Subduing Loki

Loki's face flushed red. He jerked the Iron Thunder back, took a step back, and his chest heaved violently.

Then he slammed the hammer on the ground, and a burning rage ignited in his eyes.

You forced me to do it.

He did not use Iron Thunder.

He placed the hammer beside his feet, braced himself with his hands on the ground, and arched his back.

Dark red scales spread from the neck to the limbs, and two cuts appeared on the shoulder blades, from which a pair of jet-black wing membranes unfolded.

His body was expanding, his sixty-meter frame was growing towards a hundred meters, his horns were lengthening and curving, and his teeth were becoming sharp.

The air in the Underworld was churned by the shockwave from his transformation, and the roots of the Adam Tree trembled and shed dust.

Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Nidhogg Mode. He opened his enormous mouth, and lightning condensed into a blinding white light deep in his throat.

Thunder Realm.

He was about to vomit.

Natsu did not retreat.

He raised his right hand, palm facing up, and the Indra's Eye pattern in Mangekyō Sharingan Mangekyou Sharingan spun rapidly.

The skeleton of Susanoo rose from his back, the dark golden ribs closing one by one, the arms stretching out, the palms open, blocking Loki's massive mouth.

The skeleton's outline was much smaller than its complete form, only half the height of its body, but the moment that palm struck, the density of Chakra solidified the surrounding air.

The Thunder Realm erupted.

A massive beam of lightning struck Susanoo's palm, exploding into a blinding white light.

But the dark golden hand remained completely still.

Lightning leaked through the gaps in his fingers, striking the stone walls of the Underworld and burning the rock layers into charred pits.

Natsu's true form stood inside the skeleton, Kakuzu fluttering.

Loki unleashed his Thunder Realm for over ten breaths, until his throat was dry, before the beam finally weakened.

He closed his mouth, panting heavily, and watched as the dark golden skeleton withdrew its hand, completely unharmed.

"Finished?" Natsu asked.

Loki remained silent for a few moments.

He retracted his dragon form, his scales fell back, his wing membranes shrank back to his shoulder blades, and his body shrank from 100 meters to 60 meters.

He lifted the Iron Thunder from the ground, resting the handle on the frozen earth, his chest still heaving.

"It's over," Loki said. "I couldn't break through your skeleton."

"You have a good foundation." Natsu Susanoo. "Ancient Giant bloodline, Nidhogg, Iron Thunder, Conqueror's Haki. What you lack is systematic training Kazuma opponents. Six years in a cage, you can only train with wild beasts; you won't achieve anything there."

Loki crouched down to be at eye level with Natsu.

Those eyes swept over his face twice.

"You just said that if I won, I'd go my own way, and if I lost, I'd go with you. Now I've lost. Where are you going to take me?"

"Earthly Chief Guard," Natsu said, "The position of Military Commander is vacant. Come here, I'll teach you. Once you've mastered it, that position is yours."

Loki picked up Iron Thunder and weighed it in his hand.

"Commander, how many men do you command?"

"Not many now, but there will be more later."

Loki looked at Natsu a while longer. Then he stood up and hoisted Iron Thunder onto his shoulder.

"Fine. I'll go with you. But let me make this clear first: I have a bad temper and don't like being controlled. If you can't control me, don't blame me for turning on you. Also—" He paused, his voice becoming a little deeper.

"That redhead, Shanks. He kidnapped me for six years. Can I settle the score with him later?"

Natsu tilted her head and glanced at him.

"We'll talk when you can beat me."

Loki choked for a moment, then switched Iron Thunder from his shoulder to the other, muttered something, and followed Natsu out of the Underworld.

Halfway there, he glanced down at the broken Natsu Seastone chains at his feet, kicked them with his toe, and then asked, tilting his head, "Is that old thing— Jarul —up there?"

"Up there."

"His face must have looked terrible when he saw me come out."

You guessed right.

Loki grinned, said nothing more, and continued following Natsu uphill.

The frozen earth of the Underworld fell silent again behind them, with only the ice squirrel of Iron Thunder still buzzing softly in its hammer, as if urging its master to hurry up.

When Natsu came up from the Underworld, Loki followed behind him.

A sixty-meter-tall ancient giant crawled out of the underground tunnel, carried on Iron Thunder's shoulder. His dark red hair was disheveled, and his clothes were tattered from six years of imprisonment.

His steps were heavy, and with each step he took, the gravel ground of the Sun World trembled.

He squinted, looked up at the long-awaited sunlight in the sky, and snorted.

In the square of the Warrior Village, Western Village, Jarul and the Elder were already waiting.

The old giant planted his bone staff on the ground, and his face paled the instant he saw Loki.

Several Elder behind him took a half step back, one of them even reaching for the short sword at his waist.

Jarul steadied himself. He slammed his bone staff heavily on the ground.

"Uchiha Clan Head, this person cannot be released."

Natsu tilted her head slightly.

