The rising energy surged violently, streaked with dense black lightning that crackled around Daren and Bullet's fists as they readied their strike, warping the air itself.
Seeing the stance those two brats had taken, Whitebeard's heart sank to the bottom. He instinctively gripped Murakumogiri tighter.
He could clearly feel it—an overwhelming, indescribable sense of danger crashing down on him, locking onto his very presence.
It gave him the terrifying illusion that no matter how early he used Observation Haki to predict their move, there was no way to dodge what was coming—the combined strike of those two monsters.
And it wasn't just Whitebeard. Fighters from both sides across the battlefield felt that terrifying pressure surge. A suffocating weight blanketed the land, making it hard for anyone to breathe.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Diamond" Jozu's eyelids twitched madly. Forget wiping the blood from his mouth—he just stared in shock at the distant mountains on the island. Official source is n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
Even Moria, who was trading blows with him, felt his heart pound out of rhythm.
"Hey, hey... That aura's insane..."
Crocodile's golden hook clashed with Marco's airborne kick. A smirk curled on his lips.
"You think Whitebeard can take on those two together?"
"Oyaji's the strongest there is!"
Marco gritted his teeth, but his gaze flickered uneasily.
He could feel it too—that overwhelming, all-consuming aura of destruction.
Everyone on the battlefield wore different expressions, but deep in their eyes, there was the same glint of awe, faint and hard to detect.
One impossible thought surfaced in all their minds—
Is this what a true clash between top-tier forces looks like?
Deep within the island...
A howling storm tore through the forest like a living inferno, churning dust and leaves into a blinding tempest.
Wreathed in lightning and wind, Bullet suddenly roared, his eyes blazing with searing intensity.
Daren's black hair whipped around him, his entire body exuding a frigid, brutal madness as he grinned viciously.
"Just don't drag me down this time!"
Their eyes locked in sync, both fixed on the "World's Strongest Man" unleashing his own unstoppable aura. In a single step forward—
Their movements mirrored each other perfectly, afterimages overlapping like they had practiced this a thousand times. Together, they punched!
"Combined Technique: Retsukoku Break!!"
A titanic shockwave exploded outward, crashing toward Whitebeard with overwhelming force and unstoppable fury.
Everything in its path—stone, soil, foliage, even ancient trees—
Was instantly pulverized into dust, vanishing without a trace.
The diameter of the blast spanned hundreds of meters, swallowing an enormous section of land ahead of them.
At that very moment, Whitebeard struck back!
His power had already peaked. Black and red lightning swirled around his towering frame as his crimson eyes gleamed, golden hair billowing wildly—
He swung his naginata!
The atmosphere itself shattered. The combined might of the Gura Gura no Mi and his Haki fused into a single blazing red slash that tore straight forward!
Blinding white light engulfed everything.
Only after that came the earth-shaking roar, as if the world itself had split in two.
If someone were watching from the sky, they'd see a scene that would chill them to the core:
A massive white shockwave spiraled outward from the point of impact, obliterating everything in its path. In less than a breath, it devoured the land for dozens of kilometers in every direction!
The blast wave surged into the heavens!
The gale flattened every tree on the island, cracking the earth and sending boulders flying.
Along the shoreline, everyone fighting recoiled in horror, diving for cover—some dropping flat to the ground, others raising their arms in panic to shield themselves from the onrushing storm. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
The deafening explosion pierced their ears, leaving them dizzy and disoriented...
It was impossible to tell how much time had passed.
Maybe it felt like a century. Maybe only seconds. But the colossal vortex of energy slowly drew inward, fading into nothing.
Dust and debris hung suspended in the air. Everyone stared wide-eyed, as if witnessing the unimaginable.
Many of the Whitebeard Pirates gasped aloud.
Before them lay a massive, seemingly endless crater—barren, lifeless.
The lush jungle that had once filled this part of the island was gone, replaced by desolate earth.
Even the towering mountains, hundreds of meters tall, had vanished entirely.
It was as if some divine being had sliced away a portion of the world itself.
The land fell into dead silence.
Three towering figures still stood where they had struck, their hands hanging loosely by their sides, motionless.
White steam curled up from their scorched bodies.
Marco clenched his teeth, transforming into his phoenix form in a flash and soaring through the sky toward the blast zone.
The others quickly reacted and followed.
When they arrived, they finally got a clear look at the state of the three...
It couldn't have been worse.
Daren and Bullet were covered head to toe in wounds, their skin split open and blood dripping nonstop, as if they were walking corpses made of blood.
Their breathing was weak, their energy completely drained.
In contrast, Whitebeard was clearly in better shape—aside from his blood-soaked hands gripping his naginata, his body showed no major injuries.
"Damn it! Kill those two bastards!!"
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates, seeing this, burned with killing intent. Weapons were already in their hands as they prepared to charge at Daren and Bullet.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...
One after another, figures appeared in front of Daren and Bullet—Doflamingo and the other Shichibukai stepped in, forming a wall to block them.
After the brutal battle earlier, both sides were now on guard against each other's strength. The air grew tense, the scene locked in a deadlock.
Just then, Daren's lips moved faintly. In a raspy voice, he said,
"Take down the birdcage."
He struggled to lift his head, his blood-streaked face pale as he forced his heavy eyelids open.
Doflamingo froze for a moment, then followed the order without question.
As the massive white birdcage that had enveloped the entire island slowly dissolved into the sky, a collective sigh of relief rippled through the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Well then... let's call it a day."
Daren glanced at Whitebeard, who remained expressionless and silent, then suddenly grinned, baring his bloodstained teeth.
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