Rolling dust and smoke swallowed the battlefield as the island itself trembled and tore apart. From the chaotic canyon, a blood-soaked right hand suddenly emerged.
Lucien, disheveled and battered, leapt out, coughing up blood and broken teeth. He inhaled deeply, expelling large, ragged mouthfuls, as multicolored threads of energy coursed across his body, rapidly knitting his wounds together.
Taking a step, he left a crimson footprint on the shattered ground. His body crackled like a storm of firecrackers, and a wide grin crossed his blood-streaked face.
"Refreshing."
Blood that had flowed from his injuries began to pull back into his body. With a surge of air, the fragmented ground beneath him collapsed into a vast pit, swallowing the surrounding debris.
From the ruins on the opposite side, Whitebeard stepped forward, sensing the oppressive aura that radiated from Lucien. His right hand, enveloped in a white pressure shield, rose high, veins bulging with tension. Smoke rolled and twisted diagonally in the air.
"Crack... Crack..."
The atmosphere shattered as Whitebeard's fist collided violently with Lucien's right foot.
"Boom... Rumble..."
The tremors propagated like a relentless earthquake. Two halos of energy slowly pushed upward, mountains rising and falling, canyons swaying, and the destructive power of their clash reducing the island to fragments.
The two combatants streaked across the sky in a blur of light, their movements causing earthquakes, tsunamis, and even underwater volcanic eruptions. The Whitebeard Sea trembled as their fight reshaped the world beneath them. Ace, Kuma, and the other observers trailed far behind, struggling to keep pace, though the sea parted in their wake, marking the path of devastation.
After spanning countless kilometers, they arrived at a massive island, larger than the last. A meteor with a fiery tail crashed violently onto its surface, shattering mountains and carving a massive canyon.
Lucien rose, his left side blown apart, yet rapidly regenerating as threads of energy wove through his body. The vibrations from Whitebeard's attacks could pierce through him, rattling his internal organs, but this was exactly the challenge Lucien craved. He had hoped Whitebeard could push him to the brink, and now it seemed that chance had arrived.
Despite his immense strength, Lucien could only fight Whitebeard to a standstill, a clear testament to the Emperor's raw power—surpassing even Kaido.
Whitebeard descended from the sky with the intent to crush Lucien beneath his heel. Lucien appeared above him like a golden streak of lightning, delivering a powerful kick to the massive head. The ground exploded in sand and stone as Whitebeard flew backward, leaving a gully in his wake.
Lucien's form became a golden meteor of lightning, striking from behind, his knee driving upward into Whitebeard's body. Whitebeard's fists struck back, crashing into Lucien's head simultaneously. Brain matter and blood splattered as half of Lucien's face caved in.
He crashed forward, gripping the ground, sending shattered rocks flying in every direction. Multicolored threads surged through the dense steam as he regenerated. Whitebeard emerged from the debris, blood trickling from his mouth, watching the young man with measured concern.
His head had been obliterated, yet he did not die—was this some Devil Fruit ability similar to Marco's regeneration?
"Quite the force," Whitebeard murmured, golden lightning and white flames radiating from both of them. Lucien pushed his aura to the limit, causing the island and surrounding seas to tremble violently.
Bang! The two collided like meteorites, spitting blood as the intensity of their assault escalated. Twice, Lucien was blown apart, each time regenerating at remarkable speed.
A divine dragon of force swept from the west to the east side of the island, mushroom clouds connecting heaven and earth, and deep abyssal ravines tore through the land. Whitebeard, bloodied and wounded, knelt amid the chaos, coughing violently as he tried to regain control. His iconic mustache and flowing cape were gone, tattered by the relentless battle.
At the center of the chaos, Lucien's right hand fully regenerated as he gasped for air, readying himself for the next strike. The island quaked, volcanoes erupted, and tsunamis surged—the very world seemed to convulse under their fight.
Lucien slammed his knee into Whitebeard's chin, sending the pirate soaring into the sky with a shockwave that split the ground and sent waves across the sea. Landing, Lucien's body coiled like a spring, propelling him forward with cannon-like force.
He struck Whitebeard with a powerful kick, sonic roars splitting the air. Stones shattered like meteors, and the terrain continuously rose and fell beneath them, magma churning in the abyss below. Lucien transformed into a flaming meteor, stepping directly onto Whitebeard's chest, cracking bones and flooding the air with blood from seven orifices.
Yet Whitebeard's tenacity was unmatched. Grabbing Lucien's foot, he slammed him into the ground repeatedly, pulverizing the elevated terrain. Blood and shattered flesh rained down as Lucien endured each devastating blow, the ground itself collapsing beneath them.
Eventually, Whitebeard gasped, holding only a severed lower leg while Lucien vanished amidst the debris. Tossing the leg casually to the ground, Whitebeard scanned the desolate landscape, Observation Haki detecting faint signs of life.
"This battle isn't over," he muttered.
Izo observed from a distance, telescope in hand.
"To inflict this much damage to the Old Man and survive… the opponent is truly remarkable."
The commanders believed Lucien dead. Only Ace and Marco frowned, wary. Whitebeard's double pressure shield had expanded and contracted steadily, showing no signs of relaxation—the battle's end was far from near.
Suddenly, the severed leg floated midair, multicolored threads shaping a humanoid form. With a hiss of high-temperature steam, Lucien reappeared, pale and clearly drained, yet resolute.
Whitebeard wasted no time, rushing forward with a punch. Lucien's eyes flared red as he shifted, his body moving at impossible speeds. Whitebeard's attack, wide and sweeping, collided with Lucien's Future Prediction, but the distance was too close to avoid total impact. Half of Lucien's body turned into bloody mist as his right foot, infused with infinite power, struck toward Whitebeard's head.
Whitebeard intercepted with his left hand, bloodshot eyes blazing, his body bending under the immense force.
"Great Might Heavenly Dragon!"
Simultaneously, Lucien's right palm unleashed a surge of energy so powerful that the world fell silent. A colossal mushroom cloud tore through the sky, magma erupted, tsunamis surged, and the surrounding islands quaked violently.
Jozu and the others felt their eyes sting and ears roar as the island disappeared, revealing the seabed below. Heat baked the air, and the darkened sky twisted into an inverted funnel.
Lucien's face was deathly pale, half his body regenerating slowly. Looking into the magma abyss, he formed a calyx shape with his hands, generating a blue orb that radiated light across the storm-filled sky.
Ace's jaw dropped, staring in disbelief as Lucien prepared to unleash yet another cataclysm. Hurricanes swirled, energy crackling across the heavens, as a blood-white hand reached out from the abyss, the remains of the landscape clawing toward the sky.
Whitebeard's chest had been pierced, flesh hanging by mere threads, yet he still fought with all his might, raising his right-hand pressure shield that expanded, covering half the cliff.
Lucien's calm gaze met it. Could the world's strongest man's shield withstand what he was about to unleash?