Before the words had even faded, Ivan and Garp exchanged a glance, and Conqueror's Haki Lightning erupted simultaneously.
Ivan gripped Snowfall tightly, deep purple sword aura once again coiling around the blade.
"One-Sword Style: White Heron: Great Shockwave!"
With a furious roar, Ivan swung down the long blade of Snowfall, unleashing a massive white sword aura that surged forth with immense impact, charging fiercely toward Whitebeard.
Though this strike lacked the space-cutting power of his previous attacks, it carried a formidable repulsive force.
Ivan's goal was singular: to push Whitebeard out of the inner bay!
Almost at the same moment Ivan launched his attack, Garp threw a punch:
"Galaxy Impact !"
Garp's fist shot toward Whitebeard like a meteor, striking with devastating force.
This was one of Garp's signature moves, having severely wounded countless top-tier pirates in the past—its power was not to be underestimated.
Two powerful attacks infused with Conqueror's Haki, one slash and one punch, coordinated seamlessly as they raced toward Whitebeard.
Whitebeard watched the incoming attacks without a trace of fear, a wild, arrogant smile instead appearing in his eyes.
He slowly clenched his fist, showing no intention of dodging, prepared to face the combined assault of Ivan and Garp head-on.
Even against the joint attack of two opponents on his level, Whitebeard maintained the arrogance of the world's strongest man.
"Hahaha, Garp, to give me the same treatment as Rocks—this feeling is truly fantastic!"
Holding nothing back, his blade tore through the sky with a roar that seemed to rend heaven and earth:
"Murakumogiri: Sovereign Quake: Sky-Inverting Mountain Collapse!"
In this strike, Whitebeard perfectly fused the awakened power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit with Conqueror's Haki.
The blade, wrapped in extreme vibrations and space-shattering force, crashed fiercely into the combined attack of Ivan and Garp.
The air was utterly torn apart, countless fragments of space scattered in all directions, the ground shook violently, and the waters of the inner bay churned wildly, surging into waves dozens of feet high.
All of Marineford trembled slightly under this terrifying power.
The next moment, the three top-tier forces collided violently, forming a blinding white light in mid-air.
A powerful shockwave radiated outward from the point of impact, spreading wildly in all directions.
Wherever it passed, buildings and fortresses were instantly shredded, reduced to clouds of flying debris.
This was the clash of a peak confrontation, a direct confrontation between the world's strongest man and two top-tier powerhouses.
Even at his peak, Whitebeard gradually fell into a disadvantage under the combined assault of Ivan and Garp.
The two coordinated flawlessly, their Conqueror's Haki resonating and continuously suppressing Whitebeard.
After a brief stalemate, Whitebeard could no longer withstand their combined force. His body was sent flying by the powerful shockwave, finally crashing heavily at the boundary between the inner bay and the outer sea.
On the battlefield, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates panicked at the sight, halting their fights and rushing frantically toward Whitebeard's location.
"Old Man, are you alright!"
In their hearts, Whitebeard was invincible—the strongest man in the world.
They had never seen the Old Man in such a sorry state, nor had they ever seen him being sent flying by a combined attack.
A moment later, a low, muffled rumble came from beneath the ice as Whitebeard slowly rose to his feet.
His robe was torn, his body dusted with ice shards and bloodstains, yet the Haki surrounding him had not diminished in the slightest.
He lifted his foot, stepped onto the shattered ice, and slowly turned around. Facing the charging pirates, he revealed a wild grin:
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine!
I am Whitebeard Edward Newgate—how could I fall so easily!"
Whitebeard raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze firmly locked on Ivan in the air.
He had heard every word of the exchange between Ivan and Garp moments earlier.
Ivan had mentioned an extremely powerful technique that required temporarily pushing Whitebeard back to unleash it.
This made even Whitebeard feel a trace of apprehension.
Only out of concern for harming the Marines would Ivan choose to force him back.
Thus, Ivan's technique must already possess immense power.
Whitebeard opened his mouth and roared loudly at Ivan:
"Brat Ivan, if you have a move, use it now!
I'll stand right here and take it. Let's see just what this new technique you've developed is capable of!"
On the execution platform, Sengoku, and Garp, who had just halted his attack, also turned their attention to Ivan, their eyes filled with curiosity.
Sengoku thought to himself, "What kind of trump card is this kid Ivan hiding?"
Across the battlefield, others paused their clashes as well, all eyes converging on Ivan.
Ivan hovered in the air, moving to the center of the inner bay.
This was the core of Marineford's inner bay, far from the execution platform. Even if the technique's power was immense, it would minimize casualties among his allies.
He raised his hand, and under the powerful gravitational pull, the air around him began to slowly distort:
"When I first developed my Devil Fruit abilities, I drew upon the experiences of countless predecessors and studied the powers of numerous strong individuals.
I realized that Devil Fruit development ultimately boils down to two directions: mechanics and stats.
Mechanics are the core logic of a Devil Fruit ability—the fundamental distinction that sets it apart from others.
Stats are the manifestation of a Devil Fruit ability's power—the foundation for overwhelming opponents.
Whitebeard's Spatial Quake and my life absorption—these represent the ultimate expression of mechanics.
The Three Admirals' control over natural forces, my White Heron and Black Azure—these represent the ultimate expression of stats."
Ivan's words were clear and profound, causing many of the Devil Fruit users present to fall into deep thought.
They had spent their entire lives honing their Devil Fruit abilities but had never so clearly summarized the essence of their development.
"But I've wondered countless times: how can mechanics and stats truly be connected?
How can the two be fused to unleash power far beyond either direction alone?"
A flicker of contemplation passed through Ivan's eyes:
"Thus, I initially created Zi—that slash capable of cutting through space was my first attempt at fusing mechanics and stats!
But as my strength grew and my understanding of Devil Fruit abilities deepened, Zi's power gradually fell behind my progress.
Not long ago, I finally conceived a new technique—one that truly and perfectly merges mechanics and stats!"
Ivan's voice gradually grew solemn, and the aura around him began to subtly change.
A faint yet terrifying pressure slowly emanated from within him, causing everyone present to involuntarily tense up.
Hearing this, the curiosity and vigilance in Whitebeard's eyes grew even more intense.
He couldn't help but burst into laughter, saying with anticipation:
"Oh, how exciting. Come on, Ivan, you brat. Let me see just how powerful this new move you've developed really is!"