"Ahahahahaha, is this the world's strongest power? One day, I'll make sure that no force can kill me!"
After witnessing the birth of the world's strongest, Kaido immediately left. He had absolute confidence in his own body and was certain that one day, he would reach a point where no one could ever kill him!
"Mom, Mom, such powerful strength! Whether it's Li Yuan or Whitebeard, they both possess such immense power. I see now that my one hour of training a day isn't enough. I need to increase it to one and a half hours a day!"
Charlotte Linlin, after witnessing the peak powers of Li Yuan and Whitebeard, was filled with a great sense of caution and insecurity. It felt as though even her steel skin wouldn't be able to withstand such world-shattering forces.
In the past, she had relied on her steel skin talent to guarantee her invincibility, but after seeing the power capable of shattering even space, she lost her confidence in her own abilities. The two of them possessed powers that could break through her steel skin talent—this left her feeling extremely vulnerable!
When she returned, she would definitely add half an hour to her training every day to strengthen her abilities, or else, even eating cake would feel unsafe.
"Truly, the world's strongest power!"
Golden Lion was more than satisfied, having witnessed Whitebeard's awakened Tremor-Tremor Fruit abilities, as well as Li Yuan's ultimate strength.
However, he hadn't expected Whitebeard's awakened Tremor-Tremor power to be so formidable. What surprised him even more was that Li Yuan's instantaneous explosive power was even stronger than Whitebeard's awakened Devil Fruit abilities.
Despite this, Golden Lion wasn't scared. While his own awakening abilities might not be as powerful as theirs, he was confident that he could secure his own place as an undefeated force. He might not be able to defeat Whitebeard or Li Yuan, but neither would they defeat him!
He had discovered the weaknesses of both Whitebeard and Li Yuan.
Whitebeard's Tremor power grew weaker as the distance increased, and Li Yuan's extreme bursts of power were temporary. If he could exploit these weaknesses, he had no fear of either of them!
"Ahahahaha, men, let's head back!"
Golden Lion laughed heartily, leading his fleet up into the sky and away from the island.
At the same time, his mind was already working on how he could acquire the strength to match Whitebeard and Li Yuan, not merely avoiding them or seeking invincibility, but aiming to defeat and kill them with overwhelming power—after all, that was Golden Lion's ultimate pursuit.
"Fufufufufu, is this the world's strongest man? Such terrifying power!"
Doflamingo watched Li Yuan's retreating figure. Even though Li Yuan didn't release any Conqueror's Haki, Doflamingo still felt an overwhelming pressure, as though he was staring at the sky that oppressed him, not just a man!
Witnessing Li Yuan's overwhelming strength made Doflamingo even more eager to attach himself to the Infinite Pirates.
After all, this was the greatest power in the world, aside from the World Government itself. In some respects, it was even stronger than the World Government!
"Boom! Boom!!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh!!"
As Li Yuan and Whitebeard left the island, the already crumbling island began to disintegrate and sink into the sea. Another island was lost in the New World!
"Hey, hey, why was Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit able to produce such incredible power?"
"That's the power of Devil Fruit Awakening. When a Devil Fruit is developed to a certain degree, it can reach the level of awakening. After awakening, the power of the Devil Fruit is greatly enhanced!"
"So what if it's an awakened Devil Fruit? Didn't it still lose to the world's greatest swordsman, Li Yuan? No, now we should say, the man who ascended to the throne of the world's strongest with his sword!"
"Let's go, let's go! The island's sunk, the battle is over, we've witnessed the birth of the world's strongest, time to head back!"
…
As the island sank, the spectators who had been caught up in the battle between Li Yuan and Whitebeard snapped back to reality. The sinking of the island marked the end of their battle. It was time to leave!
However, after the battle ended, the witnesses of the New World spread the results of what they had seen far and wide.
Especially Morgans from the World Economic News Agency, who had already prepared three different versions of the draft.
No matter the outcome—Whitebeard's victory, Li Yuan's victory, or even a draw—Morgans would immediately transform the drafts into real newspapers and publish them worldwide as soon as he received some photos and the final result.
This efficiency and foresight were what allowed the World Economic News Agency to maintain its position as the world's leading news organization. Even the World Government's media outlets couldn't compete with him.
"Shocking! The world's number one swordsman, Li Yuan, is also the world's strongest! The world's strongest man!"
"Li Yuan vs. Whitebeard—the final result is in! The winner is… him?!"
"What kind of power is the world's strongest power? A power that can easily destroy an island, a nation, even break space and destroy the world itself!"
