At the very moment when two powers—alike in origin yet vastly different in intensity—were about to collide…
The aged Whitebeard was abnormally excited!
After being repressed for so long by illness and age, that long-dormant thrill of a true warrior finally stirred again.
It was the excitement of meeting an equal!
Especially when that opponent… was his younger self!
"Gurararara!"
His weathered laugh was no less thunderous than the lightning roar echoing from the other side, but it carried an added weight—an aura forged from years of battle.
"You little brat... so impatient!"
"Let me teach you what it means to respect your elders!"
Before the words even faded—
Two fists, identical in size but belonging to different eras, finally crossed the last sliver of distance.
There was no earth-shattering boom.
No dazzling explosion of light.
The moment the two white energy spheres wrapped in the power of tremors touched—
The entire world fell into an eerie silence.
Sound vanished.
Light distorted.
The air was sucked away, forming an absolute vacuum.
Marco and Lucian Thorn felt a sharp pain pierce their eardrums. It was as if an invisible giant hand clutched their chests. Even standing upright became a struggle.
This suffocating silence lasted for less than a second—
Then…
Destruction descended.
BOOM—CRACK!!!
From the center of the two fists, a blinding white shockwave burst forth in a massive ring, surging outwards in every direction!
Wherever the shockwave passed, the earth rippled violently like the surface of water struck by a stone. It churned, rolled, and then crumbled apart!
Massive ravines, deep and bottomless, erupted outward from the epicenter, tearing through the island below with unstoppable force!
The cliffs beneath them shattered like crackers underfoot. First pulverized to dust, then swept skyward by raging air currents!
"Urgh!"
Marco's blue flames had only just ignited when they were blown apart by the sheer force of the physical impact.
His entire body was flung like a leaf in a storm, spiraling through the air before landing hard—skidding along the fractured earth and carving deep trenches with his feet just to stay upright.
Lucian Thorn reacted just as fast.
As the shockwave hit, he suddenly drove his legs into the ground, the power enhanced by the System anchoring him like a nail.
But even then, he was still dragged back several dozen meters by the unstoppable force, leaving deep grooves in his wake!
Dust billowed. Shattered rocks rained down.
The two of them slowly raised their heads and looked toward the eye of the storm—and in the next second, they were stunned by the sight before them.
It was a scene that shook the soul.
Two identical Whitebeards were engaged in the most primal, savage clash of strength imaginable.
Peak Whitebeard's body bulged with muscle. Veins coiled like dragons along his arms and neck. The fury on his face had already transformed into pure shock and disbelief.
He couldn't understand.
How could this decrepit old fake, scarred and barely able to stand, possibly withstand his full-force punch delivered in anger?!
Impossible!
Across from him, the aged Whitebeard's body was still hunched. Though the lingering pains from years of battle still tormented him...
His arm remained steady as a mountain, completely unfazed.
On his deeply wrinkled face, a flush of long-lost excitement returned, and in his clouded eyes, the flames of kingship reignited.
"Gurararara… Not bad!"
"Decent strength!"
"Much better than those bratty Navy Admirals!"
As he pushed forward, his hearty laughter echoed out—his words, steeped in seniority, reigniting the fury in his younger self.
"You bastard! Still putting on airs?!"
With a furious roar, Peak Whitebeard's fist surged again with white energy!
Crack! Crack!
The space around them shattered like glass—fractures spreading, multiplying, thickening.
The tectonic plates beneath the island groaned under the weight of their powers. The entire island began to slowly sink!
Lucian steadied himself, gazing at the two titanic figures clashing like gods in the distance. Just the residual shockwaves alone had nearly overwhelmed him.
A cold shiver ran through his limbs, rising from the depths of his soul.
He instinctively turned toward the equally stunned Marco beside him and asked in a hoarse voice:
"Brother Marco… was Pops always this terrifying during his peak?"
That question, like a key, unlocked long-sealed memories.
Marco's expression instantly became complex—part awe, part nostalgia… but more than anything, pride.
He stared fixedly at the battlefield, his lips trembling slightly.
"Terrifying?"
"No, Lucian… what you're seeing—"
"Isn't even the scariest part of Pops."
Marco took a deep breath, steadying the surging emotions in his heart.
"Right now, they're only comparing raw power from the Tremor-Tremor Fruit."
"That alone may be the world's strongest destructive force—but it's not the reason Pops was called the 'Strongest Man in the World.'"
Lucian's pupils shrank sharply.
If this wasn't the scariest part…?
Marco's gaze lingered on Peak Whitebeard's wild golden hair and dominating aura. His voice softened, like a dream:
"What made Pops truly terrifying… was his mastery over all three types of Haki."
"Armament Haki could shatter any defense with ease."
"Observation Haki allowed him to glimpse moments into the future, making any attack useless."
"But the most fearsome of all…"
Marco paused. A trace of undisguisable fear flashed across his face.
"Was his overwhelming… Conqueror's Haki!"
"I'll never forget it. At his peak, Pops didn't even need to fight."
"He only had to release his aura—and just the ripples alone could make tens of thousands of weaker enemies on the battlefield foam at the mouth and collapse unconscious in an instant!"
"That… was the true posture of a king!"
BOOM!!!
As if to confirm Marco's words—
In the distance, Peak Whitebeard, frustrated by the stalemate, finally lost all patience.
A formless pressure—hundreds of times more terrifying than any shockwave before—erupted from his body!
Black and red lightning surged like maddened dragons, wrapping around him in a storm!
The earth beneath his feet caved in piece by piece under the pressure of his aura!
And his blazing eyes—
had fully transformed into a gold that gazed down upon the world.