Arrogant words echoed alongside Takuro's surging golden aura. Leaping arcs of white lightning danced around his frame as an energy fluctuation, far more terrifying and destructive than anything seen before, swept outward like a violent storm. The ground beneath his feet simply could not withstand such raw power. It began silently annihilating and sinking, forming a rapidly expanding, bowl-shaped crater in the seabed.+4
"Gurararara! As you wish, brat!" Whitebeard's hearty laughter boomed through the deep sea, yet the gravity in his eyes had solidified into a tangible fighting spirit. He knew this opponent was not someone who could be dealt with by ordinary means. His arms bulged with massive muscles as he slammed his legendary naginata, Murakumogiri, into the ground beside him. He then clenched his hands in the air, his expression set in grim determination.+4
The milky-white spherical halo was no longer confined to his fists. It wrapped around his arms like a living entity, beginning to distort the very fabric of the surrounding space. "Let this world-shaking power be the measure of your might!" Whitebeard roared. Instead of punching forward, he violently smashed his fists into the empty space on either side of his body.+4
Crack! Crack! Crack!
This time, the impact was not restricted to a single direction. With Whitebeard at the center, the entire space—up, down, left, right, front, and back—seemed to transform into a giant, cracked pane of glass. The atmosphere emitted a continuous, teeth-grinding wail. Countless twisted, destructive vibration waves surged from all directions like out-of-control dragons. They left no blind spots as they moved to strangle Takuro in a pincer of pure force. This was an area-of-effect ultimate attack, a display of an Awakened Devil Fruit that left no room for escape.+4
Even the Whitebeard Pirates' Captains, watching from a safe distance, saw their expressions change dramatically. They beat a hasty retreat, fearing they would be caught in this indiscriminate, destructive energy. The entire coral plain where the battle took place began to collapse and disintegrate. Under this full-scale vibration, it felt as if the end of the world had arrived at the bottom of the ocean.+4
"Now that's more like it!" Takuro faced the attack, which was easily powerful enough to wipe a large island off the map, not with fear, but with pure delight. He let out a wild laugh, holding nothing back. The golden Ki that had been swirling around him erupted skyward like a volcanic explosion.+4
"Haaah!"
Accompanied by a thunderous roar that pierced the clouds above the sea, the white lightning arcs around Takuro became denser and more ferocious, crackling with lethal intent. His muscles swelled slightly, his physical lines became more defined, and his entire aura escalated wildly. His Power Level was climbing far beyond its previous limits.+4
"Haa!"
He brought his palms together at his waist. Boundless golden energy furiously converged, compressing into an extremely unstable energy sphere that radiated pure destruction. He then violently thrust his hands forward. It was no longer a simple, thick energy beam. The golden light sphere, condensed to its absolute extreme, burst forth with countless blinding flashes the instant it left Takuro's palms. Each flash contained enough energy to tear through steel, acting like billions of sharp swords colliding with the vibration waves surging from all directions.+4
Sizzle—Boom!
There was no pure explosion sound. Instead, a soul-shaking, sharp tearing noise filled the water—a mixture produced when two extreme energies collided and annihilated each other. Golden Ki and milky-white vibrations furiously intertwined, corroding and exploding against one another. A colossal energy sphere, over a thousand meters in diameter, rapidly expanded at the center of the battlefield. It instantly vaporized all matter within its range, whether it was coral, rock, or seawater.+4
A terrifying energy storm swept outwards. This time, Fish-Man Island did not just tremble slightly; it shook violently, as if a massive earthquake had struck its foundations. The stained-glass windows at the top of Ryugu Palace emitted an ear-splitting groan, and tiny cracks began to spiderweb across the glass. Even the massive bubble membrane at the island's edge fluctuated with an unprecedented amplitude, looking as though it might rupture at any moment.+4
"Oh, Sea God..." King Neptune's confidence and composure completely vanished, replaced by a deep, boundless horror. He gripped the armrest of his throne tightly to steady himself, staring in disbelief at the dazzling energy sphere in the distance. It looked like a miniature sun had been born in the dark depths of the ocean. Queen Otohime was even more terrified. Her face was pale, and she looked as though she might collapse to the floor. She wondered if this was truly power that mortals could possess. Even for Whitebeard, this was beyond anything she had imagined.+3
At the edge of the battlefield, Marco and the other commanders had long since deployed their defensive measures. Despite their strength, they were still forced to retreat repeatedly by the escaping energy impacts. The astonishment on their faces had turned into genuine shock and a hint of fear.+4
"It's impossible. Even Pops is using his awakened power. That guy... he actually blocked it head-on?" Diamond Jozu's voice trembled. His diamond body, which was capable of withstanding a direct attack from a Marine Admiral, now felt a chill from the very depths of his soul.+4
"And his aura... it's still rising!" Marco's blue flames flickered violently. His Observation Haki allowed him to clearly perceive that at the center of that destructive energy, Takuro's presence had not weakened. Instead, it was continuously and wildly increasing, as if it had no upper limit.+4
As the extreme light slowly dissipated, the scene within the storm was revealed. Whitebeard still stood, leaning heavily on Murakumogiri. However, his majestic body showed multiple tears in his white captain's coat. His breathing was slightly ragged, and a bead of sweat seeped from his forehead. That last clash had clearly taken a significant toll on the old emperor.+4
Across from him, Takuro looked relatively unharmed. Aside from his clothes being slightly disheveled, his aura remained robust. A nearly insane flame of excitement burned in his scarlet eyes. He shook his hand casually, as if he had only just finished a simple warm-up exercise.+2
"Not bad! Truly not bad, old man!" Takuro's voice carried undisguised praise, though it sounded more like a master evaluating a tool. "That move of yours finally made me feel a little bit of pressure. It seems your title as the 'Strongest Man in the World' does hold some weight after all. It's not just an empty boast".+2
He twisted his neck and began walking toward Whitebeard step by step. With every stride he took, the golden aura around him intensified, and his presence grew even more suffocating. "But, if this is your limit..." Takuro's smile turned dangerous and cruel, "then this game should come to an end".+4
He raised his right hand with his fingers splayed, pointing his palm directly at Whitebeard. "You enjoyed your attack just now. Now, it's my turn. If you can take this, you'll still be standing and talking. If you can't...".+3
Terrifying, highly compressed golden Ki once again rapidly converged in his palm. The color of the energy core shifted from a bright gold toward a more destructive, incandescent white. The surrounding space began to twist and blur due to the sheer condensation of power.+4
"...then you, along with your 'Strongest' title, will sink into these ten thousand meters of deep sea!".
Whitebeard's pupils constricted sharply. From the converging energy, he felt an unprecedented threat of death. He roared, disregarding the cost to his aging body, and once again pushed his Tremor-Tremor Fruit power to its absolute limit. Murakumogiri became enveloped in an unprecedentedly dense white light as he prepared to stake his life on receiving this decisive blow.+4
"Brat! Don't get too cocky! I am Whitebeard!" he bellowed.+1
Every observer—Neptune and Otohime in Ryugu Palace, the Whitebeard Pirates' Captains at the edge of the battlefield, and Gion and Robin on their ship—felt their hearts leap into their throats. They all knew that the next strike would truly determine the fate of Fish-Man Island and the future balance of power in the Great Era of Pirates.
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