Standing Before You Is the Strongest Creature on Earth

Norse's series of unexpected displays made Akainu's gaze across from him grow even sharper.

So this was the guy who had defeated two of Marine Headquarters' greatest fighting forces in succession!

First, he had beaten Vice Admiral Aokiji. Then, he had crippled one of Teacher Zephyr's arms. Although Teacher Zephyr was no longer in his prime, his formidable strength was still terrifying.

The only pity was that while Teacher Zephyr's physical skills were powerful, he lacked the enhancement of a Devil Fruit ability. That was likely the point at which he had been most disadvantaged in battle.

In Akainu's view, no matter how far humans in this world pushed the limits of their physical capabilities, they would ultimately never compare to those who had developed their Devil Fruit abilities to the utmost, terrifying extent.

Just like the young pirate Norse before him—having developed the power of his Devil Fruit, he had become powerful and terrifying, capable of threatening Marine Headquarters and even the new order of this world at any moment.

The descending lava bombs fell with the momentum of massive meteors crashing into the earth.

Though they were not as terrifyingly powerful as the magma fists from the first attack, the lava bombs dealt secondary damage. The moment they struck the ground, they exploded again, unleashing temperatures of several thousand degrees Celsius that could melt countless meltable objects in the blink of an eye.

"Boom! Boom!!"

Thousands upon thousands of magma bombs crashed onto the beach, the sea, and the forest. Smoke and flames rose everywhere, while thunderous explosions echoed from all around.

Yet Norse and the others within the Holy Light Protection barrier remained completely unharmed. The countless magma shells that struck the holy light barrier were instead directly rebounded away.

Norse had used his ability to restrain the scattered high-energy plasma, super-fixing a section of space.

That was, the magnetic field within the area covered by Holy Light Protection generated reverse repulsion, rebounding and redirecting all external forces.

Therefore, so long as the attacks outside could not break through the Holy Light Protection barrier, Norse within it would remain in an absolute domain.

However, whenever Norse used this move, his body would undergo uncontrollable elementalization. As a result, the temperature within Holy Light Protection would gradually rise along with his body temperature.

Thus, Hancock and the others could only remain inside the Holy Light Protection barrier for the time being.

Otherwise, once they stayed too long and the temperature inside the barrier grew ever higher, they simply would not be able to endure the damage caused by that crushing heat. Only Norse, who was gradually elementalizing, could possibly ignore it all.

"Norse... I..."

Held in Norse's arms, Hancock felt as though she had been heated through inside and out, as if desire itself were burning through her body.

"Hancock, you... hold on a little longer. I'll get you out soon!"

When Norse saw Hancock's exquisitely flushed face, her earlobes crimson like two droplets of blood about to fall, and the ripe pink allure radiating from her entire body, the impact was incredibly intense.

Norse's heart immediately tightened. He had never expected his ability to carry such aphrodisiac effects.

It seemed he could not let this continue. Otherwise, before the temperature and pressure within the barrier rose any further, the three women would be harmed by their own burning desire.

As the saying went, the deeper the love, the deeper the hurt. Norse had actually come to understand Hancock's feelings for him more and more!

But then again, this blazing power truly lived up to the ruthless sun. It would always be far more domineering and terrifying than its gentle, benevolent side.

"Hmph! I simply cannot tolerate the existence of such a supreme Logia Fruit, much less allow it to be possessed by an evil pirate!"

At that moment, Akainu walked step by step toward Norse's Holy Light Protection barrier.

He was furious, yet resolute.

He had decided to represent justice and stop all this, to uphold his convictions by using his magma fists to shatter all of his opponent's defenses—and even blast through his opponent's body.

In this world, Whitebeard possessed the strongest Paramecia, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. They absolutely could not allow another pirate to continue wielding the strongest Logia Fruit and threatening the world's new order.

"Boom!"

Akainu's arm transformed into high-temperature magma, and the fist blazing with molten fire suddenly swelled before he drove it forward, smashing a fist fiercely into Norse's Holy Light Protection barrier. It was as though an invisible shockwave had torn through space, producing a deafening boom on the spot.

"Crack!"

Cracks immediately appeared across Norse's Holy Light Protection barrier.

Norse knew that the Holy Light Protection barrier was not invincible. Once the force of an incoming attack exceeded the limit it could withstand and rebound, it would lose all effect and could even shatter on the spot.

"Akainu, your fists and muscles are pretty good. It seems you're qualified to make me use my strongest power!"

After setting Hancock down inside the barrier, Norse stared directly at Akainu, who stood within arm's reach.

"I never believed that possessing a supreme Devil Fruit made me strong. I crippled Zephyr's arm with my fists of flesh and blood. Now, you can experience this terror too!"

At that moment, Norse gave off an aura that was terrifying, wild, and invincible.

"Pirate Norse, I, Sakazuki, will remember you!"

Akainu's gaze was sharp. He feared no force of evil, but from another perspective, he appreciated people like this—those who dared to face him head-on with neither fear nor hesitation, only confidence.

Then, Hancock and the others tactfully retreated, while Norse and Akainu immediately entered a direct confrontation.

The high-temperature magma was completely ineffective against Norse's body, which had been elementalized by the sun day after day. All of his opponent's Devil Fruit ability attacks were neither here nor there against Norse, because some of his attributes were simply on too high a level.

However, Akainu was not merely a Devil Fruit user; he was also a rather formidable physical combatant. Combined with his elementalized magma fists, every strike he threw could unleash a terrifying level of power.

Therefore, Norse could not underestimate his strength throughout the battle.

At the very least, without activating his Demon Back, he still could not completely overwhelm Akainu's magma fists through physical combat alone.

"Boom!"

When their fists collided once more, the scorching temperatures released by both of them had already burned the sky above completely red. Even the shallow waters along the shore had long since been boiled until they continuously vaporized.

"Not bad. But Zephyr was the same as you back then—he could trade a few punches with me head-on. But this still isn't my true power. Prepare to tremble, Akainu. The one standing before you is the strongest creature on the surface."

Norse was incomparably domineering and arrogant, completely disregarding Akainu, who had managed to trade a few punches with him.

The muscles all over his body were unleashed once more on the spot.

In the blink of an eye, Norse transformed into a formidable musclebound man, his entire body emanating blood-red energy in the form of raging fury.

Now, Norse's entire state and aura were completely different from before.

He felt strong—very, very, very strong...

And, of course, there was the Demon Back on his back, like a terrifying demonic musculature twisted across it, revealing an incredibly evil, crazed, and brutal visage.

Standing before Norse, Akainu finally felt it. He finally understood why Instructor Zephyr had lost.

It turned out that it was not because the other man's Devil Fruit power had held every advantage in battle. Rather, this guy's physical strength was simply too terrifying. It felt as though a gigantic Sea King stood before him, exerting immense pressure on him.

Akainu feared nothing. On the contrary, his fighting spirit surged as he asked, "What is this power?"

"You are qualified to know of and experience the power I possess."

Under the release of his blood-red energy, Norse's golden hair danced wildly in the air. He appeared utterly invincible as he said:

"Even without relying on Devil Fruit abilities, humans can still push beyond the limits of their physical functions, developing and awakening another, higher realm of flesh-and-blood power. I call it the human Demon Back. Of course, if you cannot understand it, then you may regard this power as coming from hell!"

PS: I'm not in great condition and feeling awful. I didn't write this well.