Chapter 145

"Whitebeard, are you tired of living?"

One sentence.

That was all it took to show just how furious and displeased Kairos Flint was.

Off to the side, Marco and the other division commanders looked absolutely numb.

Good grief.

They had warned their father—repeatedly.

And yet, he still went ahead and said that.

This was baffling to them.

The man standing before them wasn't some nameless pirate.

He had defeated three Admirals, bested Garp in battle, and had even gained the upper hand.

This guy is no minor character.

More importantly, there was his relationship with Red-Haired Shanks.

Sure, many believed Shanks stopped the Marineford War simply because he wanted to maintain balance in the world.

But anyone who really knew Shanks knew better.

According to insider information from the Four Emperors, after stopping the war, Shanks and Kairos Flint held a three-day banquet together.

Three days.

Clearly, they weren't just acquaintances.

They were close.

Whether it was the other Emperors, the World Government, or the Navy—no one believed there wasn't a deep relationship between the two.

And now, Kairos Flint was pissed.

That meant they were dealing with someone on par with a Sea Emperor.

Red-Haired Shanks might choose not to interfere—but even so, this wasn't a fight they could afford to take lightly.

Their father, Whitebeard, was no longer at his peak.

His strength had declined over the years.

Though he could still use Conqueror's Haki, the effortless dominance he once displayed with every swing was no longer there.

That's why, in recent years, the Whitebeard Pirates had stopped expanding. They were simply holding onto what territory they had left.

And now?

They'd managed to provoke a monster.

"Dad, you've really screwed over your sons this time," Marco muttered helplessly.

Whitebeard finally spoke, his voice low and filled with icy challenge.

"So, Kairos, are you here to take my head?"

Though he had spoken recklessly earlier out of old habit and stubborn pride, apologizing wasn't an option.

He was Whitebeard.

And Whitebeard did not apologize.

So he stared down Kairos with equal intensity and said, coldly:

"If you want it, come take it."

At that very moment, his own Conqueror's Haki exploded outward.

BOOM!!!!

The collision between their two Conqueror's Haki was immense.

The deck and guardrails of the Moby Dick cracked under the invisible pressure.

The sky above split in half, thick storm clouds rolling apart.

The calm sea below turned violent, as gentle waves suddenly surged into towering swells.

From above, flashes of lightning danced in the clouds. Thunder threatened to crash down at any second.

"Take your head?" Kairos echoed, smirking.

"As the Bounty King, I am quite interested in that billion-beli head of yours."

He laughed loudly and without restraint.

If he chopped off Whitebeard's head, the ability crystals he could harvest would be massive.

Especially the legendary Gura Gura no Mi—the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, said to have the power to destroy the world.

It was beyond tempting.

He had no interest in eating the Devil Fruit himself.

Instead, Kairos wanted to turn it into a slate—a special item that allowed him to store and evolve powers.

That was his true goal.

Turning Devil Fruit powers into slates would eventually let him transcend all limits and become something greater—a god.

"Gu la la la!!"

Whitebeard roared with laughter.

"Then come and get it, boy! Let's see if the so-called Bounty King really has what it takes to take my head!"

Without another word, Whitebeard grabbed his massive naginata, Murakumogiri, and rose to his feet.

He swung it with devastating force, bringing it down toward Kairos.

The sheer momentum of the strike made the air itself scream.

Even a Navy Admiral would have chosen to dodge this strike rather than face it head-on.

But Kairos?

He wasn't a Navy Admiral.

He was Kairos Flint—God Slayer, Bounty King.

"You're arrogant, old man!" he growled.

In a flash, Kairos activated his Armament Haki, hardening and entwining it with his sword—the third generation of Kitetsu.

His blade surged with both Conqueror's and Armament Haki as he slashed upward to meet the blow.

BOOM!!!!!!

Their weapons didn't even make physical contact.

In the narrow space between them, their Haki clashed violently, sparking with black and crimson lightning.

The collision sent shockwaves out in every direction.

The energy alone was enough to cause Haki lightning to explode outward, tearing through the sky and sea.

The resulting wind blast knocked nearby pirates unconscious—sending bodies flying.

Some of the Whitebeard Pirates were nearly blown right off the deck.

A few of them were inches from falling into the sea.

Luckily, Marco moved fast.

He caught his comrades mid-air, preventing them from drowning.

The other division commanders quickly followed suit, grabbing their crewmates and pulling them back to safety.

If they had actually fallen into the sea and drowned from a Haki shockwave, it would've been a humiliating death.

"Whitebeard… you're old. But you can still use Conqueror's Haki that well?"

Kairos looked relaxed, almost amused.

"But tell me—how many more times can you pull that off?"

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