The Strongest Human Calamity – Whitebeard vs. Escanor

: Alright, our fighters are ready.

Catch the Prelude Here: The Strongest Human Calamity – PRELUDE

: Which of these mustachioed, muscular masters will reign?

: Let’s find out, in the Clash!

: I picked first last time, so you go for it.

: Okay, I’m gonna go with banana-stache!

: Alright, that means citrus-stache is all for me.

———-

    Location: Mock Town, 10:00 am

The Sun climbs up the horizon and floods the already bustling port town, lighting up the scaled rooftops like Christmas lights. The pirate ships docked at the marina wobble in the wind, bouncing around to the beat of the waves. People around town speak fondly to each other, going about their daily business.

“Hey, didja hear the latest rumor about Whitebeard?” A man asks his colleagues, chugging down his ale at the outdoor bar. “He stopped by Water 7 just a few weeks ago! Some say that, from his movements along the Grand Line, he’s backtracking to someplace really important! Do you think it could be the One Piece?”

“No way!” Another man says, eyelids drooping in skepticism. “What could a Yonko want with this place? Then again, do you think he could be going back to Loguetown?”

“What, to go see where Roger died? Nah, he’d have to have a ship that can travel up that Reverse Mountain, and that’d be hell!” Another says, taking a moment to cool his throat with some booze. “He may be tough, but I doubt anything can scale that mountain. There was this one guy I heard about, some devout guy talking about his merry storm god, wanted to go past the mountain. What a madman.”

“Whatever, so long as that Whitebeard guy doesn’t swing by here, we should all be good.” The first man says, taking a bite of a meat pie only to spew it out a second later. “Hey barkeep! Are you trying to kill me with this!?”

The men were sitting outside a new bar that opened recently: “The Boar Hat.” A quaint shack with a roof that looked like a witch’s hat. None of the island’s inhabitants had heard anything of its construction, but with the number of deviants in town, mucking up the more popular bars, they couldn’t pass up a lively place to drink like this. Only four people were working the tables, an unassuming kid with blonde hair and a sword on his back, a young waitress with silver hair, a plump pig, and a frail barkeep with glasses.

“Ah, I’m dreadfully sorry sir,” The barkeep says. “Our chef is out looking for some quality ingredients, so the owner took to cooking the meal himself.”

“Yeah? Well who is this punk owner, huh?” The man demands.

“Yo.” The young, blonde man steps in front of the customer. “You needed something?”

“You’re the owner?” The man asks, visibly confused. “You couldn’t be older than fourteen! How the hell did you get a license to own a bar? You’re not even the legal drinking age!”

“I thought you had a problem about Meliodas’ cooking?” The pig mentions.

“A… Talking pig!?” The men announce in surprise and unison.

“Man, you all get surprised by anything, don’t you?” The pig says with a huff, trotting off and licking the floor clean of the man’s regurgitated meal.

“Don’t mind Hawk,” Meliodas says. “So, is something up?”

“Wait a sec…” The man says, itching his beard nervously. “Did that pig eat a Devil Fruit? Is that how it can speak like a person?”

“Hold up, Devil Fruit?” Meliodas asks.

“Yeah…” The man continues. “Mystical fruits that grant fantastic powers to whoever eats them… You haven’t heard of them before?”

“Can’t say I have,” Meliodas says bluntly. “Well, I’d imagine they’d be pretty expensive if they make you magic with a single bite.”

“Yeah,” The man says. “You can buy one with a king’s ransom, find one in the wild, or you can steal them for yourself. Almost all of the strongest pirates on these waters have eaten one.”

“Neat.” Meliodas says. “Now, before we go on this tangent any further, you want to tell me what issue you have with my food?”

Wait a sec… The man thinks. Could it be that this guy was playing coy with me all this time? What if he has a Devil Fruit? He’s got that sword on his back, so he could totally be putting up a front with this kid-looking face of his!

“Nope, I don’t remember taking offense to your food!” He says, gleefully shoving another chunk into his mouth, only to faint face first right into the dish.

“Didn’t think so,” Meliodas says with a grin and a chuckle.

“Hey, do you really think Whitebeard could be coming here next?” Meliodas overhears another patron, a woman, say to her friend. “I mean, he’s gone from Sabaody to Water 7. He’s on a direct course here, right?”

“Pfft, don’t worry about it,” Her friend says. “If he does, I doubt he’s going to do much. He’ll probably restock and leave. Didn’t you hear the story about his exploits on Fishman Island? I doubt he’s the type to destroy a town for fun, let alone this backwater place. Zero motive, zero action, no?”

“You’re right, let’s not worry about it,” The woman says. “Hey barkeep! Can we get another refill over here?”

“You heard her Escanor!” Meliodas says. “Two more mugs of the finest ale we got!”

