In the depths of the dark forest, Kaito sat calmly on the branch of a towering tree. Beneath him, not far away, a pair of scarlet beast eyes glowed like lanterns in the shadows, fixed firmly on his figure.
Kaito paid them no attention. His gaze remained lifted toward the distance, patiently waiting for Whitebeard's arrival.
Once this battle with Whitebeard was over, the decisive clash with the Marines would begin the day after tomorrow. When that time came, the New World would truly fall under his control. After that, he would move to contact the Revolutionary Army. His thoughts flowed steadily as he planned several steps ahead.
Just then, a towering figure stepped into the forest from beyond the trees.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The instant Whitebeard entered, several black shadows burst from the jungle, charging straight toward him.
Whitebeard swung his naginata once. White ripples of power spread outward, and violent shockwaves tore through the air. The charging beast shadows exploded midair, reduced to blood mist that splattered across the ground.
After casually dealing with them, Whitebeard continued forward as if he had brushed aside nothing more than dust.
He stopped beneath the tree and looked up, laughter booming through the forest.
"Gurararara! Kaito, this old man is here!"
Kaito looked down at him, his tone calm and measured.
"There is no real need for us to fight. You already know your condition is no longer at its peak. Your body is riddled with old injuries, and in your current state, you are not my opponent."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"The outcome is already decided. Why insist?"
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard laughed proudly, gripping his naginata. "Do not underestimate this old man. Come on. Show me your strength."
Kaito let out a quiet sigh. He had already known this battle could not be avoided.
With a smooth motion, he flipped down from the branch. Thunder crackled through the air as dark lightning gathered in his hand, condensing into a long spear forged entirely of black thunder.
In the next instant, he vanished, rushing straight toward Whitebeard.
Whitebeard met him head-on.
Clang!
A deep metallic collision echoed through the forest as the thunder spear slammed against the naginata. The resulting shockwave exploded outward, ravaging everything within kilometers.
From the very first exchange, neither held back.
Kaito's spear swept forward, thrusting with the force of a charging dragon. Whitebeard countered with sweeping slashes of his naginata, shockwaves tearing through the air in violent arcs.
Clang! Clang!
They became blurs of motion, spear and naginata colliding relentlessly. Sparks flew with every impact, the deafening sounds overlapping endlessly.
Like two walking natural disasters, everything in their path was annihilated. Trees were uprooted, the ground shattered, and the surrounding terrain was torn apart as though plowed by invisible claws.
The fierce beasts lurking nearby were caught in the crossfire, reduced to blood mist by the residual force of the clash. Even retreating steps left deep craters in the earth, and broken trees collapsed with thunderous crashes.
This was no ordinary battle. It was the collision of two calamities in human form.
In mere moments, nearly a quarter of the so-called Abyss of Death had been reduced to barren, ruined land.
Roars echoed from the distance as surviving beasts fled in terror. Their instincts screamed danger far louder than reason ever could. As the weaker creatures scattered, the battlefield was left to the two titans alone.
"Gurararara! Wonderful! Kaito! It has been a long time since the old man fought like this!" Whitebeard laughed, his excitement unmistakable.
"You are still underestimating me," Kaito replied calmly.
He clenched his fist. Immense power gathered within it, distorting the air until it felt thick and heavy.
A crescent-shaped shockwave rushed toward him, but Kaito stepped forward and threw a single punch. The force erupted like a falling meteor, shattering the incoming attack into fragments.
"Gurararara! The warm-up is over!" Whitebeard's eyes gleamed. "Now the real battle begins!"
He vanished in a flash, appearing before Kaito in an instant. His naginata was wrapped in blinding white energy as he swung it down with overwhelming force.
"The Tremor Fruit," Kaito muttered, his eyes narrowing.
He raised his thunder spear to meet the strike. At the same time, his pupils shifted to a deep scarlet.
A massive dark-blue skeletal armor formed around him, solid and imposing, shielding him completely.
Clang!
The moment their weapons collided, the white energy erupted violently.
Crack! Crack!
The sound was like glass shattering. Fractures spread rapidly through the air itself, racing along the spear and crashing into Kaito.
Boom!
The thunder spear held for a brief moment before being torn apart by the shockwave. The residual force slammed directly into the skeletal armor surrounding Kaito.
Cracks spread across it instantly.
The ground beneath them flipped and collapsed, forming a massive crater nearly a hundred meters wide.
The power of a single strike was terrifying.
Kaito stepped out from the crater unharmed, his expression unchanged. The skeletal armor faded away, restored to nothing, while a trace of admiration flickered in his eyes.
As expected of Whitebeard. One blow had shattered his thunder spear and cracked his defense. The Tremor Fruit truly lived up to its reputation as the strongest Paramecia.
"Gurararara! That armor of yours is tough," Whitebeard said, laughing heartily. "Even I could not break it."
Then his expression turned serious.
"As expected of the man who forced the Marines to mobilize everything they had, only to return empty-handed."
Kaito's eyes widened slightly. That incident had caused immense turmoil, yet it had never been officially revealed. The Marines must have worked hard to suppress the information.
Whitebeard knowing about it meant his intelligence network ran far deeper than Kaito had anticipated.
"Since you know that," Kaito replied calmly, "you should also understand this is about more than victory. It is about pride."
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard roared. "World's strongest or not does not matter to me. What I want is my own pride."
He lifted his naginata, muscles tensing as overwhelming power erupted from his body.
"No matter the outcome, if I fall, Marco and the others will submit to you. That is my condition. Now show me everything you have."
A terrifying aura surged outward, sweeping across the entire island like a raging tide. The wind howled violently, black clouds gathering overhead as the sky darkened.
Beasts below the Rear Admiral level collapsed unconscious. Stronger ones trembled, barely able to stand. Only the truly powerful remained upright.
This was Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki.
Its pressure was immense, even aggressive, pressing directly against Kaito.
Kaito murmured with a faint smile. "As expected of Whitebeard."
He straightened, his expression sharpening.
"Conqueror's Haki," he said softly. "I have it too."
The smile on his face widened slightly.
"Let us see whose will truly stands above all."
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