Lucian Thorn's body finally moved.
There was no earth-shaking burst of strength.
No lightning-fast evasions.
He simply stepped half a pace to the left—lightly, gently.
Just that simple, small step.
"Whoosh—!"
The cannonball, powerful enough to shatter solid rock, brushed past the tip of his nose as if it had grown eyes of its own. It narrowly missed him and plunged into the sea behind, sending up a towering column of water.
Immediately after—
A second cannonball roared past over his head.
Lucian leaned back slightly, the fierce gust stirred up by the shot tousling his black hair.
The third cannonball aimed for his lower leg.
He merely lifted his foot, evading it with ease.
The fourth, the fifth, the sixth…
Under the stunned gazes of everyone present—
Lucian's every movement was reduced to the bare minimum, yet every dodge was executed with millimeter precision.
Graceful.
As though he wasn't weaving through a storm of cannon fire, but taking a leisurely stroll beneath the moonlight.
Dozens of cannonballs—and not a single one struck him.
When the final cannonball splashed into the sea, raising its last spray of waves—
The entire sea surface fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone was struck dumb by this inhuman display.
On the Marine warship, Vice Admiral Doberman's jaw hung open wide enough to swallow an egg.
The marines beside him rubbed their eyes, doubting their own vision.
"What… what was that?"
"A monster?"
On the Moby Dick, the Whitebeard Pirates were silent as death.
Vista's hand gripped the hilt of his sword so tightly his knuckles whitened.
He prided himself on his swordsmanship and agility, yet even he could not come close to such an unbelievable level.
This was no longer mere technique.
Could it be brief glimpses of the future?
This kid… interesting!
"Gurararara…"
Only Whitebeard, seated on his throne, broke the silence, lips curling into a slow grin as a deep, delighted laugh rumbled from his chest.
Lucian slowly straightened, brushing dust from his sleeve.
He raised his head toward the distant Marine warships, their guns silenced in shock. His gaze remained calm, without the slightest ripple.
"Warm-up's over."
He murmured softly.
The next instant—
He drew in a deep breath, pulled his right leg half a step back, and assumed a classic forward punch stance.
A terrifying aura, indescribable in words, surged up from his body.
"What's he doing?"
"That stance…"
Marco's brow twitched sharply. A familiar feeling surged through him.
Lucian slowly raised his right fist.
There was no coating of Armament Haki's inky black.
No dazzling light effects.
But from the center of his fist, the surrounding air began to emit faint cracks and groans—"crack… crack…"—as though space itself could no longer bear the force about to erupt, splintering inch by inch.
A layer of white halo, like spiderweb cracks across glass, enveloped his fist.
This was the card he had concealed all along, never once revealing it to anyone since exchanging it from the system.
A fragment of the power belonging to the Strongest Man in the World.
[B-Rank · Tremor-Tremor Fruit Mastery]!
"Let's see if you're fit to test the weight of this power."
Lucian's eyes locked onto the flagship in the lead—where Vice Admiral Momonga commanded from its deck.
And then—
At the steel giant hundreds of meters away—
He threw a punch across empty air!
No sound.
No shockwave.
Not even the faintest trace of energy unleashed.
His strike looked as though it had landed on nothing at all, weak and powerless.
The marines blinked, then burst into laughter.
"Ha! What's that kid doing? Punching the air from so far away?"
"Did he lose his mind from fear?"
Yet their laughter lasted less than a second before it died in their throats.
For a clear, glasslike crack rang out, echoing across the sea.
"Crackkkkk—!"
On that colossal Marine flagship—
The solid ironclad bow suddenly sprouted spiderweb cracks!
In the blink of an eye, those cracks spread faster than anyone could comprehend!
One became two, two became four, four became countless!
In the span of a single breath—
The fissures spread across the entire vessel!
From bow to stern, from deck to cabins, from mast to gun ports—
Before the horrified eyes of the marines—
Before the Whitebeard Pirates' stunned stares—
The massive iron warship shattered like porcelain struck by a hammer.
"Boom——!!!"
A thunderous roar split the heavens.
The warship collapsed into fragments—tens of thousands of iron shards exploding outward like a scattering of blossoms, before crashing into the churning sea, raising titanic waves!
The world itself seemed muted.
Every mind went blank.
The sea breeze tugged at Lucian's coat.
He slowly drew back his fist, clasped his hands behind his back, and stood with tranquil indifference.
Behind him, the Moby Dick was utterly silent.
So silent, you could hear a pin drop.
Every crewmember—including Marco, Jozu, and Vista—fixed their eyes upon his not-so-tall silhouette as though they were staring at a god… or a demon.
With a single punch.
From afar.
He had shattered a Marine Headquarters battleship.
Could this truly be the power of a mere rookie?
Out on the sea, Vice Admiral Doberman, soaked to the bone, barely hauled himself onto a floating plank of wood.
He raised his head toward that divine, demonic figure at the ship's prow. The blood drained from his face, leaving only abject terror.
His eyes—like he had seen a ghost.
"Gurararara…"
"Gurararararararara!"
The silence broke at last under the deafening thunder of laughter!
Whitebeard rose from his throne, his gaze brimming with rare pride and satisfaction as he looked upon Lucian's back—and laughed loud and long!
From his heart, pride and joy poured forth!
"Well done! As expected of my son!"
At that very moment—
A cold, mechanical chime rang in Lucian's mind.
[Epic-level emotional fluctuation detected in target: Edward Newgate…]
[Analysis progress +10.0%!]
[Current total analysis progress: 55.92%!]