Sean stood atop the sea, barely ten meters away from Whitebeard. Slowly, he drew Hekireki from his waist.
To be precise, although Sean's Spirit Power had already exceeded 40,000, the "Senjū Kōten Taihō" he had just unleashed had taken a significant toll. It had consumed over 3,000 points of Spirit Power—nearly ten percent of his total reserve.
It couldn't be helped. Attempting to cast a 90-level Hadō while his Kido was only at level 8 required not only a complete incantation but also double the usual Spirit Power consumption.
This was a bottleneck that could only be resolved once he trained Kido to level 9.
Initially, Sean had considered using the "Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō," but after weighing his options, he decided against it. While that move was powerful, it lacked the sheer destructive force of the Senjū Kōten Taihō. It wouldn't have guaranteed an injury to Whitebeard, nor would it have completely shattered the ice and the three pirate ships.
Spending 3,200 points of Spirit Power had been worth it.
This specific terrain would be extremely disadvantageous for Whitebeard.
Interestingly, almost everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates were land-based combatants; aside from Marco, very few could take to the skies. This included Whitebeard himself, who possessed no aerial combat capabilities. Whether it was because Whitebeard was too proud or simply looked down upon the techniques developed by Garp, he had never learned them.
Big Mom's crew was the complete opposite; Moonwalk was practically a mandatory course, and nearly every member had mastered it.
So, what was the current situation?
Whitebeard was standing on a three-meter patch of ice, surrounded by hundreds of meters of open ocean. Even for a man of his caliber, such a restriction was significant.
"Brat, you're impressive. You might even be more formidable than that Red-Haired brat," Whitebeard boomed. "But I am Whitebeard! The future may belong to your generation, but not today!"
"Quake!"
His eyes widened as he threw a violent punch. Space itself shattered like a mirror, spider-webbing with countless cracks. Immediately, a terrifying force surged toward Sean.
Despite his confidence that he could now defeat Whitebeard, Sean dared not underestimate him—especially not a version of Whitebeard who was prepared to die here and could unleash his full power without regard for his own body.
Because if Whitebeard chose that path, his strength wouldn't just be maintained; it could actually explode, reaching 120% of his prime combat power.
Of course, such a state couldn't be sustained for long. Once the burst ended, he would likely collapse and die from his own body breaking down without anyone needing to lift a finger.
But until then, Sean had to maintain 120% of his own focus to contend with the man known as the strongest man in the world.
"Bakudō #81..."
"Dankū!"
While using 90-level Kidō through Kido was still strenuous, Sean didn't even need an incantation for an 80-level spell.
A massive, translucent azure energy barrier instantly manifested in front of him. A moment later, Whitebeard's terrifying Quake force collided violently with it.
'Boom!'
The air trembled. No—it was space itself. The entire region of space was vibrating. Such power would have dealt severe damage even to an Admiral if it landed a direct hit.
Sean frowned slightly. He noticed a thin crack appearing on the surface of Dankū. It was narrow and short, but it was there.
Then a second crack appeared, then a third...
Only after hundreds of cracks had riddled the defensive barrier did Whitebeard's attack finally exhaust its energy and subside.
'Good grief... even Dankū can't fully block it?'
Whitebeard definitely hadn't gone all out just now. In other words, if the old man actually unleashed 120% of his power, it was entirely possible that even Dankū wouldn't be enough to protect him.
'As expected, I can't take this old man lightly!'
Since that was the case, there was no need for a warm-up. It was time to end this.
"Banri Raichi, Mujin Raien!"
"Bankai: Kyūten Raika!"
A terrifying surge of Spiritual Pressure erupted. Thunderclouds began to condense rapidly in the sky. In an instant, the heavens were completely blanketed in dark clouds, blotting out the sun and plunging all of Marineford into darkness.
The sheer scale of the cloud cover was staggering.
Then, nine bolts of lightning, compressed to their absolute limit, were forged. They began to orbit slowly around Sean, who stood at the center of the storm.
