That's right!
Vir wasn't here for anything else.
He was here to diagnose Whitebeard face-to-face.
Soon, he'd be giving him a good ol' "iron pot stew" treatment.
The old man had a lot of injuries, and they were all over the place.
Vibro-Blade wouldn't cut it for this.
The basic requirement for using Soul Slayer was that the patient's body had to be completely intact.
Not a single wound allowed.
Otherwise, the transfer wouldn't work.
He jotted this down so that when it came time for the "iron pot stew", he could just close his eyes and administer the medicine.
The massive iron pot had already been stashed away.
Now, all that was left was to wait for Old Man Whitebeard to drop—then it'd be over.
He was already at his limit, having just resolved to kill Zephyr no matter the cost.
Because of that, he'd taken wounds that would be fatal to anyone else.
But even if he was tough, he wouldn't last much longer.
Nobody knew Whitebeard's condition better than Vir, who was right there recording everything.
His internal organs had been shattered by Sengoku's attacks.
At this point, massive internal bleeding wasn't even the worst of it.
Some parts had outright exploded.
Like his kidney.
After taking that direct hit from Sengoku, Vir could tell—half of Whitebeard's kidney had been blown apart...
Two more minutes, tops.
He was definitely going down!
Vir sped up his note-taking as he thought this.
But five whole minutes passed.
And Whitebeard was still standing tall!
Vir was stunned.
Damn, Old White, you're really built different, huh?
In those five minutes, Whitebeard had taken more punishment than in the entire half-hour before!
Yet he still refused to fall.
He even managed to slice off half of Sengoku's left arm!
The Fleet Admiral lost an arm!?
Everyone was floored.
What the hell? How was he still alive at this point? Was this some kind of boss fight?
Did he have second and third phases or something?
The lower his health got, the more ferocious he became!
This guy... was a monster. A straight-up monster!
Whitebeard: "As long as my sons still have a future to fight for... I WILL NOT DIE!"
Despite the countless fatal wounds covering his body, Whitebeard's voice boomed with undiminished vigor!
The viewers watching the live broadcast were utterly awestruck by the blood-drenched figure on their screens.
Nearly everyone wore grim expressions, their eyes filled with a hint of fear.
This was an Emperor of the Sea.
This was a King.
Surrounded and besieged by countless Marine commanders, he showed no fear. He even crippled two of them.
In this moment, Whitebeard had once again shown the world what it meant to be one of the Four Emperors!
But while the world believed Whitebeard still had more to give...
Only Whitebeard himself knew—this was his limit.
His absolute limit.
He had taken 70% of Zephyr's HP and half of Sengoku's arm.
That was all he could do.
His body, heavy as lead, was on the verge of total shutdown.
"POPS!!"
"POPS!!!"
The Whitebeard Pirates above wept uncontrollably.
Watching their father endure blow after blow was like having their own hearts carved open with knives.
Their desperate cries carried emotions too complex to name.
But on the warship that Bullet and the others had arrived in...
The half-dead man lying on the deck suddenly opened his eyes.
And in those eyes burned nothing but ambition.
'The chance is here!'
'The chance is HERE!'
'Bet you didn't expect me to be this tough, huh? Just wait till I get my hands on the Tremor-Tremor Fruit—I'll slaughter every last one of you bastards!'
Gritting through the pain, he forced himself up.
Soon, dressed in a stolen Marine uniform, he began inching toward the heart of the battlefield.
With so many missing limbs and broken bodies around, Blackbeard's disguise was perfect.
No one noticed him.
And with his darkness, he had concealed his unique presence entirely.
But the moment his eyes opened...
Someone had already glanced his way.
*BOOM!*
Kong's fist slammed into Whitebeard's chest with crushing force.
The already caved-in chest nearly collapsed entirely from the impact.
Whitebeard spat out a mouthful of blood.
The punch sent him flying back dozens of meters, carving a deep trench into the ground as he skidded.
No one pursued.