“Yes, of course!” The barkeep says, rushing to their cask, only for it to sputter out foam. “Um, captain? We appear to be out of our signature ale…”

“That’s fine,” Meliodas says, pointing to Mock Town. “Could you head into town and pick some up? If you can’t find that stuff, get some stuff people around here enjoy.”

“Of course, I will be back posthaste!” Escanor says. “Wish me luck!”

Escanor hurriedly leaves. Meliodas holds down the bar, tending to everyone’s needs alongside his silver-haired worker Elizabeth.

“Is it alright for Escanor to go by himself?” Elizabeth asks. “He doesn’t seem all that physically capable in that form…”

“Don’t worry,” Meliodas says. “He can get some help from a few of the guys from around here, right?”

———-

“Oh my god…” A man by the docks says. “I have to warn everyone!”

With a slight trip, he rushes off into town as the great, white-headed ship approaches the dock. A plank falls down with a thud, and from it, a group of pirates flood out from the ship, all led by a certain man with a pineapple-shaped head and a purple shirt.

“Okay guys, go in and grab what you need, burn off that cabin fever, especially you newbies.” The man commands.

With that order, the men fly into the town like a flock of seagulls, rambunctiously gallivanting and climbing over each other, wanting to get to a bar or a tavern first thing.

“Marco,” A massive man looms behind the commander, sitting on a throne as attractive young ladies and other crew members tend to him. “You go out and enjoy yourself too, I can’t let you be the only one staying behind.”

“Gramps…” Marco says, hopping on a nearby rail, cross-legged, as the ladies leave next. “I know you’re trying to get rid of me so you can go on land again, but I’m going to veto that plan of yours right now.”

“Well maybe I don’t need my stupid son babysitting me!” The great man growls, shifting forward with the dignified height of an elephant. “Maybe you can enjoy yourself for once instead of watching these IVs pump into me!”

“Pops, come on,” The pineapple-headed commander replies. “Get your rest. the way you are now, you’ll look weak and old to these townsfolk, nothing befitting the true image of Whitebeard. Just leave restocking to us, alright?”

“Arrgghh…” Whitebeard grits his teeth. “This damn reputation of mine… You know I won’t be the strongest forever, right?”

The two share a moment of awkward silence.

“Fine,” Whitebeard says, collapsing back in his seat, clutching a jug of sake the size of a small apartment. “You go enjoy yourself, I won’t move from this spot. Be a good kid and grab some more sake for your old man too, I need some good drink to wash down this crappy medicine.”

“You shouldn’t wash down meds with alcohol old man,” Marco replies. “But fine, I’ll be sure to pick up the best sake around.”

“Good.” Whitebeard says gruffly.

Marco walks down the plank and was about to head into town when he realizes his pockets are empty.

“I must’ve left my cut of the coin back on the ship.” He mutters, climbing back on board. “Hey old man, I’m back to grab–”

The massive man had vanished, leaving medical equipment strewn across the ship’s deck ungraciously.

“Man, that old geezer…” Marco mutters, shaking his head and gathering the tubes. “He should be a little more gentle with this stuff, it was expensive having to invest in a breathing line that would work with a twenty-one foot-tall goliath…”

———-

“Hmmm…” Escanor bends over to inspect the amber liquid in the cask, finding its fruity aroma to be perfect. “You say this is your best?”

“Yep, the town loves the stuff like bees and honey. We got two barrels left, want ’em?” The merchant asks.

“Well, I can’t help but say that the analogy is incorrect, bees take to flowers after all, but I understand what you mean!” Escanor says awkwardly. “And yes, I’ll buy. If I pay a bit extra, would you mind helping me with bringing them back to The Boar Hat? It’s a tavern on the outskirts, just near the forest edge.”

“Sure thing, wouldn’t want a sickly looking guy like you to exert yourself too hard.” The merchant states, grabbing the lids for the barrels.

As Escanor peers into the liquid one more time, he notices a faint ripple. He thought this was peculiar until another ripple scatters his reflected image.

“Um, I hate to ask, but does this liquor always… Erm… ‘Gyrate,’ like this?” Escanor asks.

“Can’t say it does.” The merchant says, seemingly hypnotized by the increasingly violent ripples.

It was then the two realize that the ripples were not a feature of the drink, but a byproduct of their surroundings. Escanor’s glasses vibrate on the tip of his nose, jittering down slightly before he hurriedly holds onto them.

“No way…” The merchant says, eyes drawn upward. “I thought they were rumors… Could he really be…?”

As the merchant says these words, Escanor turns to see a colossal bisento peeking over the roof of the neighboring building. Escanor watches in frightened awe as the bisento turns the corner and proceeds closer. The two hear the distant mumbles of the titan and how his old acquaintance, Shanks, should’ve made their meeting place closer to the New World so he wouldn’t have had to have such a long, boring journey back down.

“Ugh, the least he could’ve done was bring more of that sake with him…” Escanor and the liquor seller hear from around the corner. “It wasn’t the best sake, but it did put a fire in my belly and I can’t help but appreciate that.”

