A Demon Against The Strongest Man in the World

"You better move back if you don't want to get caught in their fight-yoi!" Marco informed everyone, before Ashen and Whitebeard clashed.

*KA-BOOOM* The moment Ashen's sword and Whitebeard's naginata met, a strong shockwave burst out of their position, massive black and red lightning bolts surged from between their weapons.

The force of their impact caused the ground to crack and the trees to uproot, even their ship were blown away by the shock before their Haki finally surged upwards and split the heavens.

"The heavens…split open!!"

"Zehahaha! As expected from the emperors of the sea, what an impressive power!" Teach exclaimed, laughing maniacally.

"Gurarara! Not bad kid, but…you're still a 100 years earlier to fight me!" Whitebeard declared while swinging his Haki-coated naginata again, surrounding it with a quake bubble to greatly increase its striking power and range.

Ashen again met the attack head on and blocked it with his sword, before he leaped back in the air and channeled his dense flames into his sword's blade and then increased their length while using emission to wrap them with Haki, after that he proceeded to perform a sideway sweep motion from a distance.

Whitebeard easily parried the attack, before he directly cracked the air in front of Ashen, aiming to cause severe damage by having the shockwaves directly pass through his body. When Ashen saw that he responded by his own move, using a combination of Hasshoken and Rokuogan he proceeded to crack the air as well causing a shockwave.

<Severe Shockwave>

*CRACK*-*CRACK* Although Ashen's technique was extremely weak in comparison to Whitebeard's it was enough to protect him from the internal damage.

"H-How can he use the same technique as Oyaji, wasn't his devil fruit a fire Logia?!" Vista exclaimed looking shocked.

"No, they just have a similar effect, Oyaji's technique is far stronger since he can generate earthquakes" Marco responded not worried about it "I heard about a martial art that let you produce shockwaves before, but didn't expect it was a real thing"

"You little shit…" Whitebeard narrowed his eyes seeing Ashen's Severe Shockwave.

"Hehe! Hope you don't mind that" Ashen said with a smirk before he went all out, transforming into his awakening mode.

Blueish-purple flames engulfed his entire body, transforming his hair into a flickering mass of wild flames that danced around his head like a fiery crown. His eyebrows were also transformed, now flickering with wild purple flames above his piercing gaze. With a sinister smile, he jumped in the air and proceeded to turn his left fist into a giant size flame fist, infusing it with Conqueror's and coating it with Advanced Armament Haki and then punched down Whitebeard.

"RAAAAH!!"

<Celestial Punch>

"Such a troublesome ability you have there" Whitebeard said with a smile before he Imbued his fist with Haki and focused vibrations around his fist in a spherical bubble to form an earthquake hypocenter and delivered a punch releasing all the force concentrated at once, with enormous power.

*BOOOM* When the two fists met head on, they caused an even bigger explosion than before, sending a few people flying away. After a few minutes of trying to push each other back, the clash ended in stalemates, but Ashen quickly attacked Whitebeard again not giving him any time to think about his next move.

Ashen landed in the ground in front of Whitebeard, flames dancing around him like a scarf, then he proceeded to punch the ground and a dense fire column was immediately shot from the ground behind Whitebeard, hitting his back and propelling him towards Ashen.

"Don't get cocky brat!" Whitebeard exclaimed with an angry look on his face as he quickly jumped at Ashen, grabbing his head and concentrating his vibration around it, resulting in crushing damage.

When Ashen saw that he quickly used Haki in his head, minimizing the damage.

"Amazing old man!" Ashen said with a grin before he jumped back and then, propelled his Haki-embedded fist at Whitebeard from a distance. The speed of the fist was so high that it even caught Whitebeard by surprise and exploded upon contact, pushing him back.

Without giving him the time to recover, Ashen turned the trees around them into multiple giant, dense flame fists before he imbued them with his Haki and then he pummeled Whitebeard repeatedly at a high speed.

"Is that his awakening ability?!" Jozu pointed out, all Whitebeard's commanders looked taken aback by Ashen's power.

*BAM*-*BAM*-*BAM* Ashen's attack managed to hit him, but they weren't enough to do a lot of damage, and Whitebeard proceeded to destroy them with his earthquake concentrate punches.

