Cyrus understood very well that, with the sheer amount of Haki he possessed, if he mastered this technique, then within the range of his flame domain, the effectiveness of Logia intangibility would be greatly reduced.
At the very least, the combination of intangibility and Observation Haki, that super evasive technique, would lose much of its usefulness.
And this ability would also allow Cyrus's attack power to rise once again.
He had already mastered Advanced Conqueror's Haki, a high-level method of using Haki, but coating was still something that could only be applied to physical objects.
For example, weapons like swords, or parts of the body such as fists and limbs.
But if even his flames could be coated with it, then he could develop even more attack techniques from there.
Thinking of that, Cyrus looked at Whitebeard with a much more serious gaze.
These old pirates really did have something to them.
Whitebeard was also staring at Cyrus with a grave expression.
Although he did not show it on his face, his body had already begun protesting.
The method Marco had used to suppress his injuries had started to backfire under his full-force use of his Devil Fruit ability.
It was not obvious yet, but Whitebeard knew that the time Marco had spoken of had been greatly shortened.
In that case...
Whitebeard's gaze deepened.
He was not afraid of death.
And if he died in battle against a strong opponent, he would have no regrets.
Thinking that, Whitebeard's eyes became firm.
"Planning to risk your life now?"
Sensing the aura coming from Whitebeard, Cyrus raised an eyebrow.
Even knowing that Whitebeard had made up his mind to fight with his life on the line, Cyrus had no intention of temporarily avoiding him.
There were only a handful of opponents like this on the entire sea.
With that thought, Cyrus grinned, revealing two rows of bright white teeth.
"Careful. I won't be holding back from here on."
Although he said that, Cyrus did not use techniques like the Rising Sun Blade. Instead, he charged straight toward Whitebeard with his sword in hand.
Boom!
Without holding anything back, relying purely on his body and Haki, Cyrus arrived in front of Whitebeard and swung his blade.
The Haki-wrapped sword collided with Murakumogiri, which was surrounded by a white sphere of vibration.
Crack!
Black lightning and white fissures burst out at the same time.
Cyrus's slash was blocked. Using the recoil, his body dropped downward, and the sword in his hand immediately swept upward.
A dark red flying slash burst from the blade and cut toward Whitebeard's chest.
A white sphere wrapped around Whitebeard's fist as he met the slash head-on.
The flying slash was blocked, twisting briefly before shattering apart.
The white sphere split open, and a bloody mark appeared across Whitebeard's fist.
But to Whitebeard, such an injury might as well not exist.
As if sensing Cyrus's intention, Whitebeard withdrew his fist, gripped the handle of his weapon with both hands, and brought it down violently.
Black lightning coiled around Murakumogiri's blade as it cleaved toward Cyrus's head.
"Hahaha, good!"
Seeing this, Cyrus did not dodge.
He gripped his sword with both hands, and his two kinds of Haki surged like flowing air, instantly covering the long blade before he swept it upward.
Boom!
A collision of pure strength and Haki erupted, sending a massive shockwave spreading in every direction.
The impact caused even greater damage than the earlier power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
The shockwave lifted the sea around the island, forming waves over a hundred meters tall that rolled backward into the distance.
The ships on the surrounding sea desperately moved farther away.
Even the Moby Dick, where the battle was raging fiercely, fell silent for an instant.
A hundred-meter wave was already surging toward them. The wave itself had not arrived yet, but the sea had already risen into violent swells.
Before that massive wave, the huge Moby Dick looked like a tiny boat that could capsize at any moment.
The people on the ship temporarily stopped attacking one another and acted together to resist the incoming towering wave.
Meanwhile, the figures of Cyrus and Whitebeard had already become difficult to see clearly.
The weapons in their hands swung so fast that they left countless afterimages.
Yet their weapons only truly collided once after a long interval.
And each time they did, the result was no less destructive than a small-scale natural disaster.
That unlucky island had already completely vanished under the force of their battle.
"You're old, Whitebeard!"
Cyrus twisted his body in midair, and the sword in his hand followed the movement, rapidly carving several wide circles before slashing down toward Whitebeard's head.
Where the blade passed, even space itself seemed to distort.
"Gurarararara! Cyrus brat, if you want my head, come take it yourself!"
Earlier, Whitebeard had still been trying to look after the Moby Dick, wanting to use his ability to push the ship away.