“Well, if you could hurry with bringing those barrels to the tavern, I’d be most appreciative–” Escanor turns and says, only to come face to face with a locked door, the two barrels of alcohol left outside. “But wait! I haven’t paid you yet!”

Suddenly, a boot bigger than Escanor himself rounds the corner. The tiny man simply whimpers as the massive Whitebeard steps up to him, his every footstep like a miniature earthquake.

“Maybe I should discipline my sons for keeping me prisoner like that…” Whitebeard muses. “I don’t think I put them over the knee enough back in the day, I mean the mouths on those pirates…”

He walks past Escanor, who was but an ant in comparison. The barkeep stands still, scared to hazard a move, and his glasses fall with the tremor-steps of the legendary pirate. As the glasses clatter onto the cobble road, Whitebeard freezes.

“Go somewhere else small fry, you’ll live longer.” Whitebeard states, resuming his walk further into Mock Town.

Suddenly, he feels warmth attack his spine and hears bubbling and boiling in his ears. Furrowing his brow, Whitebeard swiftly turns. He finds no tiny barkeep standing there, but where he stood now stands a muscular man exuding confidence and charisma, his clothes bursting at the seams until his shirt explodes off his chest. He radiates warmth and contempt, as though the sun itself looked down on Whitebeard, though he still remains taller. The barrels of booze next to the man turn dark as charcoal from the heat and the liquid boils away its contents in proximity to the man, who was still growing.

“Why would a man smaller than you equate to weakness?” The expanding Escanor asks. “Do you claim I am weak?”

“I see you as a large pain in my otherwise pleasant detour,” Whitebeard says, looking down at Escanor. “Who are you to speak to me, Whitebeard, with such arrogance?”

“Hm, Whitebeard?” The knight says, massaging his chin in thought. “I’ve heard tell of you recently. The people’s fear and admiration of you do not do justice if this is all you are.”

Whitebeard’s eyes narrow.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Escanor says before swiftly leaping atop an adjacent rooftop, now standing above his foe. “I can’t stand not to look down at those weaker than myself. I hope you understand. It’s not a personal sleight against you, but if things had continued with me having to look up, then I’m afraid it would be a personal sleight against me.”

“You should tell me what you mean by all of that plainly before I crush your body to paste,” Whitebeard says coldly. “I’m already in a bad mood, so you would do well not to make it worse.”

“I am the Lion’s Sin of Pride, Escanor of the Seven Deadly Sins. To me, there is no equal, and now that I see you in person, I can confirm that.”

Whitebeard spins his bisento and thrusts it into the ground. Escanor didn’t flinch.

“Oh?” Whitebeard says, grinning. “Interesting. I think I’m starting to like you! Gurararararararararara!!”

“Hahahahahahahahaha!!” Escanor politely chuckles with his new adversary.

Whitebeard, with a single fist, strikes Escanor in the chest, flinging him across town and into the forest nearby.

“At least, as far as I can strike you!” Whitebeard says aloud, giving chase. “I’ll show that prideful bastard to sully me and my sons’ reputation.”

———-

    Location: Mock Town’s Neighboring Forest, 10:55 am

“Hm, an impressive strike…” Escanor says, sitting up in his crater. “But not nearly as strong as mine.”

“Are you going to talk to yourself or are you going to fight like a man?” Escanor turns his head to find Whitebeard standing at the top of the crater.

“A moment,” Escanor says, leaping up with surprising grace for his size and holding his arm up. “Divine Axe Rhitta, come to me!”

In a moment, Escanor’s titular golden axe flies into his hand, gleaming in the daylight.

“Shall we?” He asks.

“I thought you’d never ask!” Whitebeard says, leaping in with an overhead strike.

———-

———-

The two’s blades meet and make such a sound that the average man’s ears would fracture and bleed. The air itself turns to violent razors as the two pressure one another, sparks whipping in a cyclone of heat. The ground crumbles further below them. The two remain relatively unfazed by the drastic change of their surroundings, far too enthralled in their fight now to care.

“Impressive,” Escanor states, holding Whitebeard off with a single hand. “But I do believe that won’t be enough to handle a man of my caliber.”

The Lion Sin swiftly parries the blow. Whitebeard stumbles backward.

“I see…” Whitebeard mutters. “A Devil Fruit eh? That’s how you transformed, isn’t it?”

“Devil Fruit?” Escanor says and laughs. “Hah! Do you take me for a weakling who must rely on a magical fruit to defeat you?”

Whitebeard angrily squints his eyes as he regains his footing. He lunges in with another two slashes, both parried as well.

“And now,” Escanor says, looking up at Whitebeard. “I feel like you are insulting me. After all, here you are, slashing and slashing, but yet still standing above me.”

