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One by one, the giant mangrove trees stood in rows, their resin forming bubbles that shimmered with a brilliant, seven-colored light under the sun.
The crowds of people, pirates, and Marines flowed without ceasing.
These unique markers all pointed to one place: the final stop in the first half of the Grand Line—the Sabaody Archipelago.
In the four seas, the Grand Line, and the New World, wherever there was a Video Den Den Mushi, everyone had dropped what they were doing, their eyes glued to the scenes unfolding on the screens before them.
"Is something big about to happen again?" The civilians were filled with panic and fear.
They just wanted to live in peace, but the chaotic seas had never granted their wish. The storm swept over them time and time again.
Without power, how were they supposed to survive?
Chaos was the eternal, unchanging theme of this world.
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"This is the Sabaody Archipelago!"
Someone spotted the three highest powers of the Marines—Kong, Sengoku, and Garp—striding forward, and the standoff between Red the Aloof and the newly risen emperor of the New World, Thunder Emperor Arthur.
In just a few short minutes, the attention of the entire sea was drawn here. They were all focused on why these pinnacle-level powers had gathered together.
Did Kong, Sengoku, and Garp moving together mean that the Marines had finally decided to drop all pretenses and go to war with these top-tier pirates?
It was well known that since the beginning of the Great Age of Pirates, the Marines, aside from catching a few small-time pirates in the first half, had done nothing of note.
At this moment, whatever was happening on the Sabaody Archipelago was undoubtedly the grandest event since the opening of the Great Age of Pirates.
The whole world was watching. Everyone was waiting to see what would happen next. The grandeur of the scene was almost comparable to the moment of the Pirate King Roger's execution.
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"Ahahahahahaha~" Redfield squinted, glancing at the Den Den Mushi in Arthur's hand, feeling the discomfort of being watched from all directions.
"So this is what you meant by 'using' me? To defeat me, to step on my name and make your own reputation even greater? I have to say, you're quite the dreamer."
"No. You seem to have misunderstood something—"
Arthur said with a smile, his entire body floating in mid-air, looking down from on high, his expression filled with a crazed energy.
"—I just think this Great Age of Pirates is lacking a little excitement. I want to strike a blow against the Marines on the Sabaody Archipelago and inspire even more people around the world to set out to sea."
"If the pirates can completely overwhelm the Marines in terms of strength, then so-called 'justice' will become a joke! Only when people believe the Marines are beyond saving will the true Great Age of Pirates begin!"
"The three of you have been watching for so long. Shouldn't you come out and say hello?" As he spoke, Arthur turned his head and looked in the direction from which the Marines were approaching.
"Strike at the authority of the Marines?? What a daydream! Today, both of you will be thrown into the great underwater prison to repent for your lives as pirates!"
A powerful, clear voice spread across the island. The Justice coats fluttered in the wind as Garp, Sengoku, and Kong emerged from three different directions, a large group of Marines aiming their cannons and guns at the targets.
"You all head back to the warship and surround this place! This is not a battle you can interfere in!"
"SIR!" The Marines slowly retreated from the battlefield.
"It's time to settle the score, Redfield... and Arthur!" Kong tore off his Justice coat, his burly arms tensed, ready to strike.
In an instant, the focus of the world was gathered in the lawless area of the Sabaody Archipelago. Everyone held their breath, watching this scene.
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At this moment of frozen atmosphere, of mutual standoff... another earth-shattering roar came from the sea!
"I'M HERE! GET OUT HERE, YOU LIGHTNING BRAT!!"
The roar seemed as if it could shatter space itself. The Yarukiman Mangrove trees trembled, and the sound, like a clap of thunder from the heavens, echoed through the sky.
Whitebeard, challenged by Arthur, had finally arrived on the Moby Dick after a two-month journey from the deep sea.
"IT'S WHITEBEARD!"
"HAVE THE STRONGEST MARINES AND THE STRONGEST PIRATES FINALLY GATHERED?"
Excitement, fear, exhilaration—all sorts of emotions appeared in people's hearts.
The perspective of the Video Den Den Mushi shifted from the Marines, Arthur, and Redfield to the sea outside the Sabaody Archipelago. People all over the world gasped, watching in awe the supreme presence of this "World's Strongest Man."
Whitebeard's figure was unchanged from two years ago. He was still a towering, indomitable figure, holding his naginata. His eyes, which looked down on everything with contempt, seemed to pierce through all obstacles and stare directly at Arthur.
However—just like Redfield and Rayleigh—the golden hair under his captain's hat had turned completely white. Even the World's Strongest Man could not resist growing old.
If there were such things as 'Gods and demons' in this world, then without a doubt, Whitebeard would be a great demon. That unmatched, overwhelmingly dominant presence—just by standing there, he could shake the world and look down on all creation.
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"Pops is the strongest. Is Thunder Emperor Arthur not here because he's scared?" A foolish rookie who had just joined the Whitebeard Pirates seemed unable to sense the oppressive atmosphere.
"Idiot!"
Marco slapped the rookie on the head. "All you newcomers who just got on board, get back! The clash of Conqueror's Haki and the aftershocks of the battle alone will be enough to knock you unconscious!"
"So this is power... Pops's, and Arthur's! Zehahahaha!" Marshall D. Teach's eyes shone with a brilliant light from his simple and honest-looking face.
When I get the Dark-Dark Fruit, I will be the strongest!
He was determined to obtain the world-destroying powers of both Whitebeard and Arthur.
On the Moby Dick, completely unaware of the treacherous thoughts of his son, Whitebeard walked step by step off the great ship.
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"You're finally here? Did you get too old to even travel properly, old man Whitebeard?" Arthur said with some contempt.
"However, I don't have time to play with you today!"
"Whether we fight or not isn't your call!" Whitebeard never wasted words. He came forward and immediately unleashed a devastating, full-power strike.
The super-destructive power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit was displayed to its fullest in this one punch, not diminished in the slightest by his age.
"KRAK!"
He threw a punch, and the air, as if struck by a heavy blow, seemed like a fragile piece of glass. Spiderweb-like cracks spread out, covering Arthur from above.
One punch—sky-rending, earth-shattering!
Whitebeard's strength had not declined with age. That terrifying, world-destroying power was just as strong as when they had first met.
He had not grown weaker. But Arthur's strength was still continuously increasing!
Facing this earth-shattering blow, Arthur sneered.
"I told you, I don't have time to play house with you!"
He raised his right hand, the brilliant lightning completely converging, all its ferocious power condensed into his fist, and he punched out fiercely to meet Whitebeard's attack.
Like a flash flood, the condensed lightning gushed out in an instant, like a blazing sun, incomparably dazzling!
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