[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully using Conqueror's Haki coating for the first time! Reward: Divine Departure (Lv. 1)]
"What did Whitebeard just say? One Piece really exists?"
"That's not important, look at the sky! What is that?!"
Whitebeard, who had expected the world to be shocked after he said those words, was the first to notice something amiss in the sky. He suddenly looked up.
An incredibly powerful Conqueror's Haki transformed into tangible black lightning, coiling around the blade of Kurai like a thunder serpent.
Renji's cerulean eyes shimmered with light, like a War God descending from the heavens. Where the blade passed, the air trembled and twisted.
The dark red divine lightning serpent continuously coiled and bit, almost congealing into a black hole that seemed capable of swallowing everything. The next second, it instantly appeared above Whitebeard's head.
Divine Departure!
"This is..."
Watching the increasingly approaching scene of destruction in the sky, Whitebeard's thoughts for a moment were pulled back to a battlefield decades ago.
The move that man, Gol D. Roger, used, Divine Departure!
The power of this move was identical to the Divine Departure Roger had used back then, but... it seemed the profoundness of this current move was even greater than the latter?
Whitebeard, with this thought, couldn't help but be shocked. However, he felt no fear. Instead, his blood instantly boiled.
"This feeling....Gurararara!"
Under the high-pressure stimulation of that peerless, kingly Haki that looked down on the world, Whitebeard's fighting spirit was completely awakened. Even in his current state of a damaged, elderly body, he recaptured a bit of his former glory.
"Boy!"
His muscles bulged, and several black lightning bolts exploded and flashed around him. The ground beneath his feet could no longer withstand this sudden burst of power, fracturing into large, spiderweb-like cracks.
Whitebeard grinned, condensing terrifying power onto Murakumogiri, and slashed upwards at Renji, who was descending from the sky.
Boom!
The dark-patterned flaming blade collided with Murakumogiri from a distance. At the center of the blade clash, the peak Haki from Renji and Whitebeard intertwined and battled.
In an instant, countless black lightning bolts surged outwards, sweeping in all directions. The destructive power contained within them seemed to crush and annihilate even the air, turning the surroundings into a vacuum.
Conqueror's Haki spread out, and large numbers of Marines and pirates fainted under the impact of this power, unable to continue watching such a top-tier power duel.
The live projection was also interrupted.
On the execution platform, Sengoku's face was a mix of shock and joy. The flashing dark red lightning reflected on his face from afar, casting it in a dark red hue.
"This kid really isn't dead. But this is... Conqueror's Haki coating? Is its power really this strong?"
"What the hell are you doing, you brat!"
Garp's mouth was wide open, much like when he first saw Luffy land on the battlefield.
From Renji's stance and the power of this collision, it was almost identical to what Roger had used back then.
"However... let alone Roger at that age, even Roger in his prime, in terms of technique, seems to be inferior to Renji?"
As the man who had chased Roger across countless seas, Garp could be said to know Roger's moves like the back of his hand, and the credibility of his words was beyond doubt.
Ace and the Whitebeard Pirates' commanders were even more speechless, stunned by this scene. Many commanders couldn't help but recall the day when Shanks met their pops.
That single slash that tore the sky apart!
A drop of cold sweat slid down Marco's forehead.
He said, somewhat dazed, "This guy actually isn't dead. We clearly watched him get blasted into the sea. Why?"
"That guy is... the Marine who hurt my companions that day."
Luffy looked at the black-haired figure, and immediately recalled the scene that day when he was knocked to the ground by a single punch from him.
"Ugh, such strong power!"
Even from a long distance, he could feel the sharpness emanating from that move. If that move had been used on him back then, he would probably have been reduced to dust.
Was he doing it on purpose?
This thought couldn't help but take root in Luffy's heart. There was no way around it. Based on Renji's current performance, killing the Straw Hats on Shambles would have been no different from slaughtering chickens.
—
"Gurararara! Boy! Facing me, are you prepared?!"
Terrifying power continuously unleashed, black lightning serpents coiled into a terrifying Haki black hole above Whitebeard's head, furiously attacking Whitebeard's counterattack.
Yet Whitebeard still laughed loudly. Even though Renji's pouring power occasionally tore through his defenses and entered his body, it didn't make him show the slightest hint of retreat.
"The old era, half-buried in the earth, shall be overturned here today. The New World has no ship to carry you."
Renji continuously felt a tingling sensation in his hands. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Despite being severely injured, Whitebeard's strength was still astonishing. If Marco and the others were to face this move of his, he could definitely tear through their defenses head-on.
Where would they even have the energy to exchange taunts with him?
"Gurararara, the New World has no ship to carry me? An old general, though old, can still fight." Whitebeard laughed heartily, the clash of their powers reaching its end.
"A young man of astonishing talent, even Roger back then wasn't as terrifying as you. As long as you exist, the era of pirates can never arrive." Whitebeard muttered, a dangerous aura enveloping Renji.
On the execution platform, Sengoku's eyelids twitched.
He quickly picked up the Den Den Mushi and shouted, "All forces, fully cover Renji!"
"If you die, Sengoku will have a huge headache, won't he?"
Whitebeard grinned, and despite the un-dried blood at the corners of his lips, he still maintained his kingly demeanor without a hint of diminution.
"There's no one in this world who can kill me, let alone an old geezer like you who's on his last legs."
Renji gave a charmingly evil smile, causing Whitebeard to be even more surprised. The confident and calm expression on Renji's face as he spoke seemed innate, as if he were stating an ordinary fact.
Buzz... Buzz... Buzz...
At the end of Whitebeard and Renji's clash, the terrifying power fluctuations furiously contracted to the center of their remote confrontation, then suddenly exploded.
In this monumental war, which would go down in history, Whitebeard gave his all mere minutes after his appearance. Subsequently, his greatest feat was etched into Marineford.
...
The entire Marineford battlefield became distorted after this power explosion.
Whitebeard faintly heard.
"Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void!"