One Piece: The Strongest Female Pirate Crews

"Who cares about time? As long as I haven't fallen, I haven't lost!"

Whitebeard decided to stop worrying. Instead of obsessing over time, he focused on doing his best.

His arms swelled with power, growing over twice their size in an instant. Terrifying energy gathered in his fists.

"Bring it on!!"

The energy-coated fists furiously pummeled toward Kuke.

Blow after blow.

Kuke sheathed his blade, balling his fists in return.

Boom! Boom!

The two exchanged relentless punches. Their fists collided, splitting the sky apart.

When Kuke's fist struck Whitebeard's body, the power dented his armored skin, leaving visible imprints as blood seeped from his mouth. Yet, Whitebeard ignored his injuries and continued his wild barrage, each punch faster and heavier than the last.

The brutal clash silenced the Whitebeard Pirates.

Where earlier cheers of encouragement filled the air, there was now only silence.

The battlefield echoed only with the raw sound of fists meeting flesh.

Boom!

A devastating punch shattered the island behind Kuke, causing waves to rise high into the sky. Kuke finally shifted his footing.

He lifted a foot and stepped back.

"You stepped back," Whitebeard remarked, blood soaking his eyes yet wearing an exhilarated expression. With a bloody grin, he said, "You finally stepped back!"

"Well done, Whitebeard."

Kuke glanced at the ground where his backward step had left an imprint.

"Gurarararara!"

Whitebeard's signature laugh echoed proudly.

Despite his dangling arms, now utterly numb and limp, he grinned with unyielding pride.

"What's this?"

The commanders, including Marco, silently watched the battlefield.

"What's happening?"

"Could it be... did Father win? He said Kuke stepped back?"

Someone muttered the words, yet no one dared echo the sentiment.

All of them had eyes. No matter how much they idolized their father, they knew the truth. The one with the upper hand in this battle was Kuke, undeniably and overwhelmingly.

How could a single step back mean victory?

"I lost."

Whitebeard declared his own defeat.

"Don't you want to give it another try?"

"There's no need. Even if I continue, the result won't change."

Earlier, Whitebeard had resolved to fight to his last breath, to push on even in the face of unconsciousness—or even death.

But now?

With newfound composure, Whitebeard accepted the reality of Kuke's superiority.

"Instead of clinging to the fight just to last an hour, it's better to admit it: I'm not your equal."

Whitebeard's voice carried through the heavens.

His sons might have anticipated this outcome from the moment the battle began, but hearing their invincible father admit defeat struck a devastating blow. Many began to weep bitterly, unable to accept what they had witnessed.

"How long has it been? Has an hour passed?"

Kingdew hurriedly checked, reaching for the clock.

Marco frowned deeply and scolded him, "Kingdew, does it matter?"

Kingdew slumped to the ground, his eyes hollow. He murmured repeatedly, "Does it matter? Does it really matter?"

Moments earlier.

Or moments later.

What difference did it make now?

"Three twenty-eight."

Gion glanced at the time.

Forty-five minutes had passed.

Fifteen minutes short of an hour.

Yet no one mocked Whitebeard.

Even Charlotte Linlin, who had lost her bet with her daughters, didn't tease him.

"It's not because Whitebeard isn't strong," Linlin murmured, having paid close attention to every moment of the battle.

Whitebeard was as monstrous as ever.

Still terrifyingly powerful.

Linlin knew she was weaker than the Whitebeard she had just seen.

"He's even stronger now, even stronger than before."

Linlin stared blankly at Kuke's back.

She clearly saw that he had grown far stronger since their battle.

"If it were me instead of Whitebeard, could I last forty-five minutes? Half an hour seems unlikely."

Linlin shivered, shrinking into herself as a chill ran up her spine.

Her gaze toward Kuke now carried an undeniable mixture of fear and awe, though somewhere, hidden deep, lay a trace of admiration even she hadn't noticed.

Marco gripped the railing tightly, shattering it into splinters under the pressure of his hands. Flames of blue erupted intermittently across his form as he struggled to control his emotions.

Finally, he sighed.

"If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes, I'd never have believed it."

"Yeah," Jozu agreed with a solemn nod.

Vista, the Flower Sword, added, "As a swordsman, I can't even muster the will to challenge Kuke. It's a complete failure on my part."

Every commander present.

They were humbled.

Utterly convinced.

"This is the majesty of the King of the World."

Within the crowd, Blackbeard clenched his fists tightly, his excitement barely contained.

It was as though he had seen the pinnacle of his wildest ambitions.

The grandest aspirations he could imagine.

Even those paled in comparison to Kuke's reality.

"If only I could follow him..."

For the first time, Blackbeard felt such a compulsion.

He was the only son without true loyalty to Whitebeard.

Now, he gazed longingly toward the Dawn, eyes filled with yearning and envy.

"For a pirate to reach Kuke's level, dying would be worth it."

But as he looked at himself, insecurity crept in.

....

On the battlefield.

Whitebeard heaved labored breaths.

"I've grown old... this loss, it's because I've aged," he began, intending to lament his diminishing strength.

But then he caught himself.

Realization dawned.

Even at his peak, he could never have defeated the Kuke standing before him today.

"What do you intend to do with us?"

For the first time, Whitebeard looked at someone with helpless eyes, unable to protect his sons, his family.

"I'm not interested right now."

Kuke turned his back to him and walked away. "What you were before, you can continue to be. Don't worry; the era remains unchanged."

Whitebeard's pupils locked onto Kuke's retreating figure.

For the first time, he looked up to someone.

Was this man taking on the burden of the pirate world itself?

With him here?

Did that mean pirates of the next generation had nothing to fear?

"Captain Rocks... someone like you, no, someone surpassing you, has finally appeared."

Whitebeard's thoughts were filled with profound awe.

Kuke's only intent was to let Whitebeard and his sons remain unchanged, ensuring the Dark-Dark Fruit's eventual emergence.

"This era of pirates is both cursed and blessed."

Whitebeard stared at Kuke's back, letting out a heavy sigh. "Cursed to exist in the same era as him, making it impossible to shine. Blessed, because as long as he lives, the Navy won't dare make a move against us."

Kuke boarded the Dawn.

The first thing he noticed was Charlotte Linlin.

Her sheer size made it impossible to miss her presence.

Kuke raised an eyebrow in surprise as he observed her.

The brilliance surrounding her had increased significantly.

Now over forty percent.

Charlotte Linlin felt his gaze and timidly crouched in a corner, shedding tears over losing her nighttime snack.

"You can eat whatever you want today," Kuke said, taking pity on her pitiful state and granting her a single day of indulgence.

Charlotte Linlin plopped onto the deck with a shocked expression of disbelief and joy.

She wept openly.

The brilliance around her grew even brighter.

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DONT FORGET POWER STONE 

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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up 40+ chapters at patreon.com/Emik01.

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