On the deserted island, Rimuru stared at Whitebeard across the field and said,
"I'm coming now, so be careful!"
"Bring it on!" Whitebeard declared, standing tall and proud with his bisento, Murakumogiri, in hand.
Rimuru channeled his magic, pushing off the ground with force. At the same time, he released a surge of energy behind him, using the recoil to rocket toward Whitebeard.
"Good!" Whitebeard shouted, swinging his massive weapon at Rimuru.
Rimuru quickly redirected his magic output, narrowly dodging the slash. In the same motion, he drew the sword from his back and lunged at Whitebeard.
"Fast reflexes!" Whitebeard was surprised—his Observation Haki had locked onto Rimuru the entire time.
"Armament!" he called out. Just as Rimuru's sword was about to hit, a dark coating of Armament Haki covered Whitebeard's body.
The strike did no damage. Rimuru instantly flared his magic and leapt back, but Whitebeard was no slouch either—his bisento had already swung again.
Rimuru's left arm was severed. Yet, he showed no reaction, simply putting distance between them.
"Rimuru, are you okay?" Whitebeard looked concerned. He'd assumed Rimuru could block that strike—this wasn't what he intended.
Wait a second… something was off. He looked at Rimuru's arm and realized it had turned into a blue, gelatinous mass, flowing back to his body and regenerating the limb. Even his clothes were untouched.
The onlookers aboard the ship were stunned.
"Is that… Logia-type Devil Fruit elementization?" someone asked.
"Absolutely not," Marco said firmly, eyes locked on the scene. "Dad used Haki just now—Logia powers wouldn't have worked."
"What kind of ability is that?" Whitebeard narrowed his eyes. "It's not elementization, and it resists Haki?"
"I'm a slime!" Rimuru said, waving his now-restored hand. "I'm immune to physical attacks, you know!"
"Immune to physical attacks?" Whitebeard's body began crackling with white lightning—he was serious now.
"In this world, there's no such thing as an invincible defense. If something can't be broken, the attack just isn't strong enough."
"Quake Slash!"
Whitebeard slashed forward. A massive wave of force, imbued with destructive energy, surged toward Rimuru.
Rimuru raised his left hand to meet the attack head-on.
"Devour."
As soon as the quake energy touched his palm, it was absorbed like water down a drain.
"Thanks for the meal!" Rimuru smiled sweetly at Whitebeard.
"You little brat…" Whitebeard growled. "Next up, don't start crying!"
He tossed aside Murakumogiri and charged. From Rimuru's abilities, he knew ranged or slashing attacks were useless—he'd have to teach this slime a lesson with his fists.
Seeing Whitebeard rush in, Rimuru grinned.
"Don't underestimate me, old man! I've got plenty of power too!"
He sheathed his sword and charged as well.
Two fists—one massive, one small—clashed with an explosive boom. The island trembled, the ground cracked, and tidal waves surged across the ocean.
"What terrifying strength," Marco muttered, goosebumps rising. "What are kids eating these days?"
But jokes aside, he quickly issued a command.
"All crew, fall back! Move now unless you want to get caught in that!"
Unbeknownst to Marco, Whitebeard was even more shocked—he was being overpowered. In terms of raw strength, Rimuru was stronger!
Rimuru, too, was surprised. Ever since acquiring the Spatial Body, no one had ever been able to match him in a direct brawl. True, he hadn't fully activated it this time, but still—this was intense!
Both fighters were now fully engaged. Punch after punch landed, shrouded in shockwaves and magic.
Whitebeard's body was cloaked in powerful Armament Haki, his fists packed with quake force. Rimuru's entire form burned with magic, forming a glowing armor of energy. Each of his punches was fueled by massive magical output.
The crew captains watching from afar couldn't even see the combatants, but their Observation Haki let them sense the battle.
"Captain, how's it going in there?" asked a few crew members who lacked Observation Haki.
"Not great for Dad," Bista said grimly.
"Rimuru has some invisible layer around him," Marco explained. "It's completely nullifying Dad's attacks—even the quake vibrations aren't getting through."
"What!? He blocked the quake force!?"
All the commanders were stunned. That was impossible.
Whitebeard's quake powers were known to be unstoppable. They could bypass even the strongest Armament Haki and destroy from the inside. Not even Logia powers could ignore it. And yet—Rimuru was completely unharmed?
"That's magic armor," a voice cut in—it was Ranga, who had been silent for some time.
"You can talk!?" Marco's eyes bulged.
"Why wouldn't I be able to?" Ranga snapped. "I'm the leader of the Ranga Wolf Tribe. Even low-level monsters can talk. What kind of backwater humans are you?"
"Uh… right. Anyway," Marco said awkwardly, rubbing his temple. "So what's this magic armor thing?"
Talking wolf? Whatever, I've seen weirder.
"Magic armor is a high-level magical technique invented by Lord Rimuru," Ranga explained. "It uses raw magic to cancel out damage. As long as he doesn't run out of magic, nothing can hurt him."
"Magic!?" Marco stared blankly, completely lost.
Magic? Did this guy walk onto the wrong set? This is One Piece, not some fantasy RPG!
Suddenly, a deafening boom echoed from the battlefield...