…
Morgans' efficiency was remarkable. By the second day after the decisive battle, the news of the duel between Whitebeard and Li Yuan, and Li Yuan's ultimate victory, had spread throughout the world. Anyone who bought a newspaper would now know that Li Yuan was the world's strongest man!
---
**At Marine Headquarters:**
The higher-ups of the Marines were gathered in full force. Even the four Rear Admirals who had been sent to the four seas to hunt pirates, as well as Garp, who was on vacation, had all come to the fleet admiral's office for a meeting.
"Take a look at this," Vice Admiral Tsuru said as she distributed the reports written by those sent to witness the battle between Whitebeard and Li Yuan.
However, as the gathered Marines read the reports, their brows furrowed, and serious expressions filled their faces. A heavy silence quickly descended on the meeting room.
"Scary, so scary! Li Yuan is absolutely terrifying! He even defeated Whitebeard's awakened Tremor-Tremor Fruit powers! No wonder he's the world's strongest!"
In the midst of this ominous silence, a disgusting voice suddenly shattered the atmosphere.
"Bang!!!"
"Dammit, Borsalino, get serious! This is the Marine's high-level meeting room, not your office!"
Warlord Sengoku, hearing Borsalino's flippant voice, immediately lost his temper. He slammed his hand down on the table and angrily shouted, spitting on Borsalino's face in the process!
"How strange, why is the meeting table today so sturdy? It actually managed to withstand the force of Admiral Sengoku's slap!"
Many of the Marine high-ranking officers didn't pay attention to Sengoku's scolding or Borsalino's inappropriate comments. Instead, they all focused on the table in front of them.
They clearly remembered that whenever Admiral Steelbone or Admiral Sengoku got angry, the first thing they did was slap the table, and no table could withstand the power of a Marine Admiral's slap.
Now, however, this table had remained completely intact under Sengoku's strike. This left them astounded. Could it be that the logistics department finally spent the money to create a table that could withstand the Admiral's temper?
"How strange, the black marks on the table look like Armament Haki?"
"Who was using Armament Haki to protect the table at such a crucial moment?"
At this moment, many of the Marine officers realized that the source of the Armament Haki was none other than Garp, who was casually picking his nose in the corner!
"Garp, what are you doing?"
Sengoku noticed that all the officers were looking at Garp, and even Sengoku, who wasn't exactly the sharpest, quickly realized Garp's little trick.
"Hahahahaha, Sengoku, I was just saving the Marine some money. See, I'm helping us save on the cost of a new table!"
Garp laughed shamelessly.
"Great Buddha Shock!"
However, before Garp could finish laughing, a flash of golden light shot out from Sengoku, and Garp was sent flying out of the meeting room like a cannonball.
"Alright, back to the meeting!"
"Right now, there are too many pirates in the four seas. The Marine's forces have been severely weakened, and we haven't yet recovered enough to suppress the rise of pirate factions!"
"Therefore, I've decided that any troublesome pirates who are difficult to capture or eliminate should be driven into the Grand Line and then pushed into the New World!"
"Once those pirates reach the New World, they'll naturally kill each other, allowing us to eliminate the most pirates with the least amount of Marine casualties!"
Sengoku said seriously. This plan had been in the works for some time, though it had been implemented on a small scale. From now on, the Marines would fully execute this strategy.
"Admiral, I think we should just kill all the pirates. Since the Marine forces are insufficient, we should expand the Marines and kill more pirates, not reduce the risk to our forces!"
"Moreover, once we push the pirates into the New World, the pressure of more pirates might lead to the rise of new pirate kings. This could be even more detrimental to the Marines!"
Sakazuki argued.
"This decision was made after consultation with the Five Elders, and it is final. There will be no changes. This matter is not up for discussion!"
Sengoku responded sternly.
Was he happy about this plan? Of course not! But the World Government was running low on funds, and the budget for the Marines had been cut, leaving their forces unable to recover quickly. This was the only option available to them.
"Now, onto the matter of Li Yuan. After discussions with the World Government, if you encounter Li Yuan in the future, you are all to retreat immediately. Do not engage with him. He is not someone you can handle. This is a direct order from me as Fleet Admiral. A compulsory order!"
Sengoku's tone was severe.
Li Yuan's strength had surpassed everyone present, including himself and Garp. No one could stand a chance against him in a one-on-one fight, which is why Sengoku made it clear: he didn't want any Marine soldiers to die foolishly!
Unless Sengoku and Garp fought together, there was a slim chance of defeating Li Yuan, but even then, it was only a possibility. They had never fought him before, and Sengoku had no confidence that they could win, especially considering Li Yuan's record!
*(End of Chapter)*