The powerful vibration force clearly withstood the power of Hakai.
But it could also be seen that Hakai's offensive was stronger and was constantly disintegrating the tremor's power.
However, there was a crucial difference between them. Newgate's power hadn't yet been exhausted, but Hakai had already been launched.
Therefore, it was soon apparent that Newgate's arms began compressing backward. The trembling force seemed to want to envelop Hakai entirely.
But how could Charlotte Linlin and Kaido give Newgate such an opportunity?
Everything had pros and cons. Newgate's power hadn't been exhausted yet, so he could continue controlling the vibration force to fight against Hakai.
As for Charlotte Linlin and Kaido, although they could no longer add pressure to Hakai, they'd freed their hands!
It was time to launch the next round of offensive!
So while Newgate was suppressing Hakai, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, one holding a kanabo and the other gripping the Emperor Sword, rushed toward Newgate from left and right.
But at this moment, a blue flame flashed across the battlefield, blocking Kaido at tremendous speed and kicking him backward.
On the other side, another figure rushed in rapidly.
The figure looked somewhat bloated and disheveled. He seemed to have picked up a machete from somewhere. Surrounded by Haki, he stood before Charlotte Linlin.
It seemed as if both wanted to buy Newgate some time.
But it was useless. Kaido was extremely powerful and struck out with his kanabo. "Raimei Hakke!"
As a Mythical Zoan user, Marco was actually quite powerful, but he hadn't reached his peak yet. Or rather, he hadn't reached it yet. Simultaneously, when facing Kaido, he suffered from the disadvantage of having no proper weapon.
Kaido's strike sent him flying on the spot.
His entire upper body was shattered into pieces. Fortunately, he had the Phoenix ability. Otherwise, he would have died instantly.
On the other side, Charlotte Linlin also roared. "Napoleon!"
Scorching flame ignited on the Emperor Sword's blade. It slashed down suddenly on the machete in the bloated figure's hand.
Then Charlotte Linlin's eyes filled with surprise, because she could feel the blade had been blocked.
This was genuinely surprising, because Charlotte Linlin didn't even recognize the person before her and had thought he was just some small fry. But this guy had actually blocked her strike?
That's right. The one blocking Charlotte Linlin at this moment was none other than the cunning Teach.
In truth, he hadn't used his full strength yet.
In the original timeline, Shanks had suffered a loss at Teach's hands during the Battle of the Four Emperors, getting slashed across the eye. At that time, Shanks already possessed the strength to compete for Yonko status.
So compared to that version of Shanks, Teach now might not match him in raw power.
But one certainly couldn't treat Teach, who hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit, as a weakling. He was at least at the same level as Marco, or even stronger.
After eating the Dark-Dark Fruit and mastering the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power in the original timeline, he'd basically reached boss level. After that, he'd never really taken serious action. It could only be said he'd defeated the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates. His specific strength was hard to gauge, but he'd deserved his Yonko throne.
Actually, Teach could have held on longer, but he didn't want to reveal too much of his strength here. He'd jumped out this time just to show loyalty to Pops. He also believed Pops definitely wouldn't be defeated so quickly.
So after briefly blocking Charlotte Linlin, Teach suddenly spat blood, pretending he couldn't bear it. The ground beneath his feet gave way. He was directly knocked away by Charlotte Linlin's blade.
After sending Teach flying, Charlotte Linlin was still somewhat confused. She always felt something was off, but couldn't pinpoint what.
But there was no time to think about it. After sending Teach and Marco flying, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin rushed directly toward Newgate from left and right.
A smile appeared at the corner of Newgate's mouth.
At the moment Kaido and Charlotte Linlin leaped up, Newgate roared. The tremor power in his hands dissipated instantly, leaving only a small portion, which became more condensed and blocked before him.
Then Charlotte Linlin and Kaido were both stunned. The next second, the Hakai that Newgate had previously forcibly suppressed with tremor power exploded on the spot!
Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and Newgate were instantly blown away in three directions by the powerful impact.
The entire island shook.
Then, not long after, the three disheveled combatants stood up again and resumed their fierce battle.
Meanwhile, on Smoker's ship, Finn was using Den Den Mushi to learn about the frontline situation.
"Newgate can still fight? Even has the upper hand?" Finn asked the receiver in surprise.
He now knew the old man Whitebeard had been stabbed in the chest by Charlotte Linlin seizing an opportunity. That sounded extremely serious.
Finn had felt somewhat heavy at the time. After severely injuring Whitebeard, if Kaido and Charlotte Linlin joined forces, it was genuinely possible they could kill him.
After a while, he'd heard that Whitebeard had beaten Kaido and Charlotte Linlin.
He was very surprised, confused, and thought it was outrageous!
"It's true, Admiral. Although we were too far away and couldn't hear much, I vaguely heard Charlotte Linlin and Kaido talking about... ahem... Whitebeard's ability having awakened. So even if it's two against one and he's seriously injured, Whitebeard is still suppressing Kaido and Charlotte Linlin!" Lucci said quickly through the Den Den Mushi.
