[Three Hours Later]
"SHIHAHAHAHHA!"
"GUARARARARA!!!"
The laughter of Golden Lion and Whitebeard shook the heavens and earth, echoing ceaselessly across the battlefield.
Rosse's strength did not make them feel fear. On the contrary, it only stirred up their ferocity and fighting spirit.
Who were they?
They were the last remaining legends of this era.
BOOM!!!
Heaven and earth roared. The land tsunami's rising speed suddenly accelerated. Golden Lion, paying no mind to the blood streaming from his seven orifices, had eyes blazing brighter than ever, like those of a lion.
"GURARARARA! Shiki, don't you dare die on me!", Whitebeard's muscles bulged tight, also in his awakened fruit state, madly unleashing the energy of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
And because Golden Lion was already fighting on borrowed time, burning his life, it was impossible for him to cover everything. That was why Whitebeard became the main one coordinating their teamwork, taking on even greater pressure.
The main point was, Rosse's strength was simply too overwhelming.
That illusionary ocean he summoned, once it carried Rosse's absolute will, almost crushed them to the point where they couldn't breathe.
If not for Kaido recklessly harassing from above, it would have been even worse.
On this point alone, Kaido was far more reliable than Kozuki Oden.
"SHIHAHAHAHA! Newgate, before you die, this old man will never go first!"
Shiki burst into wild laughter, madness written all over his face.
But anyone could feel, behind that frenzy burned deep unwillingness.
The rudder lodged in his head had impacted him too much.
At this moment, he could feel not only his life force constantly draining away, but also his strength slipping, weakening every second.
'Damn it!'
If not for that naval battle… if he had still been in his prime, then maybe, through this fight, he could've touched the threshold of an even higher realm.
"AHHHHHH!"
More blood poured from his seven orifices, his face twisting more hideously.
But at the same time, the power of the Float-Float Fruit climbed another level.
By overdrawing his life and pairing with Whitebeard's support, in this fleeting instant he actually showed signs of suppressing the illusionary ocean above.
"As expected of Golden Lion," Rosse swept Kaido aside with his halberd, casting a slightly solemn gaze downward.
The strength Golden Lion was unleashing now probably surpassed even his own peak.
When a man fights without care for his life, he can always erupt with unbelievable potential.
Too bad Golden Lion had fallen from his peak too long ago. Otherwise, he really might have posed a threat.
But since Golden Lion had shown such resolve, Rosse would naturally give him matching respect.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ocean surged, waves rolling, like a galaxy spilling down.
Under Rosse's control, the sea in the sky slowly tilted downward, the endless pressure of that natural disaster enough to easily crush an ordinary man's spine.
At the crest of those waves, Rosse gripped the Sea God Halberd and descended with the tide, like a sea god incarnate.
"SHIHAHAHAHA!"
Facing Rosse's full-force counterattack, Golden Lion did not feel pressure, he laughed even louder, even freer.
Even if Rosse's strength surpassed theirs, even if his body was riddled with flaws.
He was still that Golden Lion who demanded respect from anyone.
"ROSSE!"
Golden Lion roared like a lion, driving the Float-Float Fruit's power to the absolute limit.
His body became a cannonball, shooting upward.
At the same time, he gave Whitebeard one last crazed backward glance.
He had ruled the seas for years, never imagining he'd one day make such a decision.
But now, at this step, in the end it was Whitebeard who was most worthy of his trust.
"Shiki…", There was faint sorrow in Whitebeard's eyes. Very quickly, he felt the Float-Float Fruit's power wrapping around him.
After decades of friendship, he knew exactly what Golden Lion meant.
That invincible Golden Lion, at the very end of his life, chose to cover their retreat, instead of dragging them down to die with him.
But in the end, Whitebeard stayed silent. He allowed the Float-Float Fruit to take effect on him, his body shot outward even faster than Golden Lion, streaking away from the battlefield.
The situation was clear. Even without the world government's reinforcements arriving, Rosse's invincible power already declared this operation a complete failure.
The question wasn't whether they could kill Rosse. It was how many of them could escape.
Death itself was not terrifying. But to die, it had to mean something.
For men like them, the value of living far outweighed dying.
Even though Rosse's power seemed impossible to resist, he could still be defeated someday.
If not with four, then with fourteen. If not in a year, then in ten or twenty.
They still had time…
Just as Whitebeard withdrew, Vanessa, who had been quietly observing, slightly furrowed her fine brows. Without the slightest hesitation, she drew a finely crafted pistol from her waist, the muzzle aimed squarely at Whitebeard fleeing afar.
A mere squeeze of the trigger, with the Piercing Fruit's unique ability, could ignore distance and obstacles, leaving Whitebeard behind with ease.
In the current situation, being left behind meant only death.
But at the very instant she was about to pull the trigger, Rosse's voice suddenly reached her ear.
["Let him go."]
Just three words, but they carried some kind of magic. Instantly, Vanessa's taut nerves eased, her hand holding the pistol relaxed.
Without the slightest doubt, she cleanly put the gun back.
She simply stood there silently, saying nothing, watching Whitebeard's somewhat battered figure vanish into the horizon.
Since it was his order, she would just obey.
Meanwhile, on Rosse's side of the battlefield, the outcome was fully decided.
BANG!
A dull, resounding crash, like death itself declaring.
Golden Lion's wild mane of golden hair spread chaotically like a lion's, covering his sight, masking the unwillingness on his face.
His body was soaked through with blood, his once splendid robe shredded, making him look like a fiend crawling out of hell.
Before him still towered Rosse, lofty as a god, looking down on him.
The distance between them was so close, almost within reach.
But for Golden Lion, it was as far away as the ends of the earth, forever untouchable.
That last single meter was like an unbridgeable chasm.
"SHIHAHAHAHA!! Jaygarcia Rosse, I will remember you forever!"
Golden Lion threw back his head and roared with a crazed, unwilling laugh. In that moment, his grin was hideous and mad, as if to pour all unwillingness, all regrets, all obsessions into that final laugh.
The two famed blades, Oto and Kogarashi, which had long served as his legs, also slipped away as his life ebbed, scattering in the air. Along with his broken, blood-soaked body, they fell downward.
Until the end, he hadn't managed to inflict even a single scratch on Rosse.
But he was already satisfied.
He had stood on mountain peaks, fallen to valleys, and today once more glimpsed the summit's view.
'It is worth it!'
This life, though with regrets, yet without remorse...
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