Next Bonus, 100!!
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His voice was like thunder, startling the beasts of the forest, shaking the trees. Giant wolves and tigers emerged from the shadows and howled along with him.
"Alright, alright, no need to shout," Jin said, cleaning out his ear. "Some 'Sun God' you are. You're still chained up down here."
"True enough!" Loki admitted. "But no one wants to be a prisoner. And I am no exception. I want to be free. I've been chained here for three years. I may be the strongest in Elbaf, but this is the Treasure Tree Adam—the very heart of the war-land of Elbaf. And these are Seastone chains. They drain my strength. I can't escape. So..."
"So," Jin interrupted, "I brought you the key."
He dropped it on the ground with a heavy thud.
Loki was stunned. "You... you stole the key from the village?"
"Wrong," Jin said. "Jarul gave it to me."
Loki laughed. "However you got it, just hurry up and unlock these chains! In return... you can name any enemy you want destroyed, whether it's a kingdom or a pirate crew. I will grind them to dust for you!"
Jin smiled faintly. "I'm only here for one thing."
"And what's that?"
"To defeat you," Jin said. "If you win, you're free. If I win... you become my crewmate. How about it?"
Loki froze.
Then he laughed. "Hahaha... Interesting. But I am the legendary 'Sun God' of this country! How could I possibly lose to a human?"
His confidence was absolute.
Jin's smile widened, his teeth flashing white. "Loki—I'm heading for the top of the world. For the highest throne."
"The world?" Loki said, surprised, then laughed again. "Years ago, another man stood here and said something similar."
"You mean Rocks?" Jin said. "The man who buried himself in God Valley for the sake of some treasure on Hachinosu? Was he a hero or a villain? Who's to say? In any case, he's a man of the past. The world is always changing. Rocks, Roger, the Four Emperors... The next era will be mine."
"Hey!" Loki roared, enraged. "Are you looking down on Rocks? Don't get too cocky! What right do you have to judge him? Now let me out of these chains! I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
He was a Rocks fanboy.
Years ago, after repeatedly harming others and destroying villages, he had still been unable to fill the emptiness inside him. He had repeatedly thrown himself into the Underworld.
One day, at the bottom of the abyss, as he was contemplating the meaning of his own existence, he had encountered Rocks D. Xebec, Edward Newgate, Shiki the Golden Lion, and Miss Buckingham.
He had challenged Rocks and had been easily defeated.
Hearing that Rocks's goal was to conquer the world, he had wanted to follow him, but Rocks had repeatedly refused him.
The one thing he couldn't have...
It had haunted him ever since.
"Calm down," Jin said calmly. "I'm letting you out now. But you're not in the best condition. You should eat something first..."
"I don't need it!" Loki roared. "I'm in my prime!"
Jin said no more.
He picked up the key and found the lock.
With a loud click, the massive lock sprang open.
The heavy Seastone chains fell away.
"Hahaha!" Loki roared, tearing the chains from his body. He grabbed his weapon, Ragnir, and stood up, revealing his towering form.
He was far taller than an average giant. He was dressed like a Viking, with a dark, wide-brimmed helmet. A pair of long horns, like those of the ancient giants, protruded from the helmet. The left horn was wrapped in a bandage. He wore dark gloves, pants, and boots, and a belt with a crowned skull buckle.
And his eyes were wrapped in bandages, giving him a sinister air.
"Are you ready, little king?" Loki said, grabbing Ragnir. Lightning crackled from the massive war hammer.
Countless thunderclouds gathered, covering the sky. The beasts of the forest, terrified, retreated into the shadows.
"Are you sure about this?" Jin asked, glancing at the storm clouds. "You don't want to rest for a bit?"
"I don't need it!" Loki roared. "This will be over in one blow! I'll have plenty of time to rest after I'm done with you!"
He swung the massive hammer.
As it descended, a torrent of lightning fell from the ten-thousand-meter-high sky.
Thunder roared.
The world was a storm of lightning.
The bolts all converged, forming a pillar of lightning thicker than a mountain range, a blindingly brilliant light.
The pressure was immense, terrifying.
Jin raised a hand and unleashed the power of his Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Suddenly, the lightning, which had been drawn by Ragnir, twisted and warped, coming under the control of a more powerful will.
The bolts that had been aimed at Jin all turned and shot toward Loki.
"What??" Loki was stunned.
He swung Ragnir, trying to block the endless stream of lightning.
Countless bolts, under Jin's control, engulfed him.
It was a sea of lightning.
The sky of the Underworld was lit up.
Although Ragnir could withstand the lightning, a massive amount of electricity still coursed through Loki's body.
"GAAAAAH!" he screamed in agony. Even for an ancient giant, he was still a being of flesh and blood. The pain was excruciating.
The lightning he had summoned had become the instrument of his own torture.
When the light faded, Loki was leaning against the roots of the Treasure Tree Adam, his body charred black, smoke rising from it, panting for breath.
"You can rest," Jin said. "Replenish your strength, and then we can fight."
Loki took a deep breath. This calm man before him... he was dangerous. Far from an ordinary opponent.
But his pride, his honor, would not let him back down.
"I don't need it!" he roared. "My fighting spirit is still burning!"
He swung Ragnir, the impossibly heavy war hammer, at Jin, the pressure immense.
The hammer was wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, like a red meteor, destroying everything in its path.
The wind howled around it.
"Stubborn, aren't you?" Jin said, his own fighting spirit soaring. He met the hammer's charge with a two-fisted punch.
A torrent of golden Conqueror's Haki erupted from his fist—a tidal wave of immense, unstoppable power.
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Jin's fists met the massive hammer in mid-air.
Their Conqueror's Haki clashed.
Endless sparks of lightning erupted between them. The earth shook violently, the beasts scattered in terror, the forest trembled, and in the distance, an avalanche roared down a snow-capped mountain.
The power was immense.
The frozen ground beneath their feet shattered, massive cracks spreading out in all directions.
"Hey, isn't this a bit much?"
In the distance, Hajrudin and the other giants had arrived. They shielded their faces from the shockwave and the swirling snow, their faces a mixture of shock and awe.
"They're... so strong!"
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~ 70 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
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