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"Well…"
With his back wracked by pain, Whitebeard let out a low groan.
Even without glancing behind him or assessing the injury with his hands, he could feel the severity of the wound. Yet, amidst the chaos of battle, he had no time to dwell on such matters.
In the next instant, fully aware of the lapse in his Observation Haki, Whitebeard unleashed a prepared shockwave, slamming it directly behind him.
With a resounding crack, the air itself fractured under the force of his attack. The energy erupted in a devastating shockwave, sweeping outwards in an arc behind him, serving as both offense and defense.
The destructive force was immense, shattering the ground in a hundred-meter radius behind Whitebeard as though a storm had ripped through.
But Alex, already anticipating the move, vanished with a burst of speed that seemed akin to teleportation. In the blink of an eye, he had retreated beyond the shockwave's main range, leaving only the residual aftermath to contend with. With a simple gesture, he dissipated the remaining force with ease.
At the same time, Alex raised a hand, and the shattered earth around them stirred under his control. The rubble coalesced into several swirling tornadoes of sand and stone that spiraled upwards into the air.
With a twist of his fingers, Alex sent the tornadoes roaring towards Whitebeard.
Whitebeard, standing firm, met the incoming storm head-on. With a thunderous punch, he shattered the atmosphere itself, visible cracks spreading outward like a spiderweb.
"Click, click, click…"
The tremor's immense force reduced the massive stones to mere dust, obliterating the tornadoes entirely. Even the Float-Float Fruit's influence over the environment was eradicated by the overwhelming vibrations of Whitebeard's power.
Unbothered by the smoke and debris exploding around them, Whitebeard surged forward. His nagita cleaved through the air, aiming for the dark silhouette within the chaos.
Yet, out of the dissipating smoke came Akizakura, Alex's blood-red blade, cloaked in Conqueror's Haki. It intercepted the attack with ease, halting Whitebeard's crushing strike.
A violent shockwave erupted from the clash, clearing away the remaining smoke and dust in an instant.
There was no denying the gap between Alex and Whitebeard in raw physicality.
In terms of Devil Fruit abilities, the Float-Float Fruit had its versatility, but it could not rival the sheer destructive might of the Quake-Quake Fruit. Each of Whitebeard's strikes combined his Haki with the devastating vibrations of his fruit, creating attacks of unparalleled power.
Yet, despite these brutal exchanges, Whitebeard's blows rarely managed to push Alex back. The added mobility and versatility granted by the Float-Float Fruit, combined with Alex's skill, allowed him to evade or mitigate much of the damage.
Even so, Alex had deliberately forgone his natural advantage in aerial combat. He had chosen not to use the distance tactics that could have worn Whitebeard down. Instead, he pressed the battle head-on, a choice driven by something more personal.
For Whitebeard—aging and burdened by years of injuries—it was difficult to stand as the world's strongest man against such relentless confrontation.
But even Alex was beginning to tire of this endless clash.
As that thought crossed his mind, Alex's aura began to surge, his power rising to a new level. The restrained energy within him seemed to break through a barrier, spilling out in a violent wave.
This shift in power manifested visibly in Akizakura, which took on a sinister, blood-red hue. Tendrils of black-and-red energy coiled around the blade, radiating a commanding and oppressive presence.
The aura, both tangible and otherworldly, seeped into Alex, enveloping him in an overwhelming mix of bloodlust and dominance. It was as though the power itself embodied his will to crush everything in his path.
This was one of Alex's ultimate techniques. By fusing the essence of haki with the blood-red Akizakura, the power of the combined attack was not limited to the weapon—it reverberated through Alex's entire body, transforming him into a conduit of destruction.
— BOOM!!!
As his power surged, violent winds erupted around Alex, causing deep cracks to spiderweb across the ground beneath him. The sheer intensity of his aura seemed to weigh down the battlefield itself.
Whitebeard, seeing this, wasted no time. He refused to let his opponent build further momentum.
With a swift motion, he raised Murakumogiri, the massive blade now glowing with a dazzling sphere of concentrated shockwave energy.
