"It's been a long time since I've seen Admiral Kizaru take things seriously…"
Kuzan, standing nearby, didn't attack Shanks despite the distraction.
To him—who had only joined the Marines in his twenties—Borsalino had always been a senior.
By the time Kuzan was just a rookie, Kizaru had already achieved the rank of Vice Admiral through sheer strength and merit.
In fact, he had been promoted even earlier than Sengoku.
Back then, Kuzan could only look up to him with admiration.
But just as Kuzan grew into his own, Borsalino seemed to fade into laziness—a man who had become a mere salary thief in the eyes of many.
Now, at last, Kuzan could see a glimpse of the Borsalino of old.
It left him feeling deeply nostalgic.
"Fuffuffuffu… No wonder even a monster like Kaido was wary of him."
Doflamingo barely even looked at the pirates he was manipulating, forcing them to butcher each other like puppets.
Not that it mattered. The battlefield was already so chaotic that even if he openly sabotaged the Marines, no one would notice.
And compared to a certain swordsman who wasn't even bothering to fight, Doflamingo felt he was more than earning his title as a Warlord.
"Admiral Borsalino… The ultimate speed, huh? A truly troublesome swordsman."
Mihawk's sharp eyes never left Kizaru.
Like Shanks, Mihawk had set sail after Roger's era had already ended, so he had never witnessed Kizaru's peak firsthand.
Until now, Mihawk hadn't even realized that Kizaru was a top-tier swordsman.
His weapon wasn't a traditional blade, but Mihawk could tell—Kizaru's swordsmanship was every bit as refined as his own.
"Heehihihi! Keep fighting! Go all out!"
Moriah grinned hungrily, eyes locked onto Whitebeard and Kizaru.
If those two monsters killed each other…
It would be perfect.
Their corpses would make the strongest zombies in history!
Forget Oars and Little Oars Jr.—they were nothing compared to these two.
If he could get even one of their bodies, he'd gladly give up all the others he had collected.
And while the world watched in awe, the battle between Kizaru and Whitebeard reached its peak.
"Flash Blade: Godspeed Slash!"
Kizaru's body blurred into golden light, zipping around Whitebeard at incomprehensible speed.
Each time he briefly materialized, a deep, bone-revealing wound was left on Whitebeard's flesh.
Yet, Whitebeard didn't even flinch.
His massive hands gripped Murakumogiri tightly, his Observation Haki sharpened to its limits.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the one opening he needed to land a killing blow.
To the others, it looked like a clash between two supreme warriors.
But Whitebeard alone understood the terrifying truth—
Kizaru, who seemed to be avoiding direct confrontation, was actually holding back.
"Gurarara! You really wanna make an old man laugh, huh, Borsalino?!"
The blood pooling at Whitebeard's feet spread wider and wider.
If he were at his prime, he wouldn't have needed to care about Kizaru's speed.
With the full power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he could have forced Kizaru to show himself.
But now?
His body could no longer withstand the toll of such wide-scale attacks.
So instead, he tried to provoke Kizaru with words.
"Tsk. Now that's no fun at all…"
Just as Whitebeard had predicted—
Countless beams of light reconverged, forming Borsalino's figure once more.
But this time, his expression was different.
Whitebeard's words had backed him into a corner.
If he didn't take the challenge head-on, it would seem like he was afraid of Whitebeard.
But if he did, then he'd be playing right into Whitebeard's hands.
"Gurararara! If you want the title of 'the strongest,' you've gotta be willing to pay the price!"
Whitebeard knew full well that he had used words to manipulate the situation.
But for a pirate, any tactic that leads to victory is fair game.
If anything, Whitebeard was still holding onto some principles—if it were Roger or any of the other Emperors, they wouldn't have hesitated for a second.
Borsalino, on the other hand?
He couldn't care less about principles.
His morals had long since crumbled away.
But now—he was just one step away from becoming Fleet Admiral.
He didn't mind showing a little more of his true power.
"Well then… are you ready?"
Borsalino casually dismissed the light sword in his hand.
And then—
A nearly tangible aura surged from his body, warping the very space around him.
The ground beneath him cracked apart, shattering tile by tile.
"…What a terrifying man…"
For a brief moment, Whitebeard was stunned.
This wasn't Conqueror's Haki.
This was something more fundamental.
A presence so overwhelming that it distorted reality itself.
If Borsalino's mere presence was this monstrous, then his Conqueror's Haki…?
Elsewhere on the battlefield—
A phantom figure appeared in midair, standing just behind Borsalino.
A young-looking version of Borsalino, clad in a Marine Admiral's coat, his face full of defiant arrogance.
—The Stand, "The Flash."
Borsalino had long surpassed the need for secrecy.
At this stage, revealing a glimpse of his true power wouldn't hurt him.
If anything, it would cement his influence within the Marines.
"Three."
Borsalino raised three fingers.
Before anyone could process what he meant—
BOOM!
Whitebeard's massive body was sent flying like a broken kite.
As Borsalino's own power grew, so too did his Stand's destructive force.
Compared to Kizaru himself, His stand's attacks were just icing on the cake.
But in a fight where the gap in raw strength was insurmountable, even that icing was enough to change everything.
"Pops!"
Marco rushed forward, ignoring everything else.
Not even Garp could stop him this time.
But just as the Phoenix took flight—
An invisible force smashed him out of the sky.
"Borsalino…"
Whitebeard's body was covered in blood.
The previous wounds hadn't been fatal, but the relentless barrage of heavy blows was beginning to push him toward his limit.
"Two."
Borsalino lowered one finger.
All the top-tier warriors present had their eyes wide open, their Observation Haki pushed to its absolute limits.
