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The war between the two Great Pirate Crews had reached a white-hot intensity. The island moved by the Giant Warrior Pirates had become a chaotic theater of war, with fierce clashes erupting in every direction.
Devil Fruit abilities, Haki, martial arts, swordsmanship, and firearms collided, sending brilliant sparks of destruction across the battlefield.
Shiryu was currently locked in a duel against three of Whitebeard's Division Captains—Marco, Vista, and Thatch. Amazingly, he held his own one-against-three, not giving an inch. Empress Boa Hancock, fueled by cold fury, had singled out Jinbe of the Sun Pirates, intent on tearing him to pieces. Meanwhile, Sanjuan Wolf, seeing the massive frame of Little Oars Jr., had charged forward to test his mountain-shattering strength. Rockwell, the Steel-Steel Fruit user, was locked in a localized apocalypse against Diamond Jozu.
Elsewhere, Don Chinjao, Avalo Pizarro, Catarina Devon, Vasco Shot, and Foxy the Silver Fox had each sought out their own targets among Whitebeard's sixteen Division Captains, picking out the strongest opponents to sate their bloodlust.
Amidst the chaos, the Acting Vice-Captain, Stussy, moved with a deadly, seductive grace. She drifted through the battlefield like a ghost, sniping key targets and drawing the attention of any Captains not already engaged.
"Kingdew, Atmos, Izo! Stop that woman!!"
Marco, soaring high in his Phoenix form, took in the entire battlefield. Seeing his brothers being pushed back one by one, he grew desperate. He barked orders from the sky, directing the 11th, 13th, and 16th Division Captains to intercept the lethal Stussy.
Simultaneously, he folded his wings and dove from the heavens, his sharp beak aimed like a plummeting sword to provide backup for Vista and Thatch, who were being suffocated by Shiryu's overwhelming pressure.
"A swordsman who lets outside distractions disturb his heart is no swordsman at all, Vista!"
In a corner of the battlefield, Shiryu bit down on his cigar and let out a cold laugh. Even while suppressing two elite opponents, he clearly had energy to spare.
"I don't need a lecture from you!!" Vista barked, cold sweat dripping from his brow. His crossed blades groaned under the immense weight of Shiryu's strike. He slowly withdrew his gaze from Whitebeard's direction, forcing himself into a state of total concentration.
SWISH!
Shiryu retracted his Seven-Star Sword for a fraction of a second before unleashing a sky-piercing slash at the diving Marco!
..............
Heavy, ragged breathing echoed. Having finally recovered from his momentary oxygen deprivation, Whitebeard once again assumed his posture of world-shaking dominance. He raised a fist encased in a shimmering white pressure sphere and swung it toward Arthur. No matter how much his stamina failed him, his raw power could still suppress the very seas.
Under the sheer force of the blow, the air exploded before the strike even landed. The fist descended like a meteor falling from the firmament, carrying an invincible, heaven-toppling momentum.
"No matter how much you deny it, you cannot escape the reality of old age!"
At the center of the unrestrained gale, Arthur's iron fist was shrouded in black-clad Armament Haki. He swung upward to meet the descending white light.
HUMMM—!!!
Before the fists even touched, the atmosphere between them began to scream, unable to withstand the pressure. Ripples of force radiated across the battlefield like stones thrown into a still pond. Pirates with weaker constitutions were forced to break off their own duels, fleeing in all directions to avoid being pulverized by the terrifying aftershocks.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
An earth-shattering explosion erupted at the point of impact. The displaced air surged into the heavens, physically tearing the clouds apart.
"No matter how strong a man is, he has only one heart. No one escapes the rot of time!!" Whitebeard dismissed Arthur's pity. He would never make excuses for his own aging.
After the collision, neither man gained the upper hand. They stepped back several hundred meters, standing firm as they regarded each other with stoic indifference.
"How can an old man like you hope to keep the throne of the 'World's Strongest'?" Arthur's expression was complex—a mix of ambition and the sorrow of watching a hero's final sunset.
"That empty title means nothing to me!" Whitebeard's great coat snapped in the wind. He was panting heavily, looking utterly spent, yet his majesty remained peerless. "On the other hand, you... the brat from back then has finally grown into what you are today."
In his prime, this man could fight for ten days and nights without sleep, then drink the night away in celebration. Now, only half a day into the war, he was gasping for air.
The injuries of his youth were exploding all at once as his body failed, likely exacerbated by the internal recoil of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. He was holding himself together through pure, unadulterated willpower. One had to admit: this man's spirit was unparalleled under heaven. He faced every danger head-on; even as his body withered, he refused to back down from Arthur's declaration of war.
"Do you regret it?" Arthur suddenly asked. "Do you regret not taking my head at Sabaody Archipelago to avenge your sons while I was wounded?"
"Gurararararara! Who do you think you're looking at?" Whitebeard threw his head back and laughed. "A man who sails the sea never regrets his decisions. If I had killed you while you were down, I would have set a pathetic example for my sons!!"
"How unsightly... a Whitebeard whose fighting spirit has been eroded by sentimentality! Heh... Hahahaha!" At that answer, Arthur's burning battle intent vanished instantly. "I no longer wish to fight this battle. There is no glory in defeating you in this weakened state."
As Whitebeard said, taking advantage of a foe's weakness was something one stopped doing as they grew stronger. It was the natural progression of a true powerhouse. When one is weak, they trample those weaker than them; but once you stand at the apex of the world, the weak are no longer even worth your contempt.
"The title of 'The World's Strongest'... from this day forward, I shall be the one to bear it!"
The New Era had finally discarded the legends of the old. Glory follows the years, and Whitebeard's era was now being buried in the past.
"Bearing that name means you will never know a day of peace..."
"Are you reluctant to let it go? This isn't a negotiation, old man; it's an announcement. A life without peace? That is exactly what I crave!"
The two men lowered their guards, the intent to kill having evaporated. To continue without that fire would be a hollow exercise, devoid of the passion of true combat.
Slowly, they both turned their heads to watch the ongoing carnage between their respective crews.
"Your sons don't seem capable of holding back my crew, old man."
"Hmph... Aside from that female Vice-Captain and the brat with the blood-soaked sword, the rest are still a bit green!"
On the battlefield, the two sides were nearly equal, like the tip of a needle meeting the edge of a wheat stalk. Whether it was the Captains of the Thunder God or the Division Captains of Whitebeard, they were evenly matched.
However, Shiryu was simply too radiant. Having followed Arthur for over a decade, his growth trajectory had been rewritten; his terrifying talent had fully blossomed, making him a man truly capable of chasing Arthur's footsteps.
And Stussy, having emerged from the cutthroat ranks of CP0 and survived mountains of corpses, was a force of nature in the New World. Her strength was only a hair's breadth below Shiryu's, and her mastery of the Six Powers was flawless.
Once those two finished their respective duels and began to intervene elsewhere, the war would end in an instant.
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