Chapter 90 — Mark of Thunder
Aside from Apate, what exactly made Joy Boy's power—his Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika—so different from the rest?
Even Azazel, the Demon King whose strength was beyond reason, didn't hesitate to call it "the most absurd, the most free, and the most unpredictable power in existence."
In Azazel's eyes, Joy Boy wasn't just another conscious demon. He was the embodiment of unchained natural law—a force governed by limitless freedom. An existence untethered by anything.
And what made Azazel reach that conclusion?
Because even back then, Joy Boy as a demon was already vastly different. He didn't need to consume human souls to maintain his strength, nor did he absorb life energy to sustain immortality...
Maybe, only a human with the freest spirit in the world could ever be chosen by Joy Boy's power.
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Yet, the true irony was… it was Azazel—a demon tainted by the darkest of sins—who wielded the purest and most divine ability of all.
At the very top of his back, shone a pair of radiant golden wings—brighter than any other set. These wings housed the most terrifying, world-ending technique Azazel had possessed since birth—
Divine Light of World Purification.
A holy radiance capable of wiping out every trace of darkness across the world.
Once activated, Azazel could tap into a fraction of the solar flare from the nearest star—the very sun of this solar system—and focus its blinding output into a single point on the planet's surface.
In an instant, the holy light would pierce the skies and descend from above, hammering its target like divine judgment passed down from the heavens—a sacred smite, meant to obliterate evil from existence.
Just one strike was enough to vaporize an entire island. Not a scrap would remain on the map.
Within the radius of the Divine Light of World Purification, there was no such thing as survival—living or inanimate. Everything was erased. No exceptions.
But this godlike power came with a serious catch.
Or rather… a flaw that could not be ignored.
As previously mentioned, the technique didn't differentiate between friend or foe. Once you were within range, you died. No matter who or what you were.
Which meant that unless Azazel was prepared to die along with Tachibana Kyūjō, he couldn't use this move mid-battle. Even he couldn't escape its massive radius in time.
So then—why was this still considered his ultimate weapon?
Because the range was utterly ridiculous.
How far could it reach?
Well—
Even if Azazel stood at Mariejois, he could still precisely aim the Divine Light of World Purification at a target deep within the Grand Line!
In fact, he could aim even farther than that. As long as he had the exact coordinates, every location on the planet could be turned into a target zone.
This power exceeded any modern satellite-based weapon. Compared to Earth's nukes, it was more terrifying… more absolute… more untouchable.
This was one of the reasons Azazel and Imu had sat atop the Empty Throne for over eight centuries, completely unchallenged.
— — —
Through thousands of simulations processed by his Infinity-based perception system, Tachibana Kyūjō had come to a grim realization.
Assuming he didn't count Imu's Colorless Haki, there were still only two possible ways to kill Azazel.
First — take him down in a single, decisive strike.
Second — exhaust all of Azazel's energy reserves and give him zero room to recover.
However, the second option came with a terrifying risk...
If Azazel sensed he couldn't win, he might just decide to drag Kyūjō into death with him—unleashing the Divine Light of World Purification as a final, suicidal attack.
What's worse...
Kyūjō didn't have enough power right now to do either of those things.
The only reason he'd survived this long was thanks to Infinity's hyper-advanced perception system, which allowed him to see and construct future possibilities far ahead of time.
If he hadn't tricked Imu into talking long enough to finish installing the perception plug-in...
If he hadn't managed to replicate the usage of Colorless Haki...
Then even if he threw everything he had at Azazel, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
But now... things had changed.
His power had grown exponentially.
Now, he had the strength to stake everything—his life, his will, his future—on this one battle.
A true life-or-death gamble.
— — —
"Haah..." Kyūjō exhaled slowly.
With the help of his Infinity simulations, he'd been playing an extended game of cat and mouse with Azazel. But at this point, he could no longer deny the obvious.
Today... he might have no choice but to activate that Mark of Thunder.
Inside his mind, the Infinity system had simulated tens of thousands of battle plans, each one increasingly complex, desperate, and insane.
And as always—the tougher the enemy, the more convoluted the path to victory. The harder the conditions just to survive.
With his current power, without invoking the Mark of Thunder through his Breathing Style, the best-case scenario…
Was dying together with Azazel.
That's right.
Even the best outcome was a mutual kill.
Out of all the simulations, only four showed any possibility of taking Azazel down with him.
And even then... they were filled with unknown variables.
The highest projected success rate was 6.84%. The lowest? 2.5%.
And those were only achievable if Azazel unknowingly helped him—and Kyūjō made zero mistakes.
Having weighed the odds, Kyūjō decided to stop thinking. He calmed his breathing and began regulating the tempo of his lungs.
Thunder Breathing ver. 3.0 — initiated.
In an instant, the air within several hundred meters around him was swept away. Without hesitation, Kyūjō drew his focus inward—into the core of his body, where his heart had long ceased to resemble that of a human.
It now beat like a steel engine.
Luckily, this wasn't his first time doing this. And with his Infinity perception now far more refined than before, unlocking the Mark of Thunder no longer felt like a struggle.
And then...
Thump... Thump...
Thump... Thump...
Thump... Thump...
The ground began to tremble with each deep, rhythmic pulse—like the echo of war drums shaking the battlefield.
From a distance, Azazel's eyes narrowed.
Something felt off.
For the first time in over 800 years… a shiver of unease crept into his chest.
The last time he'd felt this kind of pressure... was when he was preparing to fuse with the human called Imu. Back then, it was fear of failure—of an uncontrollable mutation...
But this time, it was something else.
The war-drum heartbeat thundering from Kyūjō's chest stirred something primal inside him.
For the first time...
He felt pressure. Real, undeniable pressure.
— — —
Meanwhile, Kyūjō's chest continued to pound—his breathing synced perfectly, body moving in an unseen rhythm that no ordinary eye could track.
His face remained calm.
Eyes closed.
He stood motionless, allowing his body to enter full synchronization with the Mark of Thunder—not making a single unnecessary move until the entire system aligned.
He didn't even glance at Azazel.
— — —
"Haah..." Kyūjō let out another breath, soft and steady.
By this point, there was nothing left to hesitate about.
He just hoped... for a little more time.
Just a little...
So he could see that foolish girl's face again—
Even if it was the last time.
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