Chapter 385

Watching Whitebeard charge toward him, Hui's gaze darkened, a flicker of anger rising in his heart.

He had always maintained a calm and indifferent demeanor, but suddenly being thrust into such a situation was truly irritating.

Seeing Whitebeard's reckless aggression, there was no way Hui could remain patient.

A sword materialized in his hand—Zhi Yi—and with Silver Thunder Second Stage, his speed erupted to the extreme. Yet, in the eyes of the onlookers, he appeared to remain motionless.

One second later—

His figure vanished from everyone's sight.

It wasn't due to any space-related ability, but rather because he was simply too fast, so fast that the human eye couldn't perceive his movement, leaving behind only afterimages.

Schlkt!!!

The sound of a blade slicing through flesh and blood rang out through the surroundings.

In the span of just a second, when Hui reappeared, he was already standing a short distance behind Whitebeard.

Whitebeard, having come to an abrupt halt, stared at his own chest in shock.

"He dodged? It seems that this so-called Observation Haki is quite an interesting ability."

Hui spoke with an eerily calm tone as he turned around.

That sword strike was meant to sever Whitebeard's throat.

But at the last moment, Whitebeard had twisted his body with all his might, narrowly avoiding a fatal end. Instead, Hui's blade slashed across his chest, leaving behind a deep, bleeding wound.

As he looked at the fresh blood seeping from his chest, the battle fervor in Whitebeard's heart was completely extinguished.

It was as if a blazing furnace had been thrown into the sea, after a brief hiss of steam, the flames were utterly snuffed out.

Turning to face Hui, Whitebeard's gaze was filled with fear, as though he were staring at an absolute monster.

Had it not been for his Observation Haki, which allowed him to react at the last possible second, he would have died just now.

This was terrifying.

It wasn't arrogance, but he was Whitebeard!

One of the strongest men in the world!

His strength was undoubtedly among the very pinnacle of all pirates. He even had the potential to contend for the strongest title.

And yet—

Just now, he had nearly been one-shot by someone!

What kind of overwhelming power was this?!

It wasn't just Whitebeard who was shaken. The onlookers were stunned beyond belief, their minds blank as they stared at the fresh, bleeding sword wound across Whitebeard's chest. A numbing sensation spread through their scalps, and even their very souls seemed to tremble.

"P-Pops… lost?!!"

After a long silence, someone finally stammered in disbelief.

It was Marco, the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, a formidable pirate in his own right.

His voice was unsteady, filled with hesitation, because his mind still hadn't processed what had just happened.

The sight had shattered his worldview.

In Marco's understanding, Whitebeard was an invincible existence.

Even if there were people who could fight him, defeating him was impossible, let alone someone nearly one-shotting him.

"Damn it! Pops must have been careless!"

Another voice spoke. It was Jozu, the Third Division Commander, a burly man.

"No… his speed is just too fast!"

This time, it was Vista, the Fifth Division Commander and a skilled swordsman. His eyes were filled with shock.

To say that just one move had shaken the entire Whitebeard Pirates to their very core was no exaggeration.

Their very understanding of the world was collapsing.

Among them, the one most shaken was none other than… Marshall D. Teach, Blackbeard.

But it wasn't just the Whitebeard Pirates.

The Roger Pirates, who had been watching, were just as dumbfounded, their shock no less than that of Whitebeard's crew.

Even though the two pirate crews had been on the verge of war, they all acknowledged Whitebeard's strength.

They recognized him as one of the strongest, a man as powerful as their captain.

And yet—

That same man had just barely survived being one-shot by a young man who looked no older than twenty!

How could their hearts not be shaken?

"What a terrifying young man!"

Even Gol D. Roger spoke with unprecedented solemnity.

Putting himself in the same situation, he realized that if he had been the one facing that strike, he might have been one-shot as well. Even if he managed to react in time, he would, at best, end up like Whitebeard, forced to pay a price.

"His speed... it's inhuman."

