The Death of Whitebeard

"Furthermore, the Celestial Dragons possess even more abundant resources: Paramecia Devil Fruits that have already been developed with clear progression paths, powerful Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits, the armor of Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki infused into bodies or weapons, and even the use of Conqueror's Haki for long-range strikes..." Sengoku exhaled, revealing almost everything he knew in one breath.

It was precisely these things that made him deeply wary of the World Government, leaving him completely unable to resist them.

Boom!

Just then.

A massive roar from not far away echoed across the sky, drawing the attention of everyone present.

Looking up, one could see a sphere of light in the sky, carrying intense vibrations as if it could tear through space, flying continuously upward.

This slash, which carried the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit combined with Whitebeard's strength as a Great Swordsman, made even Hawkeye, the world's greatest swordsman, light up with interest.

As a pure swordsman, he actually looked down on those who used Devil Fruit abilities to enhance their swordsmanship.

However, he had to admit that Whitebeard's "Vibration Slash," which perfectly integrated vibrations into the strike, possessed a greater lethality than ordinary sword qi.

For instance, in terms of cutting power.

If Zhu Mang knew Hawkeye's thoughts, he would surely give him a thumbs-up and recommend something from science fiction called a "Vibration Particle Blade."

And this strike from Whitebeard had achieved a somewhat similar effect.

Wherever it passed, space shattered inch by inch, leaving a spiderweb-like trail of cracks in its wake.

As for its target.

At this moment, he remained motionless, simply letting it approach.

"Is he waiting to die?"

"Impossible, he's the man who destroyed tens of thousands of pirates with a mere gesture!"

"What is he doing?"

"Too arrogant! Even Kaido of the Four Emperors wouldn't dare face Whitebeard's slash like that!"

Until this "Vibration Slash," which was almost Whitebeard's swan song, reached him.

He moved!

Zhu Mang raised a hand.

"Let me show you the Armor of Qi I've derived from Armament Haki!"

Zhu Mang held two fingers in front of him, aiming at Whitebeard's slash.

Condensed to the extreme and even visible to the naked eye, the Qi gathered on his joined index and middle fingers.

Clang!

It sounded as if metal had struck even harder steel.

It was as if a kitchen knife had chopped onto a diamond.

"Hmph!"

With Zhu Mang's soft shout, Whitebeard's strike, which had used almost all his remaining strength, was first blocked by Zhu Mang's casual sword-finger, and then, with that shout, it simply dissipated on the spot.

The spatial ruptures caused by the vibrations behind it also vanished.

"This... you've got to be kidding, right?"

"How is that possible! That was Pops' attack..."

"He neutralized the world's strongest attack with just a finger and a shout..."

At this moment, whether they were Marines or pirates, everyone's jaws dropped to the floor, unable to pick them back up for a long time.

"Gurararara... cough, cough, cough, cough—" Whitebeard slammed his Murakumogiri into the ground beside him. His body, already on the verge of collapse, could no longer hold on after that strike, and blood gushed out frantically as if it were worthless.

"Pops!" Marco rushed to Whitebeard's side with a tearful voice, holding him up and continuously using his Phoenix Flame to help him recover.

Ace, Diamond Jozu, and the others also rushed over, but realizing they were powerless, they could only stand by and watch.

"Marco," Whitebeard placed his other hand on his head, stroking his pineapple-like hair, "Remember my words: take care of your brothers and sisters and live on well."

He thought again of his dilapidated homeland.

Over the years, he had sent all the money he earned there, but for such a massive population, it was still a drop in the bucket.

The people still lived in poverty.

But now, there seemed to be a new hope.

He took one last look at the children behind him, a satisfied smile curling at the corners of his mouth: "I believe this man can lead you to overthrow the evil rule of the Celestial Dragons. I really wish I could see that day come..."

The light in Whitebeard's eyes gradually dimmed until it finally lost all vitality.

"Pops!!!"

Marco and the others broke down into a chorus of sobs.

Above.

Zhu Mang, who had thought he'd pulled off a perfect display of dominance, scratched his head.

Damn that Whitebeard, letting me show off but cutting it short—how detestable!

Pirates really are all rotten to the core!

He descended, casting a glance at Whitebeard's corpse. Though curious as to how he could remain standing even after truly dying, he wasn't thick-headed enough to go over and poke at him or study the mechanics of it.

He looked down at Marco and the others, pondering the fact that these people seemed entirely useless to him.

In the original story, the Whitebeard Pirates were crippled in a single battle against the Blackbeard Pirates led by Blackbeard, and later picked off one by one by that idiot Edward Weevil.

Living forever in Whitebeard's shadow, not a single one of them could stand on their own.

Even Marco, who possessed the combat strength of a First Mate, only ever managed to get one foot into the level of the Four Emperors, never truly crossing that threshold.

Given that, what use could they possibly have in the coming great war?

After all, he was a very lazy man.

At most, he would help take out the high-end combatants among the Celestial Dragons, such as Imu and her big treasure, Uranus, or perhaps the Holy Knights.

As for the die-hard CP0 agents or the Marine Corps under the Celestial Dragons... if the Marines and the other natives of the One Piece World couldn't even handle those, then they deserved to be ruled by the Celestial Dragons.

"Go report to Sengoku," Zhu Mang said, leaving those words behind as he prepared to depart.

"What? Report to the Fleet Admiral? No way, I'm a pirate!"

"That's right, Marco, are you planning to defect to the Marines? Or are you going to join this monkey-tailed man who killed so many of our brothers and even killed Pops?"

Zzzzt—

Several beams of light cut through the crowd, piercing directly through the bodies of those who had been clamoring.

As the bodies hit the ground one by one, the others finally snapped back to reality.

The person before them was a ferocious entity who had slaughtered tens of thousands and extinguished Whitebeard's full-power strike with a single breath!

What room did they have to clamor here?

"Heh, stubborn to the end!" Zhu Mang sneered. "It seems I'll have to give you all a thorough cleansing before I can recruit you... Forget it, that's too much trouble. Maybe I should just kill you all instead."

As he spoke, Zhu Mang extended a finger, and a ball of energy slowly condensed at its tip.

After his soul and body had completely fused, his control over his physical form and the energy within had improved drastically.

Techniques like the Spirit Ball, which were relatively simple, could now be deployed with complete ease.

"No, wait!" Feeling the terrifying energy contained within that palm-sized ball, Marco broke out in a cold sweat. Forgetting his grief and his vow to his father, he rushed forward to stop him.

Zhu Mang stared coldly into his eyes.

After a moment, he dissipated the energy ball.

"Kill everyone who refuses to submit or wants to keep being a pirate; otherwise, I will kill every last one of you!"