"He is a patricide." Jarul's voice was deep, but his speech was much faster than before. "He killed his own father, he killed a beloved king."

According to the rules of the Giant Tribe, the one who kills his father must be bound to the Adam Tree until his flesh and blood are exhausted. This has been a rule of the Giant Tribe for thousands of years, and it has never been broken.

"The rules of the Giant Tribe," Natsu interrupted him, "Are no longer valid from today onwards."

Jarul's mouth was open, but the rest of his words were stuck in his throat.

"As I said before I came, you can keep your customs and traditions. But the laws must follow the Uchiha Clan's rules." Natsu's tone was flat.

"The Uchiha Clan's laws do not include the rule of 'tying someone to a tree to die.' If someone is guilty, they are tried, convicted, and then imprisoned or killed as appropriate. There is no rule about letting someone rot in a cage."

Jarul's bone staff paused again.

"But he killed a king! His own father!"

"He killed someone, so I have no objection to you interrogating him," Natsu said. "Have you interrogated him?"

Jarul was silent for a moment.

"No interrogation. They just tied him up." Natsu finished for him. "This happened a few years ago. You were afraid of him, afraid of his ancient giant bloodline, afraid he wouldn't be able to control himself after eating Nidhogg. So you tied him up and told everyone he was insane. It saved you trouble."

Jarul's face tightened, but he didn't refute it.

"I'm not here today to discuss whether Loki should go to jail. I'm here to tell you something." Natsu took a step forward, stood in front of Jarul, and looked up at him.

Two meters versus more than ten meters, a huge difference in height, but when Natsu looked up at him, the old giant shrank his shoulders slightly.

"From today onwards, Elbaf is under the jurisdiction of the Uchiha Clan. You may retain your customs and traditions, but the laws shall be those of me. I'm taking Loki with me; he is now mine and has nothing to do with Elbaf." Natsu.

"As for your petty squabbles, I don't care. If you feel bad that he killed one of your kings, you can swallow it yourselves after I take him away."

Jarul gripped his bone staff tightly, his knuckles turning white.

The Elder behind him also looked grim. One of the younger ones stood up, clenched his fist, and took a step forward.

"Chieftain!" he called out to Jarul, then turned to Natsu, "You can't—"

Natsu didn't look at him.

He merely tilted his head slightly, and Yaoyu stepped forward from the side and behind, his Mangekyō Sharingan swirling in its socket.

The young Elder froze in mid-air, remaining in a forward-stepping posture. His eyes glazed over for a moment before his knees buckled and he knelt on the ground.

"Don't kneel," Natsu said.

The Yaoyu subdued the power of the pupils.

The young Elder came to his senses and found himself kneeling. He tried frantically to stand up, but his legs were still weak.

Two Elder beside him helped him up.

"Elbaf has no King-Class." Natsu's voice remained unchanged, devoid of inflection.

"Your best soldiers can't even withstand a single blow from my men. What do you have to offer in terms of terms?"

Jarul's bone staff finally loosened.

He didn't strike the cane again, nor did he shout. He simply lowered his head, his gray hair hanging down to cover half his face.

"Half a day has passed," Natsu said. "Give me a reply."

Jarul remained silent for a long time.

The square was so quiet that only the sound of the wind and the distant footsteps of Loki carrying Iron Thunder could be heard.

"Elbaf... surrender." Jarul's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

"Speak louder. Make sure everyone hears you."

Jarul raised her head.

His lips pressed into a thin line, then he took a deep breath and raised his voice.

"Elbaf submits to the Uchiha Clan."

Upon hearing this, some of the Giant Tribe warriors gathered in the distance in the square lowered their weapons, some crouched down, and some lowered their heads in silence. But no one charged forward.

Natsu withdrew her gaze, glancing sideways at Loki. "Let's go."

Loki, carrying Iron Thunder, strolled over from the edge of the plaza, glancing down at Jarul. The old giant didn't look up at him. Loki paused for a moment, then grinned, a rough grin that revealed all his teeth.

"Old man," Loki's deep voice echoed across the square, "I'm leaving. Elbaf is in your hands. Keep it under control, or it'll be a complete disaster."

Jarul still didn't look up. Loki didn't say anything more, carrying his hammer and following Natsu towards the coast. After a few steps, he tilted his head and said to Natsu, "That old guy's heart is bleeding."

"I know."

Aren't you afraid he'll go back on his word?

"I'll come again if he changes his mind," Natsu said. "Next time, I won't be so polite."

Loki shifted the Iron Thunder onto his shoulder and snorted. When he reached the shore, he stopped, glanced back at the forests and mountains of Elbaf, and stared for a moment. Then he slammed the Iron Thunder to the ground, causing the ice squirrel on his body to buzz.

"Alright." Loki turned around. "Let's go. Where are the Earthly Chief Guard?"

"Come back with me first. You need to clean yourself up." Natsu glanced at his tattered clothes and messy hair. "A man destined to be a military commander can't be like this."