They needed to know—
How was Borsalino doing this?
BOOM!
It happened again.
Even though Whitebeard was fully focused, even though the strongest warriors on the battlefield were watching closely—
He was struck once more.
And this time, some of them could faintly "see" something.
Something moving, something attacking Whitebeard—
But it was still too fast, too blurred, too beyond comprehension.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Whitebeard is getting demolished by Kizaru…!"
"Pops!!"
The battlefield was in chaos.
No one had ever seen Whitebeard in such a helpless state.
"Cough… cough… damn it…"
Whitebeard spat a mouthful of blood, his face grim.
"…Is it the Clear-Clear Fruit…?"
Nobody expected it.
Even after suffering relentless attacks, even as blood spilled from his mouth with every breath, Whitebeard remained conscious.
Not only that—he was still thinking.
Thinking about how to counterattack.
Due to his age and illness, Whitebeard's Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki had inevitably weakened.
But his Observation Haki?
Still top-tier.
And as the direct target of the Stand's attacks, Whitebeard was actually in the best position to observe Kizaru's Stand.
But 'The Flash' was simply too fast.
Not to mention—it was invisible by nature.
Even with Whitebeard's experience and instincts, he could only barely confirm that he was being attacked by a humanoid figure.
Meanwhile, in the Livestream Chat…
[Random Viewer Who Wants to Ride Luo Feng's Coattails]: Holy sht! HOLY SHT HOLY SHT HOLY SHT! Kizaru is insane! He's literally beating Whitebeard into the ground!
[Random Viewer Who Wants to Ride Luo Feng's Coattails]: So THAT'S what Kizaru's Stand looks like… I'm so jealous. What exactly is its ability…?
[Orochimaru]: So this is the power of Stand Users… intriguing…
[Kobayashi]: Hmmm, do you guys think Stands could help with coding?
[Xiao Mei]: If a Stand could cultivate Dou Qi, wouldn't that be like having an extra clone of yourself?
[Haibara Ai]: Based on what that idiot dog posted about JOJO Part 3… it should be possible. Now that I think about it, a Stand would make a perfect lab assistant…
[Jotaro Kujo]: Being a Stand User isn't as great as you all think. I won't be spreading Stands around.
[Tony Stark]: Hey, what are you guys talking about? What's that mini-Kizaru behind him? What's a Stand?
[Haibara Ai]: You don't know? Well, makes sense—you weren't in the chat when that idiot dog posted the manga. Go check the group space, it should still be there.
[Haibara Ai]: That thing behind Kizaru is a Stand. In Jotaro's world, there are people called Stand Users who can control these entities in battle.
[Tony Stark]: Wow. That sounds pretty badass. I want to stand still and let my Iron Man Stand beat enemies into the ground for me!
[Jotaro Kujo]: Being a Stand User isn't a good thing.
[Random Viewer Who Wants to Ride Luo Feng's Coattails]: Don't be like that, Jotaro. I know you mean well, but other worlds have WAY worse stuff than Stands…
[Random Viewer Who Wants to Ride Luo Feng's Coattails]: I won't even bring up my world, but Kobayashi's world is filled with monsters stronger than Godzilla. Orochimaru's world? Constantly at risk of being invaded by a clan of space aliens called the Otsutsuki…
[Random Viewer Who Wants to Ride Luo Feng's Coattails]: Hell, even Hell Blizzard's world is swarming with monsters trying to wipe out humanity. And don't even get me started on Iron Man's world—he's got a purple dude coming in the future who plans to snap away half the universe. Even Xiao Mei's world has the Soul Clan. Compared to all that, having a Stand is hardly a big deal.
[Tony Stark]: Hey! What do you mean, 'plans to snap away half the universe'?!
[Xiao Mei]: What's the Soul Clan?
[Orochimaru]: Otsutsuki? Heh… that does sound like an old name. So they're aliens, huh? How interesting…
[Haibara Ai]: Wait a second! Why didn't anyone mention my world?! The organization is terrifying too!
[Random Viewer Who Wants to Ride Luo Feng's Coattails]: Pfft… just a glorified mafia group.
[Haibara Ai]: IDIOT DOG!!
[Jotaro Kujo]: …Yare yare daze.
[Hell Blizzard]: Sounds like I might not have it the worst after all…
---
Back on the Battlefield
While the chat was buzzing with excitement, Kizaru had no time for small talk.
"One."
The moment Kizaru lowered his final finger, everyone's eyes widened.
All focus was now on Whitebeard's battered form.
They had to figure out Kizaru's attack method—
Even if they couldn't dodge, they needed to at least know how to defend.
"Got you. Double Quake!"
Whitebeard's Observation Haki reached its absolute peak.
At the very last moment—
He sensed it.
He didn't see the attack.
But he foresaw the exact moment he would be struck.
Pure white light burst from his fists.
He unleashed the full power of his Devil Fruit.
With a thunderous clap, Whitebeard's fists smashed together.
The Quake-Quake Fruit's power exploded.
A massive white sphere expanded outward, stretching hundreds of meters in diameter.
The entirety of Marineford—
Even the ocean itself began to quake violently.
Countless innocent fish met their unfortunate demise.
Even the bloodthirsty Marines and Pirates had no choice but to halt their battle, waiting for the tremors to subside.
But within the core of the quake, the devastation was beyond anything seen before.
Air, ground, everything—shattered.
And when the blinding light faded, all that remained was—
A vast, lifeless crater.
The Quake-Quake Fruit's power had obliterated everything within range.
Even the hardest bedrock had been reduced to fine grains of sand.
°°°
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