Sai dou kai xin the battle begins.
In an instant, a dense fog swallowed the entire island. The world seemed to vanish into a thick shroud of shifting mist, obscuring sky, sea, and earth alike. From within that smothering white haze came the sound of heavy, measured breathing.
Newgate stood at the heart of the fog, his massive frame like a mountain. Yet instead of worry, a fierce grin tugged at the corners of his lips.
"Gurararara! You brat, this trick of yours… it's actually getting interesting!"
He could feel it the sharpness of his Observation Haki, usually so keen, was being smothered. It hadn't been completely destroyed like a true "Observation Killer," the kind that shuts the door in your face and refuses to let you see the future. No, Ritter's mist was different. Instead of slamming the door, it simply hid the doorway altogether. If you couldn't even find the door, then naturally, you couldn't peek inside.
From deep within the fog came Ritter's playful, sing-song voice:
"Uncle Newgate, friendly reminder after my fight with Uncle Rayleigh, I cooked up something new. You'd better knock me down quickly, or else…"
A crimson arc sliced out of the mist to his left.
Shhhk!
The blood-forged blade cut clean through the air. Newgate reacted instantly, swinging his massive naginata in a backhand block. But as steel met crimson, the "blade" dispersed into a wisp of bloodied vapor, an illusion with no weight.
The real strike came from behind.
Boom!
The Black Tide greatsword, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, slammed into Newgate's back. The impact sent a tremor through his titanic frame, forcing him two staggering steps forward.
"First cut, Uncle Newgate," Ritter's voice echoed, multiplied by the fog until it seemed to come from everywhere at once.
From afar, the Whitebeard Pirates watched anxiously. Ritter had deliberately opened the "permissions" of his mist, allowing them to see without getting swallowed by the illusion.
Marco's pupils tightened. "Father's Observation Haki… he's losing the edge. Ritter's grown even stronger."
But Whitebeard only grinned wider, jamming his naginata into the earth.
"Quake Release!"
The air itself shattered like glass. Tremors rolled outward in a catastrophic wave, splitting the fog apart in a single violent sweep.
BOOOOM!
The entire island convulsed, ridges cracking, trees splintering. A gash opened through the fog, a temporary clearing in the suffocating haze. Newgate surged through the opening, his body a blur of raw strength and battle lust only to find himself surrounded on all sides.
Three Ritters stepped out of the fog, blades raised in unison.
"Take this, Uncle Newgate!" the three voices cried in chorus.
Illusion? No the weight of their killing intent was real.
Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki exploded outward as he coated his entire body in Armament. His naginata swept in a massive arc.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
All three Ritters were cut down in a single sweep, their bodies collapsing into formless blood mist that melted back into the fog.
The real Ritter had never stopped moving.
"Fog God Style Silence!"
A blade tip slashed across Newgate's calf. Blood welled, only to be devoured instantly by the surrounding mist. The haze coiled hungrily, trying to invade his body.
"Second cut, Uncle. Your Observation Haki… not so sharp anymore, huh?"
Newgate roared with laughter. "You think too lightly of me, brat!"
His muscles bulged as he channeled both quake power and Conqueror's Haki into his naginata.
"Sky Splitter!"
Craaaack!
The heavens themselves shattered, fissures racing across the sky as if the world were breaking apart. The sheer force blew the mist away in an enormous clearing, exposing Ritter for a heartbeat.
The young swordsman crossed his greatsword before him, bracing against the shockwave.
Ding!
The clash hurled him backward into a heap of shattered stone. His arms ached, and blood dripped from the corner of his lips but his grin only widened.
Uncle Newgate had indeed found a method to resist him. But even so, in this era, there wasn't a single man alive who could end Ritter in a single strike. Not when his fog allowed him to vanish, to shield, to counter.
Even Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world, would have to fight for days to break him.
The fog began to gather again, creeping back across the battlefield like a living tide. Ritter pulled himself from the rubble, his eyes blazing with anticipation.
"Uncle Newgate, that was only round three. And come on wasn't it obvious? With me sucking this stuff up like a straw, you're never going to grind me down that easily."
He plunged the Black Tide into the ground.
"Fog God Style Final Act: Blood Prison Scroll!"
The world darkened.
The island dissolved into a nightmare realm. Blood-red warriors stepped out of the mist one after another, each holding a black greatsword identical to Ritter's.
Though Newgate could sense the illusions, their blades had weight. Their killing intent was suffocating.
Daylight vanished. The sky warped into a crimson moon, glaring down upon a battlefield drowned in corpses. The air stank of blood.
Whitebeard tilted his head back, laughing like a man possessed.
"Gurararara! A weaker man would've gone mad from this sight already. But me? This is fun!"
Ritter waved his hand, and the blood warriors grew translucent. Yet Newgate could still feel their presence, lingering, oppressive.
From the fog Ritter emerged, each step deliberate. His figure solidified before the pirate titan. With a courteous bow, he said softly:
"Uncle Newgate welcome to my world."
And then he dissolved back into mist.
Whitebeard stood amidst mountains of corpses beneath the blood moon, his naginata gleaming cold under its crimson light. His grin widened.
"You brat… you think you can scare me with theatrics?"
Ritter's low laugh echoed through the blood-soaked realm.
"Oh no, Uncle. This is just the beginning."
The ground trembled.
From the crimson mud, countless blood warriors clawed their way free, their bodies wrapped in black-red lightning, their eyes glowing scarlet. They lifted their blades without a word, surging toward Whitebeard like a tidal wave.
"Good! Come then!" Whitebeard bellowed, his naginata sweeping wide.
"Quake Release Mountain Breaker!"
BOOOOM!
The shockwave crushed hundreds of warriors into mist. But as quickly as they dispersed, the mist reformed, their shapes coalescing once again.
Even with all his caution, Whitebeard took cuts. Invisible blades and hidden assassins lurked within the army, their attacks slipping past his guard.
"Gurarara… now that's troublesome."
He could feel it. His stamina was being leached away. The more time he spent inside this realm, the more Ritter's corruption ate at his Haki.
His eyes sharpened. "So that's it. The longer I stay in this world, the stronger your fog's corruption becomes."
Ritter's mocking voice rolled across the battlefield:
"Bingo. Uncle Newgate, you catch on fast. But this isn't about how many illusions you cut down. This is about time. And time… is always on my side."
Newgate changed tactics, slamming his quake power into the ground.
"Seaquake Earth Roar!"
The entire scarlet world convulsed, the ground splitting into chasms that swallowed legions of blood warriors whole.
Seizing the moment, Whitebeard leapt high, his naginata raised toward the blood moon.
"Then I'll smash your whole damn world!"
A golden slash ripped skyward, aimed at the crimson moon itself.
But before it struck, Ritter appeared in its path, his greatsword locking against Whitebeard's.
"Whoa, whoa! Uncle Newgate, flipping the whole table? Not allowed!"
The collision unleashed a blast that scoured the battlefield clean, forcing the blood mist to scatter for an instant.
Whitebeard grinned. "Got you, brat!"
Blood dripped from Ritter's lips, but his grin was feral, unbroken.
"No, Uncle… it's you I've caught."
And as he spoke, his blade slid deeper, blood mist coiling tighter around the strongest man in the world.
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