Chapter 183 – I Am Whitebeard
Puff!
With the sound of a blade cutting into flesh, Teach (Blackbeard) staggered back as Whitebeard's naginata, Murakumogiri, carved a deep wound across his shoulder. Blood sprayed out in torrents.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Blackbeard collapsed to the ground, wailing in pain.
Thud!
Whitebeard stepped on Blackbeard's right hand, pinning it to the ice. With Murakumogiri's shaft pressing down to trap his palm, Whitebeard's massive left hand clamped onto Teach's chin, forcing him to the ground.
"Even the Golden Lion himself never dared to block my blade head-on with his Devil Fruit ability. And yet you—thinking you can stop my strike with darkness alone? Arrogant brat!"
His voice thundered like judgment.
"I'll send you to hell myself. You will use your life… to pay tribute to my fallen son, Thatch!"
Whitebeard's hand tightened. A low hum of power vibrated through his palm—the Gura Gura no Mi's quake force gathering, ready to shatter Teach's skull.
"No—Dad, wait!!"
Blackbeard's eyes widened in terror as he realized Whitebeard's intent. "Are you seriously going to kill me?! I'm your son too!"
"Shut your mouth! You… will never be my son!"
With no hesitation, Whitebeard unleashed the quake.
BOOM!
The violent shock force detonated directly into Blackbeard's head, slamming him deep into the frozen bay. The impact split the ice into a massive crater, tremors shaking Marineford's foundations.
"Gahhh!"
Teach's body writhed as he dragged himself out of the broken ice. Half of his face was a mangled, bloody ruin—shredded by Whitebeard's quake. He lay sprawled on the ground like a broken dog, panting heavily.
"Captain!!"
Van Augur and Laffitte rushed over, propping him up.
"Damn it… that old man really tried to kill me!" Blackbeard spat blood, glaring hatefully at Whitebeard.
"Of course he did."
From the Moby Dick, Ace squatted on the prow, eyes fixed on Teach with burning contempt.
"You betrayed our family. You murdered Thatch. Did you really think Pops would show mercy to you?!"
"Ace…"
Teach's one good eye burned with fury as he glared back at his former brother.
He knew Whitebeard's nature better than anyone. Even after betrayal, Whitebeard's compassion often overrode his wrath. Begging for forgiveness, clinging to their bond as "family," could sometimes soften his heart.
And just moments ago… Whitebeard had faltered for a fraction of a second.
In the original timeline, that hesitation would've given Teach his opening. But now, Whitebeard was not an old, dying man gasping his last breath. This was Whitebeard at his prime—ten years younger, stronger, faster, and merciless. Even if Marco himself had tried to strike him now, Whitebeard could have brushed it aside effortlessly.
"Dad…" Teach growled hoarsely, "…you weren't actually wounded back then, were you?"
Whitebeard said nothing, staring down coldly.
Ace leapt from the Moby Dick, answering instead.
"Of course not. That so-called 'stab' was a performance—for you. Pops would never step onto this battlefield unless it was necessary. So we set a stage… to draw you into the open."
"Hah… acting?"
Teach suddenly threw back his head and laughed, blood spilling down his face.
"Never thought I'd see the day… when a man like you, Pops, would stoop to theatrics. Seems you really have changed!"
"Stay long enough among interesting youngsters, and a man's heart is bound to lighten."
Whitebeard's deep voice rumbled like the sea. He raised Murakumogiri again.
"Now then… are those your last words, Teach? Because if so—I'll end this properly."
"Last words? Thief-hahaha!!"
Blackbeard bared his teeth in a bloody grin. "I'll admit I miscalculated today. But if you think it'll be easy to kill me—you're dead wrong!"
He thrust his left hand skyward.
"The mountains shall fall!!"
With a roar, Teach dragged his arm downward as if pulling on invisible strings.
Far above, the clouds split apart. A shadow loomed—massive landmasses, islands that had been hidden high in the sky by his Dark-Dark Fruit's power, now released all at once.
BOOOOOOM!
Like meteors, entire chunks of island came crashing down toward Marineford.
The battlefield froze.
If these islands struck, the entirety of Marineford—Navy HQ, pirates, and soldiers alike—would be obliterated.
"Hahahahaha!! This is my farewell gift to you, Pops! Try surviving this one!"
An ice platform rose beneath his feet, lifting him and his crew aloft. Shiryu, Laffitte, Van Augur, Burgess, and the others leapt aboard, gathering around their captain.
"As for your precious Gura Gura no Mi…" Teach sneered. "Keep it for now. Someday—I'll claim it with my own hands!"
"Goodbye… Pops!"
With mocking laughter, the Blackbeard Pirates began to ascend into the sky.
Whitebeard watched Teach's retreating form, the boy he once called son, now nothing but a stain on his family's pride. Slowly, he raised his head toward the islands plummeting from the heavens.
"Trying to run from me with a cheap trick like this… You underestimate me, Teach."
He bent his massive frame, planting his feet firmly into the ice. Murakumogiri's blade pointed aside as his fist pulled back.
Whitebeard roared—
"I am… WHITEBEARD!!"
BOOOOOOM!!!
His fist drove upward, and the world itself split apart.
The quake force surged into the heavens, shattering the atmosphere like glass. The sky itself cracked open, shockwaves rippling outward across all of Marineford.
The falling islands were obliterated instantly, pulverized into rubble and dust.
Even the sky above seemed broken, as though a piece of the heavens had been torn away by his might.
From below, soldiers and pirates alike stared upward in disbelief.
Whitebeard had not merely crushed Teach's final trump card—he had torn apart the very sky.