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With the power of the Op-Op Fruit, everything within the ROOM—objects, living beings, and even souls—becomes a subject on the operating table!
As the translucent dome flew from his palm and expanded to cover the sea Whitebeard had torn apart, Arthur swept his arm through the air. His entire limb served as a scalpel, his fingers dancing with irregular, rhythmic twitches as if he were plucking the invisible strings of a harp.
Under the transcendent authority of the Op-Op Fruit, the ocean—which had been split into countless tipping blocks of water—was instantly smoothed over, the pieces stitched back into a seamless whole.
The fractured sea returned to a state of eerie calm. This terrifying power to reshape the world on such a massive scale drew thunderous cheers from the panicked pirates of the Thunder God Grand Fleet.
"The Thunder Emperor!!"
"Lord Arthur!!"
Destroying the ocean was one thing, but instantly taming a cataclysmic surge was a feat of control that felt far more awe-inspiring than a simple attack.
..............
Whitebeard's broad chest heaved violently. Beads of sweat rolled down his face, and his breath came in ragged, shallow gasps. Forcing his recuperating body into such a violent offensive was a strain his aging physique could barely withstand.
He had a premonition: today, he might truly fall at the hands of this upstart, Arthur. Though he had never cared for the title of "World's Strongest," a pride forged through decades of unrivaled dominance would not allow him to bow easily.
Struggling to catch his breath, Whitebeard's eyes narrowed as he realized Arthur had just used a power that bore no relation to the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. For the first time in his long life at sea, he was genuinely baffled.
"What kind of nonsensical ability is this?"
Even with his vast experience, Whitebeard could not fathom how Arthur was suddenly wielding such strange techniques.
In the distance, Marshall D. Teach—Blackbeard—who had been covertly watching the clash while swatting away fodder, was frozen in shock.
"The Thunder Emperor... he has two abilities? Is he a 'freak' as well?"
Teach was shaken to his core. He had always believed that in the vastness of the ocean, only he possessed the unique body capable of harboring two Devil Fruits. To see Arthur wielding multiple powers even earlier than him was a bitter pill to swallow.
"Gurarararara! No matter how many tricks you have, you're still going down!" Whitebeard roared, ignoring the confusion. He threw a punch, a shimmering sphere of tectonic pressure coalescing around his fist as he struck at Arthur.
CRACK!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The very atmosphere shattered like glass under the weight of the blow. Spider-web cracks raced across the horizon, and the ocean Arthur had just stabilized was once again whipped into a frenzy of mountain-sized waves.
Whitebeard seemed indifferent to whether his "sons" would be caught in the crossfire. Perhaps after years of bloody campaigns, he trusted their resilience implicitly—and with the Fishmen of the Sun Pirates by their side, the threat of falling into the sea was negligible.
However, the members of the Thunder God Grand Fleet were not so adapted. They lacked the experience of fighting in such a cruel, environment-warping nightmare.
..............
"YOUR METHODS NO LONGER WORK ON ME, WHITEBEARD!"
Arthur watched the onslaught with a cold, almost melancholic gaze. He felt a twinge of sorrow for the man. Here was a legend who held the New World in his palm, a man respected by ally and enemy alike, yet he was destined to be crushed by the heartless gears of the New Era.
Arthur had already decided: he would choose a battlefield as grand as Shiki's to serve as Whitebeard's final resting place.
As the wall of seawater loomed over him, Arthur reached out and placed his hand against the churning surface.
In an instant, space seemed to freeze. The colossal wave, capable of swallowing an entire island, was held in place as if turned to stone. Then, an invisible force radiated from Arthur's palm, forcibly pressing the seawater back down. The ocean returned to its original state once more, as if the preceding cataclysm had never occurred.
"Controlling objects through touch... that's the Float-Float Fruit! Three... the Thunder Emperor has three Devil Fruit abilities??!" Teach felt as though his lifetime's supply of shock had been exhausted in a matter of minutes.
With the sea stabilized once more, the surrounding pirates were left in a daze. Whitebeard attacked, Arthur neutralized; the two kings were locked in a stalemate of absolute power.
..............
"Pops' power... it's not working on the Thunder Emperor?" Marco, transformed into the Phoenix, soared through the sky and witnessed the exchange with growing dread.
"Marco, focus!" Vista gritted his teeth, his dual blades straining against Shiryu's Seven-Star Sword. His arms were trembling; he was starting to struggle against Shiryu's monstrous strength.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A collision like two mountain ranges meeting echoed across the deck. Diamond Jozu and Rockwell—the latter now a glowing, red-hot "Steel Man"—slammed into each other. Neither gave an inch, their physical power perfectly matched.
"Damn it... Pops health..." Jozu muttered, his worry etched into his diamond-hard face.
Whitebeard was old. The scars of a thousand battles were beginning to catch up to him. He no longer had the stamina for prolonged warfare he possessed ten years ago. Without his IVs, every violent movement made breathing a chore. In this state, his combat effectiveness was bound to plummet.
"Little guy, where are you looking?"
A deafening voice boomed from the waves. In the shallows, Sanjuan Wolf brought his hand down like the weight of a Mountain onto Little Oars Jr. In this war of thousands, only these two could match each other in scale.
Little Oars Jr., carrying the blood of the "Continent Puller" Oars, braced himself and managed to halt Wolf's mountain-sized palm through sheer brute force.
"Curse you! Pops won't fall here!!"
"Pops... we will protect you!"
"Gurararararara! Silly sons! Since when does a father need his children to protect him? I am Whitebeard!!" Whitebeard laughed, moved by his crew's devotion.
..............
"How dare you look away while fighting me? You are the culprit who sparked this war and angered Lord Arthur!" Hancock stood with one hand on her hip, her brows knit in fury.
"Perfume Femur!"
"Seven Thousand Brick Roundhouse Kick!"
Jinbe, distracted by the state of the sea, barely turned in time to meet Hancock's strike with a powerful gust of Fishman Karate.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The resulting shockwave sent nearby Whitebeard pirates flying. Sandersonia and Marigold moved in, forming a defensive triangular formation with their sister.
"Sister, they're surrounding us!"
"Your filthy hearts, corrupted by desire, shall harden your very flesh—Slave Arrow!"
"Flying Shigan!"
A sharp cry cut through the air as Stussy carved a bloody path through the enemy ranks. "Stop wasting time, you foolish woman!"
"I won't lose to the likes of you!" Hancock snapped back.
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