Not only were Kaido and Charlotte Linlin dumbfounded, but even Marco was completely baffled.
He had personally clashed with Charlotte Linlin, and after hardly any fighting, he was pinned down and manhandled by her. If not for his special ability, he would have been dead long ago.
Yet, immediately after his old man, Newgate, engaged, he was ambushed by Charlotte Linlin and stabbed directly in the chest. As a serious-minded doctor, Marco could certainly tell that the blow had a huge impact on Pops and the injury was severe.
But just as he worried about his father, feeling utterly powerless, his old man suddenly unleashed unmatched power and began curb-stomping Charlotte Linlin and Kaido.
What in the world is happening?
"Awakening?" Marco stared at Newgate in astonishment.
As the son most cherished and valued by his old man, Marco naturally understood his father well, but even he had no idea that his old man had Awakened his ability?
Is it really that exaggerated?
Didn't they say Rule-Type abilities couldn't Awaken?
When did this happen? Why didn't I know?
Having easily subdued Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, Newgate stood proudly in place, looking at Charlotte Linlin and saying: "Do you still think I'm old?"
Charlotte Linlin was filled with doubt and anger, gritting her teeth: "Impossible! How could your ability Awaken? You have a Rule-Type ability. Shiki didn't even achieve this back then..."
"Gurararara! Shiki?" Newgate laughed loudly, then said: "That bastard was incredible, but unfortunately, he died too soon. If he'd had more years, he might not have been unable to Awaken!"
These words essentially admitted, from the side, that his ability had Awakened.
It turned out Newgate was quite the deceiver as well.
Charlotte Linlin and Kaido's faces were gloomy. At this moment, they were starting to believe it. Newgate's Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability must have Awakened. Otherwise, it made no sense; her powerful blow, and Kaido's Kosanze Ragnaraku, couldn't even break Whitebeard's skin. If that wasn't Awakening, then what was it?
Had his Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability reached this level?
Was this the effect of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's Awakening? What did this even count as? Absolute defense?
Thinking of this, both Kaido and Charlotte Linlin found it a bit incomprehensible.
Newgate had always been known for his absolute attack power and destructive capability. Just look at the wide recognition of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. What is it known for?
The power to destroy the world!
Yet, after its Awakening, this immensely offensive Devil Fruit ability turned out to be an absolute defensive power?
What the heck is going on?
Newgate didn't offer any explanation.
But in reality, this was not a true Awakening, but a deeper level of development of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power by Newgate.
Years ago, he had already realized that his physical qualities and defense were far inferior to those of monsters like Kaido and Charlotte Linlin.
This was his biggest weakness in terms of strength.
But he didn't worry too much about it back then, as he believed that offense was the best defense. If I smash you before you can hurt me, then I don't need defense! What a simple, crude, yet ultimately true path to power!
For many years, Newgate operated this way, and thanks to his formidable raw strength, he truly weathered all those great storms without incident.
However, as he gradually aged, he began to feel a lack of strength. Charlotte Linlin was right; his strength had indeed waned a bit, even if only a tiny fraction, it was still a step backward.
Coupled with Diarmuid's 'Abyssal Devourer' back then, which truly shocked Newgate. His boasted attack power seemed insignificant compared to Diarmuid's extreme lethality.
As one of the people present that day, Newgate could fully appreciate the skill of Diarmuid's single slash, which was truly worthy of being called the 'Strongest in the World.'
Consequently, influenced by these factors, Newgate's mindset changed.
There were two paths laid out before him: the first was to follow Diarmuid's path, developing the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power to the absolute extreme and contesting with Diarmuid for the title of the strongest single strike.
The second path was the opposite of Diarmuid's: He goes for the strongest attack, and I will create the strongest defense.
Considering the current situation—although his strength had slightly declined, practically speaking, it didn't affect Newgate's output—it wasn't necessary to pursue extreme attack power and lethality again.
So, Newgate ultimately chose the second path.
Before choosing this path, Newgate's development of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit had always followed a simple and brutal route. In fact, most Rule-Type users do the same: stack power, and crush everything with sheer force!
Diarmuid, in a sense, was similar.
To what extent was Newgate's wildness? He could unleash vast amounts of tremor power in one go, enough to truly destroy the sky and earth, shatter islands, and stir up tsunamis.
Perhaps 'destroying the world' is an exaggeration, but he was incredibly powerful, wild, and brutal.
In terms of refinement, Newgate hadn't really paid much attention to it or developed it much.
This time, he focused his effort on this refined level. The power he developed looked incredibly formidable, seemingly like an Awakening. Kaido's and Charlotte Linlin's attacks were all effortlessly blocked, and he wasn't even injured.
But in reality, this was the simplest and most extreme application of his ability. He concentrated, condensed, and then unleashed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's tremor force at the point of impact just before an attack hit the contact point.
Through the tremor force, he first vastly reduced the opponent's offensive power, then quickly annihilated the remaining force through vibration, and finally, completely eliminated the last bit of residual energy through resonance.
That was roughly the process.
While it sounds simple, just like the previous saying, it was simple, yet also extreme.
