Shiki spoke of a 'misunderstanding,' but his eyes darted around, revealing a treacherous aura.
Although Kenji couldn't see Shiki's expression at the moment, he knew his general thoughts and attitude.
After all, his top-tier Observation Haki wasn't just for show. The changes in Shiki's inner emotions were fully reflected in the aura he emitted.
Even though Shiki, as a Legendary Pirate, possessed techniques to conceal his aura, unfortunately, in front of Kenji's Observation Haki, such a level of aura concealment was as good as none.
After realizing Shiki's true intentions, Kenji didn't bother to watch him perform any longer and spoke in a deep voice, "Don't even think about any tricks. You will pay the price for today, Shiki."
Hearing this, Shiki, who had deliberately lowered his posture, immediately flashed his gaze, a sneer appearing at the corner of his lips.
'Just a slight show of weakness, and I'm already being threatened.'
In fact, Kenji's Conqueror's Haki just now did indeed shock Shiki, but it wasn't enough to scare him away.
After all, he was one of only three Legendary Pirates in the entire world, and after countless battles, his character had long become extremely resilient.
However, before figuring out Kenji's true strength, Shiki didn't really want to engage in a direct head-on battle.
On the surface, he appeared arrogant and wild, but in reality, his mind was quite meticulous. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lived this long and would have been surrounded and dealt with by various major forces long ago.
Yet, even if he could bend and stretch, there was a limit, and besides, Shiki was unwilling to show a submissive posture to Kenji from the bottom of his heart.
What angered him even more was: He had already been so 'humble,' and the other party was still pressing their advantage?
'Threatening me, are you? Making me pay the price, are you? If you can do it, then just come at me!'
Countless thoughts raced through his mind, and he even had countermeasures planned for the techniques Kenji was about to use.
'That pressure just now... that must be Conqueror's Haki!'
Shiki repeatedly recalled the feeling of being suppressed earlier, thinking to himself.
'Hmph, since it's Conqueror's Haki, then it's easy to deal with...'
The unknown causes instinctive fear, like ghosts and urban legends.
After reflecting, Shiki felt that the reason he was so terrified just now was primarily because he didn't know what kind of power Kenji had used.
Now that everything was clear, there was naturally no need to fear. At least, that's what Shiki thought.
His thoughts were deep, and he didn't directly respond to Kenji. While determined to engage in battle, he continued to silently observe his enemy, seemingly preparing to act when the opportunity arose.
For a moment, there was a brief silence on the battlefield.
Even the dense arcs raging on the battlefield gradually subsided due to a lack of follow-up energy.
Whitebeard remained in the field, his face expressionless. He didn't seem surprised by Kenji's voice, which had traveled a long distance.
There was nothing he could do. After all, he had just been beaten by Kenji not long ago. Even if the latter did something even more outrageous now, Whitebeard wouldn't be shocked anymore.
In contrast, his sons didn't possess such discernment and composure. They were greatly astonished by Kenji's 'thousand-mile sound transmission.' Of course, what truly shocked them was the Conqueror's Haki that had been projected from a long distance.
Even though they weren't the targets of this Conqueror's Haki, they were still suppressed by the overflowing aura, making it difficult to lift their heads, and at the same time, they experienced intense heart palpitations, almost suffocating them.
And they were fortunate to be far away, barely resisting the power overflowing from that wave of Conqueror's Haki.
But Marco, who was in the thick of the battlefield, near its center, wasn't so lucky.
If the Conqueror's Haki suffered by those on the Moby Dick was the aftershock of an aftershock, then Marco, who was near the center of the battlefield, was subjected to the true aftershock of Conqueror's Haki.
In an instant, he was sent flying by the shockwave of terrifying pressure.
What was more troublesome was that he had been relying on the Revival Blue Flames to heal his body's injuries, and his internal injuries were showing signs of improvement, with external injuries almost completely gone.
But when the Conqueror's Haki arrived, the fiercely burning, life-symbolizing Revival Blue Flames on his body suddenly extinguished, and his Devil Fruit ability instantly became dormant.
When Marco frantically tried to use his ability again, he found that his always effective power, no matter how hard he tried, wouldn't activate.
"Ugh!"
He didn't have time to think much. The powerful pressure almost made him prostrate on the ground, with only terror remaining in his heart.
After a long while, it wasn't until the aftershock of the Conqueror's Haki completely dissipated that Marco finally recovered.
However, his whole body was still soft and weak, like a patient who had just recovered from a serious illness.
"Just now... what exactly was that?"
Marco barely propped himself up with his elbows, his gaze sweeping around, seemingly trying to find the person who had used the power.
"Devil Fruit ability completely invalidated... it's as terrifying as the sea."
Seawater and Sea Stone can suppress Devil Fruit users, not by making their Devil Fruit abilities ineffective, but by making the users lose all strength and feel exhausted.
Most Devil Fruit abilities require physical exertion to use, so a user in an exhausted state naturally cannot use their Devil Fruit ability.
Not long ago, Marco had a similar feeling, completely unable to muster any strength.
"That must have been Conqueror's Haki, right? Damn it! I actually got suppressed by Conqueror's Haki..." Marco was extremely annoyed.
He often boasted about his spirit.
Fortunately, there were no other members of the Whitebeard Pirates nearby, which gave him some psychological comfort.
"Oh, Pops!"
Marco looked up and saw Whitebeard's mountain-like figure standing tall not far away. The panic and agitation in his heart immediately came under control.
Then, he stumbled to his feet, his strength gradually returning, and he transformed into a Phoenix again, spreading his wings and flying towards Whitebeard.
As soon as Marco reached Whitebeard's side, he immediately began releasing the Revival Blue Flames to heal the latter's injuries, not wanting to waste a single moment.
In the air opposite the two, Shiki used his Float-Float Fruit ability to float again.
Perhaps it was because he had to guard against a sneak attack from Kenji, Shiki did not stop Marco from healing Whitebeard. Shiki vaguely felt that Kenji was somewhere outside the battlefield, not far away.
"Where could he be hiding?"
Shiki stood in mid-air, his gaze sweeping inside and outside the battlefield.
At the same time, he naturally also released his Observation Haki to sense and search the nearby area, not just relying on his eyes to observe, which would miss many things.
Just as Shiki was fully focused, sensing and observing carefully, Kenji suddenly went silent.
More accurately, Shiki thought Kenji had gone silent, but in reality, Kenji was not only making noise, but also quite a lot of it.
Kenji, to be polite, or rather, to be more dignified, temporarily sealed the room with Haki, effectively creating a temporary enclosed space.
At this moment, let alone Shiki from a distance, even those in the corridor just a wall away couldn't hear any movement from Kenji's side.
Because of this, Shiki couldn't possibly imagine what was happening on Kenji's side.