"Ugh… so hot!"
A violent wave of heat surged forward. Vista instantly realized that even his clothes had caught fire. Terrified, he hurried to coat his entire body in Armament Haki, only then feeling slightly better.
"Back up! Everyone, back up!!"
Marco's voice cracked into a sharp scream.
What in the world was this temperature?
The flames hadn't even touched them. Just being a little closer was enough to scorch them to this extent.
If they didn't retreat now, they would be cooked alive.
Marco suddenly remembered the day he first met Ian ten years ago.
Even back then, Ian had already been a monster among men—so strong that Marco couldn't do a thing against him. To be completely honest, even now, after ten long years, Marco still didn't feel he had surpassed the Ian of that time by much.
But compared to the past, Ian's flames had grown terrifyingly stronger.
The ground was melting.
The seawater along the coast was evaporating.
Just the faint traces of heat escaping from that towering vortex of fire were already bringing catastrophic destruction to the surroundings.
Whitebeard's eyes slowly widened.
A heartbeat later, the massive column of flame burst open, scattering into countless golden sparks that rained down from the sky like a sudden storm.
Mihawk clicked his tongue.
Say what you will, but Ian had absolutely nailed the dramatic entrance.
A golden deity stepped out from the ruptured flames.
"If I don't use my ability, defeating all four of you at once would be a bit too difficult."
The golden wings on Ian's back gave a gentle flap. A scorching blast swept toward Shanks and Whitebeard, making their hair, beards, and clothes whip wildly in the wind.
Shanks raised an arm to shield his face.
It felt like even his skin might burst into flames.
"So I'll use my ability right away. Prepare yourselves. In this form, I doubt any of you have ever faced power like mine."
Ian's tone dripped with arrogance, yet among the four surrounding him, not a single one showed ridicule.
On the contrary, their expressions all grew grim.
Every one of them was a master of Observation Haki.
Even Big Mom—who had never been good at Observation Haki—had changed after being taught a harsh lesson by Ian during the battle on Hive Island years ago.
She'd studied like crazy ever since. In the six years that followed, she had completely made up for everything she once lacked.
And now, her Observation Haki was anything but weak. After all, her tutor had been Katakuri.
So every one of them could clearly sense the terrifying pressure radiating from Ian's body at this moment.
Redfield gritted his teeth.
Just as expected.
Even without using his powers, Ian had already shocked him with his strength.
Now that Ian had fully unleashed his abilities, he had clearly stepped into another dimension entirely.
"Honestly…"
Shanks Shanks let out a helpless laugh. "No wonder he's so confident. He really does shine like the sun."
Big Mom's face turned as dark as the bottom of a burnt pot.
Only now did she finally understand why someone as prideful as Kaido had said that even if the two of them teamed up, they still couldn't beat Ian.
It was because this little brat was just that damn strong!
"Well then," Ian opened his arms and intentionally posed in the most wide-open, undefended stance possible. "Who wants to make the first move?"
"Oh! What a breathtaking posture!"
Teach showered him with praise without hesitation. "To possess such overwhelming strength and such unmatched beauty—truly magnificent!"
Mihawk couldn't help giving Teach a sidelong glance.
There was a reason this man could survive and thrive within the Beasts Pirates despite being a former member of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Something's wrong. Something feels… very wrong."
Marco stared at Ian, whose radiant wings were fully spread, and giant beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.
Ian wasn't attacking. He wasn't even releasing any killing intent. Nothing about him seemed aggressive.
And yet—even in that eerie stillness—Marco felt a chill crawl up from the depths of his soul.
Terrifying.
Terrifying.
Ian possessed the brightest, most radiant power…
And at that very moment, he felt like the incarnation of a demonic king.
It was fine.
Ian being strong was only natural.
At seventeen, he had already become the Emperor of the New World.
Six more years had passed. Of course he would become even stronger. Being stronger than anyone else on the seas was only to be expected.
But… it was fine.
It was fine.
No matter how powerful Ian had become, right now he was still fighting alone.
And the opponents before him were the four strongest pirates in the world—aside from the Beasts Pirates.
No matter how strong a man was, victory should have been impossible.
Right.
How could Ian possibly win?
How could he win?
Marco kept repeating this in his heart, yet his fists had already tightened without him realizing it.
"Hm?"
Ian looked around at the four that surrounded him and said with mild surprise, "If you don't make a move, you won't be able to beat me."
"At a time like this, what are you hesitating for?!"
Redfield finally lost his patience.
Just because Ian was stronger than they had expected—was that enough for them to retreat?
Betraying their previous agreement was shameful enough. If they backed down now, they might as well be dead.
He swept forward like a gale, the tip of his parasol-sword coated in swirling Armament and Conqueror's Haki as he lunged straight for Ian's back.
Clang!
A thunderous impact rang out.
The blade, wrapped in crackling black lightning, finally struck Ian's back.
But—
"What??"
Big Mom's eyes widened in disbelief.
Redfield felt his hand nearly go numb.
"Impossible… something like this?"
Even Shanks couldn't help but let out a short laugh.
He had no idea what expression he was supposed to make, so a smile felt like the only choice.
"This level of Haki…?"
Shanks let out a genuine sigh.
Behind Ian, there was a small, pitch-black dot.
Redfield's sharp umbrella sword was aimed directly at that dot.
Yet, even though Redfield's umbrella sword was wrapped in both Armament and Conqueror's Haki, his full-force thrust couldn't break through the tiny black dot's defense.
"Too much of a difference."
Mihawk muttered sincerely.
Having faced Ian in combat before, no one understood Ian's Haki—or rather, the true strength of his Conqueror's Haki—better than he did.
Even someone like him, attacking with everything, couldn't pierce Ian's Haki defense.
Redfield, naturally, was no exception.
The difference in Haki was just too vast.
**********
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