Encounter

"Devil Fruit?"

After seeing what Jin An held in his hand, Charlotte Linlin felt around for where she had placed the Devil Fruit earlier. Sure enough, it had vanished without a trace.

"Are you looking to die?!!"

She had always been the one taking things from others. No one had ever snatched away something that was already hers. Not a single one!!!

"I wasn't planning on leaving my life here."

Jin An looked at the fruit in his hand, somewhat curious. He had heard Devil Fruits tasted worse than shit, but if he swallowed it in one gulp, would it be better?

Seeing that Jin An intended to eat the fruit, Charlotte Linlin softened her tone and said quietly, "Put down that fruit. I can trade something else for it."

Jin An glanced at her, his expression seeming to say, Do you take me for an idiot? Trusting a pirate's words?

Seeing that look, Charlotte Linlin nearly exploded with rage. If being soft did not work, then she would do this the hard way.

Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Jin An closed his eyes. He took a bite first, then, before his tongue could react, crunched and swallowed the entire Devil Fruit in an instant.

"Prometheus, burn that bastard to death!"

Seeing that it was a done deal, Charlotte Linlin's hatred surged sky-high. She directly pulled her strongest Homie out of her hat and infused it with a soul.

The sun, which had looked as crude as a simple sketch, instantly transformed into a blazing fireball.

Charlotte Linlin grabbed Prometheus, the sun, and swung him back and forth. A vortex of spinning flames surged toward Jin An, carrying an incredibly high temperature.

Crack!!

High in the sky, the sun was instantly obscured by dark clouds. Fierce winds swept across the earth as a bolt of Thunderbolt struck down from the heavens.

Boom!!

The descending Thunderbolt struck directly into the flaming vortex, and the two collided violently.

In an instant, the explosion's shockwave spread outward. Fragments of stone and trees could be seen mixed within it, destroying everything in its path.

This... was the destructive power produced by a single attack from the strong in this world!!

Bartholomew Kuma, Emporio Ivankov, and everyone else still nearby were blown away by the fierce gale.

"This place is too dangerous, Kuma."

Ivankov pulled his head out of the dirt, still shaken by the experience. He looked into the distance, his expression grim to the extreme.

"Jin An... Jin An is still in there..."

Kuma was not much better off. His entire body was covered in dust, as though he had just crawled out of mud.

"He'll be fine!"

Ivankov said words that even he did not believe, but they had more important things to do.

"B-but..."

Kuma did not want to abandon his friend just like that, even though they had only known each other for a few hours.

Ivankov looked at the strong and kind child before him and sighed. "We still have a lot to do. Pull yourself together."

"He'll definitely be fine!" He was saying it for Kuma, but also for himself. "We'll definitely be fine."

Kuma looked at the paw pads that had grown on his palms after he ate the fruit. He had already used this ability once.

"With this ability, we can succeed!"

After saying that, Kuma and the others ran into the distance, using his palms to send away everyone he saw.

"Kid, you can really take a beating."

Charlotte Linlin and Jin An's battle continued.

The battle was not one-sided. Although Jin An was at a disadvantage, he could already withstand Charlotte Linlin's savage attacks.

"The Azure Dragon Fruit has made you a little harder to beat."

Charlotte Linlin's eyes had turned red. That had clearly been her possession, yet now the other side was using it against her.

Jin An, who had been taking hits the whole time, was just as fed up with the tall beauty before him. They could have safely retreated after snatching the fruit, but this unexpected troublemaker had appeared halfway through.

Not only had the entire plan been disrupted, but her hits hurt like hell. (It was difficult for him to be injured or bleed, but the pain did not lessen.)

He glanced at the system panel. His physique attribute had now reached 79 points, including the points from the temporary card. It seemed that 80 points was a major threshold; temporary attributes would be somewhat diluted.

But now, he was already impervious to blades and bullets.

Still, after experiencing it himself, all it really meant was that he could take more hits.

He wondered how Kuma and the others were doing now.

"You dare lose focus while fighting me!!"

Charlotte Linlin reached out and tugged on Prometheus's face, then grabbed him in her hand.

"Take this! Heavenly Fire!!!"

She poured power into Prometheus's body, then violently hurled him at Jin An.

"Waaahhh, take this!!!"

Prometheus screamed as he lunged at Jin An. The scorching heat reduced the air density, causing the air to distort.

At that moment, Jin An, who had remained standing in place, moved...

Unhurried, he faced the overwhelming heat wave without changing expression. He raised his head to gaze at the dark clouds filling the sky, then pointed upward with two fingers held together.

A ray of light shot from his fingertips into the clouds, and the sea of clouds began to churn.

Then, the air trembled with the vibrations of electrical currents. Thick purple Thunderbolt rolled through the clouds like giant serpents, while an invisible aura slowly spread outward.

Charlotte Linlin, the first to sense the danger, froze where she stood. It was not that she did not want to dodge, but she felt an aura locking onto her. There was nowhere to escape.

"Prometheus!!"

Charlotte Linlin called out loudly, wanting him to return and defend her... but it was already too late...

Prometheus's attack struck Jin An head-on, but he could not feel happy about it. He too sensed the terrifying presence in the air.

Crack!!!

A thunderous explosion rang out from the sky. The Thunderbolt, which had been gathering for so long, seemed to receive a signal. It transformed into a thunder dragon and poured down from the heights, striking Charlotte Linlin directly as she raised her sword in defense.

Rumble!!!

As the thunder dragon descended, the island shook violently, unable to withstand the ferocious impact.

Everyone standing on the island was thrown to the ground by the sudden earthquake. This was one of the few pauses in this game.

"Could this earthquake be Heaven's punishment for those people, because it could no longer bear this game of killing for amusement?"

Many who had been injured by the earthquake felt the pain caused by the might of heaven and earth, yet they were ecstatic.

"The Celestial Dragons and nobles have disappeared. Could they have been punished?"

They needed to establish a belief to support their broken bodies through this ordeal.

"Mom!!"

Panicked, Prometheus ignored Jin An, whose skin had been burned black and who seemed incapable of resisting. He rushed toward where the Thunderbolt had fallen.

It was unknown whether Charlotte Linlin was dead or alive.

"Hiss..."

The pain from the burns made Jin An involuntarily twitch the corner of his mouth.

Because this move required too much preparation time, he could not avoid Charlotte Linlin's attack. He could only use a strategy of trading injury for injury.

However, the pain in his body made him unwilling to use that fighting style again.

Strictly speaking, this move had not been accomplished through Jin An's own power. He had borrowed Sasuke's method of using Kirin, using a strand of aura to draw upon nature's power and achieve his goal.

The uses and strength of a Devil Fruit ability depended on how its user developed it. In Jin An's subconscious, the Azure Dragon was one of the Four Celestial Spirits and one of the Seven Mansions of the East.

It possessed endless possibilities, leaving plenty of room for different paths of development.