Cardiac Resuscitation!

At the center of the desolate island, the earth seemed to be bearing the arrival of two children of calamity.

The rock strata cracked, volcanic stone lay exposed, lightning danced through the fissures, and vibrations rippled through the air, forming bizarre white rings.

It was no surprise a place like this had been classified as a dead zone.

The wind... stopped.

The air seemed to freeze for an instant. Rock moved first!

"Whoosh--!!!"

With a kick of his foot, he turned into a streak of lightning that tore through the air, then split into countless thunderous afterimages midair.

Every thunderous afterimage carried real killing power, like a thousand flying blades scattered by the Thunder God, attacking Whitebeard simultaneously from six directions—front, middle, rear, above, and below.

Thunder filled the sky.

Whitebeard remained expressionless and motionless as he slammed his left foot down.

"Quake: Air Wave!!"

The air shattered instantly. Transparent layers of vibration spread outward, as though an invisible giant bell had been struck, its trembling force blanketing the entire battlefield.

"Crack crack crack crack--!!!"

The moment the thunderous afterimages touched it, their forms twisted and scattered, like light being crushed apart.

Even the air around the desolate island rippled from the shock. The distant sea surface was pressed into a shallow depression before violently rebounding, raising waves dozens of meters high.

The lightning flowed back and gathered into Rock's true body.

High in the sky, thunder poured over him like a waterfall.

He clenched his hand, and the thunder condensed into a tangible spear, its tip piercing the clouds.

"Lightning Spear: Soul-Piercing Flash!!!"

This move was so fast that even its shadow could not appear in time!

Whitebeard raised his left fist. The instant he clenched it, the atmosphere dented like a membrane under pressure.

"Quake Fist: Skybreaker!!"

"Pop--!!!"

Rock's lightning spear collided head-on with the quake fist. Lightning burst into white sparks, while vibrations spread like halos.

"Boom--!!!"

The entire desolate island suddenly sank half a meter. The coastline caved inward as if torn apart by some colossal beast, and seawater crazily surged back a hundred meters!

Using the rebound from the explosion, Rock flashed to Whitebeard's side in an instant. His right leg was completely coated in Armament Haki, transforming into a black lightning blade!

"Black Lightning: Gale Severer!!"

The blade-like leg swept down, enough to split a massive ship in two.

Whitebeard gripped Murakumogiri. Black-red Armament Haki covered its blade as vibration energy began to spill outward.

"Quake Severance!!!"

"Clang--!!!"

The lightning blade struck the vibrating weapon. Sparks and lightning scattered in every direction, while white shockwaves split the earth apart. A massive cross-shaped fissure extended all the way to the shore a hundred meters away!

The coastline of the entire desolate island...

Was shattered directly into two sections!!

Huge boulders slid into the sea in sheets.

Rock turned into lightning once more and teleported directly behind Whitebeard.

But Whitebeard's Observation Haki was like the eye of a giant whale—nothing could escape it!

He twisted his massive body, moving so quickly it completely defied his size!

"Don't think this old man's reactions are slow--!"

Murakumogiri swept horizontally!

Rock scattered into lightning, but the vibration carried by the blade shattered space along with it.

"Boom--!!!"

The blade's vibrations did not merely shake the flesh—they shook the soul.

Rock was sent flying, crashing into the mountain rock like a falling star.

"Boom--!!"

A huge curved crater was blasted into the mountainside, and broken stones tumbled down like an avalanche.

Yet—

Lightning exploded!

Rock flew out of the rubble, electric arcs dancing all over his body, an irrepressible smile on his lips.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Vibrations... really hurt...!!!"

Whitebeard grinned, his eyes as savage as a beast's. "Gurararara... brat, don't die too quickly."

The battlefield on the desolate island had been churned into an apocalyptic scene by thunder and vibrations.

The earth was shattered, seawater flooded backward, and the sky was torn apart, as if even nature could not bear the existence of these two monsters.

The two stepped forward at the same time.

Thunder exploded.

Vibrations roared.

Thunderclouds blanketed the sky.

Shockwaves surged across the ground.

Rock raised his right hand high, lightning rampaging at his fingertips. "Ten Thousand Thunders: Heavenly Drum Roar!!!"

Whitebeard extended both arms and smashed his fists down. The atmosphere shook like glass being crushed in someone's hands. "Tremor-Tremor: Furious Sea Blast!!!"

Pillars of lightning fell in rows like the hammers of gods!

Shockwaves swept back over the earth like a world-ending tsunami!

"Rumble rumble rumble--!!!"

The center of the desolate island was completely flattened. A giant crater swallowed the forest, seawater flew three hundred meters into the air, and even time itself seemed to have been shaken to a halt.

Before the aftermath at the explosion's center had dispersed, Whitebeard slowly raised his head, his expression serious.

"You... are strong, brat."

"But—"

The next instant, an indescribable pressure swept across the desolate island!

Black-red Haki exploded across the sky, like the roar of a ferocious beast, resonating with the vibrations!

This was the rare Conqueror's Haki "Intimidation."

It did not act upon the air or the earth—it was an earthquake that directly shook a person's will!

Distant sea beasts rolled belly-up and fainted, while seabirds in the sky fell like rain.

Every living creature within ten kilometers of the desolate island was shaken unconscious!

Rock only felt as though a heavy hammer had struck his soul. His vision warped, and the lightning around him went violently berserk.

"?!!"

Seizing the opportunity, Whitebeard channeled the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit into his fist, his Armament Haki thick and heavy as steel.

Shockwaves exploded behind him, propelling his gigantic body straight toward Rock!

"Quake Fist: Breaker!!!"

His fist blasted straight toward Rock's heart!!!

"Boom--!!!"

At the limit, Rock regained his senses and turned to lightning, but his breastbone was nearly shattered by the vibrational impact. He was sent flying like a rag doll.

He smashed through three rock walls in succession before being driven deep into the base of the mountain, leaving behind a huge impact crater.

Broken stones flew everywhere, and dust billowed like a waterfall.

The ground of the entire desolate island sank an inch from the force of that punch.

Whitebeard stood where he was, panting, his chest heaving. "Guh... ha... ha..."

"You're pretty tough, brat..."

He dispersed the shockwaves around his fist, ready to declare the battle over.

But—

"...Hm?"

Whitebeard's Observation Haki suddenly jolted violently!

As though it had sensed danger awakening, he abruptly turned around and looked deep into the mountain—

Beneath the rubble...

Rock's body...

Was glowing.

It was trembling.

As though some rhythm were pounding inside it.

Whitebeard's brows drew together, and for the first time, his expression became truly grave. "That is...?"

"A heartbeat?"

Beneath the rubble, Rock's body shook rhythmically.

As if... some force were restarting it from within.

"Crackle... crackle... snap... snap--!"

The sound of electric current echoed through the cracks in the rocks, while lightning pierced through the gaps in the rubble.

Suddenly—

"Boom!!!"

As if struck by lightning from within, Rock's chest violently jerked!

"Lightning: Cardiac Resuscitation--!!!"

The true terror of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit revealed itself.

When its user was grievously injured and suffered cardiac arrest, the body would unconsciously keep releasing electrical pulses to massage the heart, restarting its function through a process similar to defibrillation and achieving self-resuscitation!

The rubble exploded, and lightning shot into the sky!!!

Rock raised his head, his eyes gleaming with renewed resolve.

"Newgate."

"I haven't lost yet--!!!"