"I AM WHITEBEARD!"
As the declaration rang out, all of the Whitebeard Pirates watched the old man with awe from the show of force.
Even as old as he was, and with all of his health issues, he was easily considered one of, if not THE strongest man in the world. Especially due to the power of his Gura Gura no Mi, which was considered the strongest Devil Fruit in the Paramecia class, and widely believed to be capable of destroying the entire world.
But Whitebeard wasn't strong ONLY because of his Devil Fruit.
His physical strength and Haki dwarfed all others when he was in his prime, and despite his old age and deterioration, he was still significantly stronger than even the warrior giants of Elbaf.
Yet...
Despite all of that...
Despite even him using the power of the Gura Gura no Mi...
And despite him even using one of the twelve Supreme Grade Blades, Murakumogiri...
The Dragon Emperor hadn't even flinched from the attack that triggered tsunamis and cleared the skies.
Instead, Alex was still sitting on the deck of the Moby Dick, a casual smile on his face as he held up a single finger to stop Whitebeard's attack.
"So that's the power of the Gura Gura no Mi? You made my finger go all tingly~." Alex said to him, stunning not just Whitebeard, but all of his crew that were watching.
"No way...."
"He took pop's attack like it was nothing!"
"Look at him! He's just smirking at pops like this is funny!"
Meanwhile, as Alex smiled up at him wryly, and his 'sons' all murmured and whispered about him being able to stop his attack, Whitebeard's eyes just narrowed at him.
"You're a tough little shit, aren't you?" He growled at him.
"You have NO idea." Alex said back to him.
*BOOM!*
No one knew what happened, it was too fast for any of them to follow. But the moment those words left Alex's mouth, there was a concussive blast that forced them all back to the edge of the ship.
And when they were able to look up once more, Whitebeard was gone. Instead, standing directly in his place was the Dragon Emperor, his casual smirk never wavering in the slightest.
"Look!" One man cried out, directing everyone's attention to a figure flying to the horizon.
"""POPS!"""
They all cried out as they recognized the form of Whitebeard as he flew out over the open ocean.
"Damn..." The old man groaned as he saw the water inching ever closer, and no land or ship in sight for him to angle towards instead.
So naturally, he angled himself in midair and swung his fist down at the water itself, coating his hand in the power of the Gura Gura no Mi as he did so.
*BOING!*
"!?!?!"
Instead of splitting the sea like he'd wanted, Whitebeard was stunned to see the water surface STRETCH downward like it was made of rubber, before snapping back into place as the waves continued to roll and crash. Like there was nothing wrong at all.
"I see..." He rumbled as he realized what was happening, right before he hit the surface of the ocean with his body.
Normally this would be a death sentence as a Devil Fruit eater, but the water surface stretched and remained firm like it had a moment before as Whitebeard bounced atop it, before coming to a stop.
"So, you've awakened a Devil Fruit?" He uttered casually as he turned to see Alex standing there on the water surface behind him.
"One of them. I've got three, so I think I need to train the other two a bit more." Alex told him, shocking Whitebeard from the news.
"Oh? And how exactly did you manage to eat more than one Devil Fruit?" He asked curiously, as everyone knew you could only have one, and eating a second fruit would instantly kill you.
"Let's just say I wished upon some stars. But enough about that, let's fight!"
"Very well, you cheeky brat!"
Even as he cursed him, Whitebeard had a large smirk on his face from the worthy opponent before him. After all, when was the last time someone had managed to send HIM flying?
So he decided to get a bit serious as he set Murakumogiri to the side, and reached his hands up to 'grab' the empty air. And with his smile widening, Whitebeard dragged his hands down while leaving illusionary trails with his fingers to have a near instantaneous affect on their surroundings.
Alex smirked back at the old man as everything around him began to shift, the sea itself fragmenting and breaking apart while the entire region began to violently shake. And in every single direction shockwaves spread out through the sea floor, the sea itself, and the very air to impact every single one of the surrounding islands.
