The moment Rosinante's blade descended, Whitebeard sensed a deadly threat.
There was no logical explanation for it. It was simply the instinct of a man who had fought his entire life. Whitebeard's battle experience had reached an unimaginable level, and in that instant, he made his decision without hesitation.
His bisento spun as he flung it aside, freeing one hand. Then he threw a punch directly into the air before him.
Instantly, the air shattered like glass.
Not only the air—
Even space itself cracked apart.
The Tremor-Tremor Fruit was an emission-type Paramecia. Its power could be released through his bisento, which greatly reduced the damage to his own body. After all, the tremors that destroyed enemies also harmed the user himself, which was why Whitebeard often used his weapon as a medium to unleash the fruit's power.
But using the bisento added an extra step. The tremor force had to be transmitted into the weapon first before being released outward.
That naturally slowed the attack slightly and weakened its destructive power.
Normally, that would not matter.
But when Rosinante's blade came down, Whitebeard instinctively understood something—
If he used the weapon, he would not be able to block that strike.
Whitebeard trusted his instincts absolutely. Those instincts had saved his life countless times.
So he discarded the bisento without hesitation and unleashed a full-powered Air Tremor punch directly.
At this point in time, Whitebeard had not yet become the frail old man from six or seven years later. His strength was still at its peak, and this punch was thrown with all his power.
The force shattered not only the air, but space itself.
At full strength, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit truly shook space apart. During the Summit War in the original story, Whitebeard had been weakened by age, illness, and injury, unable to unleash the fruit's true power, reducing it to merely shattering the atmosphere.
If Whitebeard in his prime had struck Akainu so many times, then no matter how tough Akainu's body was, he would have died long ago.
Otherwise, Whitebeard would never have deserved the title of the World's Strongest Man.
The terrifying tremor force split space itself apart as overwhelming shockwaves crushed toward Rosinante, as if the entire world were collapsing inward upon him. The surrounding environment twisted violently under the pressure.
At the same moment, Rosinante's slash arrived.
Two unimaginable powers collided and detonated instantly.
Everything around them was annihilated.
The entire deserted island began collapsing continuously. More horrifying still, countless cracks spread across the island while the surrounding space itself fractured, twisted, and crumbled apart.
It looked like the apocalypse itself had descended.
Far away aboard the Moby Dick, the Whitebeard Pirates had been worrying because the battle noises had suddenly disappeared.
Some crew members even anxiously suggested going to the island to check, but Marco stopped them.
Because Marco understood—
A battle between Whitebeard and Rosinante was dangerous even to witness from afar.
Then suddenly—
A deafening explosion erupted into the heavens as an incomparably powerful invisible force radiated outward in all directions.
The terrifying shockwave knocked many members of the Whitebeard Pirates flat onto the deck.
When they looked up again, every single one of them stood frozen in shock.
The island where Whitebeard and Rosinante fought was collapsing continuously. Even more terrifying, countless fractures filled the island while the surrounding space itself repeatedly shattered and caved inward.
It was even more horrifying than the end of the world itself.
"Is… is this the apocalypse?" many Whitebeard Pirates, division commanders, and allied pirate captains muttered while swallowing nervously.
Fortunately, none of them had gone to the island earlier.
Otherwise, they would have been facing this nightmare firsthand.
Just imagining it made everyone shudder in fear.
At the same time, they felt both relieved and deeply worried, wondering what state Whitebeard was currently in.
Even members of the Whitebeard Pirates had never witnessed such a terrifying scene before.
"Not good… a tsunami is coming!" Marco's expression became even more serious instead of relaxing.
"Turn the ship around immediately! Get us out of here!" Marco shouted.
"But Pops is still on the island! If we leave, what about him?" someone asked hesitantly.
"Relax," Marco replied firmly. "That's Whitebeard. This level of danger can't stop Pops. We're the ones who'd become a burden if we stay here. If the tsunami hits us, Pops would only have to worry about protecting us too."
A trace of worry flashed through Marco's eyes, but he quickly hid it behind a confident expression.
"That's right! That's Pops!"
"Nothing in this world can stop Whitebeard!"
"Hurry and leave before we become a burden to Pops!"
Hearing Marco's words, everyone's spirits rose again.
Just hearing the name "Whitebeard" made them feel as though nothing in the world was impossible for him.
Though some still hesitated, no one opposed retreating.
Then suddenly—
Someone stared ahead with a deathly pale face.
"T-That… what is that?!"
Everyone looked forward.
A gigantic wave had risen in the distance.
Higher and higher.
Larger and larger.
Until it completely blocked out the sky itself.
It looked as though the ocean had fused with the heavens.
And it wasn't just one wave.
Behind it came another tsunami.
And another.
And another.
"Turn the ship around now!" Marco shouted with a pale expression.
Even he had not expected the tsunami to arrive this quickly or this violently.
"It's useless…" someone collapsed helplessly onto the deck. "There's no way we can escape a tsunami this massive…"
"Are we going to die…?" Even Blackbeard muttered unconsciously.
The monstrous tsunami was about to crash down upon them.
Then, at that exact moment—
Two figures flashed through the air and instantly appeared aboard the Moby Dick.