But now, he no longer had the luxury to care.
It had been a long time since he had experienced a battle like this.
His aged body began to burn hot again, as if it had truly returned to the state of his youth.
Clang!
The blade struck the horizontal handle of Murakumogiri.
Whitebeard's body sank sharply, and both of his feet stepped onto the surface of the sea.
The instant his feet touched the water, Whitebeard's body rose abruptly.
Having dominated the sea for so many years, Whitebeard had clearly mastered the technique of fighting on the surface of the ocean.
However, just as his body rose, Cyrus's figure had already closed in before him. Cyrus threw a punch.
The fist was not fast. It did not seem to contain much force, almost as if it were drifting forward lightly.
There was no Haki wrapped around it either.
But the moment that punch landed on Whitebeard's chest, rings of ripples spread from the point of impact.
The iron-hard muscles of Whitebeard's chest seemed to ripple like the surface of water.
Bang!
An explosive boom tore through the air. Whitebeard's six-meter-tall body flew backward, dragging a ring of white smoke with him.
As Whitebeard was sent flying, blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
A clear fist print had appeared on his chest.
"Would this count as hidden force?"
Cyrus did not pursue. Instead, he raised his left fist and looked at it.
Cyrus had not been idle during this period.
He had been constantly thinking about how to improve his strength.
The overall speed of improvement had slowed down, so Cyrus had turned his attention to the abilities he already possessed.
The martial arts from his previous life had also been picked up again.
Of course, when it came to that, Cyrus himself only had a half-understood grasp of things.
But that did not stop him from adding all sorts of messy techniques onto it.
For example, he had transferred the advanced use of Armament Haki, the technique that directly attacked the inside of a target, into his fist techniques.
Even without using Armament Haki, he could achieve something similar.
And that fist technique, combined with Cyrus's terrifying strength and his indestructible body, meant that even without relying on Devil Fruit abilities or Haki, Cyrus's body and raw power alone still placed him among the top powerhouses of the sea.
Boom!
A loud explosion rang out from ahead, followed by the sound of something cracking.
Whitebeard, who had been sent flying, punched the air behind him. The white fissures became almost tangible, giving Whitebeard a place to push off from.
He even had enough strength left to use that force to counterattack.
Whitebeard returned at an even faster speed than he had been knocked away, his fist, larger than Cyrus's head, slamming into Cyrus's chest.
A white sphere appeared the instant his fist struck Cyrus's body.
This time, the one sent flying backward with an explosive blast of air was Cyrus.
"Brat, you got distracted."
After landing a punch on Cyrus, Whitebeard wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and shouted.
"But it didn't do much, did it, Whitebeard?"
Cyrus steadied himself, raised a hand, and tore away the shattered fabric on his chest as he spoke.
There was not a single wound on his chest.
There was not even a red mark where the fist had struck.
Seeing this, the corner of Whitebeard's eye twitched wildly.
Even Charlotte Linlin's Steel Balloon body would not have shrugged off that punch so easily.
But Cyrus...
"What a monster."
"Well, if you're the one saying it, I'll accept that."
Cyrus smiled when he heard that, then his expression turned serious.
"Your body can't withstand the next stage of the fight anymore. But, Whitebeard, you can't die yet."
The moment his voice fell, Cyrus's figure vanished in a flash of fire.
Seeing this, Whitebeard's heart suddenly jumped, and he instinctively turned his head.
Cyrus's body had already appeared behind him. He raised his hand and slapped toward the back of Whitebeard's neck.
"So go down and get some proper rest!"
Boom!
Cyrus's palm struck the back of Whitebeard's powerful neck.
Whitebeard's entire body sank violently, and for one brief instant, even his consciousness went blank.
But his battle instinct made him raise his hand and swing his blade.
Clang!
Cyrus raised his sword and blocked Whitebeard's attack.
Even though Whitebeard counterattacked, it did not stop his body from falling toward the sea below.
"Still forcing yourself?"
Cyrus narrowed his eyes as he watched Whitebeard crash into the ocean.
That punch earlier had already seriously injured Whitebeard's internal organs, yet the man was still pretending nothing had happened.
Although people in this world were monsters on average, and Whitebeard was even more monstrous than most, how could Cyrus not know the power behind that punch?