Chapter 208: Fall

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BOOM!

The blow slammed directly into Luffy's head, and the massive force sent his body hurtling a kilometer away, smashing through numerous buildings. 

Yet only two breaths later, a furious roar echoed as Luffy leapt back into the fray.

"Oh? As expected of the Sun God Nika."

"There aren't many left in this world who can pressure me in a one-on-one." Arashi narrowed his eyes. 

The Nika Fruit was exceptional—immense stamina, resilience, and recovery, combined with imagination-based abilities. 

Like a child's wild fairytale, it was limitless and whimsical. Its powers were so conceptual that they bordered on divine.

"Ahahahaha!" Luffy laughed loudly, bouncing across the ground. 

The surface turned into rubber everywhere he stepped, bursting with unimaginable elasticity. It boosted his speed tremendously.

"This is amazing! It feels like I can make any dream come true!" he yelled joyfully, overcome with delight.

But just as he jumped over a crater, a massive hand grabbed his right foot and yanked him backward.

"He's right." A deep voice rumbled as a towering figure slowly stood.

"Old man!"

"Whitebeard—Edward Newgate!"

Pirates were thrilled. Marines were shocked. No one expected him to still rise after such a devastating hit.

"This war… isn't one you can participate in yet!" Whitebeard growled. 

His blood-covered face radiated a terrifying blend of madness and ferocity as he locked eyes with Arashi.

"If you have power… then do what you're meant to do! Save Ace!" The deep command left Luffy stunned, but he quickly nodded with determination.

"He's right, Luffy! The moment of respite you gave us is enough! The rest of this war belongs to the three of us now!"

At the breach in the wall, Shanks stood, blood dripping from his forehead, forcing himself upright. 

His voice was low, his expression icy, his eyes locked on Arashi. 

"You've all surprised me," Arashi exhaled. "Is this what it means to be an Emperor of the Sea?"

Unparalleled stamina, top-tier combat skill, Haki, swordsmanship, Devil Fruit mastery, and a will that refuses to fall no matter the punishment—that's what makes an Emperor.

And then suddenly—BOOM!

Three furious auras clashed violently. Ripples spread through the air above Marineford.

Their presences intertwined, locking onto each other, darkening the sky, stirring lightning and thunder.

Luffy glanced back, then turned swiftly and sprinted toward the execution platform.

"Go save Ace without hesitation! This war's hope might rest on your shoulders, Straw Hat!"

Whitebeard muttered as he withdrew his gaze from Luffy. He gripped his naginata tightly and launched forward with heavy steps. 

Shanks also clenched his saber and vanished like lightning. Arashi laughed maniacally. His body quaked with excitement, fists crashing together.

"Come then!"

This was the clash that made the world tremble. What followed between the three was a brutal, merciless battle that no one had ever seen.

BOOM!

A thunderous crash shook Marineford. Arashi fought alone against two Emperors.

His powerful arms caught Whitebeard's naginata on one side and Shanks' saber on the other, stopping both.

His fingers were like steel claws, black-and-red lightning crackling around them, halting their attacks completely.

"Hahaha!" Arashi roared as he flung Shanks aside, sending him and his sword flying.

Then he spun and hurled his left fist toward Whitebeard. The old man growled, his fist wrapped in seismic energy, and countered.

BOOM!

Their fists collided, space shook, and the ground trembled violently beneath them.

"AAAHHH!"

Whitebeard roared, throwing his full strength into his punch. Arashi responded in kind, bellowing as he exploded with power.

CRACK!

The force crushed the ground beneath them, shattering it into massive fissures.

In a flash, both had to leap up for new footing. But just then, Shanks came streaking back in.

Arashi turned, fingers splayed—BOOM! 

A blinding pillar of lightning blasted out, hurling Shanks several kilometers away, smashing eighteen buildings, and igniting a massive explosion.

But before Arashi could recover, Whitebeard descended from above with a savage roar, his naginata swinging down.

"HAHAHAHA! Now this is exhilarating!" Arashi bellowed.

