"Hahahaha, Whitebeard, can't take it anymore?" Diarmuid climbed out of the sand pit, laughing heartily.
After spitting out a mouthful of blood, Newgate seemed to feel much better. He, too, climbed out of the sand pit in a sorry state, wiped the blood from his mouth, and looked at Diarmuid: "Can't take it? Do you believe I'll sink you to the bottom of the ocean right now?"
"It's no good to just talk big!" Diarmuid roared with laughter.
As his words fell, and before Newgate could speak again, Diarmuid extended a single hand, aimed it at Newgate, and said: "Universal Pull!"
Newgate's feet lost traction. He felt an intense suction burst from Diarmuid's direction. His tall figure instantly lifted from the ground, flying toward Diarmuid.
Newgate's response was timely. He countered with a tremor-force punch, shattering the space in front of him, forcefully interrupting Diarmuid's Universal Pull.
Just then, Diarmuid used Soru to flash forward. A sense of weightlessness passed through him, and he closed the distance to Newgate with extreme speed.
"Hooah!" Diarmuid roared, bringing his blade down.
Newgate instantly coated his forearm with Armament Haki. With no time to think, he threw up his arm to block the attack in front of him.
The next second, Diarmuid's Kokorowatari sliced onto Newgate's Haki-coated arm. The sharp blade scraped against the Armament Haki, sparking tiny flashes of fire.
As the Haki blocked the blade, Newgate counter-punched, aiming a tremor-infused fist at Diarmuid's head.
Bang!
A dull impact. Newgate's arm felt numb, and Diarmuid's head felt dazed.
But a dazed head didn't affect Diarmuid's actions in the slightest. With a dense purple aura around his toe, he used the momentum of his falling body to suddenly kick the side of Newgate's knee.
The powerful Gravity immediately compressed Newgate's knee. His massive body was forced down by the kick, making him kneel on one knee.
Diarmuid, who should have fallen to the ground, thrust Kokorowatari into the sand to brace his fall. Then, using the leverage, he lifted his other foot, which was also imbued with a purple aura, and kicked fiercely toward Newgate's head.
Newgate had no time to stand up. He raised his left arm to block the side of his head. Diarmuid's kick slammed onto his arm with a bang, numbing Newgate's arm, but successfully blocking the attack.
In the meantime, Diarmuid spun half a circle in the air, utilizing the reactive forces from the Kokorowatari and the kick to land fluently and gracefully on both feet.
As he stabilized, he pulled the Kokorowatari from the ground, kicking up a cloud of sand into Newgate's face.
Newgate instinctively closed his eyes, but a strong man's sharp instinct allowed him to respond correctly. A powerful tremor force instantly erupted from his body, radiating outwards in all directions with no blind spots.
Diarmuid's Kokorowatari, now coated with black Armament Haki, was stabbing toward Newgate's front.
The powerful tremor force nearly blew Diarmuid away, but his legs were steady. His feet, exuding a dense black-purple energy aura, were anchored firmly to the ground by the influence of Gravity.
The Kokorowatari broke through the tremor force, inch by inch, forcing its way toward Newgate.
Just as the blade's tip was about to touch Newgate's body, Newgate abruptly opened his eyes, a fierce look in them, locking his gaze on Diarmuid. Then, he threw a punch.
This action undoubtedly disrupted his own rhythm, and the tremor force that was just radiating outwards slightly paused.
It was this pause that Diarmuid leveraged. With a vicious look in his eyes, he ignored Newgate's incoming fist. All the power in his body seemed to condense into his two hands, and he lunged forward violently.
A flash of blood. Half of the sharp blade of the Kokorowatari instantly sank into Newgate's body.
"Kugh!" Newgate violently spat out a mouthful of old blood. The power in his counter-punch dissipated by half.
But the punch still landed squarely on Diarmuid, sending him flying backward.
Diarmuid flipped a few times in the air, landed, and took two steps back to dissipate the force. A trickle of blood also oozed from the corner of his mouth.
His injury wasn't severe. Newgate's punch had largely spent its force by the time it connected.
Newgate, however, was in a much worse state. The Kokorowatari was stuck in him, only a fist's distance from the wound caused by Charlotte Linlin, and blood was flowing ceaselessly.
At the same time, his expression appeared pained, and blood continuously poured from his mouth.
Diarmuid keenly noticed that Newgate's aura was extremely chaotic. It was clear that his injuries were far more complex than just this one stab.
Undoubtedly, he was not in his true peak state when he first clashed with Diarmuid, having been slashed by Charlotte Linlin and fought her and Kaido to a standstill.
The mysterious black-and-white energy sphere explosion earlier had only caused Newgate to spit blood, but his internal injuries were likely not light; perhaps his internal organs had sustained some damage.
He had forcibly suppressed his internal injuries after spitting up blood.
Diarmuid's current stab was the final blow that broke the facade, making it impossible for Newgate to suppress his wounds any longer, causing his aura to go haywire!
There was no intention of giving Newgate time to suppress his injuries and adjust his state. As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot.
Diarmuid violently pressed his arms to the ground. A Gravity Field instantly erupted from his body.
"Hell's Rite!!!" Diarmuid roared.
A powerful gravitational pressure swiftly enveloped Newgate. His massive figure sank suddenly, dropping to one knee and sinking into the sand.
"Pwah..." Enduring the gravitational pressure, Newgate spat out another mouthful of congealed blood.
It was visible that a transparent energy aura was radiating from his body, seemingly resisting Diarmuid's gravitational pressure.
But the transparent energy aura was constantly being suppressed by the pale-purple gravity.
