On the main stage, Luo Chen sat in the center.
On either side of him were the four women: Hancock, Nami, Kalifa, and Baccara.
He smiled and said, "Let's begin. Who's going up first?"
In the audience, many people turned their heads to observe.
Among the high-ranking members of the Jinghai Army, those with the sharpest conflicts were likely Whitebeard and Zephyr, or Whitebeard and Akainu.
As expected, Zephyr was the first to leap onto the arena.
He looked toward Whitebeard and said coldly, "Come up and fight."
"After this battle, the grudge between us shall be settled."
Zephyr knew himself well enough to know he could not defeat Whitebeard.
In this fight, he was prepared to yield.
Now that they were all working together in the Jinghai Army, and Luo Chen had shown him the kindness of regenerating his severed arm, Zephyr was willing to use one battle to cast aside the hatred of the past.
Whitebeard gripped his giant blade, Murakumogiri, and leapt into the air.
He landed opposite Zephyr and laughed heartily. "If you have a grudge, go find that brat Edward Weevil. He isn't my son."
Zephyr snorted coldly. An airwave exploded beneath his feet as his figure lunged forward.
Whitebeard's laughter was bold. A white glow condensed on the blade of Murakumogiri as the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit erupted without reservation.
A transparent barrier surrounded the arena, isolating the aftershocks of the clash between the two powerhouses.
However, everyone could see that Zephyr was not Whitebeard's match.
During his time as a Marine Admiral, Zephyr was known as "Black Arm," famous for his Armament Haki and powerful Taijutsu.
His combat style was quite similar to Garp's.
The only difference was that Zephyr lacked Conqueror's Haki, making his upper limit significantly lower.
Even though his severed arm had been restored, his physical condition had not returned to its youth.
In contrast, Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki and Devil Fruit abilities were both superior to Zephyr's.
Furthermore, he possessed the undying body of the Reanimation.
This battle could be described as having no suspense at all.
Ten minutes later, Zephyr was sent flying by a slash infused with powerful oscillating force.
Covered in blood, he smashed onto the arena floor dozens of meters away, gasping heavily.
Seeing that Zephyr was unable to continue, Luo Chen announced the result.
At the same time, he flicked a streak of green energy that merged into Zephyr's heavily injured body.
The blade wounds on his skin and the internal rupture injuries from the tremors recovered rapidly.
Zephyr slowly climbed up from the ground. His breathing had steadied; aside from his tattered clothes and the bloodstains, no trace of injury could be seen.
He glanced at Whitebeard, turned around in silence, and returned to the audience.
His two students, Ain and Binz, greeted him with concerned inquiries.
Zephyr shook his head and smiled. "I'm fine. The Marshal's divine power is extraordinary; the injuries are already healed."
He did not place much importance on competing for the Admiral rankings.
He simply wanted to use this opportunity to give himself a reason to reconcile with Whitebeard.
He would not participate in the subsequent battles.
Besides, even if I did participate, I'd probably be at the bottom of the list... Zephyr scanned the many experts in the stands, complaining inwardly.
The Jinghai Army truly was a gathering of legends.
Even someone like him probably wouldn't crack the top ten.
It was better to focus on being the Chief Instructor.
...
On the stage, Whitebeard did not step down. Instead, he looked around in all directions, clearly intending to fight again.
As long as he held the stage until the end, the title of the strongest Admiral would be his.
Whitebeard himself didn't care much for the rankings.
However, he still had many sons behind him.
If his rank was too low, his sons would all be bullied by that bastard Akainu.
"Red... Akainu, come up and fight!" Whitebeard shouted in a powerful voice.
Among the Admirals, the one he wanted to beat up the most was "Red Dog" Sakazuki.
The second was Sengoku.
These two were the ones who arrested Ace and plotted the Paramount War.
They had nearly cost him a son, and the Whitebeard Pirates had almost faced total annihilation.
Had it not been for Luo Chen's sudden rise, the Whitebeard Pirates might have vanished by now.