"Looks like fun~!" Alex said as he reached up to mimic the old man's movements. "Mind if I give it a try too?"
"!!!"
Whitebeard was shocked as Alex 'grabbed' the empty air in a way that mimicked his movements exactly, before pulling on it with a shit-eating grin.
The vibrations Alex created with Gravity magic directly clashed with the ones Whitebeard made with his Devil Fruit to create the most violent reaction yet, as earth, sea and sky were all torn asunder in a way that made anyone unfortunate enough to be caught up in it think it was the end of the world itself.
"You can't tell me you haven't ever thought about what it'd be like to fight someone with similar powers as yourself!" Alex declared with a massive grin, despite him and Whitebeard literally standing sideways by now with the effects they were having on their surroundings.
"You little brat!" Whitebeard cursed, even as his own grin matched Alex's.
Taking up Murakumogiri once more, he coated his beloved blade with the power of the Gura Gura no Mi, and rushed the Dragon Emperor once more while Alex did the same, even as he coated his fist with Gravity magic.
And as the two clashed, cracks spiderwebbed through the air to trigger shockwaves that could remodel the very face of the New World.
***
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRR! BRRRRRRRRRRRRR! BRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*
"WARNING! WARNING! SEISMIC ACTIVITY DETECTED! TSUNAMI DETECTED! ADVISORIES TO TAKE SHELTER AND SEEK HIGHER GROUND ARE NOW IN EFFECT! WARNING! WARNING! SEISMIC ACTIVITY-"
On an island that was known by many to be the Island of the Future, alarms were blaring as the people were frantically fleeing inland to seek safety in the shelters that were in place. If any of them had stopped to look out to sea, then they would have seen the massive wall of water coming their way as a result of the numerous earth and sea quakes that had been taking place.
"This data.... It could only be Whitebeard!" Declared a man with an apple-topped head, along with a tongue that was so long that it could be contained to his mouth.
But even as he looked over the data and readings being provided by his machines, the man couldn't figure out exactly what was going on. According to them, these seismic waves were coming from TWO opposing forces clashing against one another.
But that couldn't be the case!
Could it?
Was there truly someone who could match the great Whitebeard blow for blow?
"Such valuable data!" The man declared with stars in his eyes as he started reviewing every single detail.
"Sir! The tsunami is rapidly approaching the island! We need to get to higher ground!" Declared one of the numerous aides sent by the World Government to help him.
"Go yourself." The man said without looking up. Data like this was impossible to come across normally, so he certainly didn't plan to leave when there was so much to go over.
"But Dr. Vegapunk sir..." The man uttered helplessly, knowing there was nothing he could do to change his mind. So now his choices were to wait here with the mad scientist, and be swallowed by the wave, or to seek shelter and report that he'd left the world's most powerful brain to die.
"..."
He'll just stay right here...
The man clapped his hands together and looked skywards to utter a prayer to whatever gods he was about to meet, when something caught his attention outside the window of the laboratory.
"What is that sir?"
"Huh? Don't bug me!" The scientist declared as he continued reviewing the data.
"But sir... I think there's a girl flying above the island...?"
"Don't be preposterous-!" Vegapunk began irritably, before he just so happened to glance in the direction the man was looking in.
There, hovering in the sky above the island, was a woman who looked like she was wearing one of his specially designed futuristic suits, though one the likes of which he had never designed since it was notably quite erotic. But the most eye-catching thing about her was the long vibrant pink hair flowing behind her as she hovered there.
Numerous questions floated through both of their heads as they watched the woman hover there, briefly forgetting about the impending tsunami. But then they were surprised as several items appeared in the empty air around her.
The other man wasn't sure what they were, his only theory being some kind of weapons that she was about to use. Dr. Vegapunk however realized exactly what they were, even if he couldn't identify the individual pieces.
