Lin Dong could clearly feel Whitebeard's rising fury, his aura climbing to a new level. It seemed like he was about to unleash his full strength.
However, Lin Dong wasn't flustered. With his left hand gripping his own body and his right hand making a fist in midair, a massive black sword slowly materialized in Susanoo's hand.
Focusing his mind, the black sword began to ignite with boiling black flames. Yes, Lin Dong was ready to go all out. Meanwhile, Whitebeard was also gripping his naginata with both hands, charging up his strength.
"Slash!" Susanoo raised the giant sword and swung it down toward Whitebeard on the ground. The black sword erupted with a flame-like energy. At the same time, Whitebeard lifted his naginata and, once again, chose to meet the blow head-on, slashing at the descending giant sword.
With a deafening crash, the sky and earth seemed to change. Lin Dong was surprised to see that Whitebeard had actually withstood Susanoo's attack. Whitebeard's comparatively small body had blocked the enormous sword, and not only that, the black energy waves emanating from the sword were shattered by the tremor from Whitebeard's Devil Fruit power, scattering everywhere, unlike the previous massive shockwaves.
"My god..." Lin Dong muttered. This guy is truly incredible. No wonder he's considered the pinnacle of the One Piece world, the strongest man alive. If this were him in his prime, how much more terrifying would he be?
But although Whitebeard managed to block it, Lin Dong noticed that his defense wasn't entirely stable. Using his Sharingan to observe closely, he detected a fluctuation in Whitebeard's aura—he was struggling to keep it up. Without hesitation, Lin Dong lifted his sword again, preparing for another strike.
The black sword slashed down once more. This powerful move would have previously drained all of Lin Dong's magic, but now that he had the chakra of a tailed beast, his magic power had increased tenfold. He could keep throwing out these massive attacks. If Whitebeard could block them all, that would truly be impressive.
Whitebeard hesitated for a moment, clearly surprised that Lin Dong could so casually throw out such attacks. But despite his astonishment, Whitebeard once again charged forward to meet the giant sword head-on.
Whitebeard's decision stemmed partly from his character and partly from the fact that he knew the destructive power of the attack. Behind him was his flagship, the Moby Dick, where all his children resided. How could he dodge and allow his children to face such danger? As a father, it was his duty to stand on the front line and block the attack for them.
"Ha!" Whitebeard roared, channeling his strength as he swung his naginata at the sword once more.
The two weapons collided again with an ear-splitting crash, but this time, Lin Dong could feel the difference. The force Whitebeard returned was weaker than before—he was getting tired.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Dong exerted all his strength. The black energy that had scattered from the sword began to coalesce again, and with gritted teeth, Lin Dong manipulated Susanoo to press the sword down hard.
With a loud "boom," the giant sword smashed into the ground, sending a massive black shockwave racing toward the Moby Dick.
"Move!" The crewmembers on the ship finally realized the danger and scrambled to avoid it, but it was too late. The black energy wave sliced through the left side of the ship, causing the hull to vanish instantly. After tearing through the entire ship, the energy wave continued across the ocean, crashing into a distant rocky island.
With a thunderous explosion, the island erupted, with black flames and massive chunks of rock flying everywhere. When the dust settled, the entire island had disappeared from sight.
Seeing this, the crewmembers finally understood the overwhelming power of the attack, and just how much effort Whitebeard had put into blocking it. Although Whitebeard had been concealing it, the crew knew his condition—he had grown old. The current situation only confirmed their fears. Their captain might truly be in danger.
As the smoke cleared, they saw Whitebeard still standing at the front of the ship. Although the slash had pierced the ship, it had veered slightly to the left—Whitebeard had redirected the attack to protect them. However, Whitebeard was not in good shape. He was injured.
A deep slash ran across Whitebeard's chest, and burn marks covered his body. Blood stained his torso, yet he remained standing, not moving an inch. The crew knew that their father was protecting them.
"Father!"
"Dad, let me help you!"
"Stand back!" Whitebeard suddenly roared. Then, pointing his naginata at Lin Dong, he shouted, "You tried to kill them all with that attack, didn't you?"
"Whoa, whoa, let's talk this over. They're standing on a battlefield, and they're my enemies. Do I really need to spare them?" Lin Dong shrugged. "Isn't your protectiveness of your kids a bit over the top?"
"Unforgivable!" Whitebeard was truly enraged now. With a sudden punch, Lin Dong felt himself hit by an unseen force. Susanoo's grip slipped, and Lin Dong's body was flung backward.
