Chapter 25 — The World's Strongest Man
Marco flew through the sky while Yamato chased after him. The wind was being pulled towards the gigantic twister created by Ragnar.
Marco was having a hard time flying away from the twister as Yamato was attacking him. He had to dodge while flying against the wind current that was pulling him towards the twister.
"Give it up, you pineapple-headed bird! You can't escape!" Yamato shouted as two ice spears formed in her hands.
"Who are you calling pineapple-headed bird, yo—" Marco turned around in irritation and anger, finally having enough of it.
Which proved to be a vital mistake. Because of his anger, his Observation Haki flickered for a second, and at that same time, Yamato happened to throw the ice spears at him.
"Ugghhhh!" Marco groaned as one spear pierced through his abdomen while the other pierced his left wing. Even though he was in his full beast form, those spears had a trace of Yamato's Haki, and because of the massive twister created by Ragnar—
The ice Yamato formed had seawater mixed in it. It wasn't enough to make a Devil Fruit user become powerless, but combined with Yamato's Haki, it was enough to negate the pseudo-Logia trait of his Devil Fruit.
Marco lost his balance as blue flames started healing the wounds. "Damn you kids!" he muttered as he fell from the sky. As he did, he noticed Yamato flying towards him like a silver-white meteor.
"Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi! You gotta be kidding me! Give me a break—" Marco's eyes widened as Yamato's Kanabo, Takeru, grew bigger and bigger in his view.
"Thunder Baguawa!"
The spiked Kanabo, covered in blue-purple lightning, slammed into Marco's chest, sending him straight towards the twister.
"Ughhhhh!" Marco groaned as his eyes rolled back and crimson-red blood sprayed out from his mouth, followed by intense pain spreading through his body.
The blue Phoenix flew straight towards the twister. Just a hundred meters away from the twister, Marco's eyes snapped open as he came out of his momentary shock.
He flipped his wings with full force. "Aghhhhh!" he roared as blue flames shot from his wings like jets while he tried to fly away from the twister.
The twister had seawater, debris, and lightning crackling through it. If he was swept into it, he would be done for and might even lose his life.
But every flap of his wings sent intense pain through his body. He definitely had a few bones broken. If he hadn't used Armament Haki to brace for the impact, and if Yamato had used Advanced Armament Haki, Marco would have been fatally injured by that attack or even killed.
As Marco replayed the entire situation in his mind, he finally understood that the young, naive girl had played him badly. She was rage-baiting him, trying to make him angry and disturb his Observation Haki.
Marco swore that if he survived, even if someone cursed him next time in battle, he would not get angry. Just as Marco was about to get away from the twister, a bolt of lightning cracked towards him.
"Dammit, my luc—" Marco cursed as the lightning bolt hit him. KRA-KOOM! He started falling towards the twister.
Far away from them, Yamato floated in the sky. "That guy sure is unlucky and stupid. He should have accepted his defeat," she muttered. After her attack, she hadn't chased Marco.
She wasn't an idiot. If she got too close to that tornado, she would also get swept into it, and Ragnar would have to stop his Dragon Twister.
"Well, it's our victor—" She froze mid-sentence as Marco was swept into the twister. Yamato saw a huge ship on the horizon, sailing towards the twister at full speed.
Yamato's face paled. "Th-that's no way—" No matter how confident she acted or how childish she behaved, Yamato knew one thing.
She was strong, and Ragnar was also strong. With both of them together, they could face anyone, but that was if their opponents were humans.
She perfectly knew that against a monster, they were nothing. Her father was that monster, a Yonkō, and there existed two more as strong as him or stronger monsters on the sea: the other two Yonkō, Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, and the World's Strongest Man, Edward Newgate, the Whitebeard.
She and Ragnar had fought Kaido multiple times. And every single time, they lost miserably. The man standing on the deck of that incoming ship was the one called the strongest.
"Ragnar!" Yamato shouted as the man standing on the whalе ship crouched, clutched his fist, and punched towards the twister. The space in front of his fist shattered.
It was as if reality had been shattered as cracks spread from his fist like broken glass. The twister connecting the sea and sky trembled and started to collapse.
The sky and the sea trembled as the violent vibration ripped the twister apart like it was paper. Ragnar, in his Rayquaza form, was also forced to stop and tank the air quake.
And because of that, the twister lost its power and stopped completely. The man standing on the mobile deck raised his naginata and swung it towards the sky.
A massive crescent-moon slash flew towards Ragnar. "Ragnar!" Yamato shouted as she flew straight towards Ragnar, who spat out blood in the sky.
"Damn it," Ragnar muttered as he saw the slash coming at him. His Observation Haki screamed in warning, but he was paralyzed by the quake and the side effect of using Twister.
The massive slash came at him. Ragnar gritted his teeth and opened his mouth as a golden spear of energy gathered inside. He attacked the slash with Hyper Beam.
