Although the two appeared evenly matched in battle, in truth, Whitebeard still held the upper hand overall.
Of course, this wasn't even Whitebeard at his peak. One could only say that he was just beginning to reveal his fangs.
As for Is, it was the same.
Strictly speaking, this was only the very first step of his journey.
Is knew very well that defeating Whitebeard right now was impossible.
But likewise—
it was just as impossible for Whitebeard to take him down in a short time.
Moreover, Is had plenty of ways to survive.
Leaving aside the two Character Cards in his inventory, the longer the fight dragged on, the worse it would be for Whitebeard.
Because if too much time passed without Is returning, Uchiha Madara and the others would come looking for him.
With the scale of this battle, finding him wouldn't be difficult.
And when that happened—
it would no longer be a one-on-one fight.
Whitebeard would be facing Is, Uchiha Madara, Acnologia, Tatsumaki, and even Garp.
Such a lineup—
no matter how powerful Whitebeard was, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.
"…Let's end it here, Aurelius D. Virel Is."
Whitebeard suddenly spoke.
For this battle, his first goal had been to gauge Is's strength.
As for the second—
to find the answer he was looking for.
Now, he had both.
Continuing the fight held no meaning—and would only introduce unnecessary risks.
"End it here?"
Is raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
"Rocks didn't order me to deal with you. I only came because I'd heard about your reputation and got curious."
"And the result… didn't disappoint."
Hearing this, Is didn't respond immediately.
Instead—
he laughed.
Whitebeard frowned slightly and continued,
"After that exchange, you should understand this as well. I can't kill you quickly, and you can't kill me either."
"There's no point wasting time. Continuing this fight won't benefit either of us."
Just as Is was about to refute him—
Whitebeard did something unexpected.
He pulled the gourd-shaped sake bottle from his waist and tossed it over.
Is caught it instinctively, though he still didn't fully understand.
"Even if we're enemies, that doesn't stop me from acknowledging you, Aurelius D. Virel Is!"
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard burst into hearty laughter.
Looking at the man before him—
Is suddenly felt something strange.
A sense of familiarity—
yet also unfamiliar.
After a brief pause, something seemed to click.
Originally, Is had intended to drag the fight out and wear Whitebeard down.
But now—
he changed his mind.
Because, in truth—
Whitebeard's ambitions weren't grand.
He didn't seek to dominate the world like Rocks.
Nor did he pursue the truth of the world like Roger.
What he wanted—
was simply a family.
"…You're right, Edward Newgate. Continuing this fight won't benefit either of us."
As he spoke, Is uncorked the bottle and took a long drink.
A rich aroma filled the air.
After a deep gulp, he tossed the bottle back.
Whitebeard caught it effortlessly and drank as well.
"I'm leaving!"
He pulled his naginata from the ground, spun it a few times, and rested it over his shoulder before turning away.
"If we meet again, a single bottle of sake won't settle things."
Is called out.
"Gurararara… In this vast sea, who knows if there'll even be a next time."
Whitebeard didn't linger.
Just as suddenly as he had arrived—
he disappeared from Is's sight.
"Pfft—!"
Is suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"The side effects… kicking in already?"
He quickly opened his status panel.
Host: Aurelius D. Virel Is
Excavation Level: 1 (130/200)
Excavation Attempts: 0 (0/7)
Physique: Advanced Body Technique (70%) — no side effects at 100%
Characters: Uchiha Madara (40%), Tatsumaki (20%), Acnologia (20%)
Abilities:
Paper-Paper Fruit (Awakened) [Burn Attribute] (/5000)Flame-Flame Fruit (480/1000)Conqueror's Haki (701/1000)Armament Haki (860/1000)Observation Haki (796/1000)
Excavation Location: [Unavailable]
Inventory: Character Card ×2
"Advanced Body Technique… already up to 70%."
Is let out a bitter smile.
"This fight… wasn't a loss after all."
Although Whitebeard's appearance had disrupted his plans—
his objective remained the same.
He still intended to use those two Character Cards here.
"Use Character Cards."
"Ding. Confirm usage?"
"Confirm."
"Ding. Select number of cards to use."
"All of them."
He answered without hesitation.
"Ding. Character Card consumed successfully."
"Ding. Congratulations. You have obtained: Yoriichi Tsugikuni from Demon Slayer."
"Ding. Character Card consumed successfully."
"Ding. Congratulations. You have obtained: Retsu Unohana from Bleach."
Is froze for a moment.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni…? Retsu Unohana…?"
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