“Why don’t I bend your neck back so you don’t have to keep looking up, eh?” Whitebeard spits, grabbing Escanor by the face, lifting him up, and throwing him aside.

Escanor lands on his feet, skidding to a stop, kicking up a rockslide’s worth of stone, trees, and dirt while doing so.

“Much better,” Escanor says. “But still not enough!”

The two trade blow for blow, the insane pressure from each blow carving them further into the ground until Escanor leaps up, Whitebeard’s bisento interlocked with Rhitta as the knight drags the pirate into the air with him. Escanor pulls the pirate up swiftly  and dropkicks him deeper into the forest, watching trees fall one-by-one, giving way to the giant man.

Whitebeard finally slows to a stop and grimaces. Using his off-hand, he pulls a tree from the ground and lobs it at Escanor, only for the it to vaporize before even reaching the sin.

“Such a move is unbecoming for a man of your stature.” Escanor mutters, swinging with Rhitta. “I would sooner die than trust the pathetic weakness of all around me!”

“Is that right?” Whitebeard says, the tip of his bisento covered in a sphere of light. “Big talk coming from the man relying on an axe to fight with!”

When the two clash, the air seems to reverberate and crackle slightly with a cyan energy. Escanor’s eyes widen as he flies away now, along with a good portion of the ground around Whitebeard. As the ground continues to fracture, Whitebeard leaps into the air and coats his foot in another sphere of light.

“Is that a Sacred Treasure?” Escanor says aloud, holding up his hand to intercept Whitebeard’s kick. “Or perhaps your Devil Fruit?No matter, a direct attack won’t work on me.”

Escanor catches Whitebeard’s foot, only for an intense shockwave to disperse through his body. As his skin ripples and tears and his nose lets loose a line of blood, he quickly throws down Whitebeard’s foot into the ground. As the pirate collides, Escanor feels a shockwave and is blasted away in an explosion of dirt. Escanor lands in a heap, but quickly gets to his feet.

“That’s the cost of arrogance!” Whitebeard shouts, swinging down his bisento again.

Escanor seemingly glows before he rushes his palm forward, catching the blade between his index and middle fingers.

“And this, is the price of my pity.” Escanor sweeps Rhitta down to cut Whitebeard’s midsection, only for Escanor to miss. The ground beneath them crumbles, having lost all integrity form their duel thus far.

The two leap to solid ground, the island having gained two dirt pits like antlion holes.

“Accursed ground,” Escanor spits. “It should be privileged to carry me above it, not ready to give as I have a clean strike.”

“Accosting the ground for your own folly?” Whitebeard chuckles. “What ruthless pride! Gurararararara!!”

Escanor turns to the pirate with his finger held aloft. A jet of flame escaped the digit, culminating into a large sphere of fire.

“Cruel Sun,” Escanor states. “It must be dark in my shadow, let me light it up for you.”

“Well now…” Whitebeard says.

The Cruel Sun flies forth, taking Whitebeard by surprise with its speed. It slams into the infamous pirate, scorching his chest, arms, legs, and face. Escanor watches in intrigue as Whitebeard stands his ground, holding the sun in his hands.

“What pride do you have to outmatch even Atlas?” The knight asks, only to notice the edges of the ball crack with white light.

“Gurarararara!” Whitebeard laughs, crushing the sun in his grasp and launching fireballs into their surroundings, causing a mass blaze to sweep over the forest. “You dare test me with this ball of balmy warmth? I’m here to fight, not sunbathe!”

“Hah!” Escanor says. “If you gave me the grace of taking my Cruel Sun head-on, I may as well give you the time of day to let you test me. Come! Hit me with something that will make me care!”

“Sure, I’ll take you up on that offer!” Whitebeard steps forward, getting close enough to Escanor that he feels the intense, magma-like heat radiating from the knight’s body, and reels back his fist.

A light sphere manifests around it. Finally, Whitebeard lets it loose, dragging his punch along the ground and sending his fist directly into the Holy Knight’s chin. Escanor flies skyward, accompanied with a sonic boom. The ground below, barely able to keep itself together, now fell apart. The island was effectively cleaved in two, each side drifting away slightly. Whitebeard simply stands there, at the edge of the island’s now opening maw, looking up and waiting for his opponent to come back down.

———-

    Location: Forest Edge, 11:00 am

“He’s totally paying for that.” Meliodas says, looking at the axe-shaped hole in The Boar Hat’s wall. “I wonder who he is fighting to even need this though…”

Just then, he feels a vibration shake the bar. He looks outside the window to find the island having been cut in half with a slipstream ring in the air by the center of the forest.

“Well, I think I figured it out,” Meliodas says just as Elizabeth enters.

“Sir Meliodas!” She exclaims. “There’s a man at the door who says–”

“Let me guess,” Meliodas says turning to Elizabeth. “Whitebeard is here?”

“Well, yes…” Elizabeth replies. “But there’s someone else here…”

In walks Marco, arms folded and his teeth grit.