At this moment, Charlotte Linlin in the distance was extremely anxious. That damn old man, Whitebeard, weren't you fierce enough when fighting me and Kaido earlier? Why are you so pathetic now?
Is this old coot holding back?!
"Thunder Fire Blast!" Charlotte Linlin roared, punching the ice cones in front of her into powder. She stomped her foot, showing no intention of getting entangled with Kuzan and Smoker, and charged toward Diarmuid.
She knew very well that Diarmuid absolutely could not be allowed to defeat Whitebeard now. Otherwise, once that bastard was free, both she and Kaido would be in deep trouble!
Whitebeard's injuries must be severe, but powerful individuals like them could suppress their wounds to a certain extent. All she needed to do was buy Newgate some time, allowing him to adjust his state, and he would still be able to fight.
"River of Ice!" A sharp glint flashed in Kuzan's eyes.
He naturally understood the situation. If Diarmuid was given a little more time, he would eliminate the threat of Newgate. Once free, he could deal with Charlotte Linlin and Kaido.
Therefore, Kuzan had to restrain Charlotte Linlin!
A thick glacier instantly rose from the ground, abruptly blocking Charlotte Linlin's path.
"Annoying!!!" Charlotte Linlin roared in fury, her massive body crashing directly into the glacier.
With a loud crack, the tens-of-meters-thick glacier was smashed apart by the humanoid monster that was Charlotte Linlin. Her figure burst through the ice like a chariot, charging toward Diarmuid.
But the next moment, the ice crystals scattered in the air seemed to emit white, frosty vapor.
Before Charlotte Linlin could take another step, the pulverized ice instantly solidified, extending masses of frost power. In a short while, it completely froze Charlotte Linlin.
"Don't underestimate me too much, alright?" Kuzan, exhaling a frosty white vapor, abruptly 'grew' out of Charlotte Linlin's ice sculpture.
On the other side, Kaido naturally noticed the situation. He and Gion had already taken their fight up into the sky.
His gigantic, ferocious dragon body continually tumbled in the clouds. It must be said that his lightning resistance was indeed very strong. Gion's extraordinarily destructive electrical power was consistently unable to deal him a fatal blow.
Coupled with Kaido's thick hide, the two were locked in a stalemate.
As for Kaido's attacks on Gion, he was equally helpless. The speed of the Rumble- Rumble Fruit was too fast; Kaido could barely hit her. Thus, at this stage, Gion and Kaido were in a state of mutual deadlock.
Noticing the shift in the situation between Charlotte Linlin and Whitebeard, Kaido abruptly spat out a blast of air, aiming it directly at Diarmuid in the distance.
The air blast carried a sharp wind pressure, looking capable of slicing through everything in its path.
Diarmuid was continually increasing the gravity in his hand. At the same time, he seemed to sense something, looking up at the sky in the distance. Sure enough, he saw the roaring air blast heading toward him.
But there was no panic in his eyes, nor any intention to block or dodge. He continued to steadily suppress Newgate.
Just as the air blast was less than ten meters from Diarmuid, a bolt of lightning suddenly exploded above him. Gion's heroic figure emerged from the lightning. The Konpira in her hand flashed with dazzling electric light, and she brought a fierce slash down against the roaring air blast.
The Thunder Swordswoman's strike directly severed the air blast, and the residual energy skimmed past Diarmuid, cutting into the distant sand pit before dissipating.
"You have a lot of faith in me," Gion said with a smile, resting the Konpira on her shoulder.
Diarmuid didn't even look up: "Isn't that obvious?"
Without any further unnecessary words, Gion's figure quickly exploded in another flash of lightning, disappearing from Diarmuid's sight. Kaido roared in the sky, and then lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the clouds, with intense power clashes occasionally spilling out from the cloud layer.
Meanwhile, the gravity in Diarmuid's hand seemed to have condensed to a certain extent. His expression suddenly hardened. He stared at Newgate in the distance and roared: "Abyssal Lock!"
The pitch-black gravitational energy forcefully spread out over Newgate's constantly radiating transparent energy aura, quickly corroding a large section. It appeared to be trying to form a black coffin, intending to seal Newgate inside.
Blood streamed from Newgate's mouth. His muscles constantly rippled, trying to muster more strength to resist and break through this gravitational suppression. However, the more force he applied, the more chaotic his aura became, and the more blood flowed from his mouth.
Just as Diarmuid was about to completely suppress Newgate, a terrifying warning suddenly flashed in his mind.
It came without any cause or sign.
He didn't even understand what the warning was signaling.
Kaido was held up by Gion. Kuzan and Charlotte Linlin were entangled. He himself was suppressing Whitebeard.
Who else? Could give me this sense of crisis?
This wasn't the foresight of Observation Haki; it was purely the instinct of a top-tier powerhouse.
Without thinking further, Diarmuid suddenly dissipated the gravitational energy in his hand. He kicked backward, and his figure, like a startled rabbit, lunged forward.
The moment he moved, an absolute slash tore through the space where he had just been standing. Judging by the might of the slash, if the sneak attack had succeeded, it would have been a near-fatal blow!
A top-tier expert!?
Where did they come from?
Before Diarmuid could figure out the situation, a cold light had already been imprinted in his pupils—a fast, extremely fast sword!
The Kokorowatari was currently stuck in Newgate. Diarmuid had no blade in his hand.
In this moment of crisis, Diarmuid abruptly raised his forearm. Armament Haki instantly coiled around it, followed by the activation of Tekkai. The slash then struck his forearm, and the powerful pressure sent him flying!
These two attacks were sneak attacks, each faster than the last!
The perpetrator must be an extremely powerful swordsman!!!
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