Unlike with Charlotte Linlin, Diarmuid had a good idea of what he was up against.
But when facing Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world who was currently in a near-invincible state, Diarmuid had no such confidence. According to Garp's theory, even if he were on equal footing with Whitebeard, winning would come down to luck, timing, location, and circumstances.
As it stood, not only was Whitebeard stronger, but he also had the timing, location, and circumstances on his side!
"No one is to interfere!" Newgate roared.
The moment he finished speaking, he stomped his foot and closed the distance between himself and Diarmuid at an incredible speed. He brought his Murakumogiri down in a single strike, cleaving toward Diarmuid.
Where his blade passed, the transparent shockwaves caused cracks to appear in the very space around it.
Diarmuid's eyes filled with a serious resolve. He didn't dare hold back, and there was no need to test anything.
What was there to test?
To test if Whitebeard was strong enough? That was a stupid question!
Kokorowatari, hanging at his waist, was unsheathed. A dense purple gravity field swirled around the blade as he brought it up to meet the falling Murakumogiri.
The forces of tremor and gravity collided, and the space at the point of impact shattered like glass.
In this exchange, neither of them used Armament Haki or other similar abilities. It was a clash of pure physical strength and Devil Fruit powers.
After a few moments, Diarmuid's hand, gripping the hilt of his blade, was already a little numb. The tremor power had clearly traveled along his blade and into his hand. His internal organs began to vibrate. While it wasn't enough to cause serious injury, it was extremely uncomfortable!
Compared to Diarmuid, Newgate seemed completely fine, a smile still on his face. But a closer look would reveal that the ground beneath his feet was constantly cracking. There was no doubt that Diarmuid's power had also been transmitted through the blade and into his body.
After a stalemate of about three to five seconds, the muscles in Newgate's arm swelled, and his power intensified.
The ground beneath Diarmuid's feet suddenly shattered, and his center of gravity became a little unstable. He couldn't generate power in time and was suppressed by Newgate's overwhelming pressure.
With a deft twist of his wrist, Diarmuid used Kokorowatari to parry Murakumogiri's blade, then retreated a few steps. With each step he took, the ground shattered a little more. It took several steps before he completely dispelled the tremor force that Newgate had transmitted into his body.
In that same instant, Newgate gave Diarmuid no chance to recover. He threw a punch through the air.
With a cracking sound, space fractured as a shockwave erupted and sped toward Diarmuid.
Diarmuid stomped his foot, made himself weightless, and disappeared from his spot at a high speed, just before the punch's power could reach him.
The next second, the space where he had just been was shattered.
At the same time, Diarmuid's figure reappeared in front of Newgate. As he came down from the air, his Kokorowatari let out an intense gust of wind pressure.
"Roaring Wind!" Diarmuid shouted.
With no time to dodge, Newgate simply extended his hand. Tremor power seeped through the gaps between his fingers as he reached out and grabbed the sharp wind pressure, crushing it.
But it seemed Diarmuid had been waiting for this moment. He let out a roar mid-air, gripping Kokorowatari's hilt with both hands. A powerful gravity field was unleashed once again, beginning to taint the blade from its hilt. In a matter of moments, Kokorowatari became pitch-black.
It was the same "Abyssal Devourer" that had nearly severed Charlotte Linlin's arm just moments ago.
Even Newgate didn't dare to take this attack head-on with his bare fist. He took a step back, forced to retreat by Diarmuid. Then, he swung his long Murakumogiri forward, fluidly blocking the path of Diarmuid's blade.
Newgate was well aware that Charlotte Linlin had been wounded by this attack, and even though Murakumogiri was one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords, it certainly wouldn't be able to withstand Diarmuid's blade.
However, he still chose to block. Just as Murakumogiri was about to be cut in two by Diarmuid's attack, a pure, unadulterated tremor force erupted from the blade, creating a barrier in the air that stopped Diarmuid's attack.
He still wasn't using any Haki. From the moment Diarmuid and Charlotte Linlin had clashed, Newgate had realized that Haki was completely useless against Diarmuid's attack. Rather than waste his Haki, it was better to use his full Devil Fruit power!
"HRAAAGH!!!" Newgate roared.
To be honest, Diarmuid didn't want to use "Abyssal Devourer" again so soon, but he had no choice. To contend with Newgate, he had to go all-out.
If he held back, he might be unable to use this power again after the fight was over.
"Abyssal Devourer" met Newgate's pure tremor force, and a struggle of power began.
But after only a second, a look of surprise appeared in Newgate's eyes. Even his supposedly strongest tremor force couldn't block that attack. He could clearly see the invisible tremor power being rapidly devoured by Diarmuid's blade.
Seeing this, Newgate ceased his pointless effort. He took two more steps back, retracting his Murakumogiri just before it was about to be cut.
In the end, even the strongest man, Whitebeard, was forced to take three steps back by Diarmuid's "Abyssal Devourer."
He had to dodge; he couldn't take it head-on!
