Next Bonus, 100!!
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The sound was a deafening roar, a shockwave that tore through the frozen earth and the trees. A mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Jin was still floating in the air. Loki was sent flying backward, crashing into the side of a cliff, blood pouring from his nose and mouth.
He dug his feet into the rock, shattering it, and stared at Jin in utter disbelief. "IMPOSSIBLE!!!" he roared, his heart pounding, the air knocked from his lungs.
In the distance, Lode and the other giants were also in shock. They had watched Loki train, had seen him grow stronger. They had thought that now, he would surely be able to hold his own against Jin, or even a Yonko.
But with a single blow, that illusion had been shattered.
The gap between them hadn't closed. It had widened.
Jin's response had been even more effortless than before.
"Loki has gotten stronger! But that king... has gotten even stronger!" Lode cried out.
The reality of it was crushing. Loki's talent was undeniable, but was he still destined to lose?
Although they didn't particularly like Loki, they didn't want to see him defeated by a human, to see the name of the giants shamed.
"Again," Jin said, his eyes narrowed, beckoning Loki to continue.
"DAMN YOU!" Loki roared. He ripped the blindfold from his eyes and swung his hammer again.
This time, Jin didn't dodge. He didn't even try to block. He took the full force of the blow and was sent flying like a meteor, crashing into a high cliff and being buried under an avalanche of rock.
"He didn't fight back?"
"He just took Loki's attack head-on??"
"That's insane!" Lode was stunned.
Loki's eyes were unique, their coldness like that of a demon. He was furious. Was Jin mocking him? Did he think his attacks were no threat at all?
The cliff face began to tremble. A powerful aura erupted from within, and massive boulders were sent flying.
Jin walked out of the rubble, his clothes a little dusty, but completely unharmed.
"Again," he said, his hands behind his back, a clear challenge to Loki to hit him harder.
He was confident.
His stats were now far beyond those of an ordinary mortal. Four evolutions had made him a god.
"ROOAAR!" Loki was enraged. His entire body began to glow, a pale golden Haki coiling around him, the pressure of his presence filling all of the Underworld. His body was changing, becoming like the sun.
"Is that... the legendary Devil Fruit that has been passed down in Elbaf for generations?" Lode and the other giants were stunned.
Loki, as bright as the sun, charged at Jin, his body like an unclimbable mountain, majestic, powerful, his Haki oppressive.
The sound of sonic booms filled the air.
And in the midst of Loki's furious assault, Jin didn't even fight back. He even let out a sound of pleasure. It was as if he were getting a massage, his flesh and skin being awakened by the blows.
'Damn it!' Loki was furious. He grabbed his hammer and brought it crashing down, a blinding flash of light, like an exploding sun.
The hammer, along with Jin, slammed into the frozen earth, leaving a massive, bowl-shaped crater.
Jin caught the hammer with one hand. He let out a long breath, his eyes bright. "Defense test complete," he said. "Now for the attack test."
He leaped into the air and threw a punch from a distance. A shockwave of Conqueror's Haki, in the shape of a massive golden fist, shot toward Loki.
Loki was sent flying. Before he could even hit the ground, a kick, moving faster than he could see, sent him soaring into the air.
Lode and the others trembled, their souls quaking, their bodies tensing involuntarily. That man... he was terrifying.
In their previous six battles, Loki had been able to hold his own. But now, the stronger Loki was being toyed with.
It wasn't that Jin was disrespecting him. He was just adapting to his new stats, feeling out the changes in his own body.
And other than Kaido, there was no better "punching bag" than Loki.
Finally, Loki threw his hammer to the ground and lay down. "I'm done," he said. "I'm not fighting anymore. It's pointless." He was completely demoralized.
He wasn't an idiot. He knew Jin was just using him as a punching bag. They were on completely different levels now, the gap between them like that between a Warlord and a Yonko, or even greater.
He was a warrior who prided himself on his honor, not a masochist.
He was done.
"So," Jin said, "you surrender?"
"I surrender," Loki replied, panting, lying on his back. "There's no point in continuing. If you're really going for the top," he said with a grin, "I'll be right there with you. But if you're just going to sit back and relax, then there's no place for me."
"Don't worry," Jin said with a smile. "You'll have your chance to shine."
"You have my word."
Loki's eyes darted around. "Hey, Captain... can I leave the Underworld now?"
"What do you want to do?"
"I just want to go pick a fight with a Yonko," Loki said, his voice filled with frustration.
Locked up for three years, then beaten up for over a year... Loki's rage was at its peak. He needed to let off some steam. And he was desperate for his freedom.
"Once you're an official crew member, you can leave," Jin said.
"And how do I become an official crew member?"
"The same way as your father. With a slight difference."
"My father??" Loki froze. "You want to control me? I refuse!"
"Refusal is not an option," Jin said, spreading his hands. "Teleport!"
A massive, seven-pointed star, a magic circle, appeared in the sky above Loki.
"You're with them??" Loki roared. He grabbed his hammer and fought back, the force of his blows shaking the very earth. He had seen a similar magic circle on the night of Figarland's death, and the memory filled him with rage.
"Woooooooooom..."
Suddenly, a sound that made his skin crawl, that made his very soul tremble, echoed through the Underworld, coming from the void itself.
In the distance, a light, brighter than the sun, erupted. Lode and the other giants were blinded. Just before they closed their eyes, they saw a warship, wreathed in golden flames, sailing out of the darkness, out of the void.
It was accompanied by a swirling, multi-colored curtain of light, a terrifying sight that was impossible to look at directly.
Loki saw it more clearly. He swung his hammer, and a thousand bolts of lightning shot out, a thunderstorm erupting around him.
The sound of the collision was deafening.
But it was unstoppable.
The demonic carrier arrived, and Loki, in the midst of his powerful counterattack, was sent flying. Before he could even hit the ground, he was swallowed.
Reckless driving leads to tears.
"Why do you have to make things so difficult?" Jin said with a shake of his head.
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