The distance between Dawn Island and the Konomi Archipelago was vast, spanning nearly half of the East Blue.
Such a long journey would take considerable time even when flying on the Blue-Eyed White Dragon.
Storm stowed away his nautical charts and compass, deciding to adopt an entirely new method of flight.
Sorry, Blue-Eyed White Dragon—you're just too slow...
Storm gently rubbed the [Thunderclap Ring] between his fingers as silver-white arcs of electricity crackled across his body.
In an instant.
Storm transformed into a lightning-wreathed "Lightning Man."
Electric propulsion, catapult launch.
His figure vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye.
Boom—
A distant rumble echoed.
All that remained in the azure sky of the East Blue was a twisting silver-white lightning trail.
Storm reveled in the breakneck speed of thunder itself, yet still felt unsatisfied.
He activated a second [Devil Ring]—the [More-More Ring]!
[More-More Fruit: Hundredfold Speed]!
The moment Storm triggered the speed amplification of the [More-More Ring]...
He felt as though the flow of time around him had slowed to a crawl.
The blowing wind, drifting clouds, undulating waves...
To Storm, every natural phenomenon seemed as if it had been struck by the [Slow-Slow Beam] of the [Slow-Slow Fruit], moving as sluggishly as a slow-motion film reel.
It wasn't that the world had slowed down.
It was that Storm had become far, far too fast!
Perhaps a few seconds, perhaps half a minute later.
A colossal "red serpent" stretching from earth to sky suddenly appeared before Storm's eyes.
The true name of this "red serpent" flashed through his mind in an instant—
The Red Line.
But before the thought could fully form, he had already crashed into the towering cliff face of the Red Line.
BOOM!!!
The "Lightning Man," amplified a hundredfold in speed, collided with the sheer wall of the Red Line at an unimaginable velocity, triggering a cataclysmic explosion that shook the heavens.
The point of impact fractured instantly, the earth shattering as deep, jagged fissures spiderwebbed outward, forming a terrifying crater hundreds of meters wide in the blink of an eye.
A devastating shockwave erupted in all directions, dislodging massive boulders from the cliff face that rained down into the sea below like an unprecedented meteor shower of stone!
At the heart of the crater.
Dust swirled, lightning flickered.
"Cough, cough."
Storm, now covered in dust, emerged from the crater while coughing.
"How did I end up hitting a wall?"
This was the first time Storm had combined the powers of the [Rumble-Rumble Fruit] and the [More-More Fruit].
He hadn't anticipated this outcome.
Thunder, already unimaginably fast, further accelerated a hundredfold.
The result? Even Storm himself couldn't control such ludicrous speed, slamming headfirst into the Red Line.
Too fast. Way too fast!
Although Storm had already mastered the power of the Awakened Rumble-Rumble Fruit during his time on Skypiea, allowing him to skillfully use its abilities for high-speed movement, this was his first time applying the speed-boosting effect of the More-More Fruit to the lightning of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
He accidentally went way too fast.
If not for the fact that he had been using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, crashing into the Red Line at that absurd speed could have seriously injured him...
That would have been downright ridiculous...
"Practice makes perfect!"
Storm waved his hand to disperse the dust in front of him, deciding to find time later to refine the combined effects of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the More-More Fruit.
But for now, the priority was figuring out where he was!
Storm expanded his Observation Haki, with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit further extending his perception range.
The "sounds" from his surroundings were quickly picked up by Storm.
Yet what struck him first were the terrifying auras looming above him.
Among them, five individuals radiated power far surpassing that of the strongest opponent Storm had ever faced—Magellan.
And then there was one whose aura Storm couldn't even accurately gauge.
It was like looking up at the moon in the sky.
He knew it was there, but couldn't tell its true size—only the faint glow it cast.
This "super five-plus-one" extraordinary combination instantly made Storm think of a certain possibility.
His lips twitched violently.
"No way..."
Just then.
The mysterious auras above seemed to have sensed his presence as well.
One of them broke away from the group, swiftly heading in his direction.
After a brief silence, Storm raised his hand and activated the Clay-Clay Fruit's power.
White clay surged from every part of his body, instantly encasing him completely.
Storm's size rapidly expanded, reaching six meters in the blink of an eye.