Hekireki, in Sean's hand, also began to transform. It gradually lost its physical form, becoming a manifestation of pure energy, similar to the Ama-no-Murakumo created by Kizaru. However, the oppressive aura it radiated was far beyond anything Kizaru's blade could produce.
Even Whitebeard furrowed his brow deeply as he sensed the change in Sean.
While Bankai didn't increase Sean's total Spirit Power, the boost to his Spiritual Pressure was immense. A typical Zanpakutō usually provided a 10 to 15-fold increase in Spiritual Pressure upon reaching Bankai, and stronger blades provided even more.
As for Hekireki, its boost was approximately 25-fold, placing it in the same tier as Ryūjin Jakka. It lived up to the system's claim of being the strongest lightning-type Zanpakutō, even if it had never appeared in the original series.
An increase in Spiritual Pressure translated directly into an increase in attack power. Every Shinigami technique—whether it was Zanjutsu, Kidō, or Shunpo—relied on Spiritual Pressure for activation.
If Spirit Power was like a mana pool, then Spiritual Pressure was the actual attack stat.
As Aizen once said, the essence of a Shinigami's battle is a battle of Spiritual Pressure.
'''
Above the inner bay.
Three figures swept in from behind, coming to a halt using Moonwalk.
"I say, Sakazuki, isn't that over there looking a bit too scary?"
Kizaru's voice was as nonchalant as ever, but behind his sunglasses, his eyes were filled with gravity.
"Sakazuki, I think it's better if we don't go up there yet," Aokiji added calmly, his expression equally grim. "Previously, we speculated that Sean had eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, but looking at this, it doesn't seem likely."
"Intervening rashly without understanding the nature of his ability would be unwise. I believe we should stand by for now. If Sean falls into danger, we can provide support immediately."
Aokiji couldn't help but think this. The aura Sean was currently projecting was simply too powerful, and looking at those terrifying thunderclouds... who knew if the next attack would be a wide-scale blast that failed to distinguish friend from foe?
Stepping in blindly seemed like a terrible idea.
Hearing the two of them speak, Akainu let out a cold snort, yet his body betrayed him—he didn't charge forward.
He could feel it clearly: the sheer pressure erupting from both Whitebeard and Sean brought with it a sense of imminent lethality. It was as if the very atmosphere was warning him that this battle was not something someone of his level could simply intervene in.
This was utterly absurd.
He was an Admiral of the Marine Headquarters, one of the pinnacle powers of the entire ocean. Yet, he was witnessing a battle that he was powerless to enter? What kind of joke was this?
'''
While the Admirals remained frozen in place, Sean raised his right hand. Using the energy form of Hekireki, he casually performed a flourishing sword flourish.
"Whitebeard, you are only the third enemy to face me in this state!"
"Before you, there was Rayleigh. He couldn't even withstand a single move!"
"The second was Hawkeye; he fell by my third!"
"So, how many moves can you handle today?"
"Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
As the words left his lips, Sean raised his left hand, unleashing a Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō. A terrifying beam of azure light roared forth, crossing the ten-meter gap instantaneously to slam into Whitebeard.
Whitebeard once again concentrated his vibration power into Murakumogiri and swung violently, meeting the attack head-on.
The moment the two forces collided, a colossal explosion of energy erupted, ravaging everything in the vicinity and sending the surrounding sea into a violent frenzy.
But as Whitebeard fought to repel the blast, he suddenly sensed something else. His eyes widened in shock as he snapped his gaze toward the sky.
It was Sean!
The energy-based Hekireki in his hand had transformed, unnoticed, into a bow of pure energy. A bolt of terrifying lightning was notched upon the string as an arrow.
The bow was already drawn to its limit.
"Kyūten Raika: Hokkyoku Raisen!"
The moment Sean released the string with his right hand, the monstrous lightning transformed into a streak of azure light, screaming toward Whitebeard.
This was the same technique Sean had used on Volcano Island to shatter Hawkeye's Black Blade, Yoru. It was a single-point attack possessing the ultimate level of penetration and lethality.
And now, its target was Whitebeard!