The moment Whitebeard and Rosinante vanished from the Moby Dick simultaneously, everyone aboard was stunned.
But before they could even recover from their shock, a heaven-shaking explosion suddenly erupted from the distant uninhabited island.
Following the deafening blast, violent tremors spread outward from the island. Massive waves surged across the sea, and even from this distance, everyone aboard the Moby Dick could clearly feel two overwhelming powers colliding against each other.
"It's Pops and the Dragon King!" Thatch exclaimed.
"They're going all out from the start… I wonder if Pops is alright," Marco said with concern.
"Don't worry," Makuguy replied confidently. "That's Pops, the world's strongest man. In a one-on-one fight, even Kaido isn't necessarily his opponent."
"You can't underestimate him," Marco said seriously. "That's the Dragon King. Even ten years ago, his strength wasn't inferior to Kaido's — or even Pops'. Pops already said it himself: the Marines feared Rosinante more than they feared the Whitebeard Pirates. And that's not an exaggeration. Back then, to deal with the Dragon King, the Marines mobilized all three Admirals, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Hero Vice Admiral Garp, and even the Commander-in-Chief of the World Government. That alone shows how much importance the Marines placed on him."
Hearing Marco's words, all the pirate captains aboard were deeply shaken.
Each one of those names alone was enough to make pirates tremble in fear.
The Three Admirals were already known as the Navy's greatest combat force, yet even Sengoku, Garp, and the Commander-in-Chief himself had been deployed as well.
Any one of those figures appearing alone could shake the entire sea.
"How come we've never heard about something this huge before?" the Ice Witch asked in confusion.
"At the time, Rosinante had been invited to Marine Headquarters to attend the Admirals' promotion ceremony," Katakuri explained calmly. "No one expected the Marines to ambush him during such an event. Naturally, the World Government did everything possible to erase all information about it afterward. They also mobilized nearly all their resources to wipe Rosinante's existence from history. Most newcomers on the seas today probably haven't even heard the name Rosinante before."
The pirate captains were shocked once again.
The World Government's efforts alone showed just how deeply they feared Rosinante.
"After that battle, was the Dragon King heavily injured?" Makuguy asked. "Otherwise, why would he disappear for ten whole years?"
"We don't know the exact details," Katakuri replied. "The only member of the Gray Kingdom who witnessed that battle directly was the commander of the Oathblood Guards, Bins. After the war, he brought Rosinante back, but he himself was captured by the Marines and imprisoned in Impel Down. As for Rosinante, there were no fatal injuries on his body. The only issue was that he never regained consciousness and remained in a coma. Judging from what he said earlier, his soul had likely been exiled from this world by some strange Devil Fruit ability."
"Zehahaha!"
"No matter how much you glorify him, the Dragon King was still a loser in the end," Blackbeard Teach suddenly said from behind them.
"If he had been smarter, he never would've gone to Marine Headquarters alone and given the Navy the chance to surround him."
"If he hadn't gone," Katakuri replied coldly after glancing at Teach, "then he wouldn't have been the Dragon King. Besides, at that point the Gray Kingdom's growth had already reached the stage where the World Government had no choice but to wage war."
"Zehahaha!"
"Maybe," Teach laughed. "But if he hadn't disappeared back then… the seas today might look completely different."
Though he laughed loudly, there was a strange complexity hidden deep within his eyes.
Meanwhile, the tremors from the island became increasingly violent.
The battle between Whitebeard and Rosinante continuously stirred gigantic waves across the sea.
Fortunately, the Moby Dick was enormous enough to withstand the constant impact of the surging tides. A smaller ship would likely have capsized long ago.
"This is bad," Jozu said with a serious expression. "The battle between Pops and the Dragon King is getting too intense. If this continues, even we'll be affected. I'm not sure the Moby Dick can endure it."
"For now, it's fine," Marco replied. "But Pops and the Dragon King are only warming up right now. Once they truly start fighting seriously… it'll become a catastrophe. At that point, even staying here will be dangerous."
Hearing Marco's words, everyone aboard became grim.
After all, Whitebeard possessed the power said to destroy the world itself.
Once the Gura Gura no Mi was unleashed at full strength, it was no joke.
Earthquakes, tsunamis, even shattered space itself—
That was Whitebeard's true power.
"After ten years of inactivity, your strength really has weakened quite a bit, Rosinante!" Whitebeard laughed loudly as he swung his bisento down toward Rosinante.
He hadn't even used his Devil Fruit ability yet.
Yet this casual slash alone distorted the air itself, vacuuming away everything beneath the blade.
"Clang!"
Rosinante raised an arm and blocked the strike head-on.
But his arm trembled slightly from the impact.
"What a monster…" Rosinante said excitedly, his expression serious but filled with exhilaration.
Yes—
Exhilaration.
Ever since returning from the Naruto world, although this body was weaker than it had been ten years ago, the addition of chakra and countless secret techniques had pushed his combat power to the absolute peak of this world.
Very few people remained capable of forcing him to fight seriously.
Whitebeard was one of them.
At least, Whitebeard before old age completely consumed him.
The moment Rosinante met Whitebeard again, he had already decided—
Before Whitebeard truly grew old and weak, he wanted one genuine battle against the world's strongest man.
"Rosinante!" Whitebeard roared while raising his bisento again.
"If this is all the strength you have left, then this battle will be boring!"
"Show me your full power!"
As Whitebeard swung his weapon once more, waves of white light began spreading across the blade.
Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi power—
Had finally activated.
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