He ran his right hand over his upper lip, forming a signature crescent-shaped white beard.
The Edward Teach Construct had made its grand entrance.
Storm merged seamlessly with the "Edward Teach Construct," calmly awaiting the approaching figure.
Before long.
A strange bird's cry echoed from outside the crater, accompanied by an overwhelming spiritual pressure.
"How long can you last?"
"How long can you last?"
Countless black-red arcs crackled through the air—the telltale sign of Conqueror's Haki.
Storm—now Edward Teach—calmly gazed ahead.
A terrifying black beast-like silhouette appeared.
Its head resembled a human's, its body snakelike, with a sharp hooked beak, jagged teeth, and wings that blotted out the sky like storm clouds.
Itsumade!
To be precise—
Gorosei, Environmental War God, Marcus Mars.
In his avian-serpent form, Marcus Mars descended from Mary Geoise atop the Red Line, arriving at the epicenter of the earthquake that had just shaken the entire Holy Land.
Saint Marcus Mars immediately noticed the terrifying crater, hundreds of meters in diameter, as if struck by a meteorite. At the same time, his Observation Haki locked onto the presence of the figure at the very center of the pit.
"You are..."
Saint Marcus Mars watched as the figure slowly emerged from the crater, his aged pupils contracting slightly.
"Whitebeard!"
"I am—"
With a crack of thunder, Edward Teach's figure vanished instantly, leaving only a few drifting silver-white arcs of electricity in his wake.
"Edward Teach!"
BOOM—
Amidst the rolling thunder, Edward Teach appeared as if teleporting, directly in front of the monstrous bird Itsumade—the transformed Saint Marcus Mars.
He raised his right fist high, pitch-black Armament Haki coiling around it, white-hot lightning crackling between his clenched fingers.
Current Drive · Lightning Fist!
BOOM!
Before Itsumade could react, Edward Teach's "Lightning Fist" slammed squarely into its twisted, fang-lined beak.
The collision between fist and beak erupted in a deafening blast.
The sheer force of Edward Teach's punch sent the monstrous bird flying over a dozen meters, the air trembling in its wake.
CRACK—
Upon closer inspection, Itsumade's seemingly indestructible beak began to emit faint shattering sounds, dense fissures spreading across its surface like fragile porcelain on the verge of crumbling.
"SCREEE—!"
Saint Marcus Mars shrieked in pain, unleashing a piercing cry that split the heavens.
The next moment, he lowered his head, his fully bestialized eyes—devoid of any human emotion—locking onto Edward Teach. Then, he opened his maw and spewed forth a torrent of scorching flames.
The crimson blaze radiated terrifying heat, instantly warping and superheating the surrounding air.
Like a blazing line drawn across the sky, the searing flames surged toward Edward Teach.
Yet, faced with the oncoming inferno, Edward Teach's expression remained utterly unmoved. Silver-white electricity coiled around his body before surging outward in a violent release.
One after another, arcs of white-hot lightning gathered behind him, meticulously shaped into the rough form of a colossal thunder dragon.
"Thunder Dragon!"
ROAR—
The dragon bellowed before charging straight into the flames.
Thunder and fire—two equally devastating forces of nature—clashed violently in midair.
Crimson flames intertwined with silver lightning, grinding and compressing against one another before erupting in a cataclysmic explosion.
The sky lit up with a dazzling display of thunder and fire.
Half lightning, half flame.
Scattered arcs and embers rained down like a meteor shower, painting a breathtaking spectacle across the heavens.
"This is the Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
Itsumade flapped its wings, its beak gaping in shock.
Somehow, its shattered beak had already fully regenerated, not a single crack remaining—as if the earlier damage had never existed.
As if Edward Teach's earlier "Thunder Fist" had never struck Itsumade at all.
Saint Maccus Maz stared in shock at Edward Teach.
The appearance of an unfamiliar, young "Whitebeard" beneath the Red Line was already astonishing enough.
His strength was completely on par with Whitebeard in his youth.
But what was even more shocking—
This "Whitebeard" possessed the so-called "invincible" Rumble-Rumble Fruit!
"This is indeed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
Edward Teach arrogantly glared at Saint Maccus Maz.
"And what the hell are you supposed to be?
"Giant freak bird!"