That overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki pressed down with unrivaled force, crushing every inch of air on the deck until it felt unbearably heavy.
The Moby Dick groaned under the weight of that monstrous energy.
Lucian Thorn could feel it clearly—the deck beneath his feet was trembling ever so slightly.
This… this is the power of a seventy-year-old man, sick and burdened with disease?
"Pops."
Lucian's voice rang unusually clear in the suffocating air.
"It's too cramped here. If we fight, we'll destroy this ship."
He raised a hand, pointing toward a black silhouette outlined in moonlight far on the horizon.
It was a deserted island.
"We'll go there."
"Yes, Pops!" Marco immediately echoed.
"On the island! Otherwise every brother on board will wake up!"
The last thing he wanted was to see half the Moby Dick sinking by morning.
Whitebeard slammed Murakumo Giri down onto the deck with a deep thud.
He never glanced at the island—his eyes stayed locked on Lucian, and that wild grin widened even further.
"Gu ra ra ra ra! Good!"
The moment the words fell, his massive body sank slightly—then shot into the air like a cannonball, carving a visible white trail as he flew straight toward the island!
The terrifying force of his leap depressed the sea beneath him!
"Keep up, Lucian!"
Leaving only those words, Marco's body erupted into blazing blue phoenix fire. His wings beat once, carrying him as a streak of azure light after his father.
Lucian didn't reply.
Muscles tightened, Armament Haki coated his legs, and with a sharp stomp—
BOOM!
He launched forward like an arrow loosed, skimming across the sea surface and leaving a long trail of foaming white behind him.
…
The barren, rocky island.
All three arrived almost simultaneously.
Whitebeard's massive figure landed in the center, the ground beneath his feet instantly fracturing.
Marco reverted to human form, dropping tens of meters behind, expression grim, ready to intervene at any moment.
Lucian stopped a hundred meters in front of Whitebeard.
No wasted words.
The moment his feet touched ground, the battle had already begun!
Whitebeard didn't even move. He simply raised his colossal right fist, slow but unstoppable.
WUMMM—!
A white glow, like a spherical glass barrier, wrapped around his fist.
The air itself warped violently.
And then—he didn't aim for Lucian. Instead, he casually punched the empty ground beside him.
CRACK—!
A sound like the world itself being torn apart!
Not noise. The scream of space itself!
A spiderweb of white cracks appeared in midair, spreading outward in an instant!
The moment Whitebeard lifted his arm, Lucian's Observation Haki screamed its sharpest warning!
Every muscle in his body reacted instinctively—his figure blurred, vanishing sideways at the last instant!
RUMBLE—!
The ground where he had stood, and dozens of meters around it, shattered into dust beneath the invisible quake, collapsing into a gaping pit!
And it didn't end there.
The shockwave surged forward—relentless, unstoppable!
Lucian didn't just dodge.
He gathered every shred of the faint quake force he had recently grasped, channeling it into his right fist. Meeting the edge of the shockwave, he punched out!
BANG!
The two forces, same in nature but worlds apart in strength, collided. An irresistible backlash surged through Lucian's arm, yet he used it to propel himself further back, landing safely another hundred meters away.
He had shed more than ninety percent of the damage.
And in that moment—
A blue interface only he could see lit up before his eyes.
[Edward Newgate Analysis Progress: 81.33%!]
It worked!
Wild joy surged in Lucian's chest. Facing death directly—this truly was the fastest way to increase analysis!
"Gu ra ra ra… not bad!"
Whitebeard's battle-lit eyes glimmered with genuine approval.
No more testing.
He drew Murakumo Giri from his back, both hands gripping its long shaft. The quake sphere expanded, wrapping the massive blade entirely.
"Try this one!"
With a booming shout, he swung down.
WUMMM—!
A colossal half-moon shockwave tore from the blade, ripping apart everything in its path—air, stone, it mattered not.
There was no angle left to dodge.
Lucian's pupils contracted to pinpoints.
No retreat.
Planting his feet deep into the ground, he crossed his arms before his chest. Supreme Armament Haki burst forth, coating him in a thick, black armor.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The half-moon impact slammed into his arms.
In that instant, it felt as if a mountain range had slammed into him head-on.
His feet gouged trenches into the ground as he was hurled backward, arm bones creaking to the brink of shattering.
But—he held.
[Edward Newgate Analysis Progress: 87.50%!]
Blood spattered from his lips, but his face twisted into a wild grin.
"Again, Pops!"
"Gu ra ra ra ra ra!"
Whitebeard's answer was laughter—laughter filled with the thrill of battle—and another surge of destructive attacks!
A punch!
A kick!
A swing of the blade!
The island itself began to collapse under the assault of the world's strongest man.
The earth split, boulders turned to dust, waves soared a hundred meters high!
And Lucian was the tiny skiff at the storm's eye—dodging, blocking, enduring wave after wave.
Each clash, each blow that sent him flying closer to death, drove the data in his vision higher.
[Analysis Progress: 91.10%!]
[Analysis Progress: 94.68%!]
[Analysis Progress: 97.25%!]
…
Meanwhile, aboard the Moby Dick.
The unprecedented shaking threw every sleeping crewman from their bunks.
"What's happening?!"
"An earthquake?!"
"No—it's a tsunami!"
Cabin doors flew open. Division commanders and crewmates alike rushed to the deck, faces pale.
Out at sea, waves rose unnaturally high, as though a primordial monster stirred beneath the depths.
"Look! That island!"
Jozu's sharp eyes caught it first, his shout carrying across the deck.
Every gaze followed his finger.
And what they saw—they would never forget.
The island was collapsing.
At its core, the towering figure of Pops himself.
And opposite him—a smaller figure locked in battle.
"That… that's… Lucian?!"
"Am I dreaming? Lucian's fighting Pops?!"
"Impossible!"
The deck went still, every mind frozen.
Just as several hot-headed captains prepared to rush toward the island, a blazing blue figure descended before them.
Marco.
"Back to your cabins!"
His voice was sharper than ever before.
"But Marco! Lucian's in danger!" Rakuyo shouted anxiously.
"This is Pops teaching him!"
Marco's eyes swept the crowd, his excuse ready.
"No one is allowed to interfere! That's Pops' order!"
Pops' order.
Those three words silenced every protest.
Confused, shocked, the men could only retreat, glancing back again and again.
Soon, only Marco remained on deck.
Staring at the island, trembling at the battle's aftershocks, sweat rolled down his face.
Teaching?
This isn't teaching.
This is tearing the island apart!
…
On the island.
Lucian dropped to one knee, gasping, blood soaking him. The ground beneath was nothing but shattered rubble.
Before him, Whitebeard still stood tall, only slightly short of breath.
"Boy… can you still stand?"
Lucian lifted his head, wiped the blood from his mouth, and smiled—tired but radiant.
In his sight, crimson warnings flashed.
[Warning! Analysis Progress has reached 99.80%! Critical threshold imminent!]
[Final data collection in progress… prepare to endure the last strike!]
With the last of his strength, he forced himself upright.
"Pops…"
"One last move!"
"With everything you've got!"
Whitebeard's golden eyes blazed, his grin feral.
"Gu ra ra ra ra! As you wish!"
He raised his right fist high. The quake sphere contracted to its limit, glowing with annihilation strong enough to shake the world.