“Hey there,” He says. “I’m the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. I heard one of your employees picked a fight with Whitebeard. Mind telling me why?”

“Oh, that’s Escanor,” Meliodas says. “That’s how he gets when the Sun is out. I guess you could say he has a sort of Devil Fruit power of his own.”

“Hmph.” Marco grunts. “Well fine, but if your employee is tough enough to think he has a chance against pops, this battle will have some cataclysmic results. There’s no stopping him when he gets like this, so instead we should help evacuate the town.”

“You’re way different from how the town paints you guys,” Meliodas said with a grin. “You’re not bad.”

“Don’t try to get on my good side,” Marco says, massaging his temples before turning his arms into his phoenix wings. “That comes after the fight. Hell, I wouldn’t mind taking you on too after the dust settles.”

“Nah, you wouldn’t wanna do that,” Meliodas says both jokingly and seriously.

Together, they rush into town and start evacuating the populace to the docks.

———-

Location: Forest Neighboring Mock Town, 11:05 am

“Bah,” Whitebeard says, having waited long enough. “He’s strong, but not that strong. I wonder if that was booze that he was boiling back there?”

Suddenly, a Cruel Sun flies down and strikes Whitebeard in the back. The orb lifts Whitebeard off his feet and carries him up before flying backward, leaving the pirate sailing through the air. The ball of plasma then rams into his face, singing the front few hairs of his moustache and sending him flying headfirst into a nearby lake.

“Geboh-boh!” Whitebeard’s eyes fluttered, spewing out the last of his air as he sank into the drink.

Escanor follows close atop another Cruel Sun.

“Not your best punch,” Escanor states, spitting out some blood. “Fractured my chin, but my pride remains invincible.”

Hovering above the lake, Escanor takes the other sun and sends it straight into the water. Shadows grew over Whitebeard’s eyes as he had no choice but to let the sun crush him underwater, feeling the boiling water turn his skin pink and tender. And then…

“PRIDE FLARE.”

The body of water vanishes in an instant, replaced by a fiery explosion, which would shortly after be replaced as well by a heavy spray of boiling water and steam. No water was left in the lake, all that was left was the thick layer of mud turned baked clay. Escanor lands on what would formerly be the water’s edge.

“Hmph.” Escanor itches his chin. “I may have overdone it.”

Just then, the clay cracks open and the titanic pirate slowly rises out. He stands up and stares at Escanor with eyes more vicious than a shark’s. However, he manages a smile to pair with it.

“Thanks for saving me,” Whitebeard says. “I would’ve been dead if I’d stayed underwater for much longer.”

“Oh? An infamous pirate who cannot swim?” Escanor chides.

“Devil Fruits,” Whitebeard says. “When you eat them, you don’t get to swim. Fall into water and the ocean steals back your power, along with your life.”

“I see, so it comes with drawbacks. I apologize for mocking these powers earlier then,” Escanor says, strangely humbly. “Now, by sharing this information with me, you deem that I will be incapable of knocking you into the drink then?”

“So you’re not an idiot after all!” Whitebeard exclaims. “Gurarararara! Let’s get on with it!”

Escanor leaps backward, launching a multitude of Cruel Suns at Whitebeard. The strongest pirate reciprocates with a simple salvo of shockwaves from Murakumogiri, dicing each sun and detonating them with ease. The two close the distance and engage in slashes again, each strike creating clanging thunderclaps.

Either I’m getting too old, Whitebeard thinks. Or he’s getting stronger…?

Escanor swings down hard, only for Whitebeard to raise his bisento, blocking the strike.

“I’ve grown tired of this fight with blades,” Escanor states, pushing hard on the bisento.

He holds out his finger, the tip of it glowing brightly. In an instant, Murakumogiri instantly burns away into small metallic flakes. With nothing to block Rhitta, the axe came down and cut deep into Whitebeard’s chest, drawing a considerable amount of blood.

“Gru-hack!” Whitebeard coughs as the taste of copper invades his mouth.

A quick backstep is the only thing that saved Whitebeard’s chest from yet another slash.

“Now, here’s your end!” Escanor exclaims.

Rhitta swipes wide again and would have captured Whitebeard’s chest once more, but Whitebeard’s fist stood guard, coated in a sphere of white energy.

“Oh? So you wish for Rhitta to cleave your bare hands instead?” Escanor asks.

“No…” Whitebeard groans before heaving his might into his fist. “But I agree, let’s get rid of this bladed melee!”

Rhitta vibrates aggressively, only to crumble like stone a second later. Heavy chunks of metal fall to the ground as Escanor was left unarmed.

“Impossible…” Escanor manages.

The burnt body of Whitebeard stands tall, still steaming. His eyes shoot daggers sharp enough to slice through mountains.

“Impossible?” Whitebeard says. “Do not tell me what’s impossible!”