Beside Roger, Silvers Rayleigh spoke with a heavy tone, his mind still reeling from the sheer terror of Hui's speed.

Not far from them, two young men, Shanks and Buggy, were staring wide-eyed, nearly popping out of their sockets, utterly speechless in shock.

That young man...

He didn't seem much older than them.

And yet, what he had just done was something they couldn't even dream of achieving.

Even Kozuki Oden, standing alone on the side, had his mouth hanging open, completely stunned.

One could say that among everyone present, aside from Hui himself, not a single soul could remain calm.

But Hui, after speaking in his usual tranquil tone, glanced at the now entirely composed Whitebeard, then turned as if preparing to leave.

If this had been before he had stepped into the Six Paths Realm, he would have found figures like Whitebeard and Roger quite interesting.

But now, neither Roger nor Whitebeard was even qualified to be his opponent.

Because he had transcended them.

He was of the Six Paths, a completely different lifeform from humanity.

With his Celestial Eye, his Mind Reading Divine Ability, and Silver Thunder Second Stage, Hui's power had already existed in an entirely different dimension compared to these men.

After all—

In terms of the Shinobi world's power scale, Whitebeard and Roger would, at best, be on par with Hashirama Senju or Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan Madara, both merely in the "Super-Kage" tier.

And to a Six Paths-level being, Super-Kage-tier power was nothing worth mentioning.

That one simple sword strike just now might have seemed casual, but in reality, it was backed by absolute, overwhelming physical superiority.

Even Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, a top-tier Six Paths-level being, had nearly been one-shot by Hui in this state.

Whitebeard?

He wasn't even worth comparing.

In this world, the only way someone could even have a chance to battle him was if their Observation Haki had been cultivated to the point where they could predict the future.

But even then, it would only buy them one or two extra moves at best.

Because sheer physical superiority wasn't something that mere future sight could compensate for.

It was like an ordinary person facing a hail of bullets from all directions—

Even if they knew exactly when and where the bullets would be fired, their body simply wouldn't be fast enough to move out of the way in time.

And even if someone could foresee his attacks, Hui could simply adjust his trajectory in an instant, rendering any preemptive prediction meaningless.

But just as Hui was about to leave, his expression suddenly changed.

Without hesitation, a kunai appeared in his hand.

With a swift flick—

Swish!

The kunai shot through the air at an imperceptible speed, directly splitting a bullet in half mid-flight before continuing unabated, burying itself right between the brows of a gunman hiding in the distance.

By the time the people around finally reacted, they turned to see—

The lifeless body of a man with a kunai embedded deep into his forehead.

It was a sniper from the Whitebeard Pirates.

Moments ago, he had been just as terrified as everyone else at Hui's display of power.

But in his fear, hatred had followed, 

And, perhaps having lost his rationality from witnessing Whitebeard's injury, he had foolishly decided to pull the trigger on Hui.

The result?

Death.

Instantly.

The atmosphere froze solid.

Everyone stared in horror, their faces pale, their minds screaming the same thought—

"It's over…!"

Everyone knew just how deeply Whitebeard cared for his crew.

And now, this young man had just killed one of his men right in front of him.

This would make Whitebeard go berserk.

Sure enough—

Whitebeard's battle intent, which had been extinguished moments ago, reignited a raging fury.

His massive body surged forward—

This time, he wasn't holding anything back. His full unbridled focus was on slaying Hui.

This was his peak, his strongest state.

Earlier, his near-defeat had partly been due to Hui's unfathomable speed—

But it was also because Whitebeard himself hadn't truly gone all out.

Now?

Now he was serious.

And when Whitebeard was serious, he was at his absolute peak.

However—

His opponent was Mochizuki Hui.

And this time—

Hui wasn't suppressing himself at all.

In fact, in this state, with Silver Thunder Second Stage, Celestial Eye's Perception, and Mind Reading Divine Ability active—

He was even stronger than before.

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