The previous battle had been just a day ago, against Bickley. Could Ashveil grow stronger in a single day? The answer was a resolute yes.
After only twenty-four hours, Ashveil had transformed completely, emerging from countless skirmishes as if he were no longer the same man. Witnessing this, confidence in him soared among those who followed.
"I believe in Ashveil. Captain Ashveil's strength defies ordinary measures," one whispered.
"Exactly! Even if someone had trained for thousands of years, they might not match a single day of Ashveil's progress!" another said, eyes shining with awe.
Cheering erupted as hope and excitement spread through the ranks of those nearby.
High above the battlefield, Ashveil sensed Imu's Conqueror's Haki. A faint, confident smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"You are strong, Imu," he said calmly.
"You can see my true power now. I am far more terrifying than you imagined," he added with a sly grin.
With that, Ashveil unleashed twenty thousand points of Conqueror's Haki, a force so immense that even Imu felt its oppressive weight. The celestial ruler's Haki began to falter.
Imu's eyes widened, disbelief etched across her face. To think that a twenty-year-old could surpass her mastery of Conqueror's Haki was unthinkable.
"Look, Imu is struggling!" someone shouted, pointing toward the sky.
Imu's brow furrowed as she whispered, "This is… unexpected, Ashveil."
"You… your Conqueror's Haki exceeds mine!" she admitted, tightening her expression.
In the next instant, a massive surge of Haki, like the burst of an inflating balloon, struck her. Her own Haki was powerless to resist Ashveil's overwhelming output. The resulting shockwave tore through the heavens, the earth, and the surrounding lands.
The city walls trembled violently under the pressure. Citizens inside gaped in terror.
"How… how can Ashveil suppress Imu like this?!"
"Will the walls survive the aftershocks of such power?" Urouge murmured, surveying the destruction with a grave expression.
The entire battlefield had descended into chaos. The sky, land, and sea had merged into a storm of pulverized matter. Rocks, trees, dirt, and debris swirled violently, reduced to elemental fragments by the overwhelming force of Ashveil's Conqueror's Haki.
Far above, King was flung backward by the shockwave. Flames flared from his wings as he spun helplessly, barely regaining control midair, sweat beading his forehead.
"What… what is happening down there?" he muttered, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Kaido-sama… are you alright?" he added, concern lacing his voice. Even from a distance, he could feel the immense power and feared the toll it would take on Kaido if he were caught in its midst.
This extraordinary display of Conqueror's Haki reverberated across the world. News agencies scrambled, reporters and photographers flooding the skies 100 kilometers from the Whitebeard Pirates' territory, eager to capture the phenomenon while staying safely out of range.
"It's coming from that direction!" one shouted, spotting the chaotic energy.
"That must be Ashveil!" another exclaimed.
The mere mention of Ashveil's name made even seasoned reporters swallow nervously. He was a legend, the man who had slain Jack and shaken the seas with his exploits. His presence guaranteed headlines, rewards, and fame. Some reporters, fortunate or bold enough, had already secured Berries from Morgans for prior coverage, living comfortably for lifetimes.
They trained their ultra-long-range telescopes on the battlefield, but all they could see was chaos. The landscape was unrecognizable, torn apart by the overwhelming Haki that churned the space itself.
"This… this is too terrifying!" several war correspondents gasped.
"This power is beyond simple sea-splitting or sky-tearing. It seems to annihilate matter itself!"
"Who… possesses such strength? Only the Creator God could do this in our world!" another muttered, horrified.
"The culprit… is Ashveil!" a veteran reporter confirmed.
"But if it's Ashveil, he must be fighting someone else. Who could rival him?"
An elder among the World Economic Journal stepped forward. "There is one who matches this power," he said gravely. "The legendary Creator God. Though the Celestial Dragons claim descent, the true master of this world is the one he faces."
Reporters exchanged shocked glances. What had been a story whispered as legend was now reality: a human confronting a god.
Their cameras clicked and whirred, frantic to record every moment, knowing that the smallest detail could make their careers. Even chaos held value; a rare opportunity to witness the battle of man versus god could secure fame and fortune for life.
Back on the battlefield, Imu materialized, black energy coalescing around her. Her previously elongated tail, damaged by Ashveil's Haki, hung in two broken segments. She lunged with ferocity, yet even her terrifying attack could not match Ashveil's control.
Ashveil, calm and composed, smiled faintly.
"Hmph, the entire space is under my Conqueror's Haki, Imu. Surrender. This battle is already mine."
Imu's rage was palpable. Never before had she been so thoroughly challenged, not even against those from eight centuries ago. Ashveil, a young man with audacity and power, had provoked the only god in this world.
Yet even within Ashveil's Haki-saturated domain, her pitch-black energy carved a visible rift, a testament to her godly strength.
The Whitebeard Pirates looked on, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Ashveil's opponent is truly extraordinary," someone whispered.
"Her attacks tear space apart, yet she remains unharmed!" Whitebeard murmured from inside Ashveil's protective Haki barrier.
"The Celestial Dragons' defenses are formidable," Saint Mars muttered, teeth chattering in alarm.
Kaido and Linlin, the Emperors of the Sea, shared uneasy glances. Even with their immense regenerative abilities and near-impenetrable defenses, they understood the scope of the threat before them.
"Can we survive this? In front of those two, we are nothing more than ants," Linlin muttered grimly.
Kaido's usual confidence dissolved, replaced by a rare, honest fear. Even the mightiest of creatures could not hope to endure the combined Haki of Ashveil and Imu.