Whitebeard crouches slightly and holds his arms across his body in an X. Escanor recognizes this motion as something terrible and, feeling Whitebeard’s murderous intent, he feels he has to stop it at any cost. He manifests a Cruel Sun, throwing it at Whitebeard. As the Yonko releases his hands and shatters the air itself, he exhales with a heavy jet of air, blowing out the sun like a candle. With a grin, he takes in the knight’s panicked action with levity.

“Let me show you what impossible really means,” Whitebeard says.

The earth beneath them rocks and buckles. A roar cuts through the sounds of crumbling rocks, howling gales, and blazing wildfires as a shadow engulfs them both. Escanor looks up and his eyes bulge. Two tsunamis surround them on all sides of the island, threatening to wash away the world.

Whitebeard knew he himself could just punch a hole in a tsunami if it was a threat. So, he watches Escanor with delight, ready for the knight to throw away his arrogance and plead for his life. However, rather than see an expression of despair wash over Escanor’s face, Whitebeard saw a massive grin splay across it instead, almost to the point it contorted his very face to that of something beyond human. Escanor grows evermore, the man brandishing more and more muscle mass and flames seemed to pour out of his smaller wounds. The sun itself hung directly above him and, with a swift spin, Escanor batted the waves away while also dicing the water into droplets to shower back onto the ocean.

“The sun?” Whitebeard mutters. “I bet that’s what he gets his power from.”

Whitebeard looks on, and sees Escanor finally standing at an equal height to him. But, something seems off. Escanor turns to meet Whitebeard’s eyes, only for a malicious, fiery force to behold him.

“As you see me now, I am the pinnacle of humanity, the ultimate life form…” Escanor begins, lumbering toward Whitebeard.

“I AM, THE ONE.”

“We’ll see,” Whitebeard says, coating his fists in white spheres.

The pirate leaps forward and punches Escanor in the face. The knight’s foot skid back half a centimeter, but otherwise he kept moving, unaffected.

“Is that a mosquito I felt just now?” Escanor says, grin contorting even more with the force of an earthquake pulsing through it. “I suppose I should swat it.”

With a non-chalant slap, Escanor sent Whitebeard flying across the wrecked island, now his turn to break the sound barrier as he skids to a stop. He gets back up, laying a hand on the ground and sending out an earthquake.

“Pathetic!” The One says, leaping up as the ground gives way below him. “I’ve learnt my lesson not to trust the ground at my feet!”

Escanor drops a kick into the ground, but Whitebeard rolls to the side, landing a three-hit flurry of punches into Escanor’s chest, knocking him backward slightly.

“Divine Sword…” Escanor lifts his hand up, flexing out all of his fingers and making his palm as flat as he can.

“GURRAAAAAHH!!” Whitebeard cries, sailing a fist into Escanor’s chin again.

Whitebeard feels a crack and Escanor’s head tilts backward, indicating damage. But, his small victory is shortlived when Escanor’s face rises back up, his jaw badly dislocated.

“Escanor.”

With a smooth and swift motion, The One brings his outstretched hand down, cleaving a clean cut straight through Whitebeard’s torso. The wounds he’s withstood in the fight, now looking like a cross on his chest, bleeding profusely.

“As I thought, you really were nothing to me,” Escanor states, throwing the near comatose Whitebeard over his shoulder.

“Maybe I can close my eyes, just for a short while…” Whitebeard mutters to himself as he sails through the air.

———-

When Whitebeard opened his eyes next, he looked down. He was out in the open sea, falling from the clouds. He looked around, seeing the island in the not-too-far distance. He felt his body going numb, but something drove him to keep fighting.

“Bah, I must be getting old,” He mutters to himself. “It’s only noon and I need a nap already? Damn, I need some booze…”

He tosses his coat off and claws his fingers.

“Can’t have a good drink out here, no bars…” Whitebeard states. “So let’s bring the drinks here then!”

———-

Escanor felt the world suddenly shift. He stands on the island, looking at the edge of the forest-turned-wasteland, but he could not see town. All he saw was sky, a sunny day with mixed clouds hanging in the heavens.

He turns around and sees a wall of deep blue, bluer than the sky. He though he saw ripples and… Dolphins?

“Is that… The sea?” Escanor says aloud.

He looks directly up and sees him. Hanging in the air from Escanor’s point of view, but plummeting to the ocean in actuality. Whitebeard grins as he can start to make out his opponent in the faceless wastes their battleground became.

“Miss me?” He says with the biggest shit-eating grin, pulling on air as he pulled the island toward him.

“Impossible…” Escanor mutters. “But excellent nonetheless!”

Escanor outstretches his index finger, pulling it close to his side. The tip of it glowed like the embers of a well-stoked fire, coals watching eagerly for the chance they get to explode into fireflies when a new log is added to the flame.

