Chapter 187: Adrian vs. Whitebeard

Under Whitebeard's fierce attack, and infused with overwhelming Conqueror's Haki, the Misty Theater made up of white ghosts almost entirely dissipated into nothing.

After all, these cute ghost couldn't possibly withstand the Conqueror's Haki from the world's strongest man, could they?

As the Misty Theater vanished, dust and dirt mixed with countless rocks shot up into the sky, enveloping the surrounding ground in a thick layer of smoke and dust.

When the smoke cleared, a massive crater several hundred meters in diameter appeared where White Ghost Misty Theater once stood. The edges formed a perfect circular arc.

However, Adrian, who had just been integrated into the Misty Theater, had vanished without a trace.

Despite missing his nearly certain strike, Whitebeard showed no surprise.

Recalling how this ghost brat had fought against Sengoku and Big Mom multiple times and retreated safely each time, it was easy to understand that he had some means of self-preservation.

Whitebeard stood confidently at the center of the crater, gripping his naginata, Murakumogiri. He looked up at the sky, his eyes flashing with a crimson light, and issued a battle declaration filled with Haki.

"Ghost brat, your strength may have improved rapidly, making you the strongest pirate rookie in recent years, but you are absolutely no match for me!"

"Only one way to find out."

Adrian, who had disappeared, casually responded. He remained focused, his fighting spirit soaring.

At that moment, Whitebeard spoke again, his voice carrying a rare hint of coldness.

"Ghost brat, it's been a long time since a rookie dared to challenge me. But your strength is not like that of a rookie pirate. It's worth me showing some real skill."

As soon as he finished speaking, Whitebeard bent his knees and kicked off with a tremendous force, sending a massive shockwave spreading outward from his position.

Boom!

The already deep crater was further shattered into a ravine by his fierce stomp.

In the next moment, Whitebeard shot up like a rocket, his eyes filled with icy determination, streaking through the sky like a white comet, heading straight for Adrian's hidden location!

Facing the world's strongest man's assault, Adrian's eyes narrowed as he prepared to unleash his ready-made technique.

In the sky.

Ferocious white ghosts leaped from the void, turning the entire sky a nearly pale color. This horde of white ghosts dove down, charging at Whitebeard below.

The white comet collided with the mini ghosts, which exploded like bombs, filling the air with continuous blasts and chaotic shockwaves.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As time passed, White Ghosts shattered and dissipated, but the upward momentum of the white comet didn't slow down at all, remaining as sharp and vigorous as an upward-pointing sword.

Adrian hadn't expected to defeat Whitebeard with just the bombing of mini ghosts.

With a thought, the mini ghosts at the rear quickly fused, forming several large ghosts in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile.

The recreated Misty Theater rose high into the sky, with numerous "Adrians" appearing, shooting dense blue ghostly energy beams down at Whitebeard.

At that moment, a dazzling white shockwave shot up from below.

Several large ghosts moved to intercept the attack, but as soon as the shockwave touched their bodies, it exploded into a massive shockwave, blowing up the unstable large ghosts one by one.

The secondary explosions from the large ghosts further amplified the shockwave's power, creating a fierce energy shockwave that quickly spread out!

Boom!

The intense energy aftermath pushed everything around it far away, shaving off a layer of the ground on the Hand Island like a razor and even creating a clear gap in the sky, revealing the pure blue sky beyond.

At this moment, on the Moby Dick in the surrounding sea area of Hand Island.

The Whitebeard Pirates members, who had recovered from the influence of Emotion Ghost, were gathered on the deck, their eyes fixed on the island's fierce battle.

Vista crossed his arms and said calmly, "White Ghost has no chance of winning. This fight will definitely end with Dad's victory!"

"Is that so? Although I think so too, White Ghost can fly." The Fourth Division Captain, Thatch, cautiously said, "Just like when you spar with Marco, you always get frustrated because you can't hit the flying Marco."

Thatch's words drew a round of agreement.

Vista's carefully crafted cool image was completely ruined by this oblivious chef.

To salvage his image Vista maintained his calm demeanor, pretending to be thoughtful, and murmured.

"I just don't know how strong White Ghost is. Has he already reached the level of a Great swordmaster? That can't be so fast..."

As he spoke, Vista unknowingly felt a bit dejected.

But no one paid attention to Vista's mood; everyone was nervously watching the battle between White Ghost and Dad.

Adrian, unaware of the little drama on the Moby Dick, continued to control his ghost army and ghost energy, fiercely battling Whitebeard below.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The surface of Hand Island quickly became riddled with holes, as the aftershocks of the Gura Gura no Mi and the ghost energy blasts created countless deep craters.

As the battle continued, the land of Hand Island became increasingly fragmented, even altering the island's shape.

Facing Adrian's long-range ghost energy cannon, close-range ghost bombing, and special tactics of using the Ghost Warrior to pull away and repeat the process.

For a while, Whitebeard found himself in a strange position of passivity.

At this moment, in Whitebeard's eyes, Adrian was a unique existence on the sea.

Even in this New World, where battles, blood, and passion were revered.

Pirate battles were usually resolved with swords, guns, and cannons, rarely relying solely on other abilities. {Is that really so??}

Even Golden Lion Shiki of the Flying Pirates seldom used only his Fuwa Fuwa no Mi ability to fight others.

Most of the time, Shiki would use his swordsmanship combined with his fruit abilities to fight.

But the ghost brat opposite him, aside from using swordsmanship at the beginning, was only using his unique ghost abilities to fight!

Especially with that eerie blue energy!

After enduring such relentless attacks, even Whitebeard's tough body was starting to feel the strain.

"These flying guys are really annoying!"

"Facing such a young one, I have to use my real skills. I wonder if those guys would laugh at me if they knew."

Whitebeard gave up trying to close the distance in the air and descended straight to the ground, creating another circular crater upon landing.

Next, he planted his supreme-grade naginata, Murakumogiri, into the ground, raised both hands, and spread his fingers into claws, as if tearing a curtain, and suddenly "grabbed" the space.

Whitebeard's hands sharply pulled down, and the air and scenery in front of him began to displace in layers.

The high-standing Misty Theater was also unexpectedly torn into several large pieces by the sudden shockwave.

The ghost energy beams fired from the Misty Theater changed their attack trajectories, exploding into dazzling fireworks in the air.

Finally, Adrian, who had been hiding in the Misty Theater, was forced to reveal himself by Whitebeard's tearing attack.

"Gurararara, ghost brat, we finally 'meet' again!"

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