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The raging air currents surged outward in all directions, and across the heavens, long, black cracks stretched endlessly. At a glance, it looked as though the very fabric of the sky had been torn apart. High above, the dark clouds shattered into fragments, and in the gaps, golden lightning flashed and rumbled.
"They've… broken the sky itself!"
The onlookers drew sharp breaths, hearts trembling. They gazed at the ruined sea and the fractured heavens, utterly speechless.
This was power that surpassed the realm of mortals, strength that defied imagination.
Kaido, his body still wrapped in thick bandages, slowly rose from the deck. He stared at the destruction before him, his expression grave and his eyes like sharp blades.
The sea and the sky alike had both been shattered beneath the fists of these two men.
A mix of awe and dread welled in his chest. Though he had always known Whitebeard's power, only now did he truly grasp its measure.
Even among the Four Emperors, there were levels. Kaido had once taken a direct strike from Qin Yi's fearsome Taijutsu and nearly had his entire body crushed. In that moment, he had felt the true terror of death.
But now, Whitebeard was enduring an attack seemingly even stronger, and not only surviving, but answering it with an equally devastating blow.
That alone proved it. Whitebeard might still tower above his own.
Over the years, as Whitebeard stood unchallenged in the New World, his once-golden hair had turned white. People whispered that the old warrior had grown frail, that his strength had declined to barely half of what it was at his peak.
But now… everyone finally understood.
Whitebeard was still Whitebeard. Proud, unyielding, unmatched, the Strongest Man in the World!
"Hah!"
Whitebeard exhaled heavily, steam rising from his lips. Sweat beaded on his brow. His fist still pressed against Qin Yi's, and his heart thundered in his chest.
That punch, even for a Great Pirate who had weathered countless wars, carried the scent of death itself.
'What a terrifying man… If I hadn't blocked that, I would've died, wouldn't I?'
The thought crossed Whitebeard's mind, his gaze solemn and focused.
"If this were two years later," he murmured to himself, "this old man might not have survived such a blow."
"But right now, !"
His eyes suddenly sharpened, flaring with that same kingly, untamed will.
"This old man… can still fight!"
"RAAAAHHHH!!!"
With a thunderous roar, Whitebeard's left fist clenched tight, the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit wrapping around it. He swung down violently.
Qin Yi's expression hardened, he, too, raised his fist and struck forward.
"BOOM!!"
The sea erupted once more. Everything around them that had already been broken was now pulverized into chaos.
The wind howled; clouds exploded apart. The ocean below raged and thrashed as if in agony, trying to flee from the terror of their battle.
Everything in this world, sea, sky, and land alike, trembled in awe and fear before these two men.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Now they stood locked in the air itself, trading blow after blow, meeting head-on, never retreating, never dodging.
"Old Man!!"
Marco, Diamond Jozu, and Flower Sword Vista all shouted from the Moby Dick, their eyes wide with disbelief, their bodies shaking. Even separated by tens of thousands of meters, they could feel it, the boiling, storming air ahead of them.
"This battle… it's engulfed an entire island, no… an entire sea!"
"These two… they're terrifying beyond words!"
On the Qin Nation flagship, they could only whisper in awe.
At that moment, every soul trembled, shaken to their very core by the overwhelming power of Whitebeard and Qin Yi.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Minutes passed, and the figures of the two men began to blur in the sky, their movements shifting and flashing faster than the eye could follow.
"This old man really is old… A direct clash like this, I can't match him in endurance anymore."
Whitebeard sighed inwardly.
Even after resting and gathering his Essence, Energy, and Spirit for three whole days, adjusting his body to its absolute peak condition, he could, at best, reach eight or nine-tenths of his youthful strength, never truly the perfection of his prime.
After exchanging countless devastating blows, he could already feel his breathing growing ragged, while Qin Yi remained calm and composed, still fighting at his peak, without the slightest sign of fatigue.
Whitebeard began to dodge, circling through the shattered air. He needed to find an opening, a single perfect chance to land a decisive strike. Only then could he hope for victory.
The two men darted back and forth through the sky, their power far beyond what the world could contain. Even the very air could no longer restrict their movements.
Fists swung. Collisions thundered. Fists swung again, and the world trembled once more.
Each exchange sent new shockwaves tearing outward, widening the zone of devastation until it spanned across the horizon.
Half an hour later, Whitebeard was gasping for breath. His aging body could no longer endure such prolonged, high-intensity combat.
Against Ying Zheng (Qin Yi), every punch demanded his full strength, and every strike from his opponent forced him to muster every ounce of power to block it.
This kind of battle drained not just his energy, but his very life force.
"BOOM!"
After another violent clash, Whitebeard's face flushed red. Sweat poured from his forehead down to his chin. Using the force of the blow, he leapt back, putting distance between himself and Qin Yi.
"Ying Zheng!" Whitebeard called out, his voice hoarse but booming. "Your strength… even this old man can't help but tremble before it."
"A young body. Such overwhelming power. I truly wonder, what kind of world birthed someone like you?"
"What kind of world could produce such a terrifying expert!?"
Whitebeard panted, his massive chest heaving as he shouted.
Qin Yi's expression remained calm.
"Whitebeard, I admire you greatly," he replied. "But there are things I cannot yet reveal to you. I can only say this, the world is vast, far beyond imagination. What you see here, this ocean… is but a small corner of it."
"Have you ever seen a battleship so great it could shatter a planet with a single shot, like the ones that patrol the galaxies of Dragon Ball?"
"Have you ever heard of humans who, through cultivation, achieve eternal life, their bodies unaging as they roam among the stars, masters of Journey to the West's paths?"
"Or of ancient gods and demons, whose bodies endure through eons, who survive even after the universe itself collapses into ruin, beings from the heights of Marvel?"
Qin Yi's voice was calm, almost serene, letting the weight of those worlds settle upon the pirate. He could see that Whitebeard's body was already showing signs of exhaustion, yet he did not press the attack.
A man like Whitebeard, Qin Yi thought, would make a worthy companion on a voyage to explore the worlds beyond.
"I see…" Whitebeard murmured, eyes narrowing, his voice suddenly quiet, tinged with a devastating awe. "So it's all a matter of where one stands. What I see as a vast ocean… you see as small and narrow."
He gazed into the distance, his voice low and thoughtful.
He didn't doubt Qin Yi's words. From the battle alone, he had already felt the overwhelming King's Aura that flowed from the man, a true ruler's spirit, majestic and unyielding.
Such a being had no need for deceit. Every word Qin Yi spoke carried the weight of truth, and that truth shook Whitebeard's very soul.
Compared to those terrifying star-destroying warships, those immortal cultivators who defied death, and those eternal gods and demons shining alongside the sun and moon,
what were wealth, power, or status worth?
What treasure, what throne, what kingdom could ever compare to the ultimate pursuit of life's true limit?
(End of Chapter)