Whitebeard reels back his fist, covering it in the same white energy as before. A murky sphere, almost like the mirage of aheated gas, covered the white energy as well, with his fist itself turning a cold, metallic black, a combo of beyond monstrous power.

“DIVINE SPEAR ESCANOR!”

“I AM WHITEBEARD!”

The two let loose their limbs and the two forces meet, clashing with extreme force. The skies could not handle the force of the power, and thick clouds rolled in quickly. The ocean would not dare get in the way of this bout, so it parted just for them, opening a sphere shaped hole. The island-half sailing through the air dared to be too close and became a storm of pebbles and gravel in nary an instant.

Escanor’s finger vied for supremacy against Whitebeard’s sphere. The two opposing forces hung in the air, red lightning shooting out indiscriminately. Some bolts slashed Escanor’s face, while one cut off half of Whitebeard’s moustache. As they pressed each other, they were engulfed in a bright light.

And then, silence.

———-

    Location: Ruined Mock Town, 11:00 pm

“Is everyone okay?” Meliodas asks, to which most of the people nod.

Ever since Whitebeard and Escanor clashed, the entire town was thrown into chaos. The whipping winds de-shingled the roofs, the quakes destroyed the architecture and supports of all the structures, and the waters rose high enough to damage the goods of the town. Thankfully, the split done to the island was beneficial, as the one half with no infrastructure on it was pulled away instead of the town, they would at least be able to rebuild when the tides return to normal.

With the help of the Seven Deadly Sins and the rest of Whitebeard’s crew, the populace managed to evacuate to a safe region inland or on-board the Yonko’s ship. Meliodas and Marco crash from exhaustion on the deck of the ship.

“Not bad kid,” Marco says. “Thanks for the help, pops can get a little violent if someone ticks him off.”

“No problem,” Meliodas replies. “I’m just surprised that both of them would take it this far. I mean, splitting the island in half is one thing, but throwing it into the ocean is taking it too far, don’t you think?”

“Yeah. But, uh, sorry about your friend.” Marco says. “If he’s fighting Whitebeard, then he’s gonna kiss the dirt. You saw the chunk of island, right?”

“True…” Meliodas says. “But you shouldn’t underestimate Escanor. He’s way stronger than me, and that’s really saying something!”

“Heh, sure,” Marco replies with a smile.

“I wonder how the two are finally getting along though…” Meliodas says. “I guess we can go and look for them when the weather calms down.”

The two look up to see dark clouds and what seemed to be reddish lightning jumping around, all turning the water a shade of purple. Tornados whirled and imprisoned the island. It should’ve been pitch black with it being so late, but the apocalyptic skies deemed otherwise.

“Bah, I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Marco says.

———-

    Location: New Island, 11:05 pm

Escanor finally awoke. He caresses his head and gets up to his knees. He sat on what looked like a sandbar, but it was made of burnt, black dirt.

“What the…?” He manages. “Why do I feel so weak, and so cold?”

He looks up and squints, coming face to face with a tornado on the water in front of him. He looks further up to see the conflicted sky, screaming with fire and lightning. The waves around him angrily rise up into a bed of spikes, causing the barkeep to shriek in surprise.

“Ahahahahaaa! I can’t believe it, I’m alive!” He says to himself. “Oh the island… Oh dear… At what cost did I live?”

He inspects the ground a little more, looking at the dirt and assuming that it must have been pulverized and then melted into almost a fine sand. That’s when he realized it.

“My hand?” Escanor looks at his right hand, only to find it missing and mangled at the wrist. “AHHHHHH!!!”

He hears the dirtbar around him shuffle a bit so he hushes himself, thinking his shrill scream caused the ground to shake by breaking a fault in it.

“I’m okay, I’m okay…” Escanor mouths to himself. “It doesn’t look too bad, really. The bleeding has stopped and it’s still extremely sensitive, but I’m sure I can get this mended. I should only need my missing hand to repair it with Elizabeth’s assist–”

He then realizes his appearance.

“It must be close to midnight if I look like this, how long have I been out?” Escanor says, standing up, caressing his wounded arm. “Well, it doesn’t matter. What it leaves me with is the matter of finding my…”

The barkeep turns to see Whitebeard standing behind him, a large hole in his chest and arms at his sides. Escanor stifles a scream and looks closely. Whitebeard stands, seemingly not breathing. The hole in his chest has a hand, one that was mostly skin, bone, and a lack of blood, with its index finger stuck to the man’s innards.

He’s… Dead!? Escanor exclaims mentally. Oh blessed be! I don’t have to die today!

And then he realizes.

Crap! My hand is lodged in his gut! Oh, of all the rotten luck! I can’t really tell if he’s dead or not, so if I can back away slowly and carefully, I should be safe. I can always come back for my hand later. If not, I’m sure I can regrow it!

He starts to back away slowly, planning to inch his way down to the shore and… Then what? He was trapped. His panicked eyes turned back to Whitebeard.

