"This is?"
Whitebeard looked at the yellowish-brown halo in front of him with some confusion.
"This is one of my defensive measures!"
A faint voice came from ahead, and then a figure slowly emerged from the smoke and dust.
The moment he saw the figure clearly, the Whitebeard's pupils contracted slightly, his face filled with shock.
Xia Chen had no injuries at all; at most, his clothes were a little disheveled. Otherwise, there was no indication that he had just gone through a high-intensity battle.
Xia Chen looked at the Whitebeard and said, "That attack just now exhausted the last bit of strength in your body. If I didn't help you block the aftershocks..."
At this point, Xia Chen revealed a playful smile and said:
"You might be the first Four Emperors to die from the aftershocks of their battle. That would be hilarious!"
Whitebeard:...
Xia Chen was right. After Whitebeard unleashed that devastating attack, it was as if all his strength had been drained. In fact, he couldn't withstand the aftershocks of their battle.
But Whitebeard is more curious about now is...
"Just how strong are you now?" the Whitebeard man asked, his eyes fixed on Xia Chen.
That attack just now was undoubtedly the strongest attack of his life, even stronger than when he was at his peak.
But Xia Chen blocked this attack with remarkable ease, which left Whitebeard somewhat frustrated.
But considering that Xia Chen was able to destroy the Marine Headquarters half a year ago, let alone him half a year later!
With Xia Chen's abnormally rapid rate of improvement, he is definitely much stronger than he was six months ago!
Xia Chen is the strongest person Whitebeard has ever seen, without exception. So now the only thing Whitebeard wants to know is just how strong Xia Chen has become.
Upon hearing this, Xia Chen remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, "I don't know exactly how strong I am right now, but one thing is certain..."
"Even if all Four Emperors were at your peak, I could defeat all four of you as easily as defeating my great-grandchildren. Do you have any idea what that means?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Whitebeard's pupils contracted sharply, and he paused for a long while before saying:
"I understand! With your strength, there should be nothing in this world that can limit you, not even the World Government!"
"That's not necessarily true. There's an old guy who's lived for eight hundred years hidden within the World Government! That guy's strength shouldn't be underestimated!" Xia Chen replied calmly.
"Huh? The World Government has people like that? I've never even heard of them!" Whitebeard's face showed a surprised expression.
"It's normal that you haven't heard of him. He generally doesn't care about what happens in the world. To him, everything you've done is just trivial and he has no interest in you whatsoever!"
"I see!" the Whitebeard murmured, a thoughtful look in his eyes, which then became incredibly clear.
"Gurara la la, it seems there are still many things about this world that I don't understand!"
"The ocean is indeed vast and boundless; even if I were to spend my entire life exploring it, I could never fully comprehend its entirety. It's truly a bit heartbreaking!"
"But no matter how reluctant I am, my role in this story should now come to an end. The new era... no longer has a ship capable of carrying me!"
With each word Whitebeard spoke, his aura diminished, until by the time he finished speaking, his breath was so weak it was barely audible.
The Whitebeard looked up at the sky, his gaze unfocused, as if recalling something. After a long while, he said softly:
Blue sky, white clouds, the sea! What a beautiful world, what a... wonderful trip...
As Whitebeard uttered his last word, his aura completely subsided.
Thus, the man who left behind countless legends on this sea, once known as the World's Strongest Man, finally reached the end of his life.
Looking at the lifeless Whitebeard before him, Xia Chen felt a pang of melancholy, and then...
A familiar fruit basket appeared beside Whitebeard.
Before long, one of the fruits in the basket changed.
Xia Chen stepped forward, picked it up, and examined it carefully for a while. It was known as the strongest Paramecia in the world— the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!
While respecting Whitebeard, Xia Chen wouldn't allow such a powerful Devil Fruit to be reborn somewhere in the world.
Consider this payment for his long journey to fight Whitebeard!
After playing with it for a while, Xia Chen put it into the System Space to store it for later use.
Now, all told, he already possesses... top-tier fruits.
!!!
As if he had seen something, Xia Chen's pupils contracted slightly, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
He hadn't experienced such emotional fluctuations in a long time, and the reason he was feeling this way now was all because...
With a thought, Xia Chen summoned seven fruits in front of him.
One of them was fiery red and resembled flowing magma; it was Akainu -Magma-Magma Fruit. The other was a freshly ripened Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
There's nothing wrong with either of the fruits, the problem is...
The remaining five fruits!!
These five fruits are plump and brightly colored, making them very appetizing at first glance, but that's where the problem lies!
These five fruits are no longer in the form of Devil Fruit, but ordinary fruits!
During the Paramount War, Xia Chen obtained a total of six Devil Fruits: Akainu's Magma-Magma Fruit and the Five Elders ' five Mythical Zoan!
The Magma-Magma Fruit is perfectly fine now, but the other five fruits have all turned back into ordinary fruits.
Xia Chen would never believe that this had nothing to do with Imu, but...
How exactly did Imu manage to do that?
Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, these five fruits should have reverted to ordinary fruits long ago, but Xia Chen hadn't looked at them since he put them in there to gather dust.
That's why we haven't noticed their changes!
"Um..."
Xia Chen stroked his chin, pondering for a long time without reaching a conclusion, but he could still verify a certain possibility.
If his guess is correct, then it proves that Imu definitely possesses the secret about Devil Fruit.
However, this guess needs to be verified later; for now...
Xia Chen turned his head and saw a large group of people rushing towards this location not far away!