Thunder God's Conqueror's Haki!

Above the deserted island, thunderclouds weighed down the sky until it seemed on the verge of collapse.

Rock floated in midair, his chest heaving violently as lightning crawled across his body, coiling around him like living serpents.

He had just awakened from the brink of death. His heart still throbbed faintly from "Lightning Strike Revival," yet he was now more savage and alive than before.

Whitebeard looked up at him, watching him rise again from the rubble. There was not only fighting spirit in his eyes, but also heartfelt admiration.

"Gurararara... That punch wasn't something to laugh off, brat."

"You can still stand under those circumstances?"

He grinned. "Good. Now this is interesting—!!!"

Rock took a deep breath and suppressed the pain still reverberating through his chest.

"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the strongest Paramecia..."

The instant that punch hit, he had not simply been sent flying—

His entire body had been turned into an internal earthquake. His organs felt as though countless quake hammers had smashed them apart, and even his bones had cried out in agony.

If he had not spent years tempering his organs and flesh with lightning, he probably would not have even retained consciousness by now.

The next instant.

"Rumble—!!!"

Thunder exploded from Rock's body as though a thunder god had descended.

The entire sky darkened with it. Thunderclouds gathered at a frenzied, visible speed, shrouding the entire deserted island within a few breaths.

The air pressure dropped, and the air trembled.

Rock roared, his thunderous voice piercing heaven and earth. "Ten Thousand Thunders: Beast Roar—!!!"

The thunderclouds boiled, and the sky instantly became a roaring realm of thunder beasts.

Thunder tigers leaped down from the clouds, thunder dragons coiled through the cloud cover, thunder eagles dove with electric flames burning from their feathers, packs of thunder wolves charged forth, and lightning serpents tangled and bit at one another—

The entire firmament seemed to transform into a colossal bestiary. Ten thousand beasts roared, their killing intent soaring into the heavens.

Lightning illuminated Whitebeard's face. There was no fear in his eyes, only excitement and battle intent.

"Gurarara... Brat, you want to wear me down?!"

He suddenly tightened his grip on Murakumogiri. Armament Haki wrapped around the blade, releasing a heavy roar.

The air began to crack—

"Quake-Quake: Tidal Annihilation Slash!!!"

Whitebeard roared as Murakumogiri swept across the sky!

The vibrations were not a linear attack, but spread outward!

The atmosphere shattered as though struck by a giant hammer—

"Crack!!!"

"Crack crack crack crack crack!!!"

A gigantic spherical shockwave of vibrations exploded!

The thunder tigers were directly shaken into sparks! The thunder eagles split apart the instant they dove!

The thunder dragons were torn open by more than a dozen cracks before bursting into electric rain! The thunder wolves became specks of light, blown away like dust by the shockwaves!

The waves of thunder beasts charging in were utterly annihilated. Their roars shattered in midair, exploding into dazzling fragments like broken stars!

The air around the deserted island was torn apart by thunder and vibrations as though it might explode at any moment. Whitebeard's gaze turned cold, and his battle intent abruptly condensed into a tangible pressure!

The next moment, he suddenly twisted sideways and turned his blade!

Murakumogiri swept out, its blade covered in a white membrane of vibrating light. The air was ripped apart down the middle as though by brute force!

Yet what it cut apart was only a lightning afterimage.

"Boom—!!!"

The lightning shadow burst into countless electric currents that rapidly crawled along the blade like venomous snakes, wrapping around Whitebeard's arm.

"Crackle crackle—!"

Electric arcs leaped wildly, trying to numb his muscles and disrupt his nerves!

Yet Whitebeard could not even be bothered to furrow his brow. He snorted coldly. "You think lightning can paralyze me?!"

Armament Haki instantly covered his entire arm, its black iron sheen gleaming. Just as the lightning reached his shoulder—

"Get the hell off me—!!!"

Whitebeard violently shook his right arm!

"Crack—!!!"

The shockwave spread outward in an instant like a spherical blast!

The electric arcs were shattered into pieces, turning into scattered sparks that evaporated in the air.

Just as the shockwave reached its limit and Whitebeard's defense revealed a fleeting opening...

"Hah—!!!"

A true streak of lightning stabbed out from his left!

Rock appeared, swinging a lightning blade from his right arm. Its edge dragged a long trail of light, carrying the force to cleave the heavens and split the sea.

The battle intent on Whitebeard's face surged. "Good! Come at me, brat!!!"

In that instant, his muscles swelled to their limit, and the Armament Haki on his right arm became as dense as a black iron furnace.

He drew his blade to the limit—!

Two blades containing world-class power smashed together in the center of the deserted island!

"Boom—!!!"

Heaven and earth exploded. The ground split open around them, forming a cross-shaped abyss of unfathomable depth!

Seawater poured backward into the fissures, shooting upward in massive columns like an inverted tsunami.

Their blades pressed against each other, like two ancient beasts biting down on each other's throats!

Lightning and fire scattered, while shockwaves tore through the atmosphere sideways like air blades.

The sky was stretched open with layer upon layer of cracks by that power. A black rift even extended deep into the clouds!

Rock gritted his teeth, veins bulging across his forehead. "You bastard... That power isn't something a human should possess!!"

Whitebeard grinned, his laughter sending ripples through the air. "Gurararara!! Brat, aren't you a monster too?!!!"

