In the northern depths lives a fish called the Kun.
The Kunpeng was a mythical creature of unimaginable size. In the sea, it was the Kun, but once it spread its wings, it transformed into the Peng and soared ninety thousand li into the heavens. Its body was so enormous that even dragons were nothing more than prey in its mouth.
Once a mythical creature like this awakened, the power it possessed was truly terrifying.
Kojin had pushed the Kunpeng Fruit to its absolute limit. Depending on the form and size he took, the abilities available to him changed as well, but no matter which form he used, every single one possessed overwhelming power.
And all of them shared the ability to devour almost anything.
His body was like a world of its own. Shockwaves, slashes, impacts, physical attacks, even formless strikes, almost all of them could be swallowed. It was an almost unbeatable defensive ability.
This was the Power of Devouring.
A true Kunpeng could swallow half a river in a single gulp. Its ability to consume was endless, like a living black hole. Its true body was larger than an island. Before a creature like that, any ordinary being was no more than a speck of dust.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"What an incredible opponent!"
Luffy laughed, looking even more excited now as he bounced in place. The drums of his heart grew louder and louder until the Drums of Liberation seemed to echo across the entire sky.
Suddenly, the ground beneath him rolled upward and twisted into the shape of a giant slingshot. Luffy loaded himself into it like a stone.
Then,
TWANG!
He launched forward at tremendous speed, a huge grin spreading across his face.
White flames burned around his body while black-and-red lightning burst from his clenched right fist. Even though he was still far away from Kojin, Luffy suddenly threw a punch.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The drums shook the heavens as his fist rapidly expanded, hundreds of meters, then over a thousand. In an instant, his fist had grown even larger than Kojin himself.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Luffy's laughter echoed between heaven and earth.
Kojin raised his head and looked at the enormous fist blocking out the sky, a grin spreading across his face. "How interesting."
So Luffy had actually made his fist bigger than him?
Kojin bent his knees slightly and lowered his stance. The ground beneath him immediately cracked apart and collapsed, forming a crater as large as a lake. Then he punched upward.
After moving only a centimeter, his fist expanded to a hundred meters. At two centimeters, three hundred. By five centimeters, it had reached a thousand meters.
His skin turned pitch-black, smooth, and incredibly thick, with an extraordinarily tough layer beneath it. Black flames curled around his fingers like ghosts, and Conqueror's Haki infused the entire fist, each individual finger as large as a house.
BOOOOM!
The two kilometer-sized fists collided head-on, both wrapped in black-and-red power.
An explosion unlike anything before erupted across the battlefield. The air itself seemed to shatter, and the resulting shockwave tore up everything in its path, sweeping violently outward in all directions.
Even fighters like Dark King Rayleigh and Bartholomew Kuma were lifted off their feet and hurled away alongside the surrounding trees. Zoro and Kuina were also forced to pause their duel. They immediately sprinted away from the center of impact, but even then, the shockwave caught them and sent both tumbling through the air for several kilometers.
Meanwhile, outside Area 12,
Marine officers stared toward the distant battlefield with grave expressions, their throats tightening as they watched the unbelievable collision. Behind them stood the civilians who had just been evacuated in an emergency. Every single one looked terrified, their bodies trembling.
What they were witnessing had gone far beyond anything they could imagine.
"Are those two giants fighting?" one civilian asked, voice shaking.
"No." A Marine immediately shook his head. "Even giants don't have fists that big."
He had seen actual giants before. There were Giant Vice Admirals in the Marines, so he knew very well that whoever those fists belonged to was far larger than any normal giant.
"Keep moving the civilians farther out!"
"No one is allowed anywhere near the battlefield ahead!"
"And remember, civilian safety comes first!"
Joyce hurried over, issuing orders with a grim expression.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Joyce!"
The officers immediately responded upon recognizing the highest-ranking Marine commander stationed at the Sabaody Archipelago.
One particularly bold officer took a deep breath and asked, "Vice Admiral Joyce, what exactly is happening in Area 12? Why did we suddenly evacuate such a huge section of the archipelago?"
Joyce looked toward the distant battlefield before answering in a low voice. "I don't know the full situation either, but our people sent back a report just now. Vice Admiral Kuina of the Research Force is there. So is Dark King Silvers Rayleigh, former first mate of Pirate King Roger. And Bartholomew Kuma of the Seven Warlords."
"The other two are too far away for us to identify clearly, but if I had to guess…" Joyce paused. A trace of awe appeared in his eyes as he stared at the black-and-red sky in the distance. "One of them should be Admiral Kojin from Marine Headquarters. If there's anyone capable of producing that kind of power… it could only be him."
"But as for the other person…"
His expression became even more serious. Anyone capable of fighting Kojin to this extent couldn't possibly be ordinary. At the very least, they had to possess power on the level of a New World Emperor.
