"One minute has passed. The String-String Fruit has been successfully copied."
Just as Jiang Lin unleashed a quake, a system notification echoed in his mind.
"Oh my, oh my! What a terrifying young man—he's no longer my match."
Kizaru, loafing about on the front lines, feigned a look of shock as he watched the earth-shattering chaos unfold behind him, shaking his head as though "frightened."
"All forces, make stopping D your top priority—halt and kill him!"
Sengoku's order escalated once more. After witnessing Jiang Lin's power, murderous intent had already taken root in his heart.
"The String