The moment Diarmuid shouted the name of the technique, Newgate felt a jolt. The broken earth beneath his feet instantly flew up and began to cling to his body.
"Planetary Devastation... is that what you call that move?" Newgate murmured softly. It was clear he knew of Diarmuid's signature technique.
In no time, Newgate was covered in a large amount of rock and debris. He shook his body, and a powerful tremor instantly turned the earth and stones into dust. He looked at Diarmuid. "But that move is too weak to use on me, isn't it?"
As a user of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, how could he be suppressed by Diarmuid's Planetary Devastation?
But just as Newgate spoke, a tiny, inky-black orb flew out of Diarmuid's hand, slowly rising into the sky.
"It's not for me?" Newgate's brow furrowed slightly. He felt the gravitational force that had been exerted on him vanish.
At the same time, Diarmuid managed a weak smile. "Of course it's not for you. Why would I be foolish enough to use Planetary Devastation on you?"
The next second, the small orb high in the sky seemed to possess infinite attraction, acting as the island's center of gravity. It began to suck up massive amounts of earth and debris from the shattered ground, coating the black orb.
Then, the already broken St. Poplar began to tremble violently. The massive, cracked foundations of the island began to fly into the sky, merging with the growing sphere of earth and rock.
Newgate's expression finally changed. "I see. You want to completely destroy my footing?"
It was clear that Diarmuid was prepared to utterly destroy St. Poplar! He was turning the entire island into a Planetary Devastation!
Ignoring Diarmuid, Newgate slammed a punch at the giant sphere of earth and rock growing in the air. A powerful shockwave from his attack shattered the sphere. But the broken chunks of earth and rock flew only a short distance before being drawn back toward the center.
Not only that, but the rock debris from the meteors Diarmuid had pulled down earlier also began to rise, rapidly making up for the destruction Newgate had just caused.
Newgate turned to Diarmuid. "So those Tengai Shinsei attacks were all just a preparation for this moment?"
"It looks like they worked a bit," Diarmuid replied with a laugh.
At this moment, the Whitebeard Pirates, who had been out of sight, were struggling against the invisible gravitational pull. A few of the weaker members were already being dragged toward the sky.
Newgate's expression darkened. He punched out again, shattering the rapidly reforming sphere of earth and rock. But he couldn't stop the endless gravitational attraction.
Seeing this, Newgate's face hardened. "Do you truly believe I can't break this ridiculous thing of yours?"
With that, Newgate's Murakumogiri gathered an extremely strong, destructive aura. Invisible, transparent energy instantly solidified on the tip of his blade. Unlike the casual aura he had summoned before, this one was heavy and thick. Its mere presence on the blade caused the surrounding space to continually shatter.
"You can break it. With the power of the World's Strongest Man, how could you not? But you better hurry," Diarmuid said with a smile. "It won't be long before your sons can't hold up against this gravitational pull anymore."
As he spoke, the patch of ground under Diarmuid's feet broke free, carrying him toward the sky.
"This island can't be saved. Even if you break the Planetary Devastation, the island's foundation is already destroyed. It will sink soon, Whitebeard... At a time like this, will you choose to capture me, save your sons, or disregard everything and try to take me with you? As you said, this sea loves to bury the brave... If I can die alongside you, then my journey in this world won't have been in vain!" Diarmuid stood on the floating earth and shouted at Newgate.
Whitebeard held Murakumogiri, and the destructive tremor energy continued to gather. His eyes were fixed on Diarmuid, who was rapidly moving away.
After a long silence, Newgate burst into laughter. "Gurararararara! I underestimated you, Rodriguez Diarmuid! Next time we meet, I won't be so easy on you, you clever brat!"
Diarmuid felt a wave of relief when he heard Newgate's response. Though he sounded arrogant, he was genuinely worried that Newgate would let his rage get the better of him and attempt a mutual kill.
It seemed that Newgate's soft spot truly was his undeserving sons. Just as he would choose to protect his son at Marineford twenty years later, he chose now to protect those he cherished most.
Having said his piece, Newgate no longer looked at Diarmuid. He swung Murakumogiri at the massive, growing Planetary Devastation in the sky. As the formidable tremor left his hands, Newgate smiled faintly. "Fiercely brave, yet utterly cunning. Just like that bastard Sengoku taught you..."
From the beginning, Diarmuid had shown a fierce, courageous spirit, engaging in an intense fight with Newgate, as if he were ready to die to win. But now, Newgate realized that it was all an act, a deliberate display.
The brat had only been using his "courage" to stall for time so his subordinates could retreat. At the same time, he was making subtle moves, destroying the island's foundation and pulling down meteors, all to force Whitebeard into making a choice at the critical moment, allowing him to retreat cleanly.