"Damn." Lin Dong realized that Whitebeard had used his Devil Fruit power to shake him away, having discovered his real body. Deciding not to continue clashing with Susanoo, Whitebeard had opted to attack his true form. It seemed he was now focused on protecting his sons and couldn't afford to hold back.
As Lin Dong was still processing this, a shadow loomed above him. Looking up, he saw Whitebeard charging down from above, moving so fast that Lin Dong could barely follow. In the blink of an eye, Whitebeard was already upon him.
At that moment, Lin Dong was still airborne. Whitebeard's aggressive pursuit left him no room to react. Before he could fully grasp the situation, Whitebeard stabbed downward with his naginata.
Lin Dong didn't have time to respond, but his body acted on instinct. His hands turned black, activating his Armament Haki, and he reached out to grab the incoming blade.
With a sickening sound, Lin Dong was injured. Though he managed to catch the naginata, he had underestimated Whitebeard's strength. The blade pierced his chest, though Lin Dong's grip on the weapon prevented it from running him through completely.
There was no time to think. Knowing that if he didn't act quickly, Whitebeard would crush him with his Devil Fruit power, Lin Dong's eyes flashed with purple light: "Shinra Tensei!"
With a loud bang, the tremendous force sent Whitebeard flying skyward, even knocking the naginata out of his hands.
"Host body severely injured. Recommend using points for healing," Battle Maiden urgently advised. Clearly, Lin Dong's injuries weren't just from the stab wound—the shockwaves from Whitebeard's Devil Fruit had also ravaged his insides. The damage was far worse than it appeared.
"Can you heal me mid-battle?" Lin Dong asked, though he quickly added, "I'm broke. Can I owe you?"
Battle Maiden didn't respond. Lin Dong wasn't lying; he really was out of points, having spent them all on skills. He couldn't afford to use any healing methods. If his points dipped into the negatives, based on past experience, he'd trigger some emergency mission, and getting teleported away before defeating Whitebeard would be a massive loss. Plus, he wasn't even sure if he'd get an emergency mission while in an exploration world, and if negative points led to instant death... that would be ridiculous.
After all, even if he died, he'd just return to his original world. No need for healing. Since his pain receptors were blocked, he didn't even know how bad his injuries were or if they were fatal. There was no time to ponder, though, as Whitebeard was coming at him again.
Even after being blasted into the air, Whitebeard had somehow accelerated back, possibly using a technique similar to the Navy's Moonwalk.
"Tsukuyomi," Lin Dong's eyes flashed red, and Whitebeard froze in midair, momentarily losing strength. Seizing the moment, Lin Dong grabbed Whitebeard by the head and slammed him down toward the ground.
With a thunderous crash, Lin Dong dragged Whitebeard across the ground, carving out a hundred-meter-long trench. Although Lin Dong was mostly unharmed, Whitebeard suffered significant injuries. But even then, Lin Dong noticed that Whitebeard hadn't been defeated yet—the Battle Maiden hadn't given any victory notification.
Although Whitebeard had fallen under Tsukuyomi, this technique would have likely incapacitated an ordinary person. But for someone like Whitebeard, with an indomitable spirit, enduring through it was entirely possible. Sure enough, Whitebeard was already starting to move before Lin Dong could get up.
"Unbelievable..." Lin Dong's body moved again on its own. But just as he approached Whitebeard, Lin Dong's eyes flashed purple, and he shouted, "Chibaku Tensei!"
Suddenly, everything around them seemed to be drawn toward Whitebeard, including the ground and trees.
"Tactical retreat!" Lin Dong urgently commanded the Battle Maiden.
Understanding the situation, the Battle Maiden swiftly pulled back. Soon, all the surrounding objects were gathering into a massive sphere, encasing Whitebeard. Normally
, such a technique would trap an enemy, but Lin Dong's objective was to crush Whitebeard with the mountain-like force of this floating debris.
"Host, quickly finish him off while he's trapped!" the Battle Maiden urged. Lin Dong raised Susanoo's sword, gathering black energy into it.
But just as Lin Dong was about to strike, Whitebeard roared from inside the debris sphere. With a powerful quake, cracks began to appear on the massive structure, threatening to shatter it.
Lin Dong's face paled as he realized that Whitebeard might break free! He wasn't sure whether he could land the killing blow before Whitebeard broke out, but one thing was certain: If Whitebeard emerged unscathed, Lin Dong would be in real trouble.