His theory was confirmed a second later as all of the pieces began to assemble themselves in a seemingly random fashion, until they formed a rifle the likes of which Vegapunk had never seen.
The woman then aimed the rifle at the steadily approaching wall of water, before firing it in what he immediately recognized as a beam. But it was a beam unlike any Vegapunk had ever seen before, appearing like it was being shot from a cannon instead of a rifle as it impacted the wall of seawater.
Originally the island of Egghead, where they were now, was a winter island that was fairly inhospitable. Shortly after arriving though, Vegapunk had terraformed the island to turn it into a tropical paradise. His efforts had obviously borne fruit on the island itself, but the surrounding waters were still those of a winter island.
As such, when the beam of concentrated energy hit the freezing water that was riddled with chunks of ice, it exploded into a massive cloud of vapor that swiftly engulfed the entire island, plunging them into a sea of thick fog instead of being swept away by a tsunami.
The fog didn't last long though, as it too was quickly blown away thanks to a massive fan the woman had created next, before she slowly drifted down towards the island.
"I-I think I recognize her!" The World Government employee stated when she got closer, and he recognized her features. "T-that's the Pink Devil! Lala Satalin Deviluke!"
"You know me?"
""!!!""
Both Vegapunk and the World Government employee whirled around as Lala's voice came from behind them, startling both since neither had realized she was there. Especially since she'd been out front a second ago.
"Hey!" Lala declared as she looked at Vegapunk with child-like innocence. "Can I look around your lab?"
***
"To think....we would finally be free from the wrath of Kaido, only to witness the end of the world..."
In response to the samurai's grave words, numerous nods and murmurs of agreement met his words as the people clung to each other right as the world shook yet again.
"Oh please..." Anne uttered with undisguised exasperation.
She KNEW the world was not ending. It was just her idiot of a husband getting carried away, yet AGAIN.
Thankfully, though the people of Wano didn't seem to realize it, they were protected from tsunamis here thanks to the geography of Wano itself.
Unlike other islands, with a coast at sea level that elevated as you went further inland, Wano was an island that was completely surrounded by sheer cliffs that were hundreds of feet high, while the interior was filled with water that flowed over in waterfalls. It was the reason the island had been able to maintain its isolationism for so long, since hardly anyone was actually able to enter the island to attack it.
At least, until Orochi brought Kaido in.
*CRACK!*
"Hm?" Anne looked up as a crack filled the air, along with a rumble that didn't belong to the ongoing battle. It was a lot closer.
Flying out using her Telekinesis, Anne searched for the source of the noise until she saw something that made her pause. The outer wall surrounding Wano was cracked.
"Shit!" The Dragon Empress swore uncharacteristically as she immediately used Regeneration magic to seal the crack, only for the air to rumble as another one formed. So she sealed that one as well, before another formed. And then another.
With each clash of Alex and his opponent, Anne was forced to fly all around Wano repairing the massive cracks forming in their outer walls. But it an endless task that was made all the more daunting when Anne heard something rumbling behind her.
Turning around, Anne found herself facing a wall of water hundreds of feet tall.
"..."
Seeing the massive wall of water, Anne promptly flew upwards to get out of the way since he didn't feel like trying to fight it. She could just repair whatever damage the wall took after the wave hit.
With a massive roar, the wave came crashing down on the outer wall of Wano with enough force that the entire island shook, but thankfully there was no real damage to the buildings or people. A moment later though, the sound of something tearing tore through the air as massive chunks of the outer wall came crashing down all at once from the force of the wave.
"Dammit..." Anne swore yet again, and was about to try and repair the damage, when something caught her eye.
As the walls came crashing down, the water filling the bowl had also began to flood out into the ocean. That wasn't what caught her eye, as that was to be expected. But what had was that as the water flowed out, entire cities were being revealed that had been long since submerged.
"What is all this...?" Anne uttered as she flew down to explore the ruins while the water was flowing out.
