Devil Fruit Awakening

"Try stopping this if you've got the guts!"

As Jiang Lin charged forward, Jozu hurled an ice ball dozens of meters high straight in his direction.

"Hey, hey, hey! There's a limit to how far you can take a joke!"

Jiang Lin stopped helplessly. Jozu's attack hadn't been aimed at him; he had simply charged into the Navy's ranks at the worst possible moment. Naturally, that made him one of the targets.

"Honestly, those fools abandoned their posts. If we all charge out, who's going to hold this position?"

Cursing as the giant chunk of ice bore down on them, Akainu rose from his seat. His right hand boiled and swelled, scorching magma flowing over it. With one punch, he shattered the entire mass.

So strong! Is this Akainu's power?

Standing amid the Navy's encirclement, Jiang Lin watched Akainu's display of strength, his eyes narrowing.

Akainu's attack put Jiang Lin under tremendous pressure. The unease deep in his heart made him realize that the outcome of this battle was still far from certain.

Devil Fruit Awakening!

Under that pressure, Jiang Lin turned his attention to the system feature. He hadn't used it since obtaining it, but faced with a formidable enemy, he had no choice but to take a risk.

Devil Fruit Awakening: Every Devil Fruit has the potential to awaken. If the host fights an enemy of Admiral-level strength or above for at least thirty minutes, or kills one such enemy, the host may awaken one of his Devil Fruits at random or by choice.

Fighting an Admiral for thirty minutes or killing one was no task Jiang Lin could accomplish by holding back. He would have to risk his life in battle to meet the conditions for Devil Fruit Awakening.

Devil Fruit Awakening mission activated. Within the next twenty-four hours, the host must fight an enemy of Admiral-level strength or above for thirty minutes, or kill one such enemy. Success: awaken one of the host's Devil Fruits at random or by choice. Failure: one of the host's Devil Fruit Cards will be erased at random, and the host will permanently lose the ability to copy that Devil Fruit Card again.

As the system's voice rang out, Jiang Lin knew he had committed to the worst-case scenario. At the risk of permanently losing a Devil Fruit Card, he had given himself a possible edge in the battles ahead.

"Heh heh! Jiang Lin, you can't save Ace. Even without the giant troops and Admiral Akainu behind me, you can't get past me."

Doflamingo "flew" through the air and swooped toward Jiang Lin at breakneck speed, moving in for the kill.

"I'll take your power!"

Jiang Lin removed the Glint-Glint Fruit and equipped the Dark-Dark Fruit again.

"Black Vortex!"

A fierce pull erupted, dragging Doflamingo out of the air and straight into Jiang Lin's hand.

"This power of yours..."

Doflamingo had never encountered the Dark-Dark Fruit's power. Caught unprepared, he paid for it immediately. The moment Jiang Lin seized him by the throat, he lost his Devil Fruit powers.

BANG!

A fine white halo appeared around Jiang Lin's hand, and a shockwave drove straight into Doflamingo's body.

"Gah!"

Dark-red blood burst from Doflamingo's mouth, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant.

BOOM!

With his blow landed, Jiang Lin pressed down and slammed Doflamingo hard into the ground.

WHOOSH!

Just as Jiang Lin pinned Doflamingo down and prepared to finish him, Hawk-Eye, who had been watching coldly from the platform, made his move. A gleaming slash flew from his hand straight toward Jiang Lin.

BOOM!

Jiang Lin did not dare underestimate Hawk-Eye's slash. He released Doflamingo and slid back a step, narrowly avoiding the attack.

"You have that man's power. Let me be your opponent!"

Hawk-Eye's gaze shifted to Jiang Lin below.

Another troublesome opponent.

Jiang Lin frowned at Hawk-Eye. Even with the Devil Fruit powers he possessed now, taking him on would be no easy feat.

"What's wrong? Have you lost interest because I have no Devil Fruit powers?"

Hawk-Eye's eyes widened. An overwhelming presence surged from him, sending the nearby Navy soldiers scrambling away.

"Hawk-Eye's taken on D? Good. That man is still our greatest problem."

Seeing Hawk-Eye hold Jiang Lin back, Sengoku turned his attention once more to Whitebeard, who had stood motionless all this time.

Since arriving on the battlefield, Whitebeard had done nothing beyond exchanging a few words with Jiang Lin and briefly throwing an arm around his shoulders. Like a mountain, he had stood at the center of the battlefield, holding the entire field in check.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Just as the battle began to take shape, the magma Akainu had unleashed after melting the iceberg formed into blazing Volcanic Bombs that rained down from above.

The Whitebeard Pirates fought back against the Volcanic Bombs bursting outward like fireworks. Countless bombs shattered and broke apart at their hands.

Even Whitebeard, who had yet to make a move, struck back when the Volcanic Bombs came his way, stopping those headed for the Moby Dick.

"If you're going to throw around that much fire, go light some birthday candles, magma brat!"

Whitebeard grinned and laughed heartily.

Not far across from him, Akainu finished his attack and gave a slight smile of his own. "Don't like a lavish funeral, Whitebeard?"

"Hahaha... He'll carry on my will! D, go! Everyone, cover D! Get him up there, to where my son is!"

Whitebeard raised Murakumogiri in one hand, then brought it down hard against the deck beside him.

"Yeah! Cover D! Brothers, charge!"

Marco, captain of the first division, wreathed himself in blue flames and transformed into a Phoenix. He flew straight toward Jiang Lin, with every other division captain following him.

"Everyone, thank you! Hawk-Eye, move!"

Jiang Lin roared and clenched both fists. A violent shockwave spread outward, instantly shattering the air around him.

The air shook, and even the ground beneath Jiang Lin could not withstand it. It began to crack and collapse!

"An earthquake!"

Jiang Lin's strike had triggered an earthquake. Its power was terrifying!