"Ugh!!"
Ian's eyes widened. Everything before him was jumping and blurring, as if even the light itself was twisting.
"Awakening?"
Of course.
Whitebeard certainly would have mastered the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's awakening while using it!
"Earth-Shattering Quake!!"
Whitebeard slammed his right hand toward Ian.
The trembling in the sky intensified abruptly. Ian felt the air slicing at him like sharp blades.
Is this... resonance?
Not just that. When the roaring shockwave burst out from Whitebeard's fist, the surrounding tremors surged violently!
The shockwave strengthened greatly, further amplifying the environmental resonance.
Ian already felt like flying was impossible — the air was boiling around him.
"This is crazy!"
Ian swung his sword.
He could feel it — swinging the sword now was like cutting through mercury!
The violently shaking air fought desperately to stop his movements.
But even so, the Sword of Destruction still sliced through the rushing shockwave!
Still, Ian's hand trembled constantly, and as the shockwave neared, his body began shaking violently too!
What a terrifying power!
If this was happening on the ground, Whitebeard could stomp once and, in the blink of an eye, create an earthquake that would destroy everything, right?
Smack!
Ian didn't even bother using Armament haki to resist the resonance — he was directly turned into flames.
So, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's awakening is resonance?
This resonance not only strengthens Whitebeard's shaking attacks, but the shaking attacks also amplify the resonance.
It's like a recursive loop.
But it didn't matter anymore. Ian had fully entered the Phoenix state, and had even reverted to his beastman form.
No matter how violently the sky trembled now, it could not shake him even slightly.
The flames that made up his body flickered in the shaking, but still could not be extinguished.
"Still no effect?"
Whitebeard gritted his teeth.
The sky seemed ready to shatter from his shaking, yet he still couldn't reach Ian.
Was this bastard's ability truly invincible?
Ian was still using Observation Haki to lock onto Whitebeard.
He kept trying to foresee the future but kept failing.
With each failure, he continuously tried to confirm what exactly Whitebeard was using to block his insight.
The final conclusion: Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki).
The essence of Observation Haki is sensing the opponent's aura.
Even though using Observation Haki to foresee the future has become somewhat mystical, it still cannot escape this fundamental principle.
What Whitebeard was doing now was likely using Haoshoku Haki to conceal his own aura.
That must be it, Ian guessed.
It should be a very intricate technique—after all, Haoshoku Haki is notoriously difficult to control.
"Damn it!"
Whitebeard grabbed the air with both hands and pulled down hard.
In an instant, the sky trembled violently; everything boiled and roiled.
Ian's body was twisted repeatedly—sometimes crushed flat, sometimes stretched into a thin line.
Yet still, it had no effect.
Ian quietly pondered.
He was starting to understand.
Using Haoshoku Haki to disrupt his own aura, making the overall aura chaotic and uncoordinated.
In this way, any future sight based on sensing aura would naturally be invalid.
The reason was that when Ian used Observation Haki to watch Whitebeard, the aura on him was messy.
So, are you going to use your Conqueror's Haki on me?
Unconsciously, the surroundings fell silent, but overhead came the sound of something shattering loudly.
Ian looked up.
The air above him was completely broken, leaving countless dense cracks stretching across the sky.
"God's Wrath!!"
Whitebeard pressed both hands downwards.
In the next moment, a shockwave came crashing down from above.
"Oh?"
Ian raised an eyebrow.
"Trying to blow me into the sea? Not a bad idea."
But unfortunately, the seawater still couldn't harm me.
Ian smiled.
The flames covering his body turned bright red.
The vibrations that had troubled him suddenly disappeared.
The environment around him returned to calm.
Then, the descending shockwave passed right through him — or perhaps, he passed right through the shockwave.
Either way, Ian remained standing in place, while the massive shockwave crashed into the ocean below, stirring monstrous waves.
Ian quietly stared at Whitebeard.
"Damn it!!"
Whitebeard's crescent-shaped beard trembled.
Helpless!
The kid was right in front of him, yet he was powerless to do anything!
"That's enough for today, Whitebeard-san."
Ian said calmly.
"Don't forget our agreement: if Neptune and his wife or Fish-Man Island are ever in danger, remember to join the fight together."
Defeating Whitebeard wasn't that easy after all.
The awakened Tremor-Tremor Fruit was quite troublesome.
"Well then, goodbye."
Ian smiled one last time.
The next moment, he transformed into a fiery meteor and shot into the sky.
Only Whitebeard was left, gritting his teeth, staring intently at Ian's departing figure.
On the Moby Dick.
"Pops, you still can't deal with him?"
Vista said weakly, "He's only sixteen."
Teach spoke softly, "For now."
For a moment, the faces of everyone on the deck changed.
How strong will Ian become in a few years?
Teach looked toward the direction Ian had left. He wondered if it was time to change sides.
Pops was getting old, but Ian had not yet fully matured.
As Ian set off on his journey home, at Mariejois—
Neptune and his wife walked down a corridor in Pangaea Castle.
"Are we really going to do this, Neptune?"
Otohime lowered her voice, unwilling, "I don't think this is right."
"You know how the government treats us, Otohime," Neptune said softly, "Only Ian can change all this. We must help him as much as we can. This is all we can do, right? Besides, isn't this what you have always wanted?"
"But to win over the kings who are unhappy with the government," Otohime whispered, "Can we really do that?"
"Of course we can!"
Neptune looked seriously at his wife, "Otohime, your power may have been born for this very moment."
"You can easily read others' thoughts, can't you?"
Neptune took a deep breath and clenched his fists, as if this gave him courage, "You can even influence their thoughts."
Otohime was slightly shocked.
She was born with the ability to sense others' emotions!
She could even forcefully send her own feelings to others and change their thoughts!
Otohime suddenly exclaimed, "Is it really necessary to go this far, Neptune? To influence others' thoughts like that..."
She suddenly felt her husband seemed unfamiliar.
Neptune had always been a kind and gentle man.
"I just..."
Neptune hesitated for a moment but then spoke firmly, "I don't want the children of Fishman Island to suffer when facing the Celestial Dragons."
At that moment, fear clung to Neptune like maggots gnawing at his bones, urging him to act quickly.
What if one day, it was the children on the island—his own children—who encountered the Celestial Dragons? What would he do then?
Otohime was slightly startled, then she grasped her husband's hand.
Being the most empathetic, she felt the fear and longing within him.
He feared everything that was happening, but he also yearned to change it.
"Besides, you can't forcibly change other people's thoughts, can you?"
Neptune whispered, "We're only guiding those who harbor discontent towards the government to express their true feelings."
The tension on Otohime's face gradually faded.
What she longed for was peaceful coexistence with human society.
But the World Government treated Fish-Man Island as nothing more than slaves.
So, she could only strive to gain the support of other humans.
"I understand!"
The already passionate princess revealed a determined look in her eyes.
"Yeah!"
Neptune nodded heavily.
Soon, the couple arrived outside a room.
Neptune knocked carefully.
The door opened quickly, revealing a joyful face.
"Neptune, are you alright?"
"Very well!"
Neptune smiled and said, "Cobra, didn't you say you wanted to introduce me to more friends? I can't wait!"
**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 20 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24