Paramount War (Sixteen) / Paramount War (Seventeen)
"Hehehe... He's qualified as a bounty hunter, but he's a complete failure as a person." Moria laughed gleefully, "I wonder what price the Navy paid to make this kid willingly become their lackey! I'm really curious, will the Navy step in and rescue such a fine lackey from Whitebeard?!"
"So, what will you do?"
Mihawk, standing beside him, sharpened his gaze and thought to himself.
"How terrifying. Someone who isn't even a third party has become the center of attention. Fleet Admiral Sengoku's Devil Fruit has really made him rich." Kizaru, who had already descended from the sky and was commanding the nearby naval forces, looked at the huge Kizaru emerging from the thick smoke. Even from this distance, he could feel the aura of a volcanic eruption, and he couldn't help but purse his lips and say jokingly.
"The World's Strongest Man, 'Whitebeard' Edward Newgate-- "
From the moment Whitebeard jumped off the Moby Dick, there was no one within a kilometer radius of Arthur.
Whether it was the navy or the sea cavalry, they all tacitly relinquished this area, either as a battlefield or as a grave for Arthur.
Not only did many people stop fighting, but even the Den Den Mushi paused, preparing to broadcast the World's Strongest Man's outburst and the death of the strongest rookie boy to the entire world.
He watched as the Whitebeard approached, his face obscured by shadows, his expression unreadable, his footsteps echoing across the ground.
Ordinary people would have been terrified out of their wits by that enormous figure and its imposing aura.
But Arthur remained fearless, gripping Excalibur in both hands, his eyes fixed firmly on Whitebeard.
Thinking of the bounty of one hundred million on Hai Ni, the World's Strongest Man with a murderous gaze, who was now approaching with murderous intent, intending to use his own life to atone for his deceased son...
For some reason, Arthur's heart suddenly started pounding.
Surprisingly, he felt no fear whatsoever; on the contrary, he was incredibly calm and showed no sign of retreat or cowardice.
Having been in this world for over a year, Arthur, who inherited everything from King Arthur, has won battle after battle against his enemies and has yet to suffer a defeat.
Unconsciously, Arthur had already abandoned his former otaku personality. The system's repeated enhancements had instilled in him the heart of a strongman.
This strong will may not be obvious yet, but Arthur's behavior since Sky Island has fully revealed it; he has long since lost all fear.
Perhaps even he didn't realize that this was a precursor to the Awakening of a new ability.
Perhaps even he didn't realize that this was a precursor to the Awakening of a new ability.
Whoosh—Boom!
A deafening whooshing sound rang out, and Arthur's vision went dark. He looked up and met a pair of indifferent eyes looking down at him. A rare, extremely excited smile appeared on Arthur's usually handsome and composed face, "This sense of oppression is just fantastic!!"
A sense of oppression, a suffocating feeling!
Since his transmigration, Arthur has only felt this through the thug who almost brought him to his death.
····Requesting flowers·· ··
Since Awakening the system and obtaining the Excalibur, neither Smoker, Crocodile, Enel, Jozu, Marco, nor even Kizaru have been able to give him that experience again.
Now, that feeling has returned, and Arthur is filled with nothing but passion.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."
With a few spins of his naginata, Whitebeard swung it down at Arthur from his elevated position.
'Buzz~'
As the blade sliced through the air, a transparent white light wave appeared during its descent.
It was a fatal blow from the very first strike.
'Mana Burst (A)--'
'Armament Haki (B)--'
0
'A seal is broken--'
With Mana surging within him, the power systems of the two worlds further strengthened his body and weapons. A fearless smile appeared on Arthur's handsome face, and golden light emanated from the air and the ground, rapidly converging towards him.
Arthur, wielding the Excalibur in both hands, charged forward to meet the attack.
"Boom--!"
'Sizzle...!'
It wasn't Excalibur, but merely a slash of Mana converted into light. Arthur's Excalibur collided with the naginata floating with transparent white light waves.
At the moment of impact, the Whitebeard face covered with dark lines suddenly widened its tiger-like eyes.
An extremely domineering aura, so powerful that it could make anyone faint at the mere sight of it, pressed down on Arthur like a mountain.
Feeling that invisible pressure, Arthur's breath hitched, his heart seemed to stop beating, and his emerald green eyes went limp for a moment.
The next moment, dark red sparks of electricity flashed around the two of them.
An invisible aura stirred up endless dust, reaching the battlefield of Suju.
Bang bang--
A series of heavy thuds echoed as the fighting on the battlefield seemed to pause temporarily.
"Ding! You have mastered the skill -- Conqueror's Haki (B)!"
Chapter 102 The Paramount War (Part Sixteen)
(Second update!)
'Sizzle...'
On the vast battlefield, two figures, one tall and one short, seemed to be wrestling. Their attacks, one golden and one transparent white, formed an energy ring of two intersecting colors, entangling Arthur and Whitebeard.
Whoosh--
An invisible yet all-consuming storm, wave after wave, roared out from the clash of their attacks and auras.
Strands of dark red electricity flickered on and off.
The sound of electric currents colliding resounded throughout my body.
"Ding! You have mastered the skill -- Conqueror's Haki (B)!"