At this moment, he was hiding on Jam Island. He couldn't see clearly and didn't dare approach too closely for fear of being swept away by the aftermath. But as for his hearing, because of his Leopard ability, his hearing was exceptionally strong. Even from such distance, he could faintly hear things.
Finn was even more surprised now.
"Impossible!" Finn said without hesitation.
As a Paramecia ability user, he and Newgate were both rule-based category users. He certainly understood how difficult it was to awaken Paramecia abilities in their hands. It could even be said it was impossible to awaken them.
Take Finn, for example. What would happen if his Press-Press Fruit truly awakened? He might even be able to control everything in the world and push the planet forward. In that case, he wouldn't be a Paramecia user anymore. He'd be Superman.
This was undoubtedly impossible.
He'd also tried to develop so-called awakening power but couldn't find any signs of it. From the perspective of normal world cognition, once the Press-Press Fruit awakened, it would definitely break through the limits of this world. So theoretically speaking, it was impossible to awaken. The Devil Fruit itself was a product of this world, so how could it break through the world's limits?
Similarly, although Finn had studied many books and scholars' theories about Devil Fruits, he knew that in essence, the rule level of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit wasn't as high as that of the Press-Press Fruit.
But there was no doubt the Tremor-Tremor Fruit was also a rule-based ability.
In other words, if Newgate truly mastered the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power at the deepest and most fundamental level and achieved so-called awakening, he could directly shatter the planet. That would genuinely destroy the world. So how could he possibly awaken?
Unless it was another situation. Finn was looking in the wrong direction from the root, and the awakening of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and Press-Press Fruit wouldn't actually have such massive impact. Or there were other options...
But this possibility wasn't high.
In short, Finn didn't believe at all that Newgate's Tremor-Tremor Fruit would awaken.
But if he didn't believe it at this moment, how could he explain how Newgate could suppress Charlotte Linlin and Kaido after being stabbed?
"It's true!" Lucci said helplessly.
Finn's expression was uncertain. The world's strongest person had awakened the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Did this make sense?
In fact, the current situation could only be blamed on Lucci's lack of insight.
If Finn were present at the scene, he'd definitely be able to see that although Newgate had the upper hand, it was only temporary. He was just holding on.
On the contrary, although Charlotte Linlin and Kaido were at a disadvantage, the real advantage was actually in their hands.
Newgate only held a tactical advantage, relying on his momentum and false awakening to temporarily deceive Kaido and Charlotte Linlin. He'd frightened them into not using their full strength, always retaining some power to counter the so-called awakening. But over time, his flaws would inevitably be discovered.
Conversely, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin could definitely fight a protracted battle with Newgate, gradually figuring out the power of this "awakening." At the same time, they could also use their physical advantages to drain Newgate's stamina.
That's right. From the very beginning, as long as Newgate didn't crush Charlotte Linlin and Kaido with overwhelming force, then Kaido and Charlotte Linlin could slowly wear Newgate down while he was seriously injured.
They had the advantage in comprehensive strength.
Lucci couldn't see the essence of this due to his limited vision and strength. He could only see that it seemed Whitebeard was suppressing Kaido and Charlotte Linlin. The fight appeared very majestic and powerful.
But Whitebeard was unable to inflict serious injuries on them. Instead, he himself had been severely wounded from the beginning.
"Keep observing. If anything happens, report to me immediately," Finn ordered and then disconnected.
In truth, over the past two years, Finn had always been very confident in himself. He'd thought that even if he challenged Whitebeard, the strongest man, head-on, he should have a fifty percent chance of winning, or even higher.
Honestly, if he were a pirate, he would have grabbed the title of "strongest" long ago.
But he was a Marine Admiral and had to keep pace with the overall rhythm of the Marines. So he'd never attacked Whitebeard. To keep pace with the Marines' overall tone, he'd been very low-key in recent years and had hardly taken action.
But in Finn's heart, he no longer considered himself on the same level as Kaido and Charlotte Linlin. He felt he was stronger. Even the strongest.
However, today, he'd suddenly received news that Newgate's Devil Fruit ability had awakened. The news was very convincing. And Charlotte Linlin and Kaido, the two victims being beaten, had testified to it.
This shocked Finn. How strong was Whitebeard?
What had happened to him?
Why had he awakened again?
It didn't make sense!
"Am I not the protagonist as a transmigrator?" Finn murmured in a strange tone.
But soon, Finn adjusted his thoughts. His eyes showed intense interest and fighting spirit.
He was still skeptical about Whitebeard's ability awakening. He decided to try it himself. Simultaneously, he wanted to see how powerful this Newgate could be if he'd truly awakened!
"I hope you won't disappoint me..." Finn said softly.
Then he raised his hand and touched Shindokutō hanging at his waist. The sword, as if sensing Finn's thoughts, also trembled slightly.