Taking advantage of the remaining power in Kokorowatari, Diarmuid used Soru to follow Newgate and launched another strike. But as the blade cut through the air, Newgate sharply noticed that Kokorowatari, which had been covered in that dark gravitational force, began to fade at the tip!
His eyes lit up. He stopped dodging, threw an air-shattering punch that blasted Diarmuid's blade away, then looked at Diarmuid, who had landed not far away. "It seems you can't use that technique anymore."
Diarmuid could no longer keep up his facade. He was panting slightly, his chest rising and falling more quickly than before. Beads of sweat began to drip from his forehead.
"Even if I can't use that move, that's all there is to it." Diarmuid swung Kokorowatari, steadied his breathing, and said with a smile.
"Then that's your defeat," Newgate said softly, a hint of regret in his eyes. "The sea's favorite thing to bury is also the brave. Diarmuid, it looks like that will be your fate today."
With those words, Newgate didn't hesitate. His Murakumogiri was charged with even greater power, and he swung it at Diarmuid.
Newgate truly admired Diarmuid. He had even offered him a spot in the Whitebeard Pirates, but Diarmuid had vehemently refused.
But admiration was one thing; Newgate would not hold back here.
Perhaps this duel was unfair. Diarmuid had just fought Kaido, fell from the sky, and clashed with Charlotte Linlin, with no time to rest. Now he had to fight Whitebeard, the strongest man.
And yet, Newgate wouldn't hold back. After all, Whitebeard wasn't fighting in a tournament against the Marines! He was certain that if Diarmuid had a chance to catch him in a moment of weakness, he would not hesitate to bring a whole army of Marines to finish him off.
Even though Newgate could tell that Diarmuid also admired him, or at least had a great deal of respect for a fellow strongman, this was their reality. This was their position!
Let the sea bury the brave one today!
But just then, the ground beneath Newgate's feet suddenly changed. A searing heat surged up, and the ground instantly turned into magma. It was as if a volcano had erupted, completely engulfing Newgate's lower body.
Sakazuki's imposing figure burst from the magma, roaring, "Meigo!!!"
He threw a swift punch at Newgate's head. If it had connected, it might have been just like in the original story, with Newgate losing half his head to Sakazuki.
But this was not the Newgate who was old and frail, forced to be hooked up to an IV drip to sustain his life. On the contrary, he was in the strongest period of his entire life.
The moment Sakazuki threw his "Meigo," Newgate was already completely wrapped in Haki. At the same time, his tremor power erupted. He tossed aside his Murakumogiri, using a bare hand to block Sakazuki's punch, and then threw a counter-punch.
A monstrous tremor force instantly traveled into Sakazuki's body. Sakazuki coughed up a mouthful of blood. He couldn't withstand the powerful tremor force and was sent flying out of the erupting magma.
Diarmuid's reaction speed was, of course, incredibly fast. He had emerged from the crater first to hide Sakazuki's presence.
Now, Sakazuki had made a bold move. Even though it didn't have the intended effect, it did interrupt Newgate's powerful attack.
So, the moment Sakazuki was sent flying, Diarmuid applied a weightless field to him. He used Soru, grabbed the back of Sakazuki's neck, and took the opportunity to leap over the magma. He also grabbed Kaido, who was still unconscious on the ground.
"Sakazuki!!!" Diarmuid yelled.
Before Sakazuki could finish spitting out his blood, a jet of magma burst from his body, carrying both Diarmuid and Kaido into the sky.
At the same time, Diarmuid's gravity field kicked in, further accelerating their speed.
The sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard. Newgate was somewhat disheveled as he emerged from the magma. Many of the ends of his glorious golden hair were singed and curled.
"You're not getting away!!!" Newgate roared, his hands pulling at the empty air. The sky seemed to twist and tear as space shattered into large pieces. A thick tremor force chased after Diarmuid's figure.
But in the very next instant, a clap of thunder exploded in the sky. Then, a thick pillar of lightning, more than ten meters wide, descended from the heavens and pierced directly through Newgate's attack.
"What is that!?" Newgate looked up at the other side of the sky, where a Marine battleship was descending, with a octopus-shaped balloon at its bow.
"WHITEBEARD!!!" Garp roared, launching himself from the battleship like a cannonball.
"Garp!?" Whitebeard was stunned for a moment, then he stopped caring about Sakazuki and Diarmuid. He threw a powerful punch, imbued with both tremor power and a dense layer of Conqueror's Haki.
That's right, Conqueror's Haki coating!
Then, Garp's descending punch was also wrapped in an invisible coating of Conqueror's Haki...
Of course. How could he not have Conqueror's Haki?!
The two punches met in the air. The clash of Conqueror's Haki instantly swept across the entire island. The sea outside the island raged, and the houses and trees on the island were all crushed by the powerful aura.
The Marine battleship in the sky swayed. The sky itself changed color, and the clouds churned!
The strongest Marine and the strongest pirate had finally clashed!