"Such a destructive power you have there!" Ashen remarked with a smile as he jumped in the air and turned his left fist into a giant flame fist, but this time he also created a massive, long flame spear before he hurled it at Whitebeard "What are you going to do about this then?!"

"Hmph…don't make me laugh"

*BOOOM* Whitebeard swung his naginata, sending waves of vibrations, redirection the giant flame spear. Immediately after that, Ashen dashed at Whitebeard clashing swords again.

*CLANG*-*CLANG*

"Woow! Ashen is really strong, he's even clashing with Whitebeard, the rival of the infamous Gold Roger!" Yamato remarked, looking at the fight in amazement while remembering Oden's journal where Oden mentioned Roger and Whitebeard clash.

Whitebeard proceeded to thrust his naginata at Ashen's chest, aiming to stab him but the latter used his future vision to foresee that and created a big hole in his chest letting the weapon pass through him.

"Gurarara! You're seeing the future huh?" Whitebeard said with a smirk before he delivered another attack, this time he focused his vibrations around his fist in a spherical bubble and punched Ashen, sending him crashing into a boulder.

"As expected from the strongest man in the world!" Ashen said, wiping the blood from his mouth as he got on his feet again.

"Don't get ahead of yourself demon, you're no match to Oyaji-yoi!" Marco said to Ashen with a proud smile on his face.

"Hahaha! You're overestimating your daddy…But this is pretty fun!"

Sometime later…

After an arduous battle that spanned several hours, Ashen and Whitebeard opted to call a temporary ceasefire. They put down their weapons and, instead, gathered together to share a moment of respite over a round of sake. Yamato, who had been observing the clash, decided to join them. With a sense of both anticipation and trepidation, she introduced herself to Whitebeard, revealing her true identity as Kaido's child. In a solemn tone, Yamato recounted the tragic tale of Oden's execution, emphasizing the profound impact it had on her and her commitment to carry on his legacy. She also divulged the existence of Oden's journal.

"*Gulp*-*Gulp*…I see, so you're Kaido's kid…" As Whitebeard lifted a colossal cup of sake to his lips, his demeanor betrayed an utter lack of concern. Ashen, who was well acquainted with Whitebeard's character, knew that he was not the kind of person to hold children accountable for the deeds of their parents. That was precisely why Ashen had allowed Yamato to introduce herself without any reservations "…That's surprising"

"Y-You're not angry at me?"

"You were just little kid, you couldn't have done anything about it and it's not your fault to begin with…but I'm shocked you managed to get your hands on Oden journal" Whitebeard remarked, his voice filled with a mix of sympathy and astonishment.

"Ah…It's my bible!" Yamato's eyes sparkled with admiration as she reverently retrieved Oden's journal, holding it close to her heart. Whitebeard couldn't help but smile warmly at her unwavering spirit and dedication. However, his gaze soon shifted towards Ashen, his focus settling on the enigmatic figure before him.

"I heard you're traveling the Grand Line again, what could it be that you're looking for?" Whitebeard peered down at Ashen with curiosity. The latter lips curled into a smile before he responded.

"Nothing, I'm just interested to see the last destination you could reach with a Log Pose, that's all" Whitebeard raised his eyebrow at that statement before he took another sip from his cup.

"I thought you were only interested in fighting…everyone's been talking about your duels with Hawk-Eyes and Akagami"

"Well, people always try to find things to talk about…*Gulp*-*Gulp*…Soon enough I'll give them more than they can handle"

"Gurarara! You must be up to something, you and that sly lion Shiki"

"Hahaha! Maybe…" Ashen savored the remnants of his drink, relishing the final sip as he gracefully rose to his feet, his gaze locked onto Teach in the background. With a cool and collected demeanor, he delivered his parting words, leaving a lingering message in the air "You better watch your back old man…In this world, you never know where the next strike will originate"

Whitebeard cast a perplexed gaze at Ashen, his brows furrowing in confusion as he tried to comprehend the meaning behind his words. Without uttering a single word, Ashen turned away and gracefully departed from Whitebeard's presence, leaving behind an air of intrigue and mystery.

Ashen and the rest stayed on Winner Island for a few days until the magnetic fields of the next three Islands were recorded.