"The sea always favors the brave, and the sea always likes to bury the brave, but most of all, the sea appreciates a brat like you... Gurararararara." Newgate roared with laughter again.
The next second, the world seemed to lose its color as the powerful tremor collided with the Planetary Devastation. Gravity went out of control, the tremors erupted, and as the sky shattered, St. Poplar completely disintegrated. Large pieces of the broken island began to sink rapidly.
After shattering the Planetary Devastation, Newgate stood with his blade raised, looking at the distant, chaotic scene. His sons, freed from the effect of the Planetary Devastation, quickly gathered by his side.
"Pops, the island's going down. We need to leave!" Jozu said seriously.
Marco quickly added, "Pops, I'm fine! Let's just forget that Bullet for now!" He was worried that his father would act rashly.
"Bullet is nothing. He's just a stray dog, a lunatic. He's not worth my time," Newgate said, waving his hand. Marco and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
But Newgate quickly grinned, looking at the encroaching seawater. "But that cunning brat Diarmuid thinks he can outwit me and retreat calmly? He's underestimating Whitebeard!"
With that, Newgate plunged Murakumogiri into the ground. He took a mighty step back, twisted his waist, and raised his single arm, clenching his fist and drawing it back to his shoulder in a power stance.
Without waiting for Marco and the others to speak, Newgate's fist gathered a dense tremor force, far thicker than the destructive aura he had concentrated on Murakumogiri.
He held the charge for three to five seconds. Marco and the others remained silent, watching the incoming tsunami, capable of swallowing their fragment of the island whole, rush toward them. Just as the wave was about to reach them, Newgate's proud, crescent-shaped mustache twitched.
The next second, he unleashed the power he had been gathering, slamming his fist into the air three times!
The invisible tremor seemed to rip the world itself apart. Everything in front of Newgate was shattered into nothingness. The surging tsunami, which was about to swallow the island, was instantly dispersed by Newgate's punch. The wildly churning seawater completely collapsed.
Not only that, but the powerful tremor, in a matter of moments, seized the massive amount of seawater and reversed its direction, pushing it back over the ground it had just swallowed.
Then, the seawater around the island fragment where Newgate stood was continually pushed outward. Before long, it formed a massive tsunami, sweeping up the immense volume of water and radiating outward from his island fragment, engulfing the surrounding sea.
"...Enjoy my wrath, Diarmuid." Newgate chuckled softly, catching Murakumogiri as it fell. He then looked at Marco and the others. "The water won't rush back for three hours. Are our ships fine?"
"They should be fine," Jozu nodded.
"Go! Board the ships!" Newgate commanded with a wave of his hand.
Meanwhile, Diarmuid, who had just landed on the deck of Vice Admiral Jonathan's warship, turned back and looked at the cataclysmic tsunami sweeping toward them, his expression a little stunned.
So, to stop the seawater from quickly sinking the island, Whitebeard used his power to turn all the water surrounding the island into a tsunami and threw it out? Is that even possible for a human to do?
"That old man is seriously angry. Looks like you really ticked him off," Vice Admiral Jonathan said on the deck, scoffing as he looked at the approaching wave that could easily sink their warship.
Sakazuki and Gion were also on the deck, silent as they watched the world-ending tsunami.
Diarmuid smacked his lips. "The man who is said to be able to destroy the world is truly worthy of the title... But are none of you worried about this tsunami? This huge wave makes our warship look like an ant. It could sink all of us..."
"You provoked his wrath, so naturally, you should be the one to quell it," Jonathan said with a grin.
"I can't quell it. I don't have that kind of strength right now," Diarmuid grumbled. His earlier weakness wasn't an act. But he quickly smiled again. "However, if that guy thinks this will make me panic, he's underestimating me too. If I can't quell it, can't I just avoid it?"
With that, Diarmuid lightly stomped his foot. His warship, as well as the few remaining warships around it, were quickly enveloped in a gravitational field and began to rise from the sea.
After rising above the height of the tsunami, Diarmuid could see the shattered St. Poplar in the distance again. The sea level around the island had visibly dropped. The broken island truly hadn't been swallowed by the water.
It seemed that Whitebeard had sent all the surrounding seawater away with the tsunami, causing the sea level to rapidly fall. Of course, once the tsunami dissipated, the water would rush back and completely swallow the remaining island.
At the same time, he saw a pirate ship, shaped like a white whale, riding the crest of the massive tsunami in the opposite direction, gradually sailing away.
"The World's Strongest Man in his prime... It's hard to imagine who could be his match at this stage!?" Diarmuid said with a sense of awe.
Jonathan quickly replied, "Precisely because he is unbeatable right now, no one can oppose him. That's why he is called the World's Strongest Man... isn't it?"
"Hahaha, you have a point!" Diarmuid laughed loudly. Yes, precisely because Whitebeard was currently unbeatable, he was called the World's Strongest Man!
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