— BOOM BOOM!
Whitebeard's strike tore through the battlefield, already reduced to a basin, obliterating stone and scattering smoke and rubble in every direction.
But Whitebeard's expression shifted as he realized the truth: Alex's Akizakura had met his Murakumogiri head-on—and completely nullified the shockwave!
Though surprised, Whitebeard did not falter. He braced himself, maintaining his stance as he prepared for Alex's counterattack. Yet, in the fleeting moment of distraction caused by his surprise, the injury on his back throbbed anew, briefly throwing off his focus.
It was all the opportunity Alex needed.
In a blur, Alex vanished from his position, reappearing at a different angle. His blade descended with relentless force.
— BOOM!
The impact landed squarely, bypassing Whitebeard's Armament Haki defense. The attack tore through his guard, sending him flying through the air. Blood sprayed from Whitebeard's mouth as the immense force overwhelmed even his legendary endurance.
His sons shouted in alarm, their voices carrying through the chaos.
But Whitebeard, even in his injured state, refused to falter. Despite the grievous wound and the blood dripping from his lips, he landed on his feet.
"Gurararara!"
He let out a rumbling laugh as he steadied himself. But the strain was clear. His body trembled slightly as he reflexively clutched his chest, trying to suppress the turmoil within. The combination of his injuries, his age, and the oppressive aura left behind by Alex's strike was taking its toll.
Still, Whitebeard stood tall, his expression as resolute as ever.
"Your body is failing you," Alex said, his tone calm yet sharp. "Compared to your prime, this is... disappointing."
"Stop your damn yapping, brat!" Whitebeard growled.
Despite the pain wracking his body, Whitebeard gripped Murakumogiri firmly. With a mighty swing, he planted the blade into the ground beside him, veins bulging across his massive arms.
He clenched his fists, Armament Haki flowing like molten steel over his skin, and then struck the air with unparalleled force.
— BOOM!
The atmosphere cracked violently. The raw vibrations tore through the battlefield, spreading in all directions. Whitebeard gripped the fractured void and wrenched it apart, the devastating power of his awakened Quake-Quake Fruit surging to life.
The cracks in the ground widened and exploded outward. The earth itself collapsed, splitting into massive chasms. Entire sections of the flying Sky Island shattered, falling into the deep blue sea below.
And then came the waves.
"Crash… crack..."
From both sides of Whitebeard, massive tsunamis rose like walls of water, climbing to impossible heights in mere moments. The towering waves, empowered by Whitebeard's tremors, surged towards Alex with unstoppable force, carrying the destruction of both sea and earth.
Even in his battered state, Whitebeard's willpower and strength were unmatched, his attacks a testament to why he was once called the strongest man in the world.
Alex's gaze sharpened. The raw power of the attack stirred something within him—respect, perhaps, or determination. He took a steadying breath, the aura surrounding him growing denser. The blood-red energy coursing through Akizakura flared brighter, coiling around him like a living entity.
With a precise turn of his wrist, Alex swung his blade upward, the motion smooth yet devastating.
As his sword moved, a suffocating sense of power radiated outward. The air trembled, and with the fall of his blade, a brilliant wave of pure white sword energy erupted from Akizakura.
The sword energy, imbued with Alex's full strength, expanded exponentially, its scale growing to monstrous proportions. The winds howled as the technique drew in all surrounding energy, amplifying its might.
The attack surged forward, cleaving through the towering tsunami as though it were nothing, scattering the massive waves into mist.
The main force of the sword wave pressed onward, colliding headlong with Whitebeard's tremor-fueled shockwave.
— BOOM!!!
The clash of these titanic forces erupted in a blinding explosion of light. For miles, the sea and sky were consumed by the radiance, rendering everything else invisible.
The earth trembled, and the deafening roar of the collision drowned out all other sound. The battlefield seemed to buckle under the sheer weight of the energy unleashed.
For one agonizing moment, it felt as though the entire world had shattered.