Chapter 4 - Susanoo Phase 1.

"You're too weak to face Whitebeard, kid!" That phrase echoed in his head, repeating incessantly at the moment.

Painful and distressing images began flooding his mind after hearing those words.

"Weak."

"Weak."

"Weak."

"Weak."

"You're too weak."

"...but we're not strong enough to stay together..."

"You're too weak."

"...and that's my greatest regret..."

"You're too weak."

".... I hope that one day you'll be strong enough to protect your own wife and children, my beloved son..."

"You're too weak."

"...for it's something I failed to do now..."

"You're too weak."

...

Back on the deck, riddled with holes from the Moby Dick's attack, the aura surrounding the boy began to weaken. His arm began to dissipate in the air, and even the bones around the boy disappeared. However, the diminished aura still burned around him. Everyone realized that the boy was in shock from Jimbei's cutting words.

"I'm still weak..." The boy lowered his eyes, admitting these words.

"Will I always be weak?" He murmured with emotion, even Whitebeard didn't like those words. He knew the boy carried some trauma from the past and was ready to encourage him, but he didn't have time to act as the boy lifted his head to face him.

"No! I won't be weak!" He asserted, looking into Whitebeard's eyes with a new determination.

"I... I WON'T BE WEAK! I'M NOT WEEEEEEAK!" He shouted, and his aura suddenly exploded with violence.

On the Moby Dick's deck, a giant flame erupted, originated from the child's scream. The intensity of the light was almost dazzling, forcing the crew watching to take a few steps back. The emanating aura didn't burn or cause physical harm, but its sinister nature sent shivers through every hair, creating an atmosphere of tangible threat. The terror hanging in the air was even more overwhelming than the boy's previous displays of power in the preceding days.

Whitebeard, also taken by surprise, immediately positioned himself in front of his sons, seeking to protect them from the expanding purple aura. What had started as a modest size now reached over 10 meters in height, creating a visual explosion of power. Even Whitebeard, accustomed to intense confrontations, felt a slight sweat, witnessing something entirely unprecedented. Before him, bones began to reshape within the aura, adding an even more mysterious and terrifying dimension to the manifestation of the Susanoo's power.

A giant rib began to envelop the child as he shouted that he wasn't weak. Thus, an entire torso revealed itself. Next, the complete skeletal right arm appeared, and half of the left one formed but stopped there, along with a neck. All witnessed in astonishment as a head began to form with the sound of bones being created. The skeletal skull had a human jaw and teeth, but the eerie appearance of the large eyes and two horns left everyone wondering about what they were witnessing when the skeletal head appeared complete.

'Is this a demon itself?' They wondered scared, while Whitebeard looked with cautious, wide eyes. Soon, the dark eyes of the skull came to life with a yellow glow, and the jaw began to open, emitting a sinister and continuous growl.

Even Teach, someone who sought the most sinister Devil Fruit of all, looked with fear in his eyes at that giant figure. The creature, or whatever that skeletal thing in the purple aura represented, turned its gaze toward Whitebeard.

"ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!" Susanoo roared loudly, making everyone step back even more, but Whitebeard remained in the same place from the beginning. The boy had stopped screaming at this point and now kept his head down while standing.

'It seems he lost consciousness after his emotional outburst, and that skeletal thing is now acting on its own, without any control. Each fruit has its own powers and mysteries; it's up to the user to develop them. However, I never imagined seeing something like this in all these years at sea. This thing is acting only on the boy's emotions, who is already unconscious from his mental stress.' Pondered the world's strongest man as he observed the scene.

Phase 1 of the Susanoo challenged Whitebeard, and with a fully formed arm, it quickly leaned and punched the smaller man in front of it. Seeing the punch coming, Whitebeard adjusted his feet, cracking the ground beneath them. He raised his arm to stop the attack, clashing his fist against the giant skeletal creature. He used not only his Haki but also his Devil Fruit. Realizing that the thing had become much stronger than before when the fists collided, the air cracked, and a burst of force spread in all directions.

The commanders couldn't believe how the daily antics of that child had come to this point, where their Pops had to take it seriously for the first time. Even seeing that the outcome of this conflict was undeniable.

With the explosion of the two fists and mainly by the power of the earthquake fruit, the closest crew members were caught and thrown into the air, falling off the ship while screaming in fear. Those

 who knew Haki managed to protect themselves, and the collision continued between the two sides for a few seconds until the skeletal fist began to crack under the pressure of the Gura-Gura no Mi and Whitebeard's Haki.

*BOOOOM*

The skeleton was thrown backward with force as the hand was destroyed. The already devastated deck was further damaged when hit by a 10-meter skeletal torso.

*BOOOOM*

Another explosion reverberated, but this time, it stemmed from the skeletal body being thrown into the seawater. Soon, everyone was wet, with stunned expressions in the face of how that skeleton was launched like a projectile into the ocean.

"That brat..." Was the only thing Whitebeard said, somewhat surprised by the collision, while he observed the fist thoughtfully, opening and closing his hand. He, more than anyone, felt the weight and power of that fist.

"Jimbei, get the boy from the sea," he said again to the stunned fish-man beside him.

"Y-Yes!" He said, snapping out of his dazed state. He never imagined that something like this would happen while visiting the protector of the Fish-Man Island. Without thinking too much, he returned to the given task and jumped into the water in search of the boy's body.