"Whitebeard, let me see just how strong you really are!"
After landing on the island, Li Yuan's lips curled slightly as his Conqueror's Haki erupted into the sky.
The blood-colored Conqueror's Haki, infused with sword intent and ultrasonic waves, rushed toward Whitebeard. Even though there was an island between them, nothing could stop the force of the Conqueror's Haki.
"Gulalala, Li Yuan!!"
Whitebeard, feeling the overwhelming aura charging toward him, released his own Conqueror's Haki, which collided with Li Yuan's blood-colored aura.
"Boom!!!"
As the two colossal auras collided in the center of the island, it felt as if a massive storm had been unleashed, reaching a strength akin to a Level 13 hurricane.
Trees were flattened, and the ground itself was torn apart, creating countless cracks.
However, after a brief moment of stalemate, Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki was gradually pushed back by Li Yuan's.
"Hmph!!!"
Seeing his Haki being pushed back, Whitebeard grunted, gripping his weapon, the Murakumogiri, and charged toward Li Yuan at lightning speed, guided by his perception of his opponent's aura.
"Hahahaha!!"
Li Yuan laughed and mirrored Whitebeard's action, charging forward. The clash of auras was only a prelude; the real battle was about to begin!
The distance between them quickly shrank, and soon, the two met at the island's center.
"Gulalala, Li Yuan, take this!"
Whitebeard swung Murakumogiri, dragging it along the ground as white shockwaves and his Conqueror's Haki wrapped around the black blade coated with Armament Haki. As the blade moved, the earth and rocks were obliterated, turning into dust.
"Earthquake!!"
Electricity crackled from his blade as he leaped into the air, wielding his weapon with both hands, and slashed downward with all his might.
"Hahahaha, good! Take my blade!"
Li Yuan responded similarly, rushing towards Whitebeard. The earlier clash was merely an appetizer; now, the true combat had begun.
The two met in the middle of the island, their weapons clashing with incredible force.
Li Yuan's Seven Star Sword, infused with five types of power—sword intent, Armament Haki, Observation Haki, ultrasonic waves, and blood force—was a perfect fusion of these elements.
From afar, the Seven Star Sword appeared like a blood-colored thunderous abyss, and even a single glance at it could give one the sense of being sucked into an endless, suffocating void.
"Three-in-one Secret Art: Conqueror's Wrath - Blood Moon Rising!!"
With a single swing of his sword, Li Yuan sent the Seven Star Sword flying through the sky, resembling a blood-red full moon descending upon the world.
When the great blade and the long sword collided, the clash of the most powerful forces on the planet occurred in an instant.
For a moment, the world seemed to lose its color, and the silence was deafening. It was as if time itself had stopped in that one moment.
Then, a violent clash of immense forces erupted. Instead of their weapons colliding directly, the intense energy created a black hole-like void between them, violently trembling as the two powers continued to compress and interact.
It was like a black hole, swallowing the surrounding sunlight and creating an intense gravitational pull.
A moment later, the shockwaves from the collision spread out in all directions, flattening everything in their path. The island was violently shaking, and the land was sunk several dozen meters. The entire island trembled as if it were on the brink of destruction.
The violent gusts of wind swept across the island, and shockwaves were so intense that thirty-meter-high waves surged in all directions.
Nearby ships were pushed back by the shockwaves, and some unlucky vessels were shattered, their crews lost to the sea.
"Heavens! The sky is splitting apart!!"
Doflamingo watched in stunned silence, his eyes fixed on the tearing sky.
He had never imagined that the sky could be split apart due to the clash between two individuals. This was completely reshaping his understanding of the world's top-tier powerhouses.
Looking at the trembling island, Doflamingo knew that what Kumas had said about top-tier fighters destroying an island with a single sword strike was not an exaggeration. It was real!
Just the aftershock of their collision had caused the island to shake this violently, and if they targeted the island directly, it could easily be obliterated.
"Really, you guys always say the same old things, can't you express your shock differently?"
Kumas sighed, listening to Doflamingo and others repeating things like "The sky is splitting!" He had heard it so many times that it had lost its impact. Though it fit the scene, Kumas found it increasingly tiresome.
Li Yuan and Whitebeard gritted their teeth, continuing to press toward each other.
"Life Return - Full Limb Enhancement!"
After a brief stalemate, Li Yuan's muscles swelled, and with a burst of power, he shattered the balance. He broke through the clash between their weapons and forcefully pushed Whitebeard back by over a hundred meters!