***
All over the New World similar scenes were playing out as the battle between Alex and Whitebeard raged, even all the way to the Red Line itself as shockwave after shockwave assaulted the massive strip of land.
"What is going on!?!" Demanded the Admiral Akainu as he tried to keep his footing stable, as he and three others looked out over the side leading to the New World.
"This power... This is Whitebeard! I can guarantee it!" Declared the Fleet Admiral Sengoku, recalling all the times he'd fought against Whitebeard in the past.
"Well what the devil is he doing?!" Akainu demanded irritably.
"He doesn't throw his weight around just for fun... He must be fighting someone!" Sengoku declared.
"Is that sooo~?" Drawled the second of the three Admirals present, Kizaru.
"I know what you're thinking Kizaru. Don't do it!" Sengoku ordered him sternly.
"Oh it's ok. I'll be right there and back~!" Kizaru said to assure him, which Sengoku wasn't, before his entire body dissolved into particles of light as he shot into the distance towards the source of the shockwaves.
"..."
*BOOM!*
The next thing any of them knew, the entirely of Mary Geoise was violently shaking for an entirely different reason, as something impacted the Red Line beneath it.
"What was that!?!" Sengoku exclaimed, before several men precariously went over the side of the cliff to check it out.
"I-it's Admiral Kizaru sir!" One of them shouted up to him after what felt like an eternity, making Sengoku pale even before the men slowly hauled up Kizaru's bloodied and battered body.
"He's alive!" One of them cried out.
"Get some medics over here!" Sengoku shouted out urgently, sending numerous men scrambling as they hurried to do just that.
And as they hurried too and fro, he looked down upon the man that had served under him for years. Sengoku couldn't recall the last time he'd seen Kizaru beaten so soundly, at least not since he'd eaten his Devil Fruit.
"Whitebeard did not do this..." He commented to no one in particular.
"The Dragon Emperor..." Akainu growled, giving voice to what they all thought.
There was no way to tell if the Dragon Emperor had done this to Kizaru, but there was no one else they could think of that had the strength to do so, even though none of them had even seen him fight. But based off the strength of his followers, it wasn't too far fetched that he himself would be exceptionally powerful.
But strong enough to instantly put an Admiral of all people so close to death?
No one said anything else as the medics arrived and carried Kizaru off to be treated, but the same thought was going through their minds even as the earth continued to shake beneath their feet, and massive waves crashed against the Red Line.
How do you fight against someone like that?
***
Marco the Phoenix and the rest of Whitebeard's crew all watched with bated breaths as the battle took place just beyond the horizon, even as they had to repeatedly fight against the seaquakes and tsunamis generated by their beloved pops.
"I've never seen pops go all out before..." One of them uttered in awe.
"If this is him NOW, imagine how strong he was in his prime..." Another answered.
But even as they muttered and whispered behind him, Marco could not hold back the fear that was growing in his heart.
Whitebeard was not well.
That was a fact that he knew intimately not only as his right hand man, but also as the old man's doctor.
Years of his heavy drinking, along with all the damage he's taken from uncountable battles, had finally caught up with Whitebeard. Now he was usually hooked up to numerous IVs and machines that Marco personally maintained night and day.
But with each second he wasn't hooked up to them, Whitebeard's health would rapidly decline. It was literally counting down the seconds to his death, to say nothing of whatever damage he was accruing during this battle with the Dragon Emperor.
"Huh?" Marco uttered as he noticed something approaching them, before realizing what it was. Or rather, WHO it was.
"Pops!" He cried out, alerting everyone else to what was happening.
"Catch him!"
"Don't let him fall into the sea!"
Even as they all shouted, Marco took action as his arms changed into wings wreathed in blue flames, allowing him to shoot upwards into the air towards Whitebeard.
With his strength it was easy for Marco to catch Whitebeard in his talons, where he then began using his blue flames to heal the numerous wounds on the old man's body while gently lowering him to the deck of the battered ship.