Unbeknownst to him, his lifeless eyes had regained their color, and Arthur had returned to his usual handsome and composed demeanor. He felt the Mana within his body being consumed faster and faster, and the power emanating from the Sword of Victory, Oath "937," was growing stronger. The vibration surging from the sword caused his hands, which had been strengthened by two power systems, to tremble slightly.
Arthur merely smiled slightly at this.
"Conqueror's Haki..."
"It's a clash of Conqueror's Haki!"
"The kingly talent that only one in a million possesses... that kid is just like his Pops!"
"..."
Dark red sparks flashed, and an aura that covered the entire battlefield caused countless weaker individuals to faint.
Countless people stared wide-eyed at the 'Knight of Knights' who remained unaffected and continued to confront Whitebeard.
"Heh heh~ The one who wields that King's Sword should have been able to see long ago that he's not one to settle for mediocrity." Doflamingo trembled, unable to suppress a low laugh, "A knight with the potential to be a king, he is a king that all knights in the world must look up to!"
"The same Conqueror's Haki as mine?" Hancock, standing only two steps away from Doflamingo, bit her slender finger slightly, her beautiful eyes scanning the white-clad knight below who showed no fear even when fighting the World's Strongest Man, and thought to herself.
"Hmph, as expected, they're no good!" Akainu, who hadn't moved from the Admirals' seats, had an even stronger look of hostility in his eyes.
"This brat's audacity is enough to rival Whitebeard?!"
Compared to the sighs of these people, Sengoku on the Execution Platform saw further. Looking at the young man who faced off against the Whitebeard with complete composure, he repeatedly shattered his previous assessment of him.
I hope it really is for fame!
Otherwise, the sea will become even more chaotic.
"Drink! The second seal is broken!"
Unbeknownst to Arthur, countless people were astonished by his possession of Conqueror's Haki and his ability to rival Whitebeard.
At this moment, he was completely focused on the unprecedented enemy before him.
Whitebeard was incredibly strong; the title of the World's Strongest Man was no exaggeration.
An enraged Whitebeard is as terrifying as Demon King.
Jozu's death fueled a deep-seated murderous intent in him towards Arthur, to the point that even knowing this was a battlefield and could potentially endanger the lives of his other sons, he couldn't help but unleash his Conqueror's Haki.
The naginata that slashed down was imbued with the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Arthur's Excalibur clashed with Whitebeard's naginata, consuming a tremendous amount of Mana every second. His arm, strengthened by Mana Burst (A) and Armament Haki (B), was already strained from a slight to a severe degree and was nearing its limit.
If one loses in a contest of strength, then what awaits is a bombardment of earthquake-like forces that alter the earth's surface.
The Paramecia- Tremor Tremor-Tremor Fruit, especially its attack imbued with rage and killing intent, is no joke if you get hit head-on.
With this in mind, Arthur, who had little Mana left in his body, forcibly caused the surrounding air and ground to emit a large amount of golden light, which then converged towards him.
A faint golden light shimmered in his emerald green eyes.
"Excalibur--"
With a loud shout, Arthur pressed his hands, which were gripping the hilt of his sword, forward with force.
Boom!!
'Buzz~ Click!'
"Boom--!"
A dazzling golden light roared out.
The transparent white light waves clinging to the blade collided violently with the roaring Golden Torrent...
The next moment, the entire battlefield shook violently.
'Snap snap...'
The atmosphere shattered, and the icy earth, like a mirror that had been struck by lightning, rapidly expanded with countless cracks, spewing out icy air.
Centered on Arthur and Whitebeard, the surrounding snow-covered land within a kilometer radius was transformed into a massive crater.
Whoosh--
Faced with the shockwaves generated by the disintegration of the atmosphere, the golden light, which had initially roared, quickly lost its power as it was greatly reduced, creating a massive cloud of dust before disappearing completely.
But the earth continued to tremble.
A slightly disheveled figure suddenly emerged from the thick smoke.
"What a terrifying ability!"
After landing, Arthur, whose face was pale from the depletion of Mana, stared at the huge figure slowly walking towards him from the thick smoke and clicked his tongue slightly.
Arthur had no idea that the transparent white light wave that Whitebeard had attached to the blade would unleash such terrifying power.
Excalibur, containing Golden Torrent of cutting and high-temperature evaporation, was extinguished before it could break through the aura that erupted after the atmosphere shattered.
That was truly a father's furious blow!
Without using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit (1.4), Arthur already possesses top-tier strength among the Shichibukai in terms of Observation Haki (A++), Mana Burst (A), Armament Haki (B), and Swordsmanship (A).
With the added Excalibur's True Name Release, even Admiral could hold his own for a while.
If Arthur uses the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, his four attributes will be boosted to level four (A), making him a true Admiral- level fighter.
However, while this strength is enough to fight against the four Monsters from the New World, there is still a slight gap.
To completely defeat them, the Excalibur must break the Seven Seals and unleash its full power of True Name Release.
Or perhaps it's the complete Awakening of the Holy Lance!
Chapter 103 The Paramount War (Part 17)
(Third update!)
"East Starlion" --
With his Mana completely depleted, Arthur stared at the enormous figure emerging from the thick smoke, then suddenly looked up and shouted at the sky.