At the cliffs of Den Den Mushi.
Sakazuki and Whitebeard also sensed the change in Roger.
Whitebeard, suspended in mid-air, naturally understood what had happened. A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes, and he then stared intently at Sakazuki.
Sakazuki, having regained some composure, reformed his body and gave Whitebeard a mocking smile.
Both tacitly refrained from attacking, conserving their strength and waiting for an opportunity.
Whether one fought ferociously or desperately to kill an enemy, it was always under the condition of having an advantage. At this moment, either of them could lead to mutual destruction with a single misstep.
No one truly wished to die.
Sakazuki now stood on the ruins of the cliffs of Den Den Mushi, precariously close to the sea. A single slip and he would fall into the water, beyond any hope of rescue.
Whitebeard, too, was in a worse state than Sakazuki. Recovery took time, and if Sakazuki dragged him down, it wouldn't be worth it.
Time flowed slowly. As the last crack beneath Whitebeard's feet in mid-air vanished, both men moved simultaneously.
Sakazuki plunged his hands into the solidified lava ground, channeling his power to draw magma from beneath the earth and send it surging upwards:
"Magma Land Formation!"
As Whitebeard landed on the ground with a shockwave, Sakazuki drew his hands back and dodged.
Whitebeard stomped on the spot where Sakazuki had just used his ability.
Crack!
The ability erupted, sending shockwaves downward. The cracks in the ground widened, and with a rumbling tremor, the ground seemed to be pushed upwards from below.
No magma erupted from the ground itself, but around the solidified cliffs of Den Den Mushi, lava continuously poured out and spread.
In a short while, the area where one could land had expanded by more than threefold.
Sakazuki, standing far away and facing Whitebeard, clenched his fists and pulled. A lava greatsword, over three meters long, materialized and was instantly imbued with Armament Haki.
He grasped the sword with one hand, twirled it, and plunged it into the ground, looking indifferently at Whitebeard:
"Death Burial Array."
With that, he merged with the ground, body and sword, and countless streams of magma erupted from the earth.
All over four meters tall, they raised Sakazuki's signature greatsword and charged towards Whitebeard.
Seeing the surrounding magma giants, Whitebeard channeled his power and swung forward.
Crack!
Boom boom boom boom!!!
Innumerable magma giants in front of him shattered, but new ones quickly reformed.
They possessed no consciousness, only relentlessly charging forward under Sakazuki's command.
With each punch Whitebeard threw, large swaths of magma giants fell like leeks, yet they drew ever closer.
The frequent use of his abilities also taxed the heavily injured Whitebeard. His eyes narrowed, thinking, You want to wear me down...
Whitebeard spun his naginata and plunged it into the ground, clenching his fists at his abdomen, intending to shatter the ground and end it all at once.
Whoosh!
A sharp whistling sound sliced through the air. Whitebeard's pupils contracted. With no time to channel his ability, he covered his entire body with Armament Haki.
Boom!!!
With a deafening roar, a magma giant, brandishing the greatsword, had, at some unknown time, approached Whitebeard. The dark blade, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, viciously slashed at Whitebeard's neck.
Then, a colossal force, akin to a volcanic eruption, struck, sending Whitebeard flying. He crashed into a pile of rubble like a meteor before coming to a halt.
Boom!
Shaking off the surrounding debris, Whitebeard emerged.
A long sword mark bled on his neck. He looked at the magma giant:
"Sneaky brat."
The magma giant slowly reformed into Sakazuki's appearance. The blade of his sword, which had exploded, reformed. He took a deep breath.
Hoo!!!
Compressed black smoke and volcanic ash formed an air cannon, erupting from his mouth with a torrential blast of air, aimed directly at Whitebeard.
Seeing the dark air cannon, Whitebeard snorted. He clenched his fists at his abdomen and swung outwards forcefully.
Crack—!
The atmosphere on both sides of his body exploded, the ground vibrated violently, and immense water bulges, hundreds of meters high, rose on either side of the island.
Boom!
As the air cannon exploded and smoke blanketed the island, the irregular water bulges suddenly burst, transforming into monstrous waves hundreds of meters high that crashed towards the island.
Whitebeard channeled his ability beneath his feet, erupting upwards and surveying the ground from the sky.
He also noticed the weakness in Sakazuki's ability. Sakazuki's ability to mobilize such a vast amount of magma largely depended on the magma deep beneath the earth.
If the island sank beneath the sea, it would be difficult for Sakazuki to mobilize it through the water. And in a war of attrition, Whitebeard was confident he could outlast Sakazuki.
Sakazuki on the ground frowned as Whitebeard attempted the same maneuver again. He clapped his hands, and a cliff of Den Den Mushi erupted from the ground, shooting skyward.
Whitebeard, in turn, stomped his way across the sky and appeared at the top of the cliff. He channeled his ability and stomped downwards, the atmosphere cracking.
He pressed the cliff down, driving it relentlessly towards the ground. Sakazuki instantly understood Whitebeard's intention and released his ability, merging into the ground.
He transformed into a red molten line, streaking towards the earth's core.
Whitebeard, now above the sea, surged upwards. Countless giant waves engulfed the island, and under Whitebeard's disruptive power, the island shattered and was submerged by the sea.
Standing in the air and gazing at the sea, Whitebeard's brow furrowed. He didn't believe that magma brat was truly dead.
Suddenly, a red light flared on the sea's surface, growing larger and larger until it filled Whitebeard's vision. His internal alarm bells rang, and he dodged into the distance in the air.
A massive water bulge suddenly erupted from the area where the island had just submerged. Unlike the irregular bulges distorted by Whitebeard's power,
This bulge seemed to be caused by something exploding underwater, pushing the sea upwards. The ocean was in constant turmoil.
Boom!!!
As the water bulge exploded, waves hundreds of meters high spread outwards, crashing towards the other combatants.
Magma, several times thicker than the island, erupted from the sea, spewing forth. Dark red magma, entwined with black smoke, shot towards the heavens.
Sakazuki was at the very center of the magma. He reformed his body only after the magma erupted from the sea.
Then, he channeled his ability, and countless molten rocks transformed into colossal magma fists, tens of meters in size. They rained down on Whitebeard like a meteor shower.
Myriad fiery trails streaked across the sky, like the end of the world...