Peacock's right arm snapped forward, the whip slicing through the air as it lashed straight toward Ian.
SWOOSH—
The soft-sword-turned-whip howled as it tore the air, the piercing shriek making every watching Marine flinch.
Facing the sudden strike—
Ian stood perfectly still, as though frozen in fear.
Only his skin… had turned a smooth, porcelain white, like molded clay.
No dodge.
No guard.
Peacock's whip struck him dead-on—
—but it was like hitting a mound of soft mud.
A dull, muffled thud echoed across the training ground.
Pfft—
"What?!"
Peacock's eyes contracted.
From her close vantage point, she clearly saw Ian's left arm nearly sliced open by the blow…
But instead of blood,
a stream of white clay spurted out!
Endlessly, the clay gushed like a fountain from the "wound," spreading rapidly across Ian's torso.
His entire body surged taller, broader, expanding at a wild rate—
Within seconds, he'd swollen past six meters, becoming a towering giant.
Then—
Ian's right hand brushed across his upper lip—
and a crescent-shaped white mustache formed instantly.
Clay-Clay Fruit? ×
Figurine-Figurine Fruit? √
The transformed Ian let out a deep, oddly familiar laugh:
"Gurararara…"
Before Peacock could react—
The Marines watching nearby erupted into shrieks worthy of ghosts and dying animals.
"Whitebeard!!"
"The world's strongest man!"
"Whitebeard's invading Headquarters!"
"He broke into Marineford!"
"He's going to punch through the Red Line!"
"He's destroying the World Government!!"
The panic spread outward like a sonic plague.
Even Peacock winced from the deafening chorus.
But when she actually took a good look at this so-called "Whitebeard," she was struck speechless.
Round head.
Bouncy belly.
Pure chalk-white from head to toe.
To put it bluntly—
It looked like a low-quality clay figurine from some shady, unlicensed workshop.
Aside from the crescent mustache…
there was nothing about this "Whitebeard" that resembled the real world's strongest man.
This Whitebeard… Ian's definitely just fooling around.
Peacock quickly assessed the situation.
This must be the Clay-Clay Fruit power Admiral Kuzan mentioned!
Ian ignored the panicked Marines.
All his focus was locked on controlling the "Whitebeard Clay Doll."
Back when he made the tiny clay dragon, Ian had already noticed the issue:
The Ring of Demon Control let him use Devil Fruit powers without eating the fruit—
But it didn't instantly grant him mastery.
A nine-star artifact didn't equal a nine-star Devil Fruit user.
His personal panel had already shown the truth:
[Devil Fruit — Clay-Clay Fruit: ☆]
A one-star mastery.
And the result?
This bootleg-level Whitebeard.
To be fair—
even Ian felt embarrassed by how scuffed his creation turned out.
There was a kind of tragic charm to this:
A man who imitated Whitebeard… became Whitebeard… yet somehow ended up worse than Whitebeard Jr.
But it was battle time. No luxury to refine the sculpt.
Go.
Peacock's earlier whip strike hadn't damaged the "Whitebeard Doll" at all.
In fact, the blow had left her whip deeply embedded in its clay arm.
Ian controlled the giant clay form, grabbed the whip with its massive left hand, and yanked hard.
Peacock nearly lost her weapon.
Gritting her teeth, she released her ability.
The whip snapped back, shrinking and solidifying into a gleaming longsword.
Exactly as Ian suspected—
Peacock had joined SWORD after him and eaten the Whip-Whip Fruit,
but she hadn't mastered it yet, so the control effect failed to hold.
Ian didn't mind.
He sent the Whitebeard Doll charging forward, its massive legs pounding the ground.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each step left crater-like footprints, the thunderous noise shaking the training ground.
The Marines screamed even louder.
Peacock, however, kept calm this time.
The giant lifted its millstone-sized palm and swung down at her, the wind pressure strong enough to sting skin.
Peacock didn't panic.
She stomped lightly—
and borrowed force from the air itself, shooting upward like a bird.
Rokushiki — Geppo!
"You bastard!"
Peacock glared down from above.
"Just who do you think you are?!"
"Whitebeard the Third!"
Ian raised the giant's head and swatted again, palm sweeping toward her.
"Edward Teach!"
"WHO is that supposed to be?!"
Peacock snapped, rage bubbling over.
She gathered strength in her legs, compressed—
then unleashed it in a supersonic kick.
"Rankyaku — Flying Crane!"
A razor-sharp crescent of compressed air screamed toward the massive clay giant.
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