In the audience, many people had strange expressions as they looked at Akainu.
Undoubtedly, Whitebeard had wanted to call him "Red Dog" just now, hadn't he?
He had only stopped himself just in time.
Sakazuki's face darkened. With a cold snort, he leapt onto the stage.
His outer coat was the white Jinghai Army suit, but underneath, he still wore his favorite dark red shirt.
Both his hands were clad in pitch-black leather gloves.
However, his arms had already begun to transform into magma, and his entire body radiated scorching heat.
"Great Eruption!" Akainu charged straight ahead. A layer of massive molten rock condensed over his right arm, forming a fist several meters thick.
Whitebeard struck out with a punch, and the atmosphere quaked.
The air shattered like a broken mirror, with cracks spreading out in every direction.
Both sides opened with full power from the start, showing no intention of holding back.
Regardless, they both had immortal bodies and couldn't even feel pain.
However, whoever's body collapsed first would be the loser.
This battle was significantly more intense than the fight between Whitebeard and Zephyr.
The vast arena was completely transformed into two distinct domains.
The half where Whitebeard stood was shrouded in white light, with powerful tremor forces forming a domain.
The arena near Akainu turned into magma, launching attacks in various forms, sometimes as meteorites and sometimes as molten fire dragons.
Both of their Devil Fruit abilities had erupted into an Awakened state.
Armament Haki surged violently within the arena.
Initially, the two sides were evenly matched, neither gaining the upper hand.
But when a wave of Conqueror's Haki leaked out from the barrier, the momentum of Whitebeard's tremor domain surged.
Akainu's magma domain began to be suppressed, its range of influence gradually shrinking.
Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki cut across the sea and sky; clouds in the heavens churned, forming a vortex-like eye of the storm.
In the audience, Roger revealed a smile, his mustache quivering. "That old geezer Newgate... his Haki is even stronger than before."
Garp sat beside him with his arms crossed, a slightly surprised look in his eyes.
Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki had indeed become stronger.
It was stronger than it had been during the Paramount War, and even stronger than in his youth!
Garp glanced toward the Red Line and said thoughtfully:
"Whitebeard fought a battle with Imu before, and after death, he was reanimated by Luo Chen..."
A look of realization appeared in Roger's eyes as he laughed. "That's it then. Fighting a great war against an opponent who surpasses you, discarding your life, and fighting with everything on the line. As long as you can survive it, your Conqueror's Haki will definitely grow."
Shanks was in the row behind Roger, with Hawkeye, Beckman, and other crew members beside him.
He sighed with emotion. "Whitebeard is living a second life. He is completely different from the state he was in when he only had half a life left."
Shanks couldn't help but glance at the main stage.
Luo Chen's reanimation ability was truly heaven-defying.
A Whitebeard without illness or injury, whose stamina would never run out...
He admitted to himself that he was not an opponent.
It could be said that perhaps only Roger, who also possessed a Reanimated body, could rival Whitebeard.
Even Garp in his living state could not do it.
Garp turned his head and looked around.
Seeing Sengoku nearby eating a bag of senbei while watching, he flashed over to him.
He snatched the senbei from Sengoku's arms, grabbed a handful to stuff into his mouth, and laughed loudly.
"Sengoku, these senbei taste pretty good!"
Sengoku looked helpless, feeling somewhat annoyed yet also find it somewhat funny.
"Go ahead and eat. I can't taste anything anyway."
Garp's smile froze. He had forgotten that with a Reanimated body, one cannot taste food.
He chewed the senbei slowly. "Maybe I should just let Luo Chen reanimate me too."
Sengoku looked over in surprise.
Garp said with a hint of regret, "I can't beat Whitebeard and Roger now."
His body was aging, and his functions were declining.
In an Admiral ranking battle, he would definitely be inferior to Whitebeard and Roger.
In their youth, the three of them were equals.
Now, he was the only one left behind.
Garp felt a measure of regret and unwillingness in his heart.
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