Spatial Slash: Dark Sea

Aboard the Moby Dick.

Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki erupted!

"Everyone, get back!"

Marco's expression changed, and he hurriedly shoved several young crew members back.

Jozu stared intently at the warship across from them.

Vista tightened his grip on his sword. "Here it comes!"

Boom!!

The two bursts of Conqueror's Haki slammed together in the middle of the sea!

Hummm—

The air thrummed with a deep vibration. Waves between the two ships were forced apart, and the sails strained taut, flapping furiously.

Aboard the Moby Dick, several young crew members' eyes rolled back as they crumpled to the deck.

"Urgh!"

Things were little better on the warship. Law's knees gave out, and he fell to the deck, his vision going dark. He nearly passed out.

"Th-this is Conqueror's Haki too?!"

Vergo looked toward the churning sea in the distance, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"They're both... monsters!!"

But Ron stood at the bow, his smile undiminished.

Across hundreds of meters of sea, his gaze finally clashed with Whitebeard's.

"Gurararara!"

"Brat, show me what you can do!"

"Exactly what I had in mind!"

Ron stepped onto the gunwale and raised Zhenyuan high overhead.

His Observation Haki spread out first, covering the entire stretch of sea ahead.

Pitch-black Armament Haki climbed his arms and spread over Zhenyuan, casting a cold, eerie gleam across its massive blade.

Watching from behind him, Law even breathed more quietly.

During their usual practice, his master would make him adjust his positioning over and over just to move a piece of wood.

And now, those eyes were fixed on the entire sea.

"Rear Admiral..."

Vergo gripped the railing, his knuckles white. "Are you going to..."

"Don't worry."

Ron didn't look back. His voice drifted over on the sea breeze.

"The ship won't sink."

Vergo looked at the increasingly terrifying greatsword, his heart pounding. At least put the sword down before you say that!

Ron's voice carried across the sea.

"Newgate!"

"Let's see just how strong the World's Strongest Man really is!"

He gripped his sword in both hands and brought it down.

"Spatial Slash: Dark Sea!"

No massive wave of sword energy came screaming out. Instead, the sea went eerily still for an instant.

Crack.

A long, narrow Spatial Door opened along the crest of a wave.

A second.

A third.

Crack, crack, crack, crack—!

Countless narrow Spatial Doors opened in succession along the sword's path, linking end to end!

As the doors opened, they devoured the seawater ahead at a furious rate!

At the same time, exits opened one after another on both sides, spewing all the water they had swallowed out to the left and right!

Rumble!!

As the seawater was continuously displaced, the waves piled higher and higher on either side, forming two enormous walls of water in the blink of an eye!

A bottomless trench had been carved through the middle of the churning sea!

And the chain of pitch-black Spatial Doors was still racing toward the Moby Dick!

"Th-the sea's been cut open?!"

Law's eyes went wide, and he even forgot to breathe.

He suddenly understood why his master always said, "A wider range doesn't mean better control." This was nothing as simple as expanding a ROOM!

Vergo was already speechless.

He had followed Ron for so long and had seen doors redirect cannonballs and Dimension Slash strike from a distance.

But what swordsman could move the entire sea aside with a single swing?!

The laughter aboard the Moby Dick also stopped dead.

"Hey, hey..."

Marco's expression changed. "Isn't that a bit much?!"

"What the hell kind of nineteen-year-old can pull off an attack like that??"

Jozu rushed to the gunwale, his eyes round as saucers. "What the hell is that?!"

Vista stared at the steadily approaching slits, his grip on his sword tightening abruptly.

"The slash isn't flying at us at all... It appeared right over the sea in front of us!"

"That's swordsmanship too?!"

"Commander! That thing's coming for us!"

The crew finally panicked.

At the back of the deck, the smile vanished from Teach's face too.

He had thought a spatial ability was just convenient for moving around, handy for sneak attacks, and good for making a quick escape.

