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BOOM!
Blue lightning, the visual manifestation of Conqueror's Haki, crackled and coiled around Hanafuda's dragon-clawed fist.
The light from the blow was brighter than the sun.
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Though it seemed to happen in slow motion, their fists collided in an instant.
The sound was a dull, deafening roar, like rolling thunder.
An overwhelmingly powerful force surged from the lightning-wreathed dragon fist. Jin felt a sharp, numbing pain shoot up his arm. Even his consciousness was suppressed, his thoughts turning sluggish.
The impact of Conqueror's Haki.
Hanafuda was known as the "King of Lizards," and he had eaten the most powerful of the Ancient Zoans, the Tyrannosaurus fruit. It wasn't surprising that he possessed Conqueror's Haki.
He had fought Ace for three days and three nights, only to lose by a narrow margin.
Although many questioned Ace's strength, he wasn't weak, just impulsive and a bit foolish. He had been able to hold his own against Jinbe and Yamato and had been the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' second division.
But Jin had trained with Garp. He had taken the full force of his Conqueror's Haki. He was used to it.
His hair whipped around his face, and he let out a roar.
Adrenaline surged through him. His heart pounded, several times faster than normal, his blood pumping at an incredible rate. His skin turned red, as if it were on fire.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Another surge of power, and the two of them were blown apart.
The reef beneath them split in two, and the sea rushed in.
Jin landed, staggered, and took several steps back.
A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
Across from him, Hanafuda had cracked the ground where he stood, a look of utter shock on his face.
He couldn't believe it.
Even in this form, the man had not only withstood his attack, but had even countered with an equal, or even greater, force.
His arm was numb, his fist aching.
Hanafuda expression turned colder.
This man... he could be a threat to Kaido.
He couldn't be allowed to live.
He couldn't be allowed to grow any stronger.
HE HAD TO KILL HIM.
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.
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A murderous glint entered Hanafuda's eyes. He clenched his fists and transformed into a full tyrannosaurus, lunging forward.
"ROOAARRRRRRRRRRRRR..."
A dozen meters of dinosaur, covered in hard scales, with sharp, fearsome teeth.
His front claws were like gleaming scythes—wreathed in Haki—capable of cutting through steel.
'He's trying to kill me.'
Jin's intuition was sharp. He sensed the overwhelming killing intent and leaped, dodging the claws by a hair's breadth.
The claws, though they missed their mark, sent out a shockwave that carved deep gashes in the rock wall.
And that was just one attack.
The air vibrated.
The massive tail, anticipating Jin's landing spot, whipped around, as hard as an iron rod.
Jin leaped again. The spot where he had been was crushed to dust. He took the opportunity to grab the tip of Hanafuda's tail.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
He roared, the strength in his arms surging, and he lifted the massive tyrannosaurus off the ground.
He swung it around like a windmill, smashing it into the rock walls, shattering the reef, and then threw it.
Hanafuda crashed to the ground with a force that shook the earth, a cloud of dust and debris erupting around him. An ordinary person would have been knocked unconscious—
—But he wasn't.
The Ancient Zoan, and his own superhuman physique, gave him incredible vitality and regenerative abilities.
Hanafuda shook his head, stood up, and with a low growl, charged again, a powerful blue arc of electricity crackling around him.
He unleashed his Conqueror's Haki.
The force was immense, unstoppable.
Jin threw a punch, meeting the attack head-on, without backing down.
Garp had said that his potential was immense.
And that was why it was so much harder for him to awaken his Conqueror's Haki. He needed to be constantly hammered by the Conqueror's Haki of a powerful enemy.
Or... an awakening in a moment of desperation.
An awakening of the heart, of the spirit.
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The headbutt slammed into Jin's chest. He was pushed back, then sent flying, crashing into the ground and leaving a massive crater.
Hanafuda closed in for the kill.
Jin shot to his feet, his eyes blazing. The threat of death, the killing intent all around him... it was exhilarating.
The hot blood of a warrior boiled in his veins.
But it wasn't a reckless burning. The hotter his blood, the calmer his mind. His focus sharpened, and he entered a state of pure awareness—a void where nothing existed but the fight itself.
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"DIE!" Hanafuda's eyes were cold. His already massive body swelled even further, his bones cracking like thunder.
He threw both fists at once.
Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki, and the arcs of electricity from the friction all coalesced into two massive balls of energy, crackling with lightning, whipping up a fierce wind, a terrifying sight to behold.
Faced with this attack, Jin closed his eyes. He took a slow breath, listening, feeling the pulse of the world. Everything went quiet.
All the battles, all the experiences since he had arrived in this world, and Garp's life-or-death training, the fights with the Sea Kings... they were all scattered pieces of a puzzle, now coming together, forming a whole. It was a wonderful feeling.
"The world is a beautiful place, isn't it, Hanafuda?" Jin said, opening his eyes.
Hanafuda leaped, his "Haki Fist," larger than a ship, crashing down.
Jin threw a punch, and an invincible Will, like a seed, burst forth from within him, coiling around his entire body.
In that instant, their Wills clashed. Black lightning shot out, shattering the clouds, splitting the river, snapping countless trees.
On the summit, the spectators' eyes rolled back in their heads, and they fainted.
Hanafuda was completely stunned.
"CONQUEROR'S HAKI... AWAKENED?!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Blood sprayed through the air.
Jin was like a nail, piercing through the massive Haki fist, and with unstoppable force, he sent Hanafuda flying.
The true essence of Garp's Iron Fist—a nail that could pierce through Armament Haki.
"GAAAAAH!" Hanafuda screamed. He landed, reverting to his human form, coughing up blood, his right arm shattered, blown apart.
Jin walked up to him, ready to finish him off and take the Tyrannosaurus fruit.
"KING JIN! WAIT!"
Two men in white suits, using Moonwalk, rushed over. "A call from the Five Elders!"
Cipher Pol? They're involved too?
Jin stared at the two men, and they trembled, afraid that in his rage, he would kill them as well.
A calm, elderly voice came from the Den Den Mushi.
"King Jin—" the voice said. "—Hanafuda is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, recruited by the World Government. Do us a favor."
A favor?
What was a favor from the Five Elders worth...?
Jin's face was grim. The Five Elders didn't speak.
The silence was deafening, the atmosphere oppressive.
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