Whitebeard planted Murakumogiri into the ground with a heavy thud, making no move to dodge. His voice cooled.
"Linlin."
"This world is a world where the strong devour the weak. If Ares took it from you, then blame yourself for being inferior."
Seeing Whitebeard clearly taking Ares' side without the slightest shame, Linlin flew into a rage.
"MIGHTY NATION!"
Boom!
With her terrifying brute force, the slash turned into a pink shockwave that roared straight at Whitebeard.
Whitebeard grinned.
"Gurararara! Perfect. The earlier fighting wasn't satisfying enough. Let's have a real match!"
His arm muscles tightened as he swung his blade. Black-and-red lightning crackled along Murakumogiri's edge as he cleaved the shockwave in two.
The two of them crashed into battle.
On the other side, Ares heard Linlin shout "Mighty Nation"…
And inspiration flashed through his mind like lightning.
Memories surged up.
Ares knew that "Spear of Elbaf" was the Giants' greatest technique a strike pushed beyond the limits.
It was also known as
The Spear of Heroes.
Its power and destructive force were terrifying.
You could call it one of the highest-tier combat techniques on the seas.
Learn it.
Master it.
That thought rose in Ares' mind, and he acted on it instantly. In his head, he replayed the scenes of his clashes with Linlin and the Roger Pirates breaking them down frame by frame, analyzing them like a mad scholar.
Then another memory surfaced.
In the future, Hajrudin would use his fist to unleash the Spear of Heroes.
Which proved the technique wasn't limited to weapons. Even bare-handed, it could still be performed.
Again and again, inside his mind, Ares deepened his understanding and grasp of it.
Hundreds. Thousands of repetitions.
He learned it.
And then he began to weave his own interpretation into it.
After all, whether it was the techniques he learned from Zeff and Garp, or the King Punch he learned from the king of the Prodence Kingdom…
They carried the same underlying essence.
That let him comprehend and master the Spear of Elbaf at frightening speed.
The next moment
Ares' eyes turned clear and sharp, blazing with an astonishing light. His arm muscles arranged themselves like disciplined troops, layers of steel locking into place.
"War God Spear!!"
Violent force poured from his fist. The pressure twisted the air itself.
A thick red shockwave blasted forward, shattering Garling's flying slashes one after another and swallowing his figure whole.
Saint Saturn's pupils shrank in horror.
"That… that's the Giants' strongest martial technique!!"
"And that monster Ares actually mastered it…"
When the light faded
Garling's clothes were shredded. Bloody gashes crisscrossed the muscles of his bare upper body.
"Hah…"
His chest heaved.
"Huu…"
With every breath, blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
"This bastard… he was still hiding a move like that. I got careless and he actually wounded me…"
The other members of the God's Knights stared in stunned silence, rushing to Garling's side to protect him.
One of the women among them advised, "Saint Garling, retreat. You're already badly injured. If you keep fighting…"
"No!"
Garling roared.
"Ares stole three Devil Fruits belonging to the World Government. As commander of the God's Knights, I will not tolerate him leaving with them."
For a fighter of Garling's caliber, even if his body wasn't the same kind of monster as Ares', his vitality and durability were still terrifying.
Saint Saturn spoke in a heavy voice, "We can't afford to hold anything back. Any carelessness could cost us this battle!"
Whoosh!
Saturn bent his spider legs and sprang into the air. Purple venom dripped from those thick spear-like limbs, hissing with poisonous fumes.
Just one look said it all
That toxin was vicious.
And the spider legs flashed coldly, clearly sharp enough to rival blades.
Facing Saturn's strike, Ares' lips curled.
"Perfect timing. I'll use you to test this!"
"Divine Dragon Tail Sweep War God Spear!"
His tail snapped. Air screamed under the motion.
And from the scale-covered dragon tail, a terrifying red shockwave burst forth.
Boom!
It blasted upward to meet Saturn's attack, swallowing Saturn's figure entirely.
When the light dispersed
The flesh on Saturn's leg was gone, leaving only a horrifying skeleton.
But even as they watched, meat and muscle rapidly grew back over the bone, healing at visible speed.
Thud!
He dropped from the air. His spider legs crossed and drove him forward, and when he closed in, he swung like a scythe toward Ares.
"You… why do you have talent this terrifying?!"
Ares swung a dragon claw. Sparks flew from his talons.
He laughed.
"What?"
"Scared?"
Clang!
Saturn sneered. "The power of the World Government is beyond your imagination. No matter how talented you are, we won't fear you!"
Whoosh!
Garling, having steadied himself, slashed again. A cold flash split the air, bursting into a gorgeous flying blade.
Ares fought on two fronts at once. Under his control, his tail became a heavy sword simple, brutal, and unstoppable.
Weight and momentum.
Garling's hand went numb from the impact, his grip nearly breaking.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard noticed Ares using the Giants' technique and grinned.
"Gurararara! That brat Ares… looks like he's finally clicked. He actually mastered the Giants' strongest move!"
"Wounding an Elder and the commander of the God's Knights all by himself… this guy will surpass everyone someday and become the strongest in the world!"
"Bastard!" Linlin gnawed her teeth bloody. Watching Ares steal her move and unleash it with such overwhelming might hit her like a punch to the gut.
Maybe…
If Linlin had eaten a Mythical Zoan instead of the Paramecia Soru Soru no Mi…
She might've become a monster who surpassed even the future Kaido of the Beasts.
But…
That ship had sailed. Her power was set.
Streusen was dumbfounded.
"Ares… Ares is too much of a monster. Even if Linlin builds the Charlotte Family in the future… will any of her children really have talent…"
"On Ares' level?"
Linlin was only in her twenties and had already given birth to more than a dozen children an outrageous fact on its own.
But so far…
Among them, only Charlotte Katakuri seemed truly exceptional awakening Conqueror's Haki by staying close to Ares.
The others…
For now, none of them showed that kind of terrifying potential.
And Ares' strength wasn't just talent.
It was also the result of relentless persistence training that went beyond cruelty.
Training that looked like suicide.
At this moment
As Ares battled Garling and Saturn, he began to think about something else.
How could he fuse his many combat techniques…
Melt them into one.
Strip away the impurities, keep the best parts, and combine them
Into a stronger style.
A style that suited him best.
That…
Was crucial.
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