Only now did he see that, if the brat wanted to, he could casually cut an entire fleet to pieces.

"This guy..."

Teach slowly clenched his fists and lowered his head, quietly positioning everyone else in front of him as a shield.

Whitebeard, however, laughed even louder.

"Gurararara!"

"Good one, brat! You dare cut the sea open in front of me!"

He gripped Murakumogiri with both hands, and a ball of translucent white light gradually formed around its blade.

Crack.

Fine, spiderweb-like cracks appeared around the blade, and the Moby Dick rocked violently.

Marco's expression tightened. "Everyone, hold on! Pops is making his move!!"

Whitebeard watched the approaching chain of black doors, then abruptly put his strength into both arms.

"Brat!"

"You like saying hello this way too?!"

Murakumogiri swept out horizontally.

"Shockwave Slash!"

Boom—!

The blade, wrapped in a terrifying force of vibration, collided head-on with the chain of Spatial Doors.

Crack!

Crack, crack!

The doors at the front twisted violently, and the edges of the space holding the passage open shattered one after another.

The previously unbroken path of the slash was severed!

The next instant, the two forces fully collided.

Rumble!!

The pitch-black cutting line met the white shockwave. Large sections of the doors shattered on the spot, and the parted seawater lost its guidance and crashed back into place!

Some of the shockwave struck doors that hadn't closed in time, erupting from the sea hundreds of meters away in towering waves.

One enormous wave surged toward the warship.

Crack!

A huge Air Door suddenly opened in front of the bow and swallowed the entire wave.

"I see..."

Ron shook out his numb wrist, the fighting spirit in his eyes burning even brighter.

"So this is the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!"

"You really do live up to your title as the World's Strongest Man!"

In the distance, Whitebeard raised an eyebrow too.

"Gurararara!"

"Sakazuki's brat really does have some skill!"

Ron knew Whitebeard hadn't gone all out, but that single probing exchange was enough for him to gauge the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power.

And as Whitebeard looked at the black slits above the sea that had yet to fully dissipate, he took the young Rear Admiral a little more seriously.

Suddenly, Ron's lips curled upward.

He stepped forward, crossing into a Spatial Door that opened out of thin air before him.

A red light flashed in Whitebeard's eyes, and he leaped from the bow.

The next instant, Ron appeared in midair directly in front of the Moby Dick.

"Newgate!"

Gripping his sword in both hands, Ron slashed Zhenyuan diagonally upward, Conqueror's Haki surging along its blade!

Whitebeard grinned, showing no intention of backing down.

"Good one, brat!"

Black-and-red Haki abruptly coiled around Murakumogiri, and the white shockwave on its blade swelled!

He put his strength into both arms and brought the blade down hard!

Boom—!!

Before Zhenyuan and Murakumogiri had truly touched, black-and-red lightning burst wildly between the two weapons!

The two terrifying bursts of Haki pressed fiercely against each other!

The dark clouds overhead were split apart, rolling explosively to either side as daylight streamed through the gap!

"Master—!!"

Law gripped the railing tightly and stared up into the air, his voice breaking.

Vergo stood in front of him, his back already soaked in cold sweat.

Aboard the Moby Dick.

"Everyone, get down!"

Blue flames suddenly erupted around Marco. He transformed into the Phoenix and spread his enormous wings to shield the crew behind him!

Jozu tensed every muscle, his feet planted firmly on the deck.

Vista drew his swords half an inch, his gaze fixed on the two figures in the air, even his breathing growing quieter.

Teach stood at the very back of the crowd, looking up at the interwoven black-and-red light, his pupils contracting slightly.

This brat can actually withstand Pops' Tremor-Tremor power head-on?!

He clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.

In midair, the two weapons pressed against each other without touching, neither able to overpower the other.

The wind whipped the waves violently to either side, and the clouds continued to tear apart along the line of their clash.

Their gazes met across their blades, one blazing with fighting spirit, the other bold and imposing as a mountain.

Neither gave an inch.