However, precisely because of this, he couldn't apply this ability over a large area. But that was fine, as Newgate never intended to widely cover his body with this power, because it wasn't necessary and would drastically increase his stamina consumption.
This precise and highly concentrated, powerful control over the energy was extremely taxing on his stamina.
Therefore, in his initial plan, Newgate prepared to use this technique to counter those extremely lethal attacks, such as Charlotte Linlin's lightning-fire blasts, or Kaido's Kosanze Ragnaraku.
And the ultimate goal was to use it to block Diarmuid's 'Abyssal Devourer'.
Clearly, Diarmuid's Abyssal Devourer had made Newgate feel a fatal threat, and he knew well that one day, Diarmuid would fight him to the death, or rather, the Marines would ensure it.
As a Marine Admiral, Diarmuid's threat level was high. If he didn't develop a countermeasure against that 'Abyssal Devourer', he would truly be at a complete loss when the time came.
The most unfortunate person to suffer the result was Charlotte Linlin.
Newgate developed this technique specifically to keep it hidden, to give Diarmuid a surprise.
Yet, the first one to crash into the wall was this unlucky child, Charlotte Linlin.
But thinking about it again, it felt somewhat fated.
Years ago, Diarmuid developed the Abyssal Devourer, and his hypothetical enemy was Charlotte Linlin, because her absolute defense, Iron Balloon, was so difficult to deal with that Diarmuid wasn't confident in breaking through it head-on.
So, he developed the major killing move, Abyssal Devourer, and nearly sliced off Charlotte Linlin's head.
He also intended to give Charlotte Linlin a surprise, but the one who ended up blocking the attack was Newgate. During the St. Poplar incident, Newgate was the first to experience the Abyssal Devourer.
Now, Charlotte Linlin could be considered to have repaid Newgate's 'favor' for 'blocking the attack' that year.
Charlotte Linlin and Kaido were filled with doubt and uncertainty, somewhat disbelieving yet also convinced. But neither of them were minor characters. Although Newgate suddenly unveiled this 'Awakening,' leaving them greatly embarrassed, the situation had not yet collapsed to the point of certain defeat. Moreover, they still had an ace up their sleeve!
So, after only a brief hesitation, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin acted simultaneously.
The two attacked Newgate from front and back, flanking him.
Newgate was unconcerned, a gleam in his eyes. He precisely blocked the attacks from Kaido and Charlotte Linlin. This didn't use the 'Awakening' of his ability, but just the normal application of his power combined with his martial prowess.
Of course, he could tell that this was just a tentative exchange.
Sure enough, in the next second, Charlotte Linlin and Kaido combined their attacks, colliding with Newgate's tremor power. Then, neither of them delayed. Using Newgate's tremor force, they retreated instead of advancing, simultaneously pulling back dozens of meters and standing together.
"Come back!" Charlotte Linlin suddenly reached out and grabbed Napoleon, who Newgate had supposedly crushed with his bare hands. Napoleon instantly returned to her grasp.
Powerful soul energy instantly nourished Napoleon's body, reactivating the Homie and transforming it back into the Cognac.
At the same time, Kaido took a deep breath. A powerful aura condensed on his kanabo. It seemed like Haki, yet not quite, instead resembling a slash. He was certainly different.
Not only Kaido, but Charlotte Linlin's Cognac was the same.
Newgate, as an old crewmate of these two bastards, having also come from Rocks' ship, recognized the technique with a single glance.
"The power of Elbaf?" Newgate murmured softly.
Concurrently, the tremor power within him rapidly surged, as Newgate clearly knew that this was a combination technique with an extremely large attack range and immense lethality. At his speed, dodging was impossible; he could only find a way to withstand it.
Just then, the auras of Kaido and Charlotte Linlin seemed to merge. The next moment, both of them simultaneously swung their weapons.
"HAKAI!!!"
Kaido and Charlotte Linlin roared in unison.
Just as Newgate had murmured, this Hakai was indeed the power of Elbaf, evolved from the Giant Tribe's Elbaf's Spear, much like techniques such as Ikkoku or Hakoku.
The principle was similar, but the difficulty lay in synchronizing the two individuals' auras and rhythms. Once successful, the power unleashed far exceeded the sum of their individual strengths.
The moment this Hakai was unleashed, it immediately destroyed everything in front of Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, leaving a deep gash.
A trench tens of meters deep was gouged into the ground, and everything seemed to turn to ash before this technique.
Looking at Newgate, he was right in the path of the Hakai.
He neither dodged nor retreated. He stood with his feet spread wide, sinking his hips low into a solid horse stance. Simultaneously, he fiercely crossed his arms in front of his chest. Massive tremor force rapidly gathered in his fists. Then, a look of arrogant defiance appeared on his face.
Just as the Hakai offensive was about to hit him, Newgate suddenly spread his crossed arms. He unleashed two simultaneous punches, one left and one right. The space in front of him instantly shattered. The invisible tremor force, seemingly infinite, forcefully blocked the seemingly unstoppable Hakai attack!!!