The moment Loki stood up, the atmosphere in the entire underworld froze.
His towering height of over sixty meters made the surrounding air feel heavy, and the thick tree roots cast huge shadows behind him. The Seastone shackles made a screeching sound as he moved, and the dozens of chains were taut, yet they could not restrain the violent aura he released.
"Untie it?" Loki grinned, sticking out his enormous tongue, like an ancient god, both wicked and arrogant.
Yamato gripped his spiked club tightly, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit. "Fine! I'd like to see just how—"
" Yamato," Akira's calm voice rang out.
With just two words, Yamato's words came to an abrupt halt. She turned to look at Akira, only to see that he still maintained that composed expression, even with a faint smile on his lips.
"Step back."
Akira took a step forward.
Yamato bit her lip, and although she was unwilling, she obediently retreated to Hancock's side.
Mihawk narrowed his eyes, his hand resting on the hilt of the Black Blade, Night. Denjiro, Nekomamushi, and Duke Inuarashi simultaneously went on high alert, while Morgan gestured for his personal guard to prepare for battle.
Akira looked up and met Loki's eyes, which were covered by bandages.
"You want me to untie you?"
"What, you're afraid?" Loki grinned, his enormous tongue waving in the air. "Or is it that even a dignified Navy Marshal needs these Seastone and chains to dare speak to me?"
Akira smiled.
"You're clever, Loki." His tone remained calm. "You know how to use reverse psychology."
But you made a mistake.
Akira took another step forward. "You think I came here to fight you?"
"Otherwise what?" Loki's voice deepened. " The World Government sent the Knights of God to me just to make me their henchman, didn't they? Now that you're the Navy Marshal, how could your purpose be any different?"
"There's really no difference."
Akira nodded, "But I am different from the World Government."
As he spoke, Akira raised his right hand, and black and red Conqueror's Haki condensed in his palm, transforming into a tangible Inazuma that danced at his fingertips.
" The World Government wants you because of your power."
"But I want you because of your value."
"Value?" Loki sneered. "What value could a cursed prince, a sinner who murdered his father and stole the fruit, possibly have?"
Akira's tone remained unchanged, "What happened in the past cannot be changed by me, but in the future, this world will surely reach the bright shore you yearn for but cannot reach under my leadership."
"In this bright world, everyone has their own meaning and value! The weak civilians work from sunrise to sunset for a better life, while the strong shoulder the responsibility of maintaining world order, eradicating evil and eliminating its perils! Under my leadership, there will be no more high and mighty Celestial Dragons in this world, and the pirates who wreak havoc, burn, kill, and plunder will never be allowed to continue to exist."
" Loki, without a doubt, you are a strong man, and a great warrior who was willing to bear the guilt of patricide to save Elbaf."
"You shouldn't be trapped in this dark and hopeless underworld. As long as you let go of the past and submit to me, I will give you a bright future!"
Loki's breath hitched, then he grinned and let out a maniacal laugh. "Heh heh heh heh heh, you call me a great warrior? Hahahaha, Marshal Akira, I almost fell for your charm. You used some rare Observation Haki, didn't you? You actually tried to forcibly implant your thoughts and perceptions into my brain. How is your behavior any different from that of the one who ruled Harald back then?"
Before he finished speaking, he took a sudden step forward, the chains clanging loudly as he moved. A burst of violent Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body once more, black and red Inazuma raged through the underworld, and thick tree roots trembled violently under the impact of this power.
" Marshal Akira, put away your Observation Haki. Those useless bunch in Elbaf might be influenced by your ideas, but I'm Loki! Do you think I'll be grateful and follow you blindly just because you say a few nice words?!"
Akira narrowed his eyes, letting Loki unleash his Conqueror's Haki.
hiss hiss hiss~
Black and red Inazuma exploded around him, but it couldn't shake him in the slightest. Not only could it not shake Akira, Loki's Conqueror's Haki seemed to be blocked, stopping in front of Akira and unable to move forward any further. It didn't affect Hancock, Yamato and the others behind Akira, and even the Marine soldiers lined up neatly behind Morgan were not affected in the slightest.
"Um?"
Seeing this, Loki's pupils contracted slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "You actually blocked my Conqueror's Haki."
"Surprised?" Akira raised the Conqueror's Haki he had gathered in his hand. " Conqueror's Haki isn't just for attacking or binding; it can also be used for defense. In the Grand Line today, no one's attack can break through my Haki defense!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Akira suddenly flipped his hand and pressed down.
Buzz--
With a low-frequency vibration, the Conqueror's Haki Loki had released receded like a tide. Immediately afterward, Loki couldn't help but let out a shrill scream, and then uncontrollably bent over and knelt down heavily, enveloped by the unparalleled Conqueror's Haki, slowly prostrating himself before Akira in worship.
"How... is this possible!"
Loki was involuntarily prostrate and bowing down to Akira in worship, had no idea that Akira's Conqueror's Haki was so ridiculously strong. He managed to speak with difficulty, his face filled with shock and disbelief.
" Loki, do you think I'd waste my breath on you if you were worthless?"
Looking at Loki, who was prostrate on the ground enduring the Haki, Akira took a step forward and said in a deep voice, "Using Observation Haki on you is not because I want to change your thoughts and perceptions, but to avoid unavoidable trouble. In other words, I value your talent! Otherwise, in terms of pure strength, I could easily kill you with a flick of my wrist!"
As he spoke, Akira raised his hand again, and his incomparably violent Conqueror's Haki surged forth once more. Unlike the Conqueror's Haki he released before, the Conqueror's Haki that Akira released this time strangely condensed into a ball, and was forcibly compressed into a bowl-sized ball of Haki energy.
Because the Haki was compressed to the extreme, black and red Inazuma flashed and jumped continuously on the surface of the energy ball, causing the surrounding void to emit a constant hissing sound.
"You..."
Even Loki, after seeing Akira compress his Conqueror's Haki into an energy ball, lost his previous madness and asked in horror, "What are you going to do?"
"Make Elbaf bow down!"
Akira revealed a warm smile, then raised his hand and waved.
The compressed ball of Conqueror's Haki energy flew overhead and into the sky, under Loki's watchful gaze.
The moment the energy sphere formed by Conqueror's Haki burst out of the Underworld and appeared hundreds of meters above the mortal realm, the compressed energy sphere suddenly exploded.
boom--
A loud explosion suddenly rang out, echoing throughout Elbaf.
Immediately afterwards, the compressed Conqueror's Haki spread out in all directions like a flood at an astonishing speed, instantly covering and enveloping the entire territory of Elbaf.
At the center of the energy sphere explosion, instead of the raging black and red Inazuma, a huge red sun surrounded by a golden halo appeared, like a rising sun, hanging hundreds of meters above the mortal realm, illuminating the entire Elbaf region as bright as day.
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