Whitebeard coughing up blood this time left the Whitebeard Pirates utterly shocked.
The Red-Haired Pirates' expressions also grew increasingly grim. None of them had expected such a reversal.
Good had injured Whitebeard.
Even Akainu and Kizaru, both fellow admirals, were stunned.
"Oi oi oi, this has to be a joke, right? Good actually injured Whitebeard?" Kizaru pouted in disbelief.
That was the man known as the strongest in the world. Just a moment ago, Good was getting completely overwhelmed, and now he'd actually wounded Whitebeard?
Even if Whitebeard was getting on in years, this was enough to shock the world.
Since Roger's death, Whitebeard had held his place at the top until now.
On the warship, the usually cold and aloof Momousagi broke into the joyful expression of a girl after her shock faded.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Good's figure, completely under a romantic filter.
She had always liked strong men. Previously, Chaton—her fellow admiral candidate—had confessed to her 99 times, and she'd rejected him every time.
Now, Momousagi found herself drawn to Good.
Beside her, Shiki stood frozen, looking grim. He had a very bad feeling.
He probably wasn't escaping this time.
Below, Good charged at Whitebeard again. "Whitebeard! Come on! Again!"
Despite just having clutched his chest, Whitebeard stood straight up, ready to go another round with Good.
But this time, Marco, Jozu, and the other commanders rushed forward, blocking Whitebeard.
Their old man was showing signs of his old injuries flaring up. They had to protect him, even if it meant disobeying orders.
Marco transformed into his phoenix form and launched a Hōō In (Phoenix Seal) at Good.
Jozu didn't hesitate either, his body covered in diamond, leaping in front of Good to block his blow with his famed defense.
"Marco, Vista... all of you, come at him! I'll block this maniac's attacks!" shouted Diamond Jozu.
Known as the strongest shield, Jozu blocked Good's strike at first.
Marco, Vista, Izo, and the other commanders all attacked in succession, managing to stop Good for now.
Facing the combined force of the Whitebeard Pirates' commanders, Good fought like a whirlwind cutting through chaos.
"Out of my way! I just wanna keep going at Whitebeard!" Good roared.
Activating Shinpunchi (Tremor Punch), his god-level battle instincts let him feint past Jozu's guard—his supposedly impenetrable shield couldn't block the strike.
Jozu's face changed drastically. "Watch out!!"
He shouted to warn his comrades.
But Good, who had just fought Whitebeard blow for blow, had grown even stronger. None of the commanders could face his speed and strength alone.
The punch landed squarely in Marco's abdomen.
Thud!
The impact sent Marco flying, the flames of the phoenix almost snuffed out in an instant.
He tumbled across the ground, smashing several craters into the earth before finally stopping.
Then he coughed up mouthfuls of blood, staining the ground red.
At the same time, the system's voice rang out in Good's mind:
"Congratulations, host. You have successfully replicated the [Phoenix Devil Fruit]. Unlocking mastery level…"
Along with it came various stat boosts, though this time they were much smaller compared to those from fighting Whitebeard—only single digits.
"Ah, huh?" Good looked surprised. "I got the Phoenix Devil Fruit?"
He didn't quite understand how it happened.
But he didn't think much of it. With his single-threaded mind, he just wanted to finish off the commanders and get back to fighting Whitebeard.
To him, getting the Phoenix Devil Fruit was just... meh. Trash.
That was Good's genuine thought. If he said it out loud, he'd probably get roasted by the entire world.
After all, the Phoenix Devil Fruit was an ultra-rare Mythical Zoan. And in your eyes it's just trash?
You serious?
In fact, while Good had been fighting Marco and the others, the system had already been replicating the Phoenix Fruit in the background.
But with his brain on cooldown, Good had only been thinking about Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi, so he didn't even notice.
As Marco was knocked away, the other commanders took the chance to counterattack.
Good was injured too, and this time, his wounds didn't heal immediately—showing that he was nearly out of stamina.
Still, Good remained ferocious, fighting alone against the entire Whitebeard commander squad, step by step forcing his way closer to Whitebeard.
He kept using that same suicidal style, trading blows and blood just to hurt the enemy more.
The commanders, veterans of countless battles, were starting to feel fear.
"This guy… does he not care about his own life?!"
"Damn it! Does this bastard not feel pain?!"
"Where the hell did the Marines find this madman…?"
"His title fits him perfectly… Reckless Maniac!!"
Good's fighting style was actually terrifying the Whitebeard commanders.
It was insane—unbelievable.
And as the battle went on, Good continued to replicate the abilities of Whitebeard's commanders.
Diamond Jozu's Kesshō Kesshō no Mi (Diamond Fruit), Vista's Nitoryū (Two-Sword Style)—though that was weaker than Shiki's version, so the system just added it to the stat pool under Shiki's swordsmanship.
The system voice kept ringing in his mind, announcing new Devil Fruits acquired, but Good didn't care at all.
He planned to fuse all the junk ones when he got back to see if anything decent came out of it.
As the fight dragged on, Good's power grew.
The Whitebeard commanders started getting completely overwhelmed.
On the other side, Shanks saw what was happening and knew he couldn't let this continue.
Originally, his crew was supposed to stall Akainu and Kizaru while Good was handled by the Whitebeard Pirates.
But now it was clear—Whitebeard's crew couldn't handle Good anymore.
The guy was a monster.
Shanks drew his sword, Gryphon, once more and ordered his crew:
"Beckman, assist me in stopping the two admirals. The rest of you—go help the Whitebeard Pirates."
The Red-Haired Pirates didn't hesitate. Benn Beckman went to intercept Kizaru, while Shanks blocked Akainu.
Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and the others rushed to support the Whitebeard commanders.
...
(End of Chapter)
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