"If I ever get an extra Devil Fruit Extraction Card again, the first priority has to be the Tremor-Tremor Fruit," Creed thought.
At the same time, he could tell Whitebeard still hadn't used his full strength—the Tremor-Tremor Fruit had only shown the tip of the iceberg. Maybe Redfield wasn't putting him under enough pressure yet?
"In a way, that's good. Pops won't aggravate his condition," Creed rubbed his chin. "Shame my Ope Ope no Mi (Operation Fruit) is still a bit short of its initial awakening; otherwise I could treat him. As of now, my medical ability probably can't surpass Marco's phoenix regeneration."
No doubt, just from the name alone, the Ope Ope no Mi implied the world's most powerful medical capabilities—far beyond mere regenerative flames or any other fruit's healing.
Whitebeard had once aided the G-K Branch, foiling the schemes of Big Mom and Kaido's subordinates. Creed kept that favor in mind. If he got the chance, he'd use his fruit power to treat Whitebeard and repay the debt.
"At this point in time, Ace has probably already gone to sea… I wonder if Garp will rein him in and send him to the Marines? Unlikely—Ace is Roger's son…"
Creed's thoughts jumped to another man. "I really hope the Marineford War never happens."
As he pondered, the battle on the distant isle reached a white heat, shockwaves even rattling the harbor more than ten li away.
"Hey!"
Marco, Vista, and several other division commanders thrust out their hands—Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), advanced and invisible, unloaded the incoming residual force so the crew wouldn't be collateral damage.
Boom—boom—boom!
Red sword intent and white blade intent had churned into a single roiling mass. The two figures inside were nowhere to be seen—only the blood-colored giant bat phantom wheeling in the sky, and that omnipresent, glass-like shimmer of vibration.
Then—
"Whitebeard, if you don't go all out, you might die!"
Redfield's silhouette appeared at the heart of the blood-bat phantom. He seemed fused with it; the crimson light seethed, and the phantom grew denser—like a living thing.
Below, Whitebeard stood upon the sea itself, one hand on his naginata, the other a clenched fist. A pale radiance coated his body, and cracks spidered through the space around him like a shattered web.
"Your Bat-Bat Fruit is formidable," Whitebeard said.
In their fierce exchange just now, he'd felt the blood in his veins begin to boil, slipping from his control—that alone told him how sinister Redfield's power was. A fruit that could meddle with an enemy's blood… merely picturing it was terrifying. His praise was sincere, not flattery.
"Hahaha! Then stop holding back. Once I unleash the power of awakening, you really might die!"
Redfield hovered above, laughing boldly. He had labored on the Bat-Bat Fruit for so long—for this very day. Scenes of his defeats at Whitebeard's hands flashed through his mind; his pupils bled completely red.
The Bat-Bat Fruit's awakening could control the blood of all living things within a certain range. If Whitebeard slipped even slightly, Redfield could rip every drop of blood from his body in an instant—death.
Of course, awakening wasn't omnipotent. Absolute self-control over one's body and the protection of Busoshoku Haki could prevent that blood from being torn away. But then Whitebeard wouldn't be able to handle Redfield with ease; he'd be forced to divide no small share of focus to guard his own blood.
No wonder Redfield warned that if Whitebeard didn't fight at full power, he might die.
On the Moby Dick, throats tightened. Even Whitebeard's seasoned sons worried. Redfield had been a peerless terror; back when he'd challenged Pops, the two had needed a long, grueling battle to settle the outcome. Now Pops was aged and ill, while Redfield had inexplicably regained his youth. The scales felt… uncertain.
Even Creed was shaken. "I didn't expect him to push the Bat-Bat Fruit this far. Looks like I've been underestimating Devil Fruits. My Ope Ope no Mi (Operation Fruit) and Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit) both need deeper development—especially the Operation Fruit."
"Gurararara! Very well then, Redfield-brat—allow me to grant you another defeat!"
Whitebeard laughed. His aura surged again; the pale light around him grew scorching, dazzling.
Crack.
A chorus of crisp fissures rang out. In the next instant, innumerable cracks lanced from his body, and a thousand meters of air looked like a colossal mirror suddenly smashed to pieces.
Under threat from the Bat-Bat awakening, he dropped all restraint. He would fight at full strength.
"…Hnh?!"
Creed's and Redfield's eyes narrowed at once. They both caught the secret embedded inside Whitebeard's quake. The pale radiance around him hid hundreds of stacked, violent vibration frequencies—and they were doubling still.
So the quakes could be layered and stored.
If released at once, how horrific would the strike be?
"No wonder Blackbeard risked everything at Marineford to seize the Tremor-Tremor Fruit," Creed realized. "In raw offense, Whitebeard truly deserves the title of the world's strongest."
He thought of Kaido next. Kaido's defense and endurance were the strongest in the world, and yet he had still suffered repeated defeats at Whitebeard's hands. From that alone, Whitebeard at his peak was a monster of pure attack.
"Redfield-brat—take my blow!"
Whitebeard gripped his naginata in both hands, blasted upward, and cleaved against the sky.
Boom!
The slash hadn't even reached Redfield yet, but the mere spill of its ferocious haki and blade-qi split the heavens first. For a breathless instant, everyone felt the world itself tilt toward collapse.
(End of Chapter)
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