Whitebeard, Confirmed Dead!
For a brief moment, the Marines in the audience breathed a sigh of relief.
The strongest man in the world—his mere presence brought an overwhelming sense of oppression. Even in his wounded state, no one dared to assume he was truly gone until it was confirmed.
Carl stood amidst the battlefield, gazing at the fallen Emperor with a complicated expression. These heroes of the old era… they all faced death with a fearless, almost mad laughter. Golden Lion Shiki was like this, and so was Edward Newgate—Whitebeard.
"Fuffuffuffuffu…!"
Doflamingo, sitting atop the ruins, let out a twisted laugh.
"It's fascinating! With this, the world will undoubtedly undergo a drastic shift!"
Then, he grinned, but his sharp instincts warned him that things were far from over.
"But… I don't think this place will settle down so easily," he muttered, his smirk widening. "After all, the most vicious criminals in the world are all gathered here. What exactly is that Blackbeard bastard planning?"
In the Field—
"Zehahaha!"
A coarse, grating laugh echoed across the war-torn battlefield.
Marshall D. Teach, the man who had orchestrated this entire war, stood before Whitebeard's lifeless body.
"Now, the real show begins!" he declared, his yellowed teeth flashing in a grin.
A group of his men stepped forward, dragging a massive black cloth over the corpse.
Teach walked up to it, slowly lifting a corner, then turned to face the gathered Marines and Pirates.
"Zehahaha! Open your eyes wide!"
Just as he was about to step inside—
BOOM!
A massive black-gold slash descended from the sky, carving through the land between Teach and Whitebeard's body.
The entire battlefield shook from the sheer force of the attack.
"It's you…!" Teach's expression twisted as he snapped his gaze upward. "Solomon Carl!"
In the Sky—
Carl exhaled a wisp of white smoke, his grip tightening around his sword.
"The most vicious criminal in the world…" he muttered, his tone indifferent. "Naturally, someone like you must be taken down."
"Zehahaha! Stop joking!" Teach scoffed, though there was an unmistakable edge of wariness in his voice.
"You? The type to capture criminals? That's rich!" Teach smirked, but his eyes were sharp. "Still… you're a real pain in the ass."
He gestured toward his crew. "You really think you can take on all of us by yourself?"
Carl's gaze was cold, his expression unchanging. With Whitebeard dead, there was no one left among the pirates who could truly threaten him.
Even Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit, which claimed to nullify Devil Fruit abilities, was completely useless against him.
After all—
Carl had never been a Devil Fruit user to begin with.
"Lion—Thousand Slice Valley!"
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
One after another, massive black-gold slashes tore through the air, streaking toward the Blackbeard Pirates below.
"I'm up!"
A twisted grin spread across Shiryu of the Rain's face.
"So, you're a swordsman too…"
He drew his blood-stained blade, Thunderstorm, slashing directly at the incoming attacks.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks erupted as blade met blade, the sheer force of Carl's slashes driving Shiryu back.
"Idiot," Carl murmured. "Do you think you're Whitebeard? Or maybe Golden Lion?"
Shiryu's strength was formidable, but at best, he was on par with Magellan.
Against Carl in the air?
He was nothing.
The next instant—
BOOM!
Shiryu crashed into the ground, blood dripping from his mouth, the grip on Thunderstorm barely holding.
"W-What kind of slash is this?!" he gritted his teeth.
This power… was far beyond a normal swordsman's attack.
The absurd level of Haki infused in those strikes—
This wasn't a battle of swordsmen. This was monstrous.
BANG!
A sonic bullet suddenly struck Carl's sword, Sakura Ten.
He barely tilted his head, his gaze locking onto the sniper below.
Van Augur.
"Bullets infused with Haki?" Carl noted.
Among the rare gunmen in the world, few could utilize Armament Haki on bullets.
Van Augur of the Blackbeard Pirates was one.
Yasopp of the Red-Haired Pirates was another.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets rained down, but Carl deflected each with fluid, precise movements.
The black-gold slashes in the sky finally halted.
Below, Shiryu panted heavily, his arms trembling.
"That monster… What the hell is he?"
Teach let out a low chuckle, his grin dark.
"Zehahaha… I told you not to underestimate that guy."
Above—
Carl sighed. "I guess I'll have to be serious."
He exhaled, a faint shimmer passing through his crimson right eye.
The number six silently shifted to five.
A black, ominous aura seeped from his body, snaking through the air like liquid lightning.
A single roar echoed from the heavens.
The battlefield froze.
Doflamingo's grin stiffened as cold sweat ran down his forehead.
"The sky… turned red?" Shiryu whispered, his breath hitching.
It wasn't just a presence.
It was carnage materialized.
"Sigh… sigh…" Even Doflamingo doubled over, his face pale, laughter now dry and forced.
"What a monstrosity…"
From a distance, Fleet Admiral Sengoku's brows furrowed.
"…Has he grown to such a level?"
The battlefield—once dominated by Whitebeard's aura—
Was now crushed beneath Carl's presence.
To Teach, this was even worse.
Because while Whitebeard was a known monster, Carl was a complete enigma.
"Hah—"
Carl exhaled, then vanished.
A terrifying sonic boom rang through the air.
"Wolf!" Teach shouted in alarm.
"I know!"
Sanjuan Wolf, the giant as large as an island, slammed his massive hands forward—
SLASH!
Carl effortlessly sliced through them, his body phasing through.
Then—
BOOM!
Carl's fist met Sanjuan Wolf's skull, and in that moment—
CRACK!
Bones shattered.
The colossal pirate collapsed.
"…No way…" Teach's voice trembled.
Even among the giants, Sanjuan Wolf was a terror.
Yet—
He fell in one blow.
Teach's Last Gamble—
"Damn it! DAMN IT!!"
Teach scrambled toward Whitebeard's corpse, desperation twisting his face.
If he could just steal that power—
BOOM!
A final slash carved through the battlefield, forcing Teach to stumble back, bleeding.
The black cloth covering Whitebeard was swept away, soaring toward Sengoku's side.
"Damn it—DAMN IT!!!"
Carl's gaze remained indifferent.
This twisted life force…
Even among monsters, Teach was something else.
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