"Hahahaha, Whitebeard, you're not getting away that easily!!"
Li Yuan laughed, fully activating his "Sword God Tempering Technique" to negate the vibrations from his sword that had damaged his body. He then charged toward Whitebeard again with renewed vigor.
"Gulalala, Li Yuan, I defeated you once before, and I can do it again!"
After being pushed back over a hundred meters, Whitebeard quickly regained his balance using his feet and the long handle of Murakumogiri. He activated his Life Return to heal his wounded arms as he rushed back toward Li Yuan.
"That was then, this is now!"
"Back on the Rocks ship, I may have been weaker than you, Whitebeard, but now I've surpassed you!!"
Once again, the Seven Star Sword collided with Murakumogiri, and blood-red lightning erupted as their powers clashed. After another moment of intense struggle, Li Yuan's strength forced Whitebeard back over a hundred meters once more.
"Gulalala, surpassing me is not something you can just say!"
Though Whitebeard's words were defiant, his heart was secretly shaken.
He hadn't expected Li Yuan to be so strong. In their direct clashes, Li Yuan was pushing him back with greater power!
Whitebeard had always been renowned for his immense physical strength and the destructive power of his Gura Gura no Mi, and he hadn't faced many people who could overpower him since the days of Rocks.
But after two encounters, Whitebeard could clearly feel that Li Yuan's strength was on par with his own. His Armament and Conqueror's Haki were both superior, and with the addition of three types of sword intent and an invisible force enhancing every strike, Li Yuan's blows were unmatchable, overpowering Whitebeard's normal full-force attacks.
Without the Gura Gura no Mi, Whitebeard doubted he could withstand even a few of Li Yuan's strikes.
No wonder Li Yuan was able to defeat Roger and Garp!
"Hahahaha, Whitebeard, you're right. This time, I'll defeat you with my sword!!"
"Three-in-one Secret Art: Conqueror's Wrath - Blood Dragon Sky-Splitting Slash!"
A blood dragon spiraled around the Seven Star Sword, turning it into a weapon akin to the legendary Seven Star Longyuan Sword. The sword crackled with blood-red lightning as it was unleashed.
With one final strike, the blood-colored attack merged with the blood dragon, forming a thousand-meter-long blood dragon that surged toward Whitebeard. In the face of this blood dragon, Whitebeard was like an insignificant insect!
"Gulalala, come and defeat me if you can!!"
"Void Quake!!"
Whitebeard, undeterred by the massive blood dragon charging toward him, raised Murakumogiri. His Conqueror's Haki and Gura Gura no Mi combined in his blade as he leaped into the air, delivering his full power into the dragon's head.
With Whitebeard's mighty strike, the thousand-meter blood dragon shook violently, its body cracking like shattered glass.
However, just before the blood dragon could collapse, it barreled toward Whitebeard without hesitation.
"Vibration Body!"
Whitebeard was shocked to find that his full-force strike didn't completely destroy the blood dragon. As there was no way to evade, he spread his vibration power across his body, forming an invisible armor to protect himself.
In that instant, Whitebeard was struck by the fragmented blood dragon, and it sent him crashing to the ground.
"Cough!!"
Though Whitebeard landed and quickly regained his stance, his body was visibly injured from the collision.
The final impact of the blood dragon, combined with his own vibration power, had caused internal damage.
However, with his mastery of Life Return, Whitebeard wasn't seriously harmed and could heal himself.
"Hahahaha, Whitebeard, come at me again!"
Just as Whitebeard stood, Li Yuan charged at him once more.
The two immediately engaged in another fierce battle.
Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi still caused tremendous shockwaves even through the Seven Star Sword, but the damage was negated by Li Yuan's self-healing abilities and the "Sword God Tempering Technique."
Meanwhile, the Seven Star Sword's vampiric power was restrained by Whitebeard's Murakumogiri. Whitebeard was aware of the sword's blood-sucking abilities, so he avoided direct contact with it as much as possible.
But for Li Yuan, this wasn't an issue. If he truly wanted to land a blow, he could do so at a cost. However, he wasn't interested in taking shortcuts—he wanted to defeat Whitebeard openly and decisively!
As expected, throughout the battle, Whitebeard's strength, amplified by his Gura Gura no Mi, was no match for the overwhelming power of Li Yuan, who relentlessly forced him back at every turn.
(End of Chapter)