There was no pause—blow after blow. The speed was inhuman. Observation Haki and Armament Haki rapidly alternated. Stamina drained at impossible rates.

No previous battle could compare. Suddenly, Arashi bent low and slammed a palm onto the ground.

"Kunpeng Wrath: Imperial Earth Surge!"

The Earth shattered. Stones surged and formed a massive Kunpeng beast before their eyes. With a thunderous roar, it rose to devour Whitebeard.

"Shiki's ability?!"

Whitebeard's eyes narrowed. The creature was just ten meters away when he roared and brought down his naginata.

BOOM!

The seismic force exploded outward. A dazzling slash tore through the sky, cleaving the stone beast in two. Rubble rained down.

But in the dust cloud, Arashi suddenly appeared behind him. Right fist clenched, he drove an elbow into Whitebeard's back.

BOOM!

Whitebeard fell like a meteor, flipping midair. His back crashed down, leveling hundreds of meters of ground. Arashi dove down, but Whitebeard was ready.

Both arms were yanked in the air.

CRACK!

A massive shockwave erupted and smashed into Arashi's body. He shuddered, coughed blood, and his ribs fractured inside him.

But for Arashi, it was nothing. He just grinned and dove back down. Whitebeard leapt up and drove his naginata into the ground beside him. 

Veins bulged as both fists glowed with seismic power, hammering at Arashi.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

They clashed dozens of times in seconds. Arashi coughed blood, but his grin grew wider.

Whitebeard, struck three times, bled from his mouth and nose, yet stood firm like an unshakable tower.

Then Shanks rejoined, slashing at Arashi's back. Arashi flinched, roared, and punched Shanks square in the face.

The force twisted Shanks midair, spinning him 360 degrees before he slammed into the ground, leaving a deep crater.

The next second, Whitebeard's punch smashed into Arashi's waist.

CRACK!

Arashi grimaced as he gasped from the pain. But a second later, he hammered Whitebeard's liver.

BANG!

Whitebeard staggered back, spitting up pieces of his organs. Then Shanks lunged again, unleashing a fierce slash.

Arashi crushed it with a punch and dashed forward, grinning. Fist met sword.

Slash! Smash!

In just a few breaths, both men were covered in cuts and bruises.

"You may have been late, but you made it!" Arashi shouted. "Shanks!"

Shanks' expression darkened. His hair, face, and clothes were soaked in blood.

"I've dreamed of this for so long," he said. "To one day fight someone like you in a battle to the death!"

Arashi laughed wildly. "Then today's your lucky day!"

Shanks grinned back. "Yes."

But before either could say more, Whitebeard charged in from behind. A seismic-charged elbow struck Arashi's back.

BOOM!

The ground cracked and collapsed beneath him. Then, Whitebeard roared, his eyes sharp. 

With blinding speed, he grabbed Arashi and hurled him into the sky. His muscular arms tensed, fists clenched, and his eyes tracked Arashi's descent.

When Arashi dropped before him—CRACK! One punch hit his abdomen, and cracks spread like tree branches, covering thousands of meters.

Marineford quaked. Ravines split across the land. Suddenly, Arashi's feet hit the ground. He lifted his head and grinned.

"My turn."

Those words made Whitebeard's heart shudder. What kind of monster was this man?

Even after taking hit after hit from the Gura Gura no Mi's full might, Arashi was still full of life.

Wind howled. His fist, like a boulder, smashed into Whitebeard's face. The force didn't stop—it drove him straight into the ground.

Arashi flipped, landing atop him, and unleashed a relentless barrage.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The ground shook. Whitebeard's body trembled. Blood poured from his mouth.

Shanks turned pale and rushed in, slashing furiously. But what terrified him was Arashi's endurance—his response was insane.

Even as blood poured down his back, Arashi didn't seem to feel pain. He just kept punching, relentless and wild.

"This lunatic!!!" Shanks couldn't help but tremble inside.

No one knew how many punches Arashi had thrown before he finally stopped. He stood up slowly, turned his head, and his blood-red eyes locked onto Shanks.

"It hurts…Red-Haired brat!"

