Chapter 22: Battle with Whitebeard, Clash of Top-Tier Conqueror's Haki
"Will Lord Rono agree to Whitebeard?"
The pirates present held their breath.
Whitebeard was also a little nervous.
He didn't want to miss out on such a high-quality crewmate.
"Hahaha, if you want to invite me onto your ship, you have to show me some real skill, right, Whitebeard?"
Rono said to Whitebeard after some thought.
Although Whitebeard hadn't reached his peak yet, he was close. At the very least, he had Admiral-level strength.
Since he's already here, wouldn't it be a pity not to fight?
"Gurarara! Good kid! If you want a fight, I'm ready anytime!"
Whitebeard was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
He was more than happy to have a fight.
*Woom~!*
The moment his voice fell, Whitebeard immediately erupted with a terrifying Conqueror's Haki!
A chaotic gale suddenly swept through the streets of Mock Town.
Immediately after, a dark red wave of extremely oppressive energy surged from Whitebeard's body.
It rushed toward Rono with extreme speed!
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for picking up Conqueror's Haki (Advanced). Current progress: 69%]
"This is what makes it interesting!"
The system's voice sounded, and Rono's eyes flashed.
Without any panic!
*Boom!*
Rono also unleashed his own Conqueror's Haki!
A similar dark red wave surged out, smashing directly against Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki!
As soon as the two powerful waves made contact, it was as if a Category 10 typhoon had struck around them. A violent energy fluctuation exploded instantly!
*Crackle, crackle!*
Fierce electric currents crackled in the air, and dark red lightning flashed everywhere!
"So dangerous! Get out of here!"
"Don't get caught in their fight!"
"My god! This is a clash of Advanced Conqueror's Haki!"
The next moment, the surrounding pirates who reacted quickly found safe places to hide.
Those who reacted slowly collapsed to the ground, their eyes rolling back as they fainted!
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for picking up Conqueror's Haki (Advanced). Current progress: 79%]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for picking up Conqueror's Haki (Advanced). Current progress: 82%]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for picking up Conqueror's Haki (Advanced). Current progress: 97%]
The Conqueror's Haki clash continued for several minutes, and Rono's system prompts kept coming.
Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki was truly extraordinary. The growth was so fast.
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for picking up Conqueror's Haki (Advanced). Current progress: 100%!]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host! Conqueror's Haki has successfully broken through!]
As the progress bar hit 100%, Rono felt an immense energy surge into his body!
His Conqueror's Haki had successfully advanced to Top-tier, just one step away from God-level!
Not only that, by Rono's estimation, Top-tier Conqueror's Haki was at least three times more powerful than Advanced!
"As expected of the Rocks Pirates' 1st Division Captain. But if you think you can invite me onto your ship with just this, it's far too early!"
Rono smiled slightly. The next moment, he planted his feet and pushed forward!
*Boom!*
The Conqueror's Haki inside him burst forth again, and the dark red wave surrounding Rono became even denser!
*Kacha, kacha~!*
At the same time, the tipping point that had been in a delicate balance suddenly began to destabilize!
Rono's dark red wave clearly gained the upper hand, continuously eroding Whitebeard's wave!
Whitebeard's figure was also pushed back step by step!
For a moment, Rono's Conqueror's Haki was actually overpowering Whitebeard's!
"Th-this... Lord Rono's Conqueror's Haki is... overpowering Whitebeard!"
"My god! How is this possible!"
"This is too terrifying!"
The spectating pirates were stunned!
Whitebeard was a long-famous great pirate, the second-in-command of the Rocks Pirates, with a bounty of 995 million Berries!
But now, he was being suppressed by Rono!
No matter how you looked at it, Rono had only just set out to sea, becoming famous less than a month ago.
"As expected of the man with a 500 million first bounty. It seems I miscalculated!"
At the same time, Whitebeard's expression became slightly serious.
He had originally been afraid of hurting Rono if he went all out.
Now it seemed he had been too hasty and had underestimated Rono.
It looked like he had to go all out!
Otherwise, losing to a kid who just set out to sea in front of so many people would be a huge embarrassment!
Thinking of this, Whitebeard abruptly exerted his strength, mobilizing his entire Conqueror's Haki.
The dark red Haki soared into the sky like a giant dragon, pulling the imbalance back into equilibrium!
Without a doubt, Whitebeard was no longer holding back. He was going all out!
But even so, their Conqueror's Haki remained in balance!
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
As both of their auras climbed to their peak, the energy waves at the center point began to flash with dazzling black sparks!
The extreme energy fluctuations swept outward in all directions like a bulldozer.
The ground, trees, houses, and boulders, as if made of paper, were effortlessly crushed into dust by this extreme energy!
"Gurarara! Gurarara!"
"Interesting! Truly interesting!"
The smile on Whitebeard's face grew wider!
He now had a completely new assessment of Rono!
He truly hadn't expected Rono's Conqueror's Haki to be on par with his own!
This guy wasn't even 20 years old!
What on earth did he eat growing up?
At the same time, Whitebeard secretly resolved that he *must* recruit Rono into his division!
He absolutely could not miss out on such a heaven-sent genius!
At this moment, a smile also gradually appeared on Rono's face!
Awesome!
So awesome!
It's been so long since I had such a satisfying fight!
In an instant, his Conqueror's Haki had leveled up, rising from Advanced to Top-tier!
This meant his Conqueror's Haki had reached the Admiral/Yonko level!
As expected of the "World's Strongest Man," who would one day rule an era!
As soon as the expert makes a move, you know what he's got!
"Look! What... what is that!"
Just then, one of the spectating pirates suddenly pointed to the sky!
Immediately, the pirate lackeys all looked up!
The next moment, everyone's jaws dropped, speechless!
Right above the clash of Rono's and Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki!
The clouds... had split!
A clean rift, as if someone had sliced it open with a sword!
The sky... was split in two!
"Is... is this the clash of Top-tier Conqueror's Haki?"
The pirates on the scene looked at each other, and at the same time felt incredibly fortunate to witness this in person!
At the same time, a cold glint flashed in the eyes of the two men at the center of the storm!
Immediately after, as if by telepathy, both of them suddenly retracted their aura!
This scene left the spectating pirates completely baffled.
What's going on? Hasn't a winner been decided? Why did they suddenly stop fighting?
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