RUMBLE!!!
The whole world fell silent. A mass of blazing light towered at its center, black and red lightning crackling all around it. The sky had darkened, and the heavy clouds swirled overhead.
An invisible shock wave surged outward like a monstrous tsunami.
Explosions erupted wherever it passed, leaving nothing but utter destruction.
"He actually blocked Dad's punch head-on."
"Has Gaia Chaos really become this terrifying?"
The Whitebeard Pirates' crew members were hurled away by wave after wave of shock, staring at the clash at the center in disbelief.
Marco and the others felt as if they were witnessing something unreal.
The first time they'd met on Sabaody Archipelago, Gild Tesoro had been little more than a cocky young punk. Against Dad, he'd stood no chance.
But now, he could take Dad's punches head-on.
Marco, Jozu, and Vista all felt an intense sense of danger.
Perhaps—maybe, probably—they were no match for Gild Tesoro anymore.
Honestly, Marco and the others felt awful.
They'd once been confident they could overpower their opponent, but before they knew it, he'd left them behind.
This outcome wasn't surprising.
Over the years, Marco and the others had lived under Whitebeard's protection and never trained seriously. They'd never faced setbacks or felt a sense of crisis.
Chaos, on the other hand, was always training, always stirring up trouble, always picking deadly fights, and always seeking to understand the true meaning of life.
Marco might not even be a match for the Marine Sisters anymore.
Time treated everyone equally. Some people used it to work hard and improve, while others spent it idly. In the end, the gap between them only grew wider.
While Marco and the others were shocked and disbelieving, Crocodile and his companions stood on another hillside, completely unfazed. To them, this was only to