Tiberion used Soru, vanishing from the spot in the blink of an eye.
But Curiel didn't flinch, and a contemptuous smile formed on his face. His Observation Haki was activated, and he had already locked onto the exact position where he sensed Tiberion's presence.
"I've got you, bastard…"
Boom
The roar of the rocket launcher echoed throughout the hall.
The mushroom-shaped explosion roared upward, spewing smoke and fire, creating a pressure wave that swept through everything and even made the nearby pillars tremble.
Curiel slowly lowered the smoking barrel. He looked satisfied. He didn't expect to kill Tiberion that easily, but he was sure that, at the very least, the shockwave impact had severely injured him.
"Is he dead?"
Curiel blew the smoke off the barrel with indifference. "No, he's not. He's still alive. Like I'd let him die that easily? This is just getting started…"
However, that disdain was a grave mistake.
!
Because right at that moment, an abyssal pressure erupted from the center of the smoke cloud.
The air became dense and unbearable. The temperature dropped, and an uncontrollable chill ran down the spines of everyone present.
And then they saw him.
The smoke slowly parted, as if something alive moved out of his way.
Tiberion stood tall, completely unscathed.
But he was no longer the same.
His face was twisted with rage, like a demon straight out of hell. He wore a grin that wasn't human, but a contorted expression of pure bloodlust. His clenched, razor-sharp teeth showed an inhuman tension, and his eyes—red like burning embers—radiated savage madness.
His entire face was filled with bulging veins pulsing as if about to burst. His skin looked stretched tightly over his skull.
His hair, already red from dye, had turned even darker, as if a blood current was dyeing it from the roots, and it swayed not from the wind but from the killing aura erupting from him like flames.
[Congratulations, Host. "Bloodthirsty Eyes" has been unlocked. Interpretation level increased by 3%.]
[Current Interpretation Level: 45%.]
[All general attributes increased by 3%.]
[Note: "Bloodthirsty Eyes" unleashes an unstoppable killing intent, sending the user into a state of uncontrolled rage. While active, reason is suppressed, and the body enters an automatic combat mode based purely on instinct. Full consciousness cannot return until enough blood has been spilled.]
It was the perfect manifestation of Yujiro's most savage and brutal state. A true berserker mode where logic was replaced by murderous instinct, and the entire body became a weapon designed for annihilation.
Once activated, there would be no turning back until the slaughter was complete.
"Shit… What a goddamn insane killing intent…!"
"HAHAHAHAHA! Is this guy planning to wipe us all out now or what?"
"And who the hell does he think he is? He killed one of ours, and now he can't take a few cannon blasts in return?"
Despite the tension, many still didn't take Tiberion seriously. After all, they were Whitebeard's crew—the emperor of the seas. They lived with the pride of knowing their FATHER was the strongest man in the world. They didn't believe a mere human, no matter how brutal, could ever change that.
But not everyone thought the same.
Vista was among them, silent and observant.
His right eyelid was twitching nonstop.
It wasn't just any sign. He had been through wars, had felt the blade of death many times… and that sensation crawling down his back now was far too familiar. That dark premonition told him just one thing: do not underestimate that man.
"Enough," he said, calmly unsheathing both his swords. "Stop underestimating him. His strength is real. He's dangerous. If we're going to fight him… we better do it together. Either we capture him now, or we kill him outright."
The other commanders looked at each other. There was a moment of hesitation. But they all nodded.
Vista didn't wait.
He coated both blades in Armament Haki and, with a cross-armed slash only a swordsman of his level could perform, launched two intersecting strikes.
The two waves of black light fused mid-air, forming a devastating slash that flew straight toward Tiberion.
Boom
The slash split the ground around Tiberion in two, unleashing a sharp roar that echoed to the back of the hall.
Curiel, still high on adrenaline, raised his rocket launcher again and fired without hesitation.
From the side, Whitey Bay activated the power of her Devil Fruit.
"Frost - Destruction"
The ground began to freeze at an alarming speed. Ice spread like evil roots, shooting in a straight line toward where Tiberion stood.
But this wasn't ordinary ice: unlike Kuzan's massive and expansive freezing power, Whitey's fruit created a destructive crystallization from within, attacking the molecular structure of the target until it shattered from the inside out.
"Now! Everyone, attack!!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!! You really think you're brave standing before me!? With those cheap little tricks?"
Tiberion burst into laughter—so full of disdain and bloodlust that several pirates flinched involuntarily. That laugh wasn't human.
His eyes, now completely dyed red, glowed like burning coals in the dead of night.
He didn't look like he was surrounded by dozens of enemies…
It looked like he was the one who had them all cornered.
His mere presence made many of Whitebeard's pirates feel a chill run up their spines.
Despite the fear, no one backed down. One after another, they all began unleashing their abilities, surrounding Tiberion from every direction.
Facing that rain of attacks converging from all sides, Tiberion didn't move a single inch.
His red eyes, set in a face twisted by rage and madness, stared at the pirates with absolute disdain.
And then… he closed his fist.
In that instant, the air seemed to compress.
A wild energy began to condense around his arm. It was a unique power, infused with Armament Haki, the absolute fury of berserker mode, and the thermal release of physical force flowing through every muscle fiber.
His muscles were defined with a sharpness beyond description. The veins on his arm throbbed as if they had a heartbeat of their own. The energy was so intense it began to form a red sphere around his fist.
And then, at the exact moment everything reached its peak…
He struck the ground with all his fury!
BOOOOOM
The impact wasn't just a thunderous roar.
The entire platform collapsed instantly. A network of gigantic cracks spread like a spiderweb across the hall, extending hundreds of meters in mere seconds.
The total force of the blow was estimated to be over sixty thousand tons.
Vista's slashing energy blade was disintegrated in midair as if it were made of paper. The deadly frost spreading across the ground from Whitey's ability was halted. Curiel's missile exploded before even getting close to Tiberion. And every bullet flying through the air… simply disintegrated.
But the most terrifying part was that the entire Fish-Man Island trembled.
The ocean bubbled.
The underwater structure echoed as if a cataclysm had been unleashed. Even the Sea Kings, sleeping in the depths, stirred their massive bodies, confused by the disturbance.
"My God, what's happening?!"
"Is it an earthquake!?"
"It can't be…! Everything is shaking!"
"The houses are trembling! The palace structures are creaking!"
But then, someone shouted.
"It's not an earthquake!"
"It was Lord Tiberion…! This was all caused by a single punch from him!"
"WHAT?!"
"I swear on my mother! I saw it with my own eyes!"
"Hsss…!"
"One single blow… and it caused all this?"
"What kind of strength does that monster have…?"
Amid the crowd, Shyarly watched with wide eyes. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, overwhelmed by awe. Despite all her emotional wounds, part of her couldn't help but feel proud.
'Just as I imagined…' she thought. 'Tiberion-sama won't lose.'
Elsewhere, Gion clenched her teeth in fury, her heart pounding in her chest.
'So this is… your true strength?' she whispered to herself.
'Even so… I swear I'll capture you with my own hands!'
Tokikake, more serious than ever, couldn't take his eyes off the hall.
'With power like that… he might actually be able to face Vice Admiral Garp and live to tell the tale,' he thought, a knot tightening in his chest.
'But… if this keeps up, not even Gion will be able to capture him.'
Looking around the edges of the room, the Whitebeard subordinates—who moments ago had been full of confidence—could no longer hide their fear.
Some stood frozen, others were drenched in sweat. Even several division commanders had goosebumps rising across their scalps.
________
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