"There is no ship in the New World that can carry me!"
Whitebeard's furious roar rolled out like muffled thunder, booming in every direction.
Watching Murakumogiri draw ever closer, Noah's gaze shifted slightly. After a moment of silence, he let out a soft sigh.
His condition was far better now. Against Whitebeard's final attack, with his strength nearly spent, he could have easily blocked it with a casual punch.
But at that moment, Noah still solemnly tightened his grip on the two swords in his hands.
"Rest in peace, Whitebeard."
Buzz!
Wind-Thunder Swordsmanship: Origin Slash!
A violent gale erupted as azure lightning surged and howled. Noah's body became like a bolt of thunder, crossing paths with Whitebeard in midair.
When he sheathed his swords and stood suspended in the air, turning back to look, he saw the blade called Murakumogiri begin to crack apart from its tip, shattering inch by inch and scattering to the ground.
Like its master, after several hours of fighting at the edge of life and death, this Saijo O Wazamono had reached the end of its lifespan.
Whitebeard remained standing with his back to Noah, completely motionless, his right hand still tightly gripping the hilt.
A few seconds later.
Boom—
Whitebeard's proud, towering body finally crashed backward onto the ground. His bloodstained face still bore wide-open eyes, but there was no life left in them.
Everyone from the Whitebeard Pirates nearby witnessed this scene.
Frame by frame, the image seemed frozen in an impossibly clear slow motion. The world itself appeared to stop turning at that instant, gradually fading from color into dim gray and white.
"—Dad!!!"
Heartbroken cries rang out from every direction.
Though they had expected it, Diamond Jozu and the others still found it impossible to accept the reality before them as