You're a Little Sticky, Brother!

However, it was clear that Akuta's mutually beneficial proposal.

Suddenly, intense flames erupted around Jhin, distorting the surrounding air and even causing distant wooden buildings to crackle under the intense heat.

"Guardian Fire Dragon Emperor!"

Jin didn't utter any more words of nonsense. The fire dragon that had once illuminated the harbor's night sky like daytime was now vividly formed under his blade.

A massive fire dragon, accompanied by scorching heat waves, like a true fiery dragon, surged towards Akuta from the other end of the street with destructive force.

Before the flames arrived, the heat wave had already blown the stray hairs on Akuta's forehead wildly backward.

But Akuta showed no intention of retreating; he didn't even adopt any defensive stance.

He narrowed his eyes, watching the roaring fire dragon approach, and a slow smile crept onto his lips.

"This again? Jhin, don't you have any more innovative moves? I'm so tired of seeing the same thing over and over again."

The moment the words left his mouth, Akuta's body suddenly seemed to be pulled from the side by something, moving several meters laterally at an angle that defied the laws of physics.

His body didn't dodge by force, but rather as if it were being dragged away by a shadow, leaving no trace.

The fire dragon roared past where he had been standing, burning half the street into a crimson ravine.

"Behold my entwined shadow!"

The sound of the Akuta rang out from behind Jin's ear, faster than the sound of the wind.

Jin's Observation Haki only caught a blurry black shadow. By the time he turned to slash back, the shadow was already pressed against his ankle.

The shadow coiled upwards, spreading from his heels to his torso, clinging to his limbs, waist, abdomen, wrists, and shoulders like a living snake.

Every inch of the shadow brought a cold, Binding Vow feeling, creating a stark temperature difference with the raging flames burning on Ember's body.

"You think this thing can trap me?!"

Jin roared and struggled, his muscles bulging as he forcefully opened his arms, trying to break free from the shadow that was clinging to him.

But something unexpected happened to Jin.

These shadows were more resilient than those he had encountered before. Instead of being immediately freed by Jin, they continued to contract and harden under the immense force, tightening their grip on him.

"It's not over yet." Akuta appeared from mid-air, his gaze indifferent.

"Don't waste your energy, this is just the beginning."

"Take another Shadow Parasite!"

Akuta's palm rose towards Ember.

The next moment, the shadows Binding Vow Jin seemed to come alive, transforming from pure black into a constantly writhing, blood vessel-like entity.

Jin clearly felt the shadows Binding Vow his body were rapidly burrowing into him, attacking him from within!

Jin subconsciously coated his body with Armament Haki, attempting to block the shadow's attack.

But he soon discovered that the injuries caused by the shadow's intrusion were minor.

Even more deadly was that Jhin felt his power rapidly draining away; the shadow was absorbing his energy!

His physical strength, domineering aura, and even his consciousness were being drained from his body by those tentacle-like shadows.

"You... bastard!"

Jin's knees buckled, and he plummeted from the sky, unable to maintain his flight any longer, crashing heavily to the ground.

He hadn't expected the Akuta to have this trick up its sleeve; it hadn't even been shown in the last battle!

Could it be that this guy really didn't use his full strength in the last battle?!

The devouring effect of the shadow grew stronger and stronger, and Jhin felt as if a million ants were gnawing at his body.

Akuta, who was not far away, was also quite surprised. To be honest, this was the first time he had ever used this technique.

After the last challenge, his "Shadow-Shadow Fruit" ability was greatly enhanced, giving rise to many abilities that he himself was unaware of.

He discovered this ability to absorb other people's energy by chance this morning when he was bored.

He was preparing breakfast, planning to eat his fill before heading to Onigashima to fight Kaido, when he casually killed a wild boar in the mountains with a shadow prick.

It was at that moment, as Akuta stabbed the shadow into the wild boar while thinking about how to cook it, that he miraculously triggered the shadow's ability to absorb the energy of other life forms!

Looking at Jin's unwilling expression, Akuta spoke with an unusually calm tone.

"This is my shadow parasite; the harder you try, the faster it eats you."

"Asshole..."

Jin tried to lift his head, but even the muscles in his neck began to betray him.

The shadow had covered most of his body, with only his head remaining, barely kept conscious by the flames.

"It's over, Ember."

Akuta raised his right hand, and the shadows gathered, compressed, and spun wildly in his palm, finally condensing into a jet-black spear.

The gun was completely devoid of any other color; it was as black as a section of abyss drawn from the edge of the world.

"Take another one of my Shadow Overlord Spears!"

With a flick of his wrist, the spear flew from his hand.

The black gunshot, like a meteor falling to earth, tore through the air and plunged straight into Jin's chest.

"Cough!"

Jhin's body was pierced through by this attack and pinned to the ground.

The shadow spear pierced through his chest and emerged from his back, pinning Ember firmly to the ground.

His flames extinguished at a visible speed, leaving only tiny sparks flickering on his fingertips.

Feeling his strength dwindling, Jin looked up towards Oni Island.

'I'm sorry, Lord Kaido... I can't continue this journey with you...'

With Jhin falling to the ground, the battlefield fell completely silent.

A moment later, the surrounding pirates seemed to wake from a dream and let out heart-wrenching screams.

"Lord Jin!"

"How is this possible... Lord Jin has been..."

"Run!"

Apart from a few sharp-headed pirates, the other pirates instantly collapsed and scattered in all directions like birds and beasts.

Akuta was too lazy to pursue these people, and only killed the pirates who rushed up.

He slowly landed in front of Jin, his gaze sweeping over Jin's face, which was half covered in blood and ash.

"I didn't come here to kill you." Akuta squatted down, his tone neither mocking nor smug.

"I originally just wanted to find Kaido."

Jin's lips twitched, but no sound came out.

He was completely exhausted, his consciousness floating in the darkness, only his eyes stubbornly staring at the Akuta, like a spark that refused to be extinguished.

Akuta stood up and retracted the Shadow Overlord Spear into his body. As Jin's body lost its support, he fell to the ground.

He glanced at the ashes on the ground, then dusted off his clothes and looked deeper into the ghost island.

Kaido may not be here, but he'll come back eventually.

Since he's not here, let's wait a while.

"Let's wait a while then. I don't believe he won't come back."

Akuta uttered a low voice, then retracted its Shadow Wings and flew towards the center of Ghost Island.