The only reason Whitebeard was still moving was sheer willpower.
A single coordinated assault from them would've been enough to finish him.
Now, he had truly reached his end.
But they needed to regroup too—their breathing was ragged, their energy in complete disarray.
Whitebeard's quakes had left their bodies in turmoil.
The old Emperor coughed violently, spitting out two more mouthfuls of blood before finally lifting his head.
His face was pale as paper.
"At his limit" wasn't just Sengoku's baseless claim.
"POPS!!"
Hearing those cries, Whitebeard smiled once more.
He had no regrets in this life.
His dream had long been realized.
Not to rule, not to amass wealth.
Just...
To have a family.
To protect that family.
A simple dream—yet one so rare in the world of pirates.
Those voices calling out to him...
That was the reason he had fought all this time.
Memories of his life flashed before his eyes.
From a lone wanderer, to a small crew, to the legend he was today.
What a long journey it had been.
Now... it was time to depart.
His children had grown.
This old man's time had come.
"Forgive me, my sons..."
"I've received everything I could ever want from you."
"My journey... ends here."
"Thank you... truly, thank you."
But—
"Farewell, my sons."
"It was... a truly wonderful voyage."
With that final thought, Whitebeard's eyes snapped open!
Drawing in a deep breath, he roared to the heavens—
"ONE PIECE—!"
The instant those words left his mouth, Sengoku and Kong's expressions twisted in horror!
Kong moved first, appearing before Whitebeard in an instant!
A Haki-engulfed fist aimed straight for his heart—
But... it was too late!
"IS REAL!!!"
*BOOM!*
A shockwave erupted, blasting Whitebeard away.
But Kong's face remained dark.
Damn it! They got played again!
These pirates... every last one of them is the same!
Whitebeard's body flew through the air—
And landed right near Blackbeard.
Or rather, right where Blackbeard had been waiting.
Before Whitebeard even hit the ground, Teach was already lunging forward, darkness swirling in his palm!
His sudden movement drew every eye on the battlefield.
"Teach! That's fucking Teach! Shit! What's he trying to do?!"
"Dammit! He's going after Pops! What the hell is he planning?!"
"TEACH!!"
The Whitebeard Pirates recognized him instantly.
After so many years together, how could they not?
But why was he here now?
That black energy in his hand... it looked downright sinister!
What was he trying to do to Pops?!
Marco and the others gritted their teeth so hard they nearly cracked.
They wanted nothing more than to charge down and tear Teach apart.
But if they did...
Whitebeard's death would lose all meaning.
"DAMMIT! Are we just supposed to watch him disrespect Pops like this?!"
Jozu, now awake, pounded his chest in helpless fury.
The others felt the same.
"TEACH—!!"
They seethed, eyes burning with rage.
But there was nothing they could do.
None of them noticed the blue dragon streaking toward the battlefield at breakneck speed.
Below—
Blackbeard's face was twisted with madness.
The darkness in his remaining hand grew larger, thicker.
Before he even touched Whitebeard's body, it was already spreading, ready to engulf him completely.
"ZEHAHAHA! IT'S MINE!"
"IT'S MINE! Once I fully envelop him... his power will be MINE!"
"ZEHAHAHAHA! You miserable dogs! Scream all you want!"
"Once I recover, I'll slaughter every last one of you! Your powers... they'll make fine additions to my collection!"
His excitement was impossible to contain.
But just as the darkness was about to swallow Whitebeard whole—
A violet light flashed beside him.
Before Teach could react—
A blade of crackling purple lightning sliced clean through his wrist.
The darkness consuming Whitebeard lost its source...
And began to fade.
*THUD.*
The severed hand hit the ground.
But not a single drop of blood spilled.
Nearby, Vir calmly closed his notebook.
Tossing it into his medical kit, he turned to the stunned Blackbeard.
A serene smile crossed his face.
Then a soft voice came—
"You."
"What do you think you're doing... to my patient?"