.
At the same time, his right palm rose diagonally upward—colliding cleanly with Whitebeard Jr.'s incoming fist.
A muffled boom rang out as fist and palm met.
Whitebeard Jr.'s body was knocked back, spinning in the air. Using Murakumogiri as the axis—still clamped under his arm—he spun nearly half a turn before his head slammed violently into the deck.
His assault collapsed instantly. His control over the naginata was broken.
Murakumogiri spun through the air, caught between Roya's fingers, and landed precisely in Marco's hands.
Seizing this brief window, Whitebeard Jr. bashed his head against the deck again, using the momentum to launch himself away from Roya and gain some distance.
Roya cast him a sidelong glance and scoffed.
"So this is Prototype No. 1? I thought you'd be something special. Turns out you're just… ordinary."
Only then did the surrounding division commanders begin to realize—Roya had been testing Whitebeard Jr.'s strength the entire time. He hadn't been fighting seriously.
Even during close combat, he had intentionally limited his strength to a level comparable to Whitebeard's, relying solely on technique to gain the upper hand.
He hadn't even used his Observation Haki.
Whitebeard Jr. paused for a moment, then let out a dark chuckle.
"So, you actually know my codename. That means you must have a powerful informant inside the World Government."
"Aren't you worried I'll escape? If I do, your informant will definitely be exposed."
Roya shrugged nonchalantly.
"You're welcome to try. Let's see if you can escape from me."
Whitebeard Jr.'s smile twisted into a snarl. With a roar, he launched both fists forward.
This time—it wasn't martial arts. It was Devil Fruit power.
A powerful shockwave burst from his fists—
Gura Gura no Mi: Airquake!
The moment he unleashed the technique, everyone watching was stunned.
Marco cried out in shock:
"That's impossible! I just saw Pops—he's weak, yes, but alive! How the hell did you get the Gura Gura no Mi?!"
Whitebeard Jr. sneered:
"You fools know nothing of the power of science!"
As he spoke, the Airquake spheres forming at his fists exploded outward, their devastating waves expanding across the entire battleship.
Roya raised a single hand and unleashed a blast of Observation Haki. In a flash, he enveloped the two Airquake spheres and halted their expansion, preventing damage to the Moby Dick.
But Whitebeard Jr. let out a sinister laugh:
"Got you!"
The Airquake energy suddenly flipped inside out, morphing into a sack-like shape that wrapped around Roya's Haki—and began pulling it toward Whitebeard Jr.'s body.
Seeing this, Roya responded with nothing but a cold, disdainful smirk.
The captured Haki immediately unraveled into an intricate web of threads—
Observation Haki strands of the highest level.
In the blink of an eye, they had threaded through every inch of Whitebeard Jr.'s body, scanning everything from anatomy to energy flow, leaving no detail unexplored.
Whitebeard Jr.'s expression froze.
At last, he realized the horrifying truth: everything that had just happened had been within Roya's predictions and control.
The burst of Haki that Roya had thrown earlier—was bait.
Meant to lure out Whitebeard Jr.'s greed, to tempt him into capturing it and bringing it back to Vegapunk for research.
But to do that, he had to fully open his body and energy circuits.
And that fleeting instant—
Was all Roya needed.
In a single moment, Roya obtained every bit of data on this so-called Prototype No. 1.
"So that's how it is…"
"You used genetic coding techniques to program desirable abilities directly into a powerful gene template—like Whitebeard's."
"These clones… really can plunder the original owner's Devil Fruit powers."
"And with synthetic fruits added into the mix, in theory… they could hold unlimited Devil Fruit abilities."
"Such a biological weapon… Vegapunk…"
Roya's thoughts stirred. In response, the Observation Haki threads still inside Whitebeard Jr.'s body transformed into an even deeper form of energy.
With a burst, Whitebeard Jr.'s complex genetic chains shattered completely, unable to maintain biological form.
His body dissolved into a swirl of black ash, dispersing into the wind.
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