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After resolving the space-based attack casually caused by Alex, Whitebeard felt an overwhelming surge of power radiating from his opponent. Despite his monstrous physique, he found himself panting heavily, sweat pouring down his body in rivulets.
Perhaps it was a sign of his advancing age, or maybe it was the toll of years of accumulated internal injuries from overusing the power of the Quake-Quake Fruit. Whatever the cause, his body was beginning to show its limits.
As Whitebeard faltered, Marco was the first to step forward. As the ship's doctor, no one understood their captain's condition better than him. But this wasn't the time to openly voice his concerns and risk embarrassing his father in front of their crew and foes. Instead, Marco quietly moved to support him under the guise of aiding his stance, subtly channeling the regenerative flames of his Phoenix form to ease Whitebeard's strain.
Whitebeard didn't reject the help. For all his pride, he knew the strength of the people who stood beside him, especially Marco, who had been with him through countless battles.
Alex stood before them, his presence as imposing as the rumors claimed. This man, hailed by the world as a force capable of destruction on an apocalyptic scale, now faced Whitebeard head-on.
In his prime, Whitebeard wouldn't have hesitated to meet such a challenge, his confidence unshakable. But now, with the weight of his years and his own body betraying him, he could sense the danger. He wasn't afraid, but he knew the cost of a battle at this level would far exceed his expectations.
Alex's previous attack, capable of obliterating entire islands, had already demonstrated the gap in power. Yet, after unleashing such devastation, Alex chose to cease his assault. Standing in midair, he held his position as Yamato and Boa Hancock descended from the sky alongside him, their figures growing larger as the massive Moby Dick landed steadily on the island.
As the raging waves subsided, the vibrations fading into calm, Alex lowered himself to an altitude of less than a hundred meters from Whitebeard.
"I didn't expect you to be so old and still this spry," Alex remarked mockingly.
Whitebeard's lips curled into a fierce grin. "I still have the strength to smash you, brat, straight into the sea!" he growled.
Alex's initial strike, which had nearly decimated Whitebeard's base camp, had soured any chance for conversation. Now, with Alex daring to close the distance, Whitebeard had no intention of holding back or engaging in idle banter. If the fight was inevitable, so be it.
Whitebeard's long, narrow eyes narrowed further, and with a thunderous stomp of his left foot, the ground beneath him cracked and roared in protest. His massive frame surged forward, crossing tens of meters in an instant. Wielding his naginata, Whitebeard swung the blade down in a strike filled with the ferocity of a tempest.
Alex, already anticipating this reaction, used his abilities to move Yamato and Hancock safely out of harm's way. Drawing Akizakura, his other blade, with measured precision, his eyes ignited with a blazing aura as he stepped into the attack.
"Klang!"
Even before their weapons met, the air between them erupted with the electric charge of clashing Conqueror's Haki. The void itself seemed to tremble under the sheer force of their wills.
The moment their weapons collided, the entire battlefield became a storm of raw energy.
"Zzzzhaaa!"
A streak of crimson light shot through the sky, splitting the clouds above the island as if the heavens themselves had been struck.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The ground beneath them splintered like delicate mille-feuille, fractures spreading outward in chaotic webs of destruction.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
As their arms bulged with exertion, Whitebeard poured his might into a blow infused with his world-shattering vibrations, while Alex met him with the unyielding sharpness of his blade, both enhanced with the devastating power of their Conqueror's Haki. The earth beneath them fractured further, spiraling out like a spider's web, the destruction accelerating with every second.
The eyes of Alex and Whitebeard ignited with a fiery red light, as if an electrical storm had been summoned in midair. The sheer intensity of their Conqueror's Haki created arcs of lightning-like sparks, twisting and crackling between them.
Between Akizakura and Murakumogiri, their Haki clashed violently, unleashing bursts of energy that carved through the atmosphere. The pressure from the collision formed cyclones, blasting the fractured ground below. Rocks and debris were hurled into the air, caught in the relentless wave of force.
The wind howled, surging with such ferocity that even the massive Sky Island beneath their feet shuddered under the strain.
"This…! They're not even touching!"
The onlookers, witnessing the clash of kings, were stunned. The weapons hadn't even connected, yet the air itself erupted with raw power as their Haki collided.
The overwhelming energy condensed into a massive circular shockwave, rising toward the heavens. The sky split apart with a deafening roar, and every cloud within tens of thousands of meters was obliterated, leaving nothing but a vast, empty expanse.
Below, the sea churned violently, the winds whipping the waves into towering surges that crashed and rolled outward, spreading the devastation far and wide.
The crew of the Whitebeard Pirates scrambled, shouting frantically:
"The ship—!"
The two enormous pirate ships moored on the coast were rocked by the aftermath. They tilted dangerously, nearly capsizing as the shockwave blasted through them.
For the veterans of the Whitebeard Pirates—and even for the Red-Haired Shanks—this wasn't an unfamiliar sight.
It was reminiscent of the legendary confrontations between Whitebeard and the Pirate King, Roger. Such an extraordinary display of power was the pinnacle of strength in the New World.
This was the summit of the sea's might.
Though the world seemed to have undergone centuries of upheaval in mere moments, the clash itself lasted less than half a minute.
As the ferocious collision of Haki subsided, both Alex and Whitebeard were thrown back by the unimaginable force. Whitebeard landed firmly atop the Sky Island, his stance steady despite the massive pressure. Alex, meanwhile, was pushed back dozens of meters, hovering in the air as he stabilized himself.
It seemed, for a brief moment, as though their immense powers had reached a stalemate.
But the battle of kings wasn't destined to end so easily.
Whitebeard wasted no time. Without giving Alex even a moment to recover, he swung Murakumogiri with ruthless precision. A brilliant white shockwave, pulsing with the energy of the Quake-Quake Fruit, exploded from the blade and tore across the battlefield.
The ground trembled violently under its passage, splitting apart as if an earthquake had ripped through it. Jagged fissures spread outward, carving the earth into chaotic fragments.
Alex met the onslaught head-on, unleashing a flying slash imbued with the power of a swordsman. His attack clashed against Whitebeard's shockwave, neutralizing its destructive force in a thunderous explosion of energy.
But Whitebeard was already moving. A massive shadow loomed over Alex as Whitebeard advanced with staggering speed, swinging Murakumogiri in a crushing downward strike.
Alex surged forward to intercept, Akizakura slicing cleanly through the air with precision and power.
Crack… crack… crack…
The force of their collision wasn't just physical—it was elemental. Whitebeard's attack carried the full might of his vibrations, the power of the Quake-Quake Fruit radiating outward with destructive intensity.
The ground beneath Alex crumbled instantly, collapsing into a deep crater under the pressure.
Realizing he couldn't sustain his position against the overwhelming force, Alex withdrew Akizakura and used the acceleration of his More-More Fruit to propel himself backward.
In an instant, he soared tens of meters away, retreating just as Whitebeard's vibrations obliterated the spot where he had stood moments before. A massive, gaping pit now marked the ground, a testament to the devastating power of the quake.