"Pops! Speak to me!" Marco demanded urgently, continuously channeling his flames even as he reverted to his human form. Never before had he, or ANY of those present seen their beloved pops beaten so badly.
"Man! That was a fun battle!" Alex exclaimed as he appeared behind Marco, immediately earning the wrath of the entire crew.
"You! Do you feel nothing after doing this to pops!" Marco demanded as flames flicked along his body.
"No? I mean, I already said I planned to recruit him. So why would I leave him like that?" Alex asked as if it were obvious, stunning Marco along with everyone else present.
"Hmmm...." Came a groan that drew everyone's attention back to Whitebeard, only to see him completely healed.
No.
He was BETTER than healed!
The old man, while being in his seventies, now easily looked a decade or two younger than he'd had before the battle began. His hair wasn't nearly as white anymore, his skin wasn't nearly as ashen or flabby as it was, and a quick look over told Marco that ALL of Whitebeard's debilitating injuries had vanished as well.
It was like looking at a completely different man!
"Brat... What did you do to me?" Whitebeard demanded of Alex as he slowly rose to his feet, examining and flexing the muscles of his own body as he did so.
"Well you wouldn't be much use to me if you only had another year or so left in you, so I went ahead and made you a little younger, while also restoring your body to its physical peak, and removing all of the damage you acquired throughout the years. If you wanna take it for a test drive, I'm ready for another match any time. But just to let you know, the result will be the same~!"
As he said that, Alex unleashed his Haki upon Whitebeard and his crew. The old man was fine in the face of it, along with his commanders, but nearly every single person below the rank of commander immediately fainted while foaming at the mouth.
Even those that remained conscious were having a hard keeping their composure under the pressure, while Whitebeard was furrowing his brow.
"You really don't plan to let me go, do you you brat?"
"Hey, that's no way to talk to your new emperor you know! Since you got this whole 'family' motif going on, I'll even let you call me pops if you want. But call me brat again, and I'll bend you over my knee!"
Every single one of the division commanders gaped at Alex and his blatant arrogance and shamelessness, while also reluctantly imagining the image of him bending WHITEBEARD of all people over his knee.
"H-hey! Do you really think any of us will stoop to calling you 'pops'!?" Marco demanded angrily.
They were all rejects of society, with no home or family that the majority of them could claim. So having someone like the old man call them his children, loving and accepting them like they truly were his own, there was no way they wouldn't become offended at what Alex was saying.
"Eh? No problem~! I said WHITEBEARD could call me pops. To the rest of you, I'd be grandfather or something. I don't know, you all can figure it out. But I expect every single one of you to come with the old man to join my navy!"
Saying so like it was all settled, Alex waved his hand and all of the damage that had been dealt to the Moby Dick as a result of their battle was instantly repaired. He then turned back to Whitebeard, and said seriously,
"It's getting late, so I'm going to return home for the night. But seriously, think about it. It's not just some whim that I want you to run my future navy."
As he was saying, Alex genuinely considered Whitebeard the best person for the job. While he was a pirate, he was also a man with a massive and sincere heart, or he wouldn't have adopted all of these 'sons' over the years. There was also the fact that he planted his flag to claim islands as his territory all over the New World, protecting them from other pirates by virtue of his name alone.
And then there was his strength.
While Alex could easily beat him, Whitebeard was still an insanely powerful person, with an insane ability to match. If he combined the Gura Gura no Mi with Gravity magic, and got his strength up to Asora's standards, he'd be an unstoppable force on any battlefield. Especially when Hajime and Azazel finished their deep space fleet.
As he prepared to leave, Alex tossed a flag to Whitebeard with his royal insignia on it.
"I'll be back in the morning, and I HOPE that flag will be raised. Until then." And with that, Alex disappeared into a cloud of fog, as he returned to Asora.