"Th-this is... Admiral Ryokugyu's Mori Mori no Mi's ability?" Kalifa, floating in mid-air thanks to Geppo, stammered in astonishment.
"Ryokugyu's attack range isn't this large," Stussy narrowed her eyes behind her mask.
As far as the eye could see, almost everything within sight was covered by the enormous vines and trees below. She didn't believe Aramaki possessed this level of power.
Swish-!
A sharp flying slash cut through the vines.
Lucci and the others turned to look.
They then saw a dark figure holding a sword leap up from the base of the forest, landing on the roof of a building.
"Blackbeard Pirates' Second Ship Captain, Shiryu of the Rain," Kalifa identified him.
However, the current Shiryu seemed to have lost a lot of weight.
"Phew!" A noticeably thinner Shiryu stabbed his beloved sword into the ground, using it as a crutch to support himself, gasping for breath, "Is that bastard Pizarro dead? Whatever, I never liked him anyway."
"B-bastard..." An extremely weak voice sounded from the forest below.
Following the direction of the voice, they saw Pizarro, drained into a human jerky looking like he had aged fifty years overnight, trembling as he barely raised a middle finger towards Shiryu.
"Y-you have time for sarcasm... w-why not hurry up and save me?"
On the other side, a milky-white semi-circular dome pushed the giant vines aside and slowly opened in the middle, revealing the people inside… the Big Mom Pirates' Katakuri and Oven.
"Thanks, Katakuri!" Oven patted his shoulder.
"That was way too close," Katakuri was also shaken.
Although he had used his Mochi Mochi no Mi to build a temporary barrier, Katakuri faintly sensed that the reason he could block this attack wasn't due to his own strength, but because the attacker hadn't focused their efforts on him. (T/N: Mochi-Mochi Fruit.)
And in the deepest part of this primeval forest-
Jin's group gathered on the shattered stage of the auction venue.
Endless vines completely blocked the surroundings, preventing anyone from interfering.
"It should be here," Konan walked to the center of the stage according to the information Baccarat had provided earlier.
"Wood Release, this technique is really convenient," Jin also walked over leisurely.
Using a full-map Ninjutsu like the Deep Forest Emergence surprisingly didn't consume much Chakra.
The reason was that Wood Release could absorb the energy of the targets and convert it for the user.
This was ridiculously overpowered. It meant that as long as there were enough people, one could continuously fire this full-map Ninjutsu one after another.
"Let me do it," Hancock concentrated her Haki on the soles of her feet. The tip of her high heel tapped the ground, directly breaking open a large hole.
A glittering golden box lay quietly inside.
"Jin..." Hancock took out the golden box and handed it to Jin.
Jin was very satisfied with Hancock's current attitude. But he wondered if Hancock would be willing to fight Luffy for him, like those heroines who, after their corruption, would battle the bull in front of the cuckold while mocking the cuckold's... inadequacies.
"Konan, this is for you." Jin rewarded Hancock with a pat from behind.
As she shyly retreated to the side, he handed the box to Konan.
"Jin-nii... thank you." Konan had many thanks she wanted to express to Jin, but in the end, it only condensed into a 'thank you'.
Eloquence wasn't her strong suit. She could only swear silently in her heart to dedicate everything to him.
After learning that the previous owner of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi was the legendary great pirate, Golden Lion Shiki, Konan had researched a lot about him and understood what an incredible fruit this was.
And Jin had given it to her without hesitation. Konan felt that even if she spent her whole life repaying him, it wouldn't be enough.
Slowly opening the box, a Devil Fruit shaped like a honeydew melon, with grayish-white skin and patterns resembling clouds, came into view.
Hiss-
In that instant, a deep purple beam shot over, cutting through the canopy of giant trees above Jin's group, slicing it apart as cleanly as a cake.
Hancock and the other girls looked up.
A golden giant, 80% resembling Tesoro himself but covered in deep purple patterns, with a stature comparable to a Giant, was looking down at them.
"That's not for a little girl like you to eat! And how dare you cause trouble in my kingdom! You must die today!" Tesoro's roar came from within the golden giant.
Just as the golden giant finished speaking, a rumbling sound came from behind Jin's group.
Turning to look, they saw a wooden hand the size of a Giant forcefully break through the vines on the ground.
A giant tree humanoid with human-like facial features, also matching a Giant in size, suddenly stood up.
No need to guess; just looking at its face, it was clearly Marine Admiral, [Ryokugyu] Aramaki!
"Forbidden Giant!" Aramaki in his elementalized giant form shouted sternly: "That Devil Fruit is essential for strengthening the God's Knights! It must not be eaten by pirates! Especially pirates who defy the gods!"
Being surrounded by two nearly hundred-meter-tall giants from the front and back would make anyone feel somewhat nervous, right?
However, whether it was Kurenai and Rin, who had graduated less than a year ago, Shirahoshi, who was called a [Weepyhoshi] by Luffy in the original work, or Nami, formerly of the Straw Hat Pirates' [Cowardly Trio], all their expressions were incredibly calm.