Joyce couldn't figure out who it could be. After all, even Dark King Rayleigh had been reduced to nothing more than a spectator in this battle.
Raising his voice, Joyce called out, "All officers, listen up! Evacuate the civilians another full area away! Make absolutely certain the battle ahead cannot reach them! I don't care whether you have to drag them, carry them, put them on your backs, or lift them over your shoulders, every single civilian gets moved! Not one civilian is allowed to get hurt!"
"Yes, sir!"
Large numbers of Marines sprang into action, continuing the evacuation of the surrounding areas.
Joyce remained behind, staring toward the battlefield with a grave expression. Beneath the black-and-red sky, the suffocating pressure was on a level even he couldn't begin to approach. That overwhelming Conqueror's Haki only made him more certain that Admiral Kojin's opponent was no ordinary person.
'Red-Hair? No… Kaido might be more likely. But why would someone like that come here?'
Joyce was full of questions, his expression growing darker. No one could have imagined that Sabaody Archipelago, one of the most peaceful postings in the Marines, would suddenly become the site of such an earth-shaking battle. Nothing had happened here for years, and now, the moment trouble finally came, it was on this scale.
Back on the battlefield, the two enormous fists remained locked together beneath the split sky as black-and-red lightning flashed wildly around them.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Both men laughed.
In the next instant, another pair of fists expanded from normal size into colossal shapes and swung forward.
BOOM!
Another devastating collision erupted, plunging the center of the battlefield into complete chaos.
Their fists had grown larger than their own bodies. Kojin and Luffy stared straight at each other, sparks practically crackling between their gazes.
"There's enough power inside you to destroy the world!" Luffy shouted. "You really are one dangerous guy!"
"Maybe you're the more dangerous one," Kojin grinned, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.
Ever since reaching the top of the world, it had been a long time since he'd been able to cut loose like this. The awakened Joy Boy had reached the same level as him in raw power. Whether it was the three types of Haki or their Devil Fruit abilities, there was very little separating them.
"If I can't beat you, this kid is in serious trouble," Luffy said, his tone turning serious. "After eight hundred years, this fruit finally chose a successor. I'm not letting him die at your hands."
The smile faded from his face.
"Then you'd better try hard," Kojin laughed. "Because I'm not exactly some nobody you can casually knock aside."
Luffy burst out laughing again, the drums in his chest growing even louder.
His giant fists suddenly snapped back to normal with a loud pop. Sprinting forward, he leapt high into the air and kicked. His previously slender right leg instantly expanded and lengthened, coated in Conqueror's Haki.
Kojin raised a hand.
BOOM!
The ground for kilometers around trembled violently as raging air currents exploded outward.
There was no doubt about it: with Joy Boy controlling his body, Luffy's strength had reached a terrifying level. Every punch and kick carried force comparable to a massive explosion.
After blocking the attack, Kojin suddenly opened his mouth.
WHOOSH!
A pitch-black vortex appeared, and a terrifying pulling force swept forward.
"Kunpeng, Devouring Suction!"
In an instant, the ground began breaking apart. Flowers, grass, stones, and chunks of earth were ripped into the air and dragged toward Kojin. Luffy, directly in front of him, was instantly locked onto and pulled forward.
"My body won't move!!" Luffy shouted, struggling with all his strength.
It did nothing. In the blink of an eye, he had already been dragged right in front of Kojin.
"You bastard! You're actually trying to eat me?!" Luffy yelled.
His arms and legs suddenly stretched, hundreds of meters, then thousands, shooting outward to grab onto distant buildings and anchor his body in place.
"You look kind of like a rubber snake right now, Joy Boy!" Kojin laughed.
"I'm the freest man in the world!" Luffy shouted back. "I decide how I fight!"
"Is that so?" Kojin smiled. He lowered his stance slightly and slowly clenched his fist.
CRACKLE!
Black-and-red lightning erupted around it, and he threw the punch instantly.
BAM!
Luffy's stomach caved in and twisted, his entire body snapping backward like stretched rubber.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"
"You really are ridiculously strong!"
"You actually made me feel pain!"
Then his body suddenly stretched even farther. In an instant, Luffy turned into a long, snake-like shape and slithered through the air, his arms and legs flailing wildly as he lunged at Kojin at incredible speed.
A moment later, his rubbery body wrapped around Kojin's legs and waist in several coils, all reinforced with Conqueror's Haki.
Even Kojin froze for a moment at the ridiculous sight.
"A wriggling snake?" he mocked.
"I'M A DRAGON!" Luffy roared furiously. "A DRAGON!!"
Then he raised both arms, clenched his fists, and slammed them toward Kojin's head.
(End of Chapter)
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