The golden energy beam and the flying slash collided as the slash traveled towards Ragnar while cutting the Hyper Beam in half.
Ragnar watched helplessly. 'I can't dodge it,' he muttered inwardly as the slash slammed into him. "Kiyuryursheeahhh!" A pained roar escaped his mouth as the flying slash, infused with Advanced Haki, slammed into him.
He transformed back into his human form as he started falling downwards. "Raggy, hold up!" Yamato shouted as she caught him. "Hey, you are okay, right? Raggy, you are okay, right?" she screamed. Her face had gone pale as she desperately asked Ragnar again and again.
Her easygoing childishness was completely gone. What remained was a girl watching a part of her fading away. "Hey, answer me, Raggy!" Tears flowed through her eyes.
"Cough! Ha—hey, calm down," Ragnar muttered as he coughed blood. Yamato snapped out of it. "Raggy!" She hugged him.
Ragnar patted her head. "Cough! It—it's fine. I'm—I'm okay. I'm n-not d-dying just yet. Cough!" Yamato, listening to him, calmed down. "Don't say stupid things. If you dare die, I will drag you out from Hell," she complained.
Ragnar took a few breaths and left Yamato's embrace, then transformed back into Rayquaza. "Hey, are you sure you're okay to transform?" Yamato asked worriedly as she reached towards his head.
"I'm fine. That flying slash had Advanced Armament. The pain was just too much to handle after the side effect of stopping mid-Dragon Twister. But we have bigger trouble to deal with." He turned towards the mobile deck, which had stopped as a few pirates had dived into the sea and had saved unconscious Marco.
Yamato clenched her fist and landed on Ragnar's head. Ragnar flew downwards. Far away on the Beast Pirates' ship, Hiyori bit her lip. "No good. It's Whitebeard Pirates that are here. Ragnar is injured."
Back on the mobile deck, Marco coughed up the seawater he had swallowed. "Cough! Yo—cough! Took you time, Pops."
Newgate, looking at him, laughed. "Gurararra! Who would have expected you wouldn't even be able to stop two kids?"
Seeing Marco safe, the other pirates relaxed and started laughing and making fun of Marco. "Tsk, tsk, our First Division Captain lost to two kids!"
"Hahahahha! Marco, you are getting old. How about retiring already?"
"Shut up, yoi! What do you know? Those two kids are monsters. And I didn't lose. I was holding them back when that kid brought out the big guns," Marco complained, his face completely flushed with embarrassment.
"Gurararrara! Well, can't blame you. Those brats are no joke. That attack was really troublesome, and he even took my flying slash head-on. Truly Kaido's brat! Gurarrarrararra!" Newgate laughed.
Then everyone turned towards Ragnar and Yamato. Ragnar opened his mouth. "So, what do you want, Whitebeard? Sending First Division Captain to stop us for no reason—is this a declaration of war on the Beast Pirates?"
"You brat! You think we are afraid of the Beast Pirates?" Jozu shouted. Thatch looked at Ragnar and Yamato. "Mind your words, brats."
Yamato, standing on Ragnar's draconic head, snorted. "Tsk! And who the fuck are you nobodies?"
Ragnar looked at Jozu and then at Thatch and snorted. "He's just a fodder who dies for plot in stories," he muttered and turned towards Newgate.
"Why, you—" Thatch and Jozu glared at Ragnar. Jozu's arm started to transform into diamond. Ragnar didn't even look at him. He and Yamato could fly. The only troublesome one was Marco, but he was recovering with his blue flames now.
So that left only three people who might be dangerous to him and Yamato. The first one was obviously Newgate himself. The other was Marshall D. Teach, son of Rocks, the man who left scars on Shanks.
And the last one was the man pointing his gun at them, Izo, one of Oden's retainers who followed Oden onto Newgate's ship and the only one who stayed with the Whitebeard Pirates. And he was thirsting for revenge.
"Kid, mind your words," Newgate said as his Conqueror's Haki began to leak out. The sky above started to tremble.
"Kiyuryursheeah!" Ragnar roared as the sky started calming down. "The sky is my domain. Even if it's you, I have the confidence to leave or take at least one of you down with me."
"Oh, really?" Newgate's Conqueror's Haki erupted like a tsunami as blood-red lightning shot towards Ragnar in every direction.
Ragnar's and Yamato's Conqueror's Haki also flared, but before Newgate's, it was nothing. Their Haki was pushed back as Ragnar flew backwards. "Damn it!" Yamato muttered as she clenched her fist. 'Weak... weak... I'm too weak,' she muttered inwardly.
"Yamato, snap out of it!" Ragnar growled, but even he was shaken. Yamato looked at Newgate. "You think this is enough to make me accept defeat? Stop dreaming!" she shouted.
Her arms started transforming as draconic scales appeared on them, along with scales spreading across her face near her eyes.