Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Battle of the Century

Fight to the death!

Father is here!

Tigers eyes tightened slightly. He opened his mouth, wanting to speak several times, but in the end he could only watch as Chu Yi's body broke free of gravity entirely, drifting slowly upward over Fish-Man Island until his figure vanished from sight.

What had Tiger wanted to say when Chu Yi left?

What he had meant to urge upon Chu Yi was...

Do not fight!

Because you will lose!

All the world knew that Whitebeard was the strongest man on the seas.

But no one knew just how strong Whitebeard truly was, because anyone foolish enough to challenge him had long since been unable to speak for themselves.

Only now, after seeing the punch Whitebeard used to declare war, did Tiger finally understand how terrifying the man bearing the title of the world's strongest truly was!

The sea of the New World lay nearly ten thousand meters above Fish-Man Island.

Yet with a single punch flung through empty air, Whitebeard had actually left an unmistakable fist mark on Fish-Man Island, far below, with absolute precision!

This...

This was simply monstrous!

Because to leave such an exact fist mark before Chu Yi required far more than brute strength. To lock onto Chu Yi's location with Observation Haki from tens of thousands of meters away, that level of Haki mastery was beyond anything a human being should be able to imagine!

But now, whatever could be said was already too late.

Tiger could only gaze at Chu Yi's slowly vanishing silhouette and murmur inwardly:

"Kid, if you're going to lose, at least lose beautifully."

"After all... you are my captain."

...

"Whitebeard really is strong."

Taking a deep breath, Mihawk slowly sat back down and tossed aside the wooden sword he had been holding.

Only after several deep breaths did Mihawk finally recover from Whitebeard's overwhelming pressure, and only then did he gather the courage to pick up the wooden sword he had just thrown away.

But before he had sat for long...

"Hm?"

With a slight lift of his brow, Mihawk suddenly saw Chu Yi's figure disappearing slowly above Fish-Man Island.

Remembering how, moments ago, under Whitebeard's intimidating presence, he himself had not even found the courage to resist, Mihawk's sharp gaze suddenly fell upon the two captives before him, Smoker and Lucci, who were diligently training. In a calm voice, he said:

"Chu Yi has gone to challenge Whitebeard. I can't calm my mind, so I need someone to spar with me."

"Hey, the white-haired one. You're a Logia Devil Fruit user, aren't you?"

"Within ten strikes, as long as you can avoid injury..."

"I'll decide on Chu Yi's behalf and let you go!"

As soon as the words fell, Mihawk showed no intention of holding the wooden sword at all. He simply pointed a finger into the air.

Whoosh!

His fingertip became a sword.

Sword aura burst forth. Smoker had not even reacted to what Mihawk had said before instinctively using his Smoke Fruit elementalization to evade.

Yet even as he successfully transformed, and Mihawk's sword aura cut through the air past his elemental body...

Gulp...

Swallowing hard, Smoker stared in disbelief as he realized that his body, which had already become elemental, had actually...

Been injured!

Shura... come back already!

The one looking at us now is a total pervert!

Roaring silently in his heart, Smoker endured blow after blow from Mihawk. Amid the ongoing torment, he could only hear Mihawk's devil-like voice echoing again and again in his ears.

"Eight strikes remaining..."

...

"That Mihawk..."

Although he was already in the sky above Fish-Man Island, Chu Yi's mastery of Observation Haki had become even sharper after he had advanced from ordinary concentration into a state of complete naturalness. Naturally, he could sense everything happening around Mihawk with it.

Watching Smoker be defeated again and again at Mihawk's hands, and seeing Lucci's former pride as a naval prodigy utterly worn away during his captivity, Chu Yi felt some of the tension of facing Whitebeard ease from his chest. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, he split the surrounding seawater apart and shot straight toward the surface!

Splash!

Water surged up.

Chu Yi's figure returned to the sea surface, and the first thing he saw was the Whitebeard Pirates' ship.

The Moby Dick!

And the instant he laid eyes on the Moby Dick, Chu Yi could sense countless formidable auras on board through Observation Haki.

Those...

Were all elite members of the Whitebeard Pirates!

Some of them had died in the New World long before the original story of the pirates had even begun, yet by now they were all famous great pirates across the seas.

The future division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates were, at present, merely their subordinates.

But here and now, these great pirates of the seas all had to remain obediently aboard the Moby Dick and wait.

Because their captain had ordered them not to step foot beyond the three-thousand-meter mark.

There...

Was where he and Shura would clash!

"Hey, Shura! Want me to take you to find Father?"

Standing on the Moby Dick and catching sight of Chu Yi's figure charging up from the depths of the sea, Marco greeted him with mild surprise.

After hearing Marco's voice, Chu Yi shook his head and smiled. "No need. If my Observation Haki couldn't sense such a powerful aura, then I wouldn't have needed to come at all."

"Though as for all of you..."

He frowned slightly and said, "Shouldn't you all stand a little farther away? If I end up clashing with your captain and we fail to agree on a single word, I'm afraid I might... drag you all into it!"

"Hahahaha, he actually says he wants to spar with Father. Is he joking?"

"Relax, kid! Even if you do fight Father, the battle won't reach us, because Father only needs a few seconds to defeat you!"

"Kid, hurry up and go see Father! What are you putting on airs for? Think we are afraid of you?"

Chu Yi had offered a sincere reminder, after all; if he fought with full force, he definitely would not be able to spare any thought for the people of the Whitebeard Pirates.

However, not everyone could understand Chu Yi's goodwill, especially not these unruly pirates.

It wasn't that they looked down on Chu Yi. After all, he was the world's most vicious criminal, a pirate with a bounty of eight hundred million.

But...

There were still three thousand meters between them!

Just what kind of battle would it take to affect us?

With that thought in mind, waves of mocking laughter rose aboard the Moby Dick. To Marco's ears, they sounded especially harsh, while Chu Yi himself felt nothing much at all.

Because...

They would soon be forced to shut their mouths!

Boom!

As the noisy jeering continued to drift from the Moby Dick, Chu Yi suddenly extended his left hand!

Almighty Pull!

Relying on the overwhelming force of gravity controlled in his palm, Chu Yi aimed at the uninhabited island behind the Moby Dick and unleashed Almighty Pull with explosive force.

The next second!

The once-noisy deck of the Moby Dick fell silent in an instant.

Why?

Because while using Almighty Pull, Chu Yi had actually ripped an entire island up from the sea with brute force!

Such might shook the hearts of everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates.

Proud as they were, they had only laughed at Chu Yi's words a moment ago.

But now, they suddenly felt that Chu Yi had a point!

If Chu Yi and Whitebeard really fought, they had better keep their distance!

So, taking advantage of the moment when Chu Yi had only just hauled the isolated island upward, the Moby Dick raised its sails and was clearly preparing to retreat several thousand meters more.

As for Chu Yi.

He paid no attention whatsoever to the Moby Dick's withdrawal.

At this very moment, there was only one person locked in his Observation Haki.

That person was the powerhouse standing on the island ahead.

"Whitebeard, here's my return gift!"