Chapter 68.1 : Jozu's Defense!!

"Are you feeling a bit tired? It seems like returning in such a short time took quite a toll on you."

Vista slashed through the enormous blade aimed at him, stepping forward to deliver a counterattack with his own sword aimed at his opponent's waist.

However, it was all in vain.

His blade felt as though it had struck Seastone, barely making a dent.

Could this guy really be one of the legendary Lunarians?

"Taking you down will be easy enough."

King completely disregarded Vista's attack, grasping a ball of fire in his right hand and launching it downward. "Flame Emperor!"

Boom!

The flames erupted.

At the same moment, on the shore...

"Mu hahahaha! You fools can come at me all you want!"

Queen had transformed into his beast form. With a tail, a whip, and a mechanical arm, he unleashed three laser cannons that fired in unison, bombarding his opponents and forcing them to flee in panic.

"Damn it! What the hell did he modify his body with?" 

Thatch dodged the lasers, shouting loudly in frustration, "Don't get hit by his lasers! Our Armament Haki won't stand a chance against those attacks!"

"We all understand that! But there's no way we can get close to him!" 

The stocky black pirate, Teach, nimbly evaded while yelling, "Captain Thatch, think of something!"

"Think of something?" 

Queen sneered, "What can you lot possibly do?"

With Marco absent, what were these guys worth? 

Even Thatch, the captain of the fourth division, was a notorious pirate in the New World, but his strength was nowhere near that of Marco, Jozu, or Vista. 

What difference would adding a few more weaklings make?

Mu hahahaha, perhaps it was time to test out a new plague bullet.

Aside from the battles of the high-ranking officers, the most eye-catching were, of course, the brute marauders.

The ten monsters purchased from the World Government were now showcasing extraordinary combat prowess.

Though they were failed experiments from the giant transformation, and not the brightest, their destructive power was undeniable.

The ten giants simply swung their spiked clubs, sending numerous pirates flying. Even the captains struggled to contain them due to the overwhelming difference in strength.

The entire coastline was now in chaos.

"Thunder Eight Trigrams!"

Yamato swung her iron rod, smashing a pirate captain charging at her into two ice chunks. Then, with a somewhat bored expression, she gripped her stick and said, "This is so dull! Aren't there any stronger opponents?"

"Hey, brat! Don't get too cocky!"

A cold voice came from behind.

Yamato turned around.

It was a woman.

Wearing a captain's hat, with long, light blue hair, and holding a slender sword.

The Ice Witch, Whitey Bay!

The battle instantly plunged into a stalemate.

Meanwhile, not far from this sea area, three locations began to stir.

"Captain Ochoku! Kaido is launching a full-scale attack! The final battle is about to begin! But the Whitebeard Pirates seems to be in a bad situation! King is back!"

"That guy Kaido is really pulling this stunt? That's not good at all! We need to do something!"

"Mama! Kaido is on the move!"

"Mama, Mama! Let's go take a look!"

"Admiral Sengoku! Kaido has started his assault, but the Charlotte family is also in action. What should we do?"

"Stop Big Mom! We can't let them interfere now!"

On the battlefield island.

In the dense rocky jungle by the coast.

The sound of explosions echoed continuously, shaking the towering cliffs all around.

And the source of it all was the two people clashing fiercely at that moment.

Ian was throwing punches relentlessly.

His fists, wrapped in black Armament Haki and golden flames, crashed one after another against the towering figure of Diamond Jozu—striking his head, chest, and abdomen, hitting wherever he could.

While attacking, he was also taking hits.

Jozu's massive fists, similarly wrapped in Armament haki, were of an even higher level of Emission Armament haki, continuously raining down like a storm upon Ian.

The two fighters abandoned all attempts to dodge, allowing each other to strike in exchange for the opportunity to counterattack.

"What are their bodies made of?"

The surrounding pirates were left in awe, completely speechless.

Is this really how one fights? However, neither of their attacks seemed to have any effect on the other.

When Ian's fist struck Jozu's diamond body, which was reinforced with Armament Haki, it only produced a series of dull thuds.

Similarly, Jozu's powerful punch, infused with his immense strength, landed on the surface of Ian's golden armor, but it too had no effect. In his Sphere beast form, Ian's defense was just as formidable as King's.

"Only they could truly be rivals to each other," a thought crossed the minds of even the members of the Whitebeard Pirates.

No one else could possibly break through their defenses.

"Stay back! Don't interfere with their fight!" 

With perfect timing, both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beast Pirates voiced this warning.

They knew they couldn't step in.

At that moment, Ian and Jozu simultaneously struck each other in the chest, sending them both flying away.

Ian crashed through two rocky mountains, finally embedding himself deeply into the third peak.

Inside the mountain, Ian forcibly stood up, causing the entire rock formation to shatter. As he emerged from the falling debris, he looked up to see a heavy shadow looming over him.

A towering rock, a hundred meters high, came crashing down toward him.

What strength!

Jozu's power was exaggeratedly strong, his attack even more powerful than Marco's.

Combined with his unbreakable diamond defense, the trouble he posed was no less than Marco's.

Ian leaped into the air, the ground beneath him collapsing into a massive crater, and with that force, he shot upward like a cannonball.

Ian leaped directly to the side of the rock mountain and kicked it with all his might.

At the moment of contact, his Armament Haki reinforced the rock, preventing it from shattering into pieces.

Then, the hundred-meter-high rock mountain was sent flying back like a rubber ball, aimed straight at Jozu, who had thrown it moments earlier.

"What kind of monstrous strength is this?! Forget Captain Jozu, how is that little brat doing this?!"

The pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates were completely baffled.

But Ian had always said, if it was a matter of strength, he didn't believe he would lose.

The fallen rock mountain was instantly shattered by a punch from Jozu, who charged at Ian like a runaway freight train once again.

This was troublesome.

Logically speaking, Ian's flames should completely counter Jozu's diamond form, given that diamonds have a burning point of about a thousand degrees. Ian could easily incinerate Jozu to ashes; his physical defenses would be rendered useless.

However, there was still Armament Haki in the world.

Jozu's Armament Haki could completely nullify high temperatures, so Ian's attacks only left faint scorch marks on him.

Looks like I'll have to pull out my trump card.

The two began exchanging punches again.

But suddenly, in an instant, Jozu's punch missed.

No, it wasn't just a miss!

Jozu's pupils suddenly constricted as his right fist passed right through Ian's body!

That kid turned into flames!

He had entered the state that Marco mentioned!

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