Chapter 232: Whitebeard Being Fools

(T/N: Please consider reviewing this Fanfic, Thanks and appreciate all who support me)

(T/N: Enjoy!!)

<><><><><><>

After the complete annihilation of the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates, Whitebeard's expression grew solemn.

He knew that the Whitebeard Pirates would meet the same fate if he lost to Byakuya next.

But judging by Byakuya's display of power, Whitebeard was painfully aware that his chances of victory were less than five percent—practically zero.

A bitter feeling welled up inside him. For the sake of avenging two of his sons, he had led his entire crew to their deaths.

Even if they had followed him willingly, it still weighed heavily on his heart.

Had he known things would turn out this way, he would have come alone to seek vengeance. At least then, he would have been the only one to die.

Once the battlefield was cleared, Byakuya turned to Whitebeard and said flatly,

"Let's begin."

The moment those three words left his mouth, the Whitebeard Pirates trembled. Their eyes dimmed with despair.

So… it was finally their turn. Standing before Byakuya now, they didn't even have the right to make a desperate final stand.

All they could do was wait for the inevitable.

Sweat poured down Blackbeard's forehead as he nervously scanned his surroundings, desperately thinking of a way to escape.

He regretted eating the Dark-Dark Fruit more than ever. If he hadn't, he could have shattered the ice and dived into the sea.

Even then, his chances of survival would have been slim, but it was still better than the certainty of death at the hands of the Night Organization.

Whitebeard fixed his deep gaze on Byakuya.

"Before I die, I have one question. Were Ace and Thatch truly killed by the Night Organization?" 

Without hesitation, Byakuya replied, "No."

Hearing this, Whitebeard let out a sorrowful smile, looking utterly dejected.

Given Byakuya's absolute advantage in this battle, he had no reason to lie.

That could only mean that someone had deliberately set him up—made him believe that the Night Organization was responsible.

And he had fallen for it completely. He had foolishly come here seeking revenge, only to realize too late that the real culprit remained unknown.

And because of his blind rage, all of his sons were about to die. Whitebeard let out a long, anguished sigh.

"I've been a fool!"

"Old man!"

Marco and the others could hear the pain in his voice. Whitebeard turned to his crew as if trying to engrave their faces into his memory.

Perhaps this would be the last time he ever saw them. Finally, his gaze fell upon Teach. After a brief silence, he sighed,

"Teach, things have come this far. I won't blame you anymore." 

"But before I die, I want to hear the truth from you. How did Thatch and Ace really die? I don't want to leave this world without knowing the truth."

Teach's body stiffened instantly, and cold sweat soaked through his clothes. Whitebeard had figured it out. It made sense.

Back then, when Whitebeard was consumed by fury over Ace and Thatch's deaths, everyone had claimed it was the work of the Night Organization.

Naturally, he had charged straight at them for revenge. But now, at the brink of death, Whitebeard had calmed down.

He could finally see the flaws in that story and with Byakuya himself denying responsibility, Teach—who had been the most vocal at the time—suddenly seemed very suspicious.

"Teach! What the hell is going on?!"

Marco's eyes burned with fury as he grabbed Teach by the collar and lifted him off the ground.

"I… I don't know anything!"

Teach feigned confusion, wildly thrashing his limbs in a desperate struggle.

Byakuya merely stood there, silently watching as chaos erupted within the Whitebeard Pirates.

He didn't need to think twice—Teach was obviously behind it all.

What surprised him was that Whitebeard had managed to realize the truth at the very last moment.

But it had nothing to do with Byakuya. He only knew one thing:

After sending Big Mom and Kaido to their graves… It was time to do the same to Whitebeard.

Taking a deep breath, Whitebeard ignored the commotion behind him. He focused all his attention on the enemy standing before him—Byakuya.

"I've sailed the seas for over fifty years and fought countless powerful foes, but your strength has truly surpassed my understanding." 

"To die at the hands of someone like you… I can accept that without regret. From this day forward, the title of 'The World's Strongest Man' belongs to you."

Byakuya responded calmly, "You make the first move. If I strike first, you won't even have the chance to attack."

Hearing Byakuya's words—which sounded arrogant but were undeniably the truth—Whitebeard couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Then I won't hold back!"

A surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Whitebeard's body, wrapping around his blade, Murakumogiri. 

Combined with the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the fusion of these two forces caused dark purple and white energy to intertwine violently along the blade.

Even before he swung, the ice beneath him cracked inch by inch, and the sea beneath roared, violently shaking the frozen battlefield.

Not far away, Garp watched Whitebeard, his expression carrying a hint of astonishment. 

With a sigh, he muttered, "I never expected that old man to still have this much strength left in him."

"Yeah, even at his age, he's still this powerful," Zephyr agreed.

Meanwhile, Aokiji, with a grave expression, extended his hands, releasing waves of freezing air to reinforce the ice once again.

Whitebeard let out a powerful shout, "Take this!"

With an earth-shattering roar, Murakumogiri, infused with two overwhelming forces, slashed down like a bolt of lightning toward Byakuya. 

The sheer force of the attack caused the very space around the blade to shatter like fragile glass. This one strike alone was far stronger than any full-power swing from Kaido.

Whitebeard had more than earned his title as "The World's Strongest Man." But to Byakuya, the gap in strength between them was simply too vast.

As Murakumogiri descended, Byakuya casually clenched his fist and aimed a seemingly ordinary punch directly at the incoming blade.

The spectators were at a loss for words.

Using nothing but his bare fists to block a supreme-grade blade infused with peak-level Conqueror's Haki and the most destructive Devil Fruit power?

Such a thing was unimaginable.

Even Kaido hailed as the "World's Strongest Creature," would have been half-dead if he had tried to take that attack head-on.

But somehow, when it was Byakuya doing it, it felt disturbingly natural.

Before his fist even made contact, the spherical shockwave of Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the aura of his Conqueror's Haki were completely extinguished by the mere force of Byakuya's punch.

Even the blade itself began to warp under the sheer pressure, emitting an unbearable screech as if it was moments away from breaking.

Then, at the exact moment, fist met blade—

CRACK!

Murakumogiri shattered with a single punch. Only a few meters of the handle remained, riddled with countless cracks, as if the slightest touch would cause it to disintegrate completely.

Even though Whitebeard was a master of vibration-based power, the force that rebounded through the remaining weapon far exceeded his expectations.

His face flushed red, his arms trembled violently, and the webbing between his fingers split open, blood gushing out.

He could no longer hold onto Murakumogiri.

The broken weapon fell to the ice, shattering into countless fragments upon impact—almost as if foreshadowing Whitebeard's impending fate.

Perhaps, this would be the first supreme-grade blade in history to be shattered by a single punch.

Forcing himself to suppress the internal injuries and old wounds that were violently aggravated by the impact, Whitebeard suddenly laughed.

"Gu la la la! Now that was a hell of a punch! That old bastard Garp can't even compare!"

Not far away, Garp cursed inwardly.

"Damn it! You're about to die, and you still find time to insult me? Do we have that much bad blood?"

His frustration only strengthened his resolve—when he got back, he had to change his title from "Fist of Love."

But what Garp didn't know was that Whitebeard had always held a grudge about Ace being Garp's grandson.

After all, Ace called him "pops" while calling Garp "grandpa"… So if he and Roger ever met Garp, were they supposed to call him "dad" too?!

If you want to support me, join my patr**on. Have 10 advanced Chapters for you guys.

patr**n.com/saitamablast > OP:OPM NOVEL TIER