“Well, I suppose I have nothing else to do…” Escanor steps forward and looks up at Whitebeard, reaching for his hand.

He manages to take it back, and with a sigh of relief, he hurries back to the shore…

Or he would have, if a giant hand didn’t close around his body.

“AEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHHHHHHHHH!!” Escanor squeals, struggling in Whitebeard’s grip.

Whitebeard  holds the man aloft in his titanic grasp.

“This is the price…” Whitebeard manages, a sphere of light encapsulating the barkeep. “Of the prideful.”

In a bright flash, Escanor’s bones shattered like glass, his skin tore loose, and his blood erupted like a geyser. Nothing was left of the man but a tattered skin-like rag in the strongest pirate’s enclosed fist. Whitebeard chucked the bloody mess into the water and walked away. With the tornados weakening and the Moby Dick in sight, he sits down, exhausted, his eyes narrowing as he waits…

———-

———-

: Yay! Banana-stache wins!

: This is some Grade-A bull. I was rooting for Citrus-stache all the way!

: Well, it’s obvious that Whitebeard has the better mustache, so of course he won!

: Speaking of why, we should probably crack down on that.

: Yeah, yeah. So! Escanor was strong, but that’s probably the only thing he’s got going for him.

: Whitebeard was able to intercept Kizaru while he was a mass of light.

: This clocks in at Relativistic speeds! Way higher than the highest Escanor can manage.

: Escanor has only shown Massively Hypersonic+ speeds with scaling to Zeldris, Estarossa, and Meliodas. None of which are nearly as fast as Whitebeard!

: Even if Escanor decided to play the ranged game and exhaust Whitebeard with his Cruel Suns, Whitebeard was able to blow out a chunk of molten rock from Akainu like it was a birthday candle. Seeing as the difference between Akainu’s magma and Escanor’s suns are about 70°C, there isn’t much of a difference.

: Newgate has a defense in Haki as well, being able to use it as an armor to deal with the suns up close and personal. But, this isn’t the only benefit his Haki, or more specifically his Armament Haki, has in this fight.

: Armament Haki is used to bypass alterations done to one’s body.

: As Rayleigh puts it, Armament Haki bypasses the effects of a Logia-type and hits the “substantial body”. But the real question is, what is this “substantial body”?

: Well, we can claim it’s the unaltered physiology of a person. For example, Monkey D. Luffy’s body turned to rubber as an effect from the Gum-Gum Fruit, making him resistant to blunt-force trauma. Vice-Admiral Garp was able to bypass Luffy’s rubbery body when using Armament Haki, which allowed him to punch bypass that resistance. Or, take Ceaser Clown, a scientist who ate the Gas-Gas Fruit and was able to turn into gas. Luffy, after learning Haki, was able to bear-hug Caeser as if he had a physical body despite taking the form of a poisonous gas.

: Thus, any alteration from what we should really call “the true self” is bypassed when Armament Haki is used. The transformation of Escanor from his frail weak state to his muscular, prideful one would fall under the same pretense.

: But wait, isn’t Magic Power in the Seven Deadly Sins’ Universe supposed to be genetic and therefore his transformation counts as being the “substantial body”?

: Not quite. Escanor’s Magic Power isn’t actually a Magic Power. His power is a blessing known as a Grace, one of four powers crafted by the Supreme Deity for the Four Archangels. When one of the Archangels passed on, their Blessing, “Sunshine,” waited many long years before eventually inhabiting Escanor’s body.

: And we can even see Escanor’s true self is that frail little bartender. Notice the daylight and lack of power-inhibiting glasses? So, accounting Smol Escanor as the “substantial body”, then as long as Whitebeard uses Armament Haki against Escanor, the Lion’s Sin of Pride’s strength and durability are practically null.

: And for those claiming that there’s no reason for Whitebeard to use Armament Haki on Escanor, there’s two reasons why he would. The first is because Escanor, in the eyes of Whitebeard, could be a Devil Fruit eater, as Escanor’s capabilities are only known of in the One Piece Universe to come from eating a Devil Fruit or through the use of Haki, but the former is the most popular assumption. Secondly, once Whitebeard realizes his attacks aren’t making a dent in “The One” or Near Noon Sunshine, then he would resort to using a form of attack that increases his striking power, which would be Armament Haki.

: Whitebeard also has an edge in versatility, experience, strategy, and intelligence. His failing health may be one thing, but he has incredible endurance, far greater than even Escanor’s own!

: When Escanor fought Zeldris and then the Original Demon, he was exhausted and subsequently was nearly killed after a short beating. Among his weaknesses, his inability to fight for long periods of time against equally or more powerful opponents would easily be uncommon, yet crucial. Meanwhile, Whitebeard fought Akainu, Kizaru, an entire army, several Vice and rear-Admirals, and more, constantly taking hits the whole time.

: I guess you could say that Escanor is Esca-no-more!

: The winner is: Whitebeard.