Killing Whitebeard?

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"Whitebeard!!..."

"...was sent flying!!!"

Everyone who witnessed this scene was utterly shocked.

Many faces grew grim as they sensed it—Uchiha Kitaro's speed and strength had risen once again.

"Father!!"

Several pirates immediately rushed forward, eager to help Whitebeard.

"Stand down!!!"

Whitebeard's voice rang out, halting the pirates in their tracks.

Emerging from the hull of another warship, Whitebeard's towering figure came into view. Blood trickled down his forehead.

"Whitebeard is bleeding!!"

Gasps of disbelief rippled through the crowd. The world's strongest man had been wounded again. Was Uchiha Kitaro truly this powerful?

"What a formidable brat! But my head isn't so easy to take! If you want it, come and claim it!!" Whitebeard spun his naginata, Murakumogiri, with incredible speed before planting it firmly beside him, his voice booming with defiance.

Hearing this, Kitaro raised his blade high into the air.

Then, with immense force, he slashed downward.

A blazing slash erupted from his blade.

Whoosh—!!!

The frozen ocean split apart, and the colossal warship Moby Dick, the flagship of the Whitebeard Pirates, was cleaved cleanly in two.

A shimmering white quake bubble formed around Whitebeard's naginata as he swung it toward Kitaro's fiery attack.

Boom—!!!

The flaming slash shattered under the force of Whitebeard's quake.

Yet before the shards of flame dissipated, Kitaro was already in front of Whitebeard.

The two began exchanging ferocious blows in close combat.

"Sun Breathing: Ninth Form—Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance!!!"

Kitaro's movements were like a fiery dragon in flight, unleashing a relentless series of high-speed strikes against Whitebeard.

Whitebeard parried with his naginata, but streaks of blood erupted from his body at intervals. Though the wounds weren't deep, the searing pain etched a grimace on even Whitebeard's battle-hardened face.

"Sun Breathing: Twelfth Form—Flame Dance!!!"

Slash!

In a flash, Kitaro streaked past Whitebeard, leaving a deep cross-shaped wound on his left abdomen.

"Ugh, little brat!!!" 

Whoosh!

"Naginata Rasetsu"

Whitebeard surrounded his naginata, the Murakumogiri, with a quake bubble to greatly increase its striking power and rang then he swung his naginata in a wide arc.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The shockwave from his strike shattered the frozen sea into fragments.

"Sun Breathing: Fifth Form—Setting Sun Transformation!"

Kitaro darted into the air, avoiding Whitebeard's attack with precision, his body flipping midair into an inverted stance.

With a swift horizontal slash, his blade arced downward.

Whitebeard ducked just in time, the blade slicing mere inches above his head.

Seizing the opportunity, Whitebeard lunged forward with a piercing thrust. If it landed, Kitaro would be impaled.

But with a light step, Kitaro ascended even higher. This was the Moonwalk, one of the Navy's Six Powers, allowing him to maneuver freely midair.

"Sun Breathing: Seventh Form—Beneficent Radiance!"

Spinning rapidly, Kitaro descended like a blazing spiral, a fiery vortex hurtling toward Whitebeard faster than he could react.

Slash!

A new gash tore across Whitebeard's chest.

"He wounded him again?!!"

The spectators were in utter disbelief. How many times had Uchiha Kitaro injured Whitebeard already?

The Navy officers, along with countless viewers watching the broadcast worldwide, were on the edge of their seats.

"So strong!"

"Uchiha Kitaro is unbelievably strong!!"

This was Whitebeard—the man hailed as the strongest in the world—and yet Kitaro was overwhelming him almost entirely.

"Where did this monster come from? Such power is unreal," someone murmured in awe.

Even Mihawk gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. Kitaro's mastery of the blade sent shivers down the spine of the world's greatest swordsman.

"That swordsmanship..." Mihawk thought. "He's reached the pinnacle of sword mastery. If not for this battlefield, I'd challenge him to a duel here and now."

"This is insane…"

Even Doflamingo, usually so composed, wore a grave expression. Though Whitebeard was old, his strength was still that of a living legend. Yet Kitaro was dominating him.

"Ugh!"

Whitebeard clenched his fists through the pain. A transparent quake bubble materialized around his hand as he struck downward toward Kitaro.

Whoosh—!!!

"Susanoo!!!"

Kitaro activated Susanoo, and an enormous, translucent orange skeletal figure enveloped him.

BOOM—!!!

The ice beneath Kitaro's feet exploded, shards scattering in all directions.

Whitebeard's quake-imbued punch collided with Susanoo, leaving cracks spiderwebbing across its surface.

Crack! Crack!

As the skeletal armor threatened to shatter completely, Kitaro's Susanoo suddenly extended a massive energy arm.

Whoosh—!!!

The arm clenched into a fist and swung directly at Whitebeard.

Whitebeard raised his naginata to block.

Boom—!!!

"Ugh!"

The sheer force forced Whitebeard back, but he grit his teeth and held his ground. He knew he had to eliminate this threat now.

"This brat... his power surged the moment he activated those strange eyes and markings on his face. Speed, strength... everything. He's surpassing me in every way," Whitebeard thought, his mind racing.

The young Whitebeard might have managed, but in his current state, his stamina was depleting too quickly.

Before he could act, another massive energy arm formed around Kitaro's Susanoo.

"Damn it!!"

Whitebeard's expression shifted. With both his hands occupied, he couldn't defend himself.

BAM—!!!

The energy fist crashed into Whitebeard, sending him hurtling onto the ice.

"Arrghhh!!!"

Whitebeard roared in pain as his massive frame carved a crater into the ice, which continued to expand.

"Sun Breathing: Sixth Form—Solar Heat Haze!!!"

Kitaro descended from above, his blade tracing a radiant arc like the sun, aimed directly at Whitebeard's neck.

"Father—!!!"

The pirates screamed in horror, their voices echoing in unison as the world collectively held its breath.

Then, as if time itself froze, Kitaro's blade stopped—mere inches from Whitebeard's neck.

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