"Strange, why aren't I scared at all?" Nami, holding her Clima-Tact, muttered softly.
"Because I'm protecting you," A light chuckle suddenly attracted Nami's gaze.
No matter how much Nami told herself internally that she was a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, she had to admit at this moment that the immense sense of security Jin gave her was completely incomparable to what Luffy could offer.
After all, Luffy always liked to pull off some unbelievable stunts that scared her half to death.
While Jin also liked to stir up trouble, he had the strength to resolve things as well.
"You like playing big, huh?" Jin chuckled, clasping his hands together. Chakra comparable to a Tailed Beast erupted majestically.
Even more exaggerated giant tree vines erupted from the ground, lifting Jin into the air. They rapidly converged, fused, and quickly formed a humanoid shape mid-air.
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
In less than five seconds, those who were looking down now had to look up.
Seeing Jin standing on the forehead of the giant Wood Human, the expressions of Aramaki in his elemental giant form and Tesoro inside the golden giant turned extremely ugly.
If their giants were like the Giant, then Jin's was like Oars!
The Emperor crew pirates who had barely escaped the forest on the ground, and the CP0 Agents who had just arrived, but still unaware that their protection target, Charlos, was already dead, were all dumbfounded.
The commotion caused by Aramaki and Tesoro using their ultimate moves was already exaggerated enough, but they never expected Jin to be like a conceptual weapon, dealing them a cross-dimensional level blow.
You like big? I'm bigger than you!
"Don't think you've won just like this!" Tesoro was the first to regain his composure.
He manipulated the golden giant to swing its right arm. The gold on the surface of the giant's arm boiled like water. His Goru Goru no Mi could control not only the shape of gold but also its temperature.
[Gold Inferno!]
"After playing local tyrant in a place like this for so long, you really think you're strong, don't you?" Jin's face was full of mockery. He channeled Chakra within his body, forming another hand seal.
The wooden dragon coiled around the Wood Human's body let out a hissing roar, instantly detaching from the human and flying towards the golden giant's fist.
The moment they made contact, the wooden dragon, like a python, instantly wrapped around the golden giant.
"What can this thing do?!" Tesoro tried to use the golden giant's other hand to pull it off.
However, the wooden dragon grew at an incredible speed in less than two seconds.
Rough dragon scales and horns sprouted numerous branches and foliage, tightly squeezing the golden giant, rendering it immobile.
"Hahahaha! This is a wooden dragon even the Nine-Tails couldn't break free from! What can your toy do?" A voice full of malicious mockery came through.
Everyone turned to look, and the expressions of the government-side CP0 Agents became even uglier.
'The 1 billion berry bounty, [Rap-loving Octopus], Gyuki!'
Since the battle on Sabaody Archipelago, Gyuki basically hadn't returned. It really liked this world. As an octopus, it naturally liked water, and there were all sorts of different islands to adventure on. It had even learned the pirate song, [Binks' Sake].
At this moment, Konan on the ground had already taken out the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi and was opening her mouth to take a bite.
"I said it's not for you to eat!" Aramaki saw this and flew into a rage.
A fist coated in Armament Haki smashed down heavily.
If it were Kuzan or Issho, they might have held back due to Konan's youth. But Aramaki wouldn't. His life philosophy was 'Only those who uphold the World Government and the Celestial Dragons have human rights'.
Killing anyone else, no matter how many, didn't violate the law.
However, before Aramaki's giant fist could land, he himself was heavily pressed into the ground.
Then, the Wood Human, like a hunter holding a rabbit, uprooted Aramaki in his tree-man form and held him in its hand.
"Strange, is it because I don't have the [Face-Face Fruit] that you dare to repeatedly target my people right in front of me?" Jin found it really odd. (T/N: In China, it's a meme that Shanks actually have a Devil Fruit called Face-Face Fruit, as anyone would always listen to him if he said something, which is giving face in Chinese.)
In his eyes, Aramaki was a worthless Admiral who was left in such disgraceful state from Momonosuke's bootleg Bolo Breath and scared pissless by Shanks' Conqueror's Haki.
So how dare he still act in front of Jin? Was his 'loyalty' to the World Government suppressing his fear of Jin?
"Uchiha Jin! Y-you bastard! What do you want to do!?" Aramaki, still in his tree-man form but held like a toy in the Wood Human's hand, cried out shrilly.
Hearing the tremor in his voice, Jin couldn't help but laugh.
'Heh~ So he can be scared.'
"What do I want? I want-" Jin deliberately dragged out the syllable, then suddenly raised his voice the next second, snarling with a sinister smile: "To tear you apart!"
As the words fell, the Wood Human, like someone pulling noodles, twisted its hands around the shoulders and ankles of the elementalized Aramaki.
Under the horrified gazes of the Emperor crew pirates and World Government's personnel below-
Riiiip!!!