Hundreds of thousands of people watched with their own eyes, yet not a single one saw when he had appeared, or when he had moved to stand in front of Ace.
But one thing was certain: Akainu's fist, powerful enough to incinerate fire itself, had been effortlessly blocked.
Droplets of magma splattered across the ground.
Akainu's tiger-like eyes were filled with utter shock.
His own Observation Haki had not detected how the other man had appeared.
It was completely silent. One could even say he had appeared out of thin air.
Swish.
Wary, Akainu flashed away, retreating to a safe distance.
The stunned Ace finally snapped back to his senses. He turned his head to look at the handsome man beside him, not understanding why this stranger would save him.
That was a Marine Admiral, after all!
"Who is that guy?" Whitebeard frowned, looking at the figure in the smoke and dust, but he couldn't for the life of him recall such a person from the Grand Line. To be able to block Akainu's attack meant his bounty should be at least over a hundred million. And to have come to this place…
Just then, the dust raised by the battle slowly settled. Zhongli's figure was revealed to all.
Through the broadcast, the entire world saw this scene.
"Holy crap, who is that? He's so arrogant!"
"He actually dared to say 'I'm protecting this child' to Admiral Akainu. What a badass!"
"But you have to admit, that man is so handsome. And his expression is so calm."
"Yeah, and his clothes are really stylish, too."
"He can control rocks. It must be some kind of stone-type Devil Fruit."
"That's impossible. The Stone-Stone Fruit user is one of Doflamingo's subordinates, isn't he?"
"Then who is he?"
On the broadcast, countless people were discussing the strange man's abilities, and at the same time, they were eager to see the battle that would follow.
"Who… who are you?" Ace asked Zhongli, rubbing his burning, stinging fist.
The man turned his head. His unusual eyes left Ace completely shocked.
Why was Hawkeye so famous? Aside from his unparalleled swordsmanship, it was because of his hawk-like eyes.
But the eyes of the man before him were even more majestic than Hawkeye's. They were like the eyes of a deity, piercing straight into a person's heart.
"My name is Zhongli. I am a consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, responsible for teaching," he said calmly.
Countless people were dumbfounded. A powerful expert of this caliber was actually a teacher? What kind of joke was this?!
"Since you're a teacher, you shouldn't have come to the battlefield! Yasakani Sacred Jewel!"
Seeing Akainu not making a move, Kizaru could only step in himself. He teleported above the three of them, spread his hands, and countless bullets of light rained down madly.
Ace looked at the attack from the sky and subconsciously wanted to dodge, but Akainu's earlier attack had injured him. It was impossible for him to move now.
"Take my brother and leave! Please, Mr. Zhongli, don't worry about me!" Ace understood. The Navy's attention was now entirely on him. Escape was impossible. If one of them could be saved, he chose his little brother.
Zhongli didn't even look at the bullets of light. "There is no need for that," he said calmly.
A shield, wreathed in a golden light, had appeared at some point, enveloping the three of them.
No matter how the bullets of light attacked, not even the slightest ripple appeared on it.
An absolute defense!
Ace's jaw dropped as he watched the attacks strike the shield. This was too exaggerated. Was it Haki? Or the power of a Devil Fruit?
After a dozen seconds, Kizaru's attack ended, but his face had grown solemn. He could clearly sense that the three people in the smoke were completely unharmed. Not even their clothes were torn.
Sure enough, as a gentle breeze blew by, the three of them appeared before the crowd, perfectly fine.
Garp frowned. "What is this ability? It shouldn't be the Barrier-Barrier Fruit."
He had seen the encyclopedia of Devil Fruits and knew many of the abilities. The shield of the Barrier-Barrier Fruit did not emit a golden light, and it seemed to have some kind of runic pattern on it. Who was this mysterious man?
In the Multiverse Mission Group chat.
Hu Tao:Heavens! Zhongli is actually this strong?! He blocked all those attacks! So amazing!
Mona:As expected of an adeptus. That level of strength is truly terrifying.
When she was coming to Liyue, her old master had told her: "Never provoke the adepti of Liyue." At the time, she hadn't understood. Now, she finally understood what she meant.
Kaedehara Kazuha:So this is Mr. Zhongli's power? How strong.
