"... My men!"
Whitebeard had barely given the order to "start the battle," and Shanks hadn't even said anything formal when Sig suddenly unleashed a dozen miniature tridents at the Mobydia, most of them aimed at Whitebeard!
Regardless of whether they were red or white, their first reaction was bewilderment—"Little brother, are you really that brave?"
However, Whitebeard's sons, especially Jozu, the third division commander of the "Shield of Steel," obviously wouldn't just stand by and watch that thing hurtle towards them...
Although they believed that to their Old Man it was just a "toy," the Captain had to be as shrewd as Captain. Before anything even happened, he was forced to take action by the other man's men, which put him at a disadvantage in terms of momentum!
Despite his large size, Jozu was incredibly fast, instantly appearing in front of Whitebeard and using his body to deflect Sig's miniature trident, which was imbued with Armament Haki and electricity.
As the user of the Glitter-Glitter Fruit, Jozu is a "Diamond Man" whose body can transform into diamond, giving him extremely strong physical defense—he can train all his Armament Haki to defend against attacks of high temperature and other elemental attributes!
However...
The real surprise is yet to come!
A miniature trident that had struck Jozu's eyelid bounced off and landed directly on his head, but he didn't even blink!
Originally, as a symbol of absolute defense, using one's eyelids to deflect an opponent's attack was undoubtedly very cool, but...
The next instant, Sig appeared directly above Jozu's head!
Not to mention Jozu, even Whitebeard couldn't react in time—even if he were young to his peak, it wouldn't have mattered. This was true "near-light speed" movement; no matter how strong Observation Haki was, it would be impossible to react in time.
Sig's actions, on the other hand, were calculated instinctively before he even moved.
Sig pressed his left hand against the back of Jozu's head, straddled him with his legs spread wide, and slammed his right fist directly into Whitebeard's face!
At this moment, Sig's consciousness had also caught up with his faster-moving body, and he looked at the Whitebeard before him...
His head was knocked to the side... but not completely!
Yes, time is indeed the "strongest" nemesis. If it were ten years later, when Whitebeard's body had completely fallen into a slump due to old age, even a pirate like the Great Whirlpool Spider with a bounty of 200 million could pierce his chest with a sword when he was completely unprepared.
If this scene were to occur ten years from now, Whitebeard might actually get knocked over by Sig's punch and have his neck twisted violently.
But now... as expected of Whitebeard, even when he was completely caught off guard and Sieg punched Sig in the face, only half of his cheek bulged up and his neck twisted slightly by about five degrees...
Whitebeard's eyes also turned five degrees, staring directly at Sig, whose fist was still on his face.
Sig: Σ(⊙▽⊙"a
A moment of silence fell over the scene...
Whether others believe it or not, not only Whitebeard, but even Sig himself was caught off guard just now!
Immediately afterward, Sig felt the Whitebeard's pupils dilate, and a sense of dread rose from within him—from the heart of Sig, the master of mindset and "Hypnotist"!
At that moment, Sig felt as if the air around him... no, the space itself, had become viscous, and time itself had slowed down.
The only thing that didn't slow down was Whitebeard's left hook.
Not only did it not slow down, but when the left hook came down, the viscous feeling in the surrounding space also turned into a feeling of trembling and shattering.
Walk, walk, walk faster!
Sig felt like his head was going to be knocked off its head after that punch!
"Lightning speed" is an understatement. In this delicate state, it was the "Hypnotist's " powerful mind that came into play. At the last moment, Sig was able to activate "near-light speed" movement again. Before moving over, Sig left a mini trident on the deck of the Red Force.
In an instant, Sig was back on the Red Force...
Following the Whitebeard's missed punch, a crack, seemingly formed in space, appeared in three dimensions between the two ships, spreading out and creating towering waves on the sea.
It couldn't even be called a "miss," because Sig landed and still rolled quite a distance backward, almost falling directly into the sea from the other side of the deck.
However, in the end, Sig refused to give up and forcefully stabilize himself, maintaining his squatting position until he stood up.
A spark flashed across his right cheek—the hit had missed a bit. To save face, Sig quickly applied some electrotherapy, and with the help of the "Rose Bishop's" ability, the damage from the electrotherapy was completely covered up.
"Ptooey..." Sig spat out a few teeth—half of his upper and lower jaws had fallen out.
However, after licking his gums, new teeth had already grown in, so his face still looked quite normal.
At this moment, Sig felt his progress in playing the "Wind-blessed" role was increasing at an absolutely explosive rate!
Looking back, Sig himself felt incredibly reckless; anyone with a modicum of sense wouldn't have done that. But... as a pirate, while he was still shaken, he would never regret throwing that punch.
While it may have been thoughtless, since the whole idea was to invite everyone to "start the fight," what was wrong with throwing a punch first?
In the silence between the two armies, Sig waved his right fist at the Mobydia and said, "Old man, don't swallow your teeth!"
Don't underestimate the significance of "five degrees"; it means that Whitebeard wasn't completely immune to damage. Considering that Whitebeard is now over sixty, Sig is about 50% certain... that he has at least two loose teeth!
Whether or not it actually fell, if you let go of such an opportunity to gain a verbal advantage, can you still be considered a pirate?
Should we offer a polite apology, or express remorse for attacking the elderly comrade? Don't bring shame to the Skull and Cross flag...
"Kid..." The Whitebeard's aura had materialized, making his pupils invisible, and all that could be seen was a white light.
Sig that this was the effect of Conqueror's Haki —it was so overwhelming that even if one wasn't knocked unconscious on the spot, one would instinctively be unwilling to look directly into its eyes, and would then imagine them as flashing with a blinding light in one's mind.
On the Red-Hair Pirates' side, many of the non-commissioned crew members had already been knocked unconscious...
But just then, a cheer erupted from the Red Force —we've got the first-mover advantage! Anyway, this punch has certainly built up momentum!
Although they were shocked by Sig's recklessness, since they were now on the opposing side, there was no question of "worrying about provoking him."
At the same time, the massive wave that had been surging towards the Red Force under Whitebeard's imposing aura was pushed back by a slightly smaller wave. The Whitebeard Pirates, at this moment, felt that Shanks' eyes were also burning with white light...