Lightning exploded wildly around Rock's body, while shockwaves spread from beneath Whitebeard's feet, making the entire island sink and tremble without end.

Monster against monster.

Strength against strength.

Will against will.

"Clang!!!"

"Boom!!!"

"Crack crack crack—!!!"

The lightning blade and Murakumogiri collided again and again, sparks and electric light weaving into a terrifying storm.

Rock's lightning blade moved so fast that countless afterimages appeared. Every swing sent torrents of lightning scattering outward like a falling galaxy.

Whitebeard's Murakumogiri, meanwhile, had no flashy movements. Every strike was steady, ruthless, and precise—

The vibrating membrane around the blade shattered thunder in the air, making the atmosphere crack like glass.

Lightning gathered around Rock, forming Lightning Armor. Electric arcs covered his entire body as though a god had descended.

Whitebeard's Armament Haki flowed as thickly as magma, and the blade wrapped in vibrating light released a terrifying low hum through the air.

The more they fought, the crazier they became, and the more exhilarated they grew! Both had entered a frenzied state!

"Crack—!!!"

After one heavy collision, the center of the island collapsed outright, forming a vast abyssal crater. Cracks spread across the entire island like a spiderweb.

Seawater gushed from the fissures, only to be forcibly swept back into the sky beneath the shockwaves and lightning, as though the tides had been reversed by gods!

The deserted island seemed to wail beneath their feet. Lightning raged, vibrations surged, and the sounds of exploding air never ceased.

Whitebeard's eyes suddenly turned fierce, his Haki spilling outward like a tide. "Brat! Get on your knees—!!!"

Conqueror's Haki erupted! Black-red lightning mixed with vibrations and exploded wildly from Whitebeard's body!!!

Rocks instantly shattered into powder, mountains split apart, and Rock's body froze for a moment. His lightning fell into disarray, and cracks appeared in his Lightning Armor!

Whitebeard swung his blade and pressed forward, laughing viciously. "What's wrong, brat? This is what a true king's..."

Just as Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki was about to crush Rock—

Rock suddenly raised his head!

At that instant, crimson lightning exploded from the depths of his eyes!!

"Don't think you're the only one who has it—Newgate!!!"

"Boom—!!!"

An aura that likewise belonged to a "king" exploded from Rock's body!

Though it was a level weaker than Whitebeard's, its sharpness and ferocity were astonishingly fierce!

Black-red Haki seemed to have been ignited by thunder, clinging to the lightning and forming a terrifying shockwave!

Whitebeard's pupils instantly shrank. "W-What?! Conqueror's Haki?!!

"You brat... Are you like those two monsters, Sengoku and Garp?!!"

Lightning surged in Rock's eyes as memories from the past overlapped like flashes of lightning—

Rocks's King-tier Conqueror's Haki pressure, capable of tearing apart sea and sky;

The near-hellish Conqueror's Haki "sparring" with Garp and Sengoku over the past few months;

And the beast-like man before him—Whitebeard Newgate.

All of it had been subtly transforming him.

He was the king of Sky Island—

The Thunder God who, at only sixteen, had ruled the skies, led countless people toward prosperity, and protected the kingdom in the heavens!

His spirit, his resolve, his sense of responsibility, his convictions—

Had never lost to any so-called king of the seas!!!

"Rocks's Conqueror's Haki, Garp and Sengoku's tempering... and you—Newgate!!!"

Rock roared, "Today—this is the Thunder God's Conqueror's Haki!!!"

"Boom—!!!"

The black-red kingly might fused with blue-white lightning, forming the unprecedented Thunder King's Might!

"Rock... That kind of presence—" Shock appeared in Whitebeard's eyes.

Rock stepped forward, black-red lightning violently tearing through the sky!

"Don't underestimate me... Newgate—!!!"

The black-red lightning current surged forth like a tsunami, crashing head-on into Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki!

The two waves of Conqueror's Haki collided head-on with the bearing of kings!

"Boom—!!!"

The sky was torn apart outright, and the edges of the deserted island collapsed and fractured!

Lightning Roar howled!

Vibrations roared!

Two men who would one day dominate the seas—

At this moment, truly clashed in the manner of "kings"!!!

On the distant horizon, a pirate ship with a crooked mast and cracks all over its hull was fleeing shakily like a dying beast;

Behind it, an equally battered Marine warship clung tightly to its tail.

Just as the two ships were about to enter the waters near the deserted island—

Everyone froze at once.

Whether Marine or pirate, every face went stiff as though struck by lightning, their pupils widening to the limit.

The entire deserted island had been torn into several pieces. The earth shifted and rose and fell like a shattered plate!

Vast amounts of seawater flowed backward into the sky, defying gravity like a heavenly waterfall pouring up from the ocean floor.

In the sky, a horrifying black spatial rift continued to spread, opening like a wound.

"Gulp—"

A Marine soldier swallowed, his voice trembling. "The... the sky has been split open too!!!"

The pirates were even paler with terror. "That's impossible... Is that still something humans can do?!!"

"The deserted island, the seawater, the sky... Everything has split apart!!!"

Amid that incomparably shocking sight, the two battered ships floated on the sea, while everyone stood frozen as though forgotten by the world.

Everyone realized—

The two monsters fighting on that deserted island... were absolutely beyond a level they could approach.