An elemental shield that could not be broken, no matter how you attacked it. This was an unsolvable power.
Sucrose:So… so amazing. I feel that even Master Albedo is not as strong as Mr. Zhongli. They are both masters of the Geo element, but the gap is so large.
Beidou:So this is the strength of an adeptus? This is the first time I've seen it. I've really been underestimating the adepti of Liyue.
She was a person who had slain a sea monster. She had always thought that the adepti were only so-so. Now she finally realized that she had been a frog in a well. It seemed she would have to train even harder in the future. She absolutely could not let people look down on her. The feeling of not being strong enough was truly awful. You couldn't even dare to accept a mission.
This live stream was an eye-opener for everyone.
The Summit War continued. The mysterious man, Zhongli, had successively blocked the attacks of two Admirals, attracting the attention of many. But he had no intention of fighting. Instead, he said to Akainu, "Do you want to try again? If you feel you are done, then I will take him and leave."
Since the mission was to leave with Ace, there was naturally no need to fight.
It was a very normal sentence, but in Akainu's ears, it was like a taunt right to his face.
Sizzle. Sizzle.
Large amounts of magma, along with Akainu's rage, madly erupted forth. The entire ground was scorched, and half of Akainu's body had turned into liquid rock. Clearly, Zhongli's words had enraged him. How dare someone look down on him, an Admiral? It seemed he had to teach this person a lesson.
Billowing smoke rose from Akainu's hands.
"Brat, you dare to look down on me? Have a taste of this! Hound Bite Red Lotus!" Akainu roared.
His magma-fied arm burned intensely, then shot towards the three of them, the outside of it wreathed in his powerful Haki. A giant red dog, like a hound from hell, displayed its full ferocity.
Zhongli did not dodge, allowing the attack to come at him.
BOOM! The entire island shook. Thick smoke rose once more.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku swallowed hard and muttered, "He should be injured this time, right?" Hound Bite Red Lotus was one of Akainu's ultimate moves. If even a technique like that was ineffective, then this man was simply too terrifying.
At the center of the technique, the surroundings had all been melted by magma.
But Ace discovered that aside from the occasional ripple on the shield, he hadn't felt anything at all. Even the scorching temperature was kept outside. His face was full of horror. This man named Zhongli was far more powerful than he had ever imagined.
A fierce wind blew some of Zhongli's clothes up. Feeling the gaze from behind, he even turned his head and asked with a smile, "Are you alright?"
"I… my brother and I are fine. Thank you for your concern," Ace's tone had become respectful. In the face of such a strong expert, he did not dare to be mischievous.
"Mm, that's good. We will be leaving shortly."
"May I ask, Mr. Zhongli, why did you come to save me?"
"Well, it's no secret. I received a mission to save you."
Hearing his reply, Ace was completely baffled. Mission? What mission? And who could hire such a powerful person? Could it be one of my deadbeat old dad's crewmates? Thinking of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, a trace of suspicion appeared on Ace's face. Perhaps only that man's companions would have such strength.
A minute later, the dust settled. The two-meter area around Zhongli and the others had not received any damage. In contrast, the surroundings had been turned into a complete mess. Yet they were still completely fine.
Seeing this, Akainu's face instantly turned ashen.
"Damn you! How dare you mock me!" This battle had made him lose all face.
Hearing his words, Zhongli shook his head. "No, I never mock others. It is just that your attack, to me, is somewhat… powerless. If you wish to fight, you could try using a little more force. I can still take it."
Pfft. Ace couldn't help but laugh out loud. This gentleman was too funny. He was clearly looking down on him.
The others were dumbfounded. Someone was actually saying that Admiral Akainu's attack had no power? What was going on?
Hearing this, Kizaru even glanced over at Akainu. Is this brat slacking off? I'm already putting on enough of a show, but you're an even better actor than me.
Aokiji also looked at Akainu, his eyes full of doubt. He's not on Garp's side, is he? Is he showing face today?
As everyone's gazes gathered on him, Akainu felt completely humiliated.
He leaped high into the air and, looking down at the calm and composed man below, roared, "Who do you think you're looking down on?! Meteor Volcano!"
Countless fists, carrying roiling magma, rained down madly.
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