It was as if two suns were colliding. Every time they clashed, space trembled, light twisted, sound was erased, and even the breathing of all living things seemed to freeze in that instant.
"Even Kaido can't defend against that power, yet this guy actually managed it!" King said in a low voice. Twenty years ago, he probably never would have imagined that Longinus, who had been only slightly stronger than him back then, would grow powerful enough that he could only look up to him now.
"No wonder he didn't react at all when I attacked his internal organs with a slash infused with advanced Armament Haki!" Shiryu's lips twitched faintly. At the time, he had thought it was because his development of Armament Haki was too poor.
Hearing that familiar yet unfamiliar voice, King turned his gaze over. "So you finally betrayed him too?"
Shiryu snorted coldly. "You don't look surprised at all."
"Of course I'm surprised. I'm surprised that you only betrayed him now." King's voice was calm, without the slightest fluctuation. "A man like you could never stay obediently in prison."
"You see through things pretty well."
"So? Want to join our Beasts Pirates?"
"Forget it. That savage pirate crew of yours isn't suitable for me. Besides, I've already found my own future."
"You've acknowledged a dead man as your boss? Your judgment is as terrible as ever!"
Shiryu smiled indifferently. "Don't underestimate that man's ambition. He won't die so easily!"
At the center of the battlefield, Longinus's injuries grew more numerous by the moment, yet his breathing remained perfectly steady. Whitebeard's fighting spirit grew stronger and stronger, but his body had already reached the brink of collapse.
Although Whitebeard had regained his youth, the injuries accumulated within his body had not vanished along with his aging.