Blood streaks crisscrossed the grotesque back like a demon's mask—every mark was deep, down to the bone. 

Blood streamed freely, and the sight was utterly horrifying. Shanks's heart trembled. He couldn't fathom what kind of nerves this man possessed. 

The injuries carved into his body had far exceeded the limits any human could endure. His back was almost entirely devoid of intact skin. 

The pain should have been unbearable—yet the man seemed unaffected, his expression calm, as if nothing had happened.

One thing was now sure to Shanks—his attacks could no longer stop this man. 

From where he stood, he saw the towering figure, nearly ten meters tall, with over thirty wounds still bleeding. 

Almost fifty more cuts split open his skin, revealing glimpses of white bone. 

Shanks didn't dare aim for the head—he still vividly remembered what had happened last time. 

The most effective approach was to cripple the body through severe injury, but even that seemed to have little effect.

"Huff!" Arashi exhaled heavily, his face contorted with fury, eyes bloodshot. The very next moment, his enormous body moved. 

A single step crushed the ground beneath him, and the immense recoil launched him instantly in front of Shanks. 

His right fist clenched with a crack, then smashed directly into Shanks's face.

"Had fun attacking me earlier?" he growled. "Now it's my turn!"

Shanks's body shook violently. That punch struck his face dead-on, and the overwhelming force lifted him clean off the ground. 

But even in midair, he retaliated with a swing of his sword. "Bang!" The second punch was blocked. 

Shanks gasped for breath—his face was nearly unrecognizable. 

His nose had collapsed, his eyes were swollen, and his entire face looked grotesquely enlarged. 

Yet despite his injuries, his eyes glinted with excitement. "The power dropped! The injuries are affecting him after all, and that labored breathing..."

He looked up sharply, staring at his opponent. From Arashi's nostrils, white vapor gushed out with every breath. His chest rose and fell violently. 

It was clear—after sustaining such heavy wounds and fighting at such high intensity, Arashi's stamina was rapidly draining.

"His stamina's dropping fast! If I can endure these savage blows, victory might still be within reach!"

The thought gave Shanks a sudden surge of strength. But in the very next instant, a brutal punch slammed into his chin. 

The ferocity of the strike sent him flying again, nearly disarming him.

"You're still distracted while fighting me? No wonder they call you an emperor of the sea!"

Arashi's mocking voice reached his ears. Then, like a crashing wind, the colossal figure loomed over him again. 

A sharp elbow strike to the stomach followed, as fierce as a hammer blow.

Boom! 

Shanks crashed into the ground, shattering a 300-meter area. Yet his reflexes were swift—he rolled to the side and sprang back just in time.

Boom! Just a split second later, Arashi came down like a meteor, and the already broken ground expanded to over a kilometer in ruins.

"Fast reflexes, huh!" Arashi grinned, then relaunched himself. He charged at Shanks, fists raining down like a storm. 

Shanks blocked them with his longsword, but was forced to retreat step after step.

After five or six breaths, Shanks faltered—then three heavy punches landed on his head in succession.

"My head's going to explode!!" he screamed internally. Blood dripped constantly from his body. 

Arashi's strength was monstrous, far beyond imagination. Boom! Shanks hit the ground again with another deafening crash, smashing into debris.

"Hell yeah!!" Arashi roared toward the sky.

His massive ten-meter-tall body slowly shrank back to human form. The black flames and flowing streamers around him faded away in the wind.

"Huff... huff... huff!"

He lowered his head, breathing heavily, sweat and blood dripping to the ground. It was clear—this nonstop battle had drained him considerably. 

But it was all worth it. After all, his opponents were two of the sea's emperors. 

Even after training silently for over a decade in Impel Down and eating a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, he never once underestimated this challenge.

"Is it over, you two?"

After a moment, he slowly raised his head and straightened his back, staring forward. 

The places where Whitebeard and Shanks had fallen were now still, with no further movement. For a moment, Marineford seemed frozen in time.

Both pirates and Marines ceased fighting and turned to the center of the battlefield. In every gaze, only one figure remained standing.

"Pops!"

"Shanks!!"

The pirates' expressions darkened. Since the moment of those heavy blows, neither emperor had stood again. They knew exactly what that meant.

"Admiral Arashi has won!!" Excited screams erupted across the battlefield.

"The Marines will win! Justice will triumph!"

Countless Marines raised their weapons high and cheered in unison. The fall of the enemy leaders was monumental, enough to decide the war's outcome.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

A strong gust of wind blew through the battlefield, sweeping up dust and sand. Whitebeard and Shanks still showed no signs of life. 

Arashi's strikes had been devastating—each blow real and crushing. Even a mountain would collapse under them. 

Only emperors of the sea could endure such punishment.

"We've won! The Marines have won! Surrender, pirates!!"

The Marines shouted joyfully. Arashi stood at the heart of the battlefield, chest heaving, breathing hard. 

He had paid a heavy price—his stamina nearly exhausted, his entire body riddled with injuries. 

Blood poured from his arms and legs, pooling beneath his feet. 

Only Arashi, who had once borne such grievous wounds in Impel Down and survived them for years, could withstand this. 

His tolerance for pain and injury was beyond comprehension. Anyone else—even if they didn't die—would have long collapsed unconscious.

On the execution platform, Sengoku clenched his fists, eyes glowing with admiration.

With his strength, Arashi faced two emperors and emerged victorious. 

Putting aside a few situational elements, he had dominated them for nearly the entire battle.

It had been a brutal, savage clash. 

All three—Whitebeard, Shanks, and Arashi—were covered in blood and scars. But in the end, Arashi was the only one still standing.

He knew what that meant.

"The world... is about to enter your era, Arashi."

Sengoku murmured. His eyes were filled with the image of that lone, unyielding man.

It was clear that massive changes would sweep through the Marines once this war ended. 

Arashi, whose performance in this war had stunned the world, would rise fully onto the world stage and ascend to the pinnacle of the Marines.

This new era would begin the moment Arashi stood at the top.

"Arashi! Arashi!! Arashi!!!"

At some point, thunderous cheers echoed across the skies of Marineford, and all the Marines roared his name with fervor. 

The man who defeated two emperors in unison—Arashi—was now seen as an invincible war god.

A legend. A hero.

His body was towering and powerful, bearing a grotesque, crying demon's back. His will was like steel. 

Though covered in wounds and soaked in blood, he remained unshaken. 

His power seemed limitless—within mere moments of battle, tens of thousands of meters around him had been reduced to rubble, and no land remained untouched.

He was the strongest in Marine history—invincible. Even Arashi closed his eyes amid the thunderous cheer, momentarily lost.

This was his moment of glory. Standing at the peak, he had reached a new height in this era. Even two Emperors combined couldn't stop him.

"Well then, time to finish you off for good!" Arashi opened his eyes sharply, looking at the two massive craters ahead. 

One held Whitebeard, the other Shanks. But just as he took a step forward, he froze. A searing pain ripped through his body, stopping him in his tracks. 

The pain pierced his soul—it was unbearable. This battle had brought him closer to death than ever before.

"You two gave it your all, huh... Whitebeard, Shanks... I thought I'd be able to crush you both easily, but it took more effort than I imagined."

Arashi sighed. His fighting style was simple, direct, and brutally effective—but also mutually destructive.

In focusing all his attacks on one enemy, he gave up all defense. Still, the result was undeniable. Both were taken down in the shortest time possible.

Defeating two world-class powerhouses in such a short span was no easy feat.

Anyone standing at the peak—whether in strength, experience, or will—was an unmatched force. 

Usually, such battles last ten days or more without a winner. But this time, they ended within hours.

Less than three hours. The war's outcome was already sealed.

"And now..."

Arashi slowly turned his gaze to the silent battlefield ahead. Among the enemies, countless faces were pale, full of fear and despair.

The atmosphere had shifted entirely. Suddenly, Arashi spun around, looking toward the execution platform.

"Luffy, huh?" His eyes narrowed, then he grinned.

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