Chapter 522: Clash of Legends: Old Powers Awaken

“Something’s not right…”

“Newgate, why hasn’t your strength dropped at all?”

“Isn’t the side effect of your Devil Fruit supposed to be really severe?”

Kong shook out his numb right hand, surprise clouding his face.

According to the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, the more a Tremor-Tremor Fruit user fights and the longer they rely on its power, the greater the toll on their body.

By all rights, Whitebeard should already be past his prime, yet he’s fighting at nearly the same level he did in his youth.

Did he find something to heal his wounds, or what?

Or is Whitebeard just forcing himself to hold on?

There’s no way Whitebeard’s body has just stayed young all this time.

Some Devil Fruits actually aren’t as overwhelmingly powerful as they seem.

The ones who truly bring out the full potential of a Devil Fruit are always the remarkably gifted.

Take the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, for example: it’s only famous because of Whitebeard, not the other way around.

If an ordinary person got the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, but didn’t have Whitebeard’s giant bloodline and overwhelming strength, they’d never reach this level of power.

At the end of the day, energy is conserved—if you want to cause massive destruction, you need to pay the price. An average person could never trigger a massive earthquake even in their entire lifetime.

Now look at the Giants.

Just a step from one of them can cause small tremors. If they go all out, they might even shatter a small island.

That natural strength is what lets them truly unlock the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

“Kong, if you really think you’re so old and decrepit, why not move aside?”

Whitebeard didn’t hold back, Cloud Cutter slicing left and right, giving Kong no chance to defend himself.

With his blade in hand, Whitebeard completely used the advantage of reach, bullying Kong, who only fought with his iron fists—not to mention his aging body.

“Tch, old man, you’re just putting on a brave front!”

“Sengoku, Garp, it’s one thing to go easy on Ace and Luffy, but are you going to pull your punches against Whitebeard too?”

Called out by name, the two men broke out in cold sweat, like delinquent students caught daydreaming in class.

“Hahaha, just look at us—fossils whose combined age tops two hundred, trying to set an example for the young punks.”

Garp tore his gaze away from Ace and raised his iron fists, swinging them toward Whitebeard from the right.

“Buddha Shockwave!”

Sengoku didn’t slack off either; in a flash, he transformed back into a small golden giant. His massive hand swung toward Whitebeard from the left, faster than anything he threw at Luffy, threatening to catch Whitebeard between the two.

But Whitebeard stayed calm under pressure, wielding Cloud Cutter so deftly it left no opening.

“Gurararara! Then let me show you the true power of the old era!”

Feeling the thumb-sized piece of Pure Gold hanging on his chest, Whitebeard couldn’t help but smile.

Getting to live out on the seas with his kids is all he ever dreamed of.

To hang onto that happiness, he’d worn this Pure Gold ever since the day Roger was executed. That’s twenty years now—his stamina has stayed at its peak, never dropping once.

With a thunderous clash, Whitebeard planted his blade on Garp’s fist, then spun around and blocked Sengoku’s shockwave with the hilt.

“Kong—Smash!”

Kong spotted his chance. In a blur he closed in on Whitebeard and slammed a brutal fist down on his skull, smashing him hard into the ice below.

“Pops!”

Ace saw Whitebeard—his old man—crash down and leapt up to help, forgetting about the two Holy Knights standing right in front of him.

Meadow, spear gleaming gold and tipped with black, struck with lightning speed straight for Ace’s chest.

“Bang!”

“Better watch out, Luffy’s brother. Compared to what Whitebeard’s facing, these two in front of you are even nastier.”

Luckily, Mr. 3 dove in to cover the gap, building a thick wall out of wax to block Meadow’s attack.

If not for that, Ace would’ve taken the spear straight through the chest, leaving a gaping hole.

“Gum-Gum—Kong Gun!”

Nearby, Snail raised a golden spear of his own, going head-to-head with Luffy’s massive black-red iron fist—his spear flashing with cold light as he lunged.

Clang!

Sparks exploded everywhere.

“It’s not looking good. The Navy’s rolled in three new powerhouses to tie up Ace and little Luffy.”

“Even Whitebeard’s stuck fighting the former Fleet Admiral Kong. Without fresh reinforcements, there’s no way we can break in and rescue Ace.”

Ivankov stood atop an abandoned ship and took in the chaos on the battlefield with a single glance.

There were three layers to the battlefield now. In the innermost circle were Luffy, Ace, Mr. 3, and the two Holy Knights—surrounded by more than a thousand marines.

Then came hundreds of pirate captains and their crews, caught between yet another cordon of thousands of marines. Further out, Zoro, Usopp, the Seven Warlords, and more, all locked in their own battles with the Navy massed around them.

Finally, you had the ice cavern on the outskirts. Each layer was blocked off by thousands, even tens of thousands, of marines. Breaking through all three lines from here to reach Ace would be nearly impossible.

“Where’s our breakthrough?”

While Ivankov searched anxiously for a way to tip the balance, Whitebeard was buckling under the combined assault of Kong, Garp, and Sengoku.

Even if Whitebeard’s strength hadn’t faded, these three Navy legends together could still match their prime. Facing them all at once might be too much, even for him.

After all, the last captain he served—Rocks—was brought down by the teaming up of Garp and Roger. That alone proved the kind of pressure Whitebeard was up against.

“Fire Fist!”

Driven to his limit, Ace burst into blazing flames, turning into a massive red fireball that drew everyone’s eyes. The ice beneath him started to melt from the blistering heat.

“Ace!”

“Luffy, don’t worry about me—get out of here!”

Ace knew that if these two kept stalling them, neither he nor Luffy would make it out alive.

Letting Luffy escape alone was the smarter move. He could slip away using his element form—it’d be much simpler to get one person out than two.

“You better come too, Ace!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be long. I’ll be right behind you.”

Luffy caught the resolve in Ace’s eyes, nodded seriously, and, grabbing Mr. 3, tore off toward the exit.

“Divine Spear!”

Meadow and Snail spotted Ace hanging back with Luffy and, not about to let him off easy, slammed their two spears together in a blazing golden attack—driving their fusion technique straight at Ace’s fireball.

“Pftt!”

Ace was just saying goodbye to Luffy when the two of them suddenly attacked with no warning, catching him off guard.

Their twin golden spears punched through Ace’s body, leaving him with two gaping wounds.

“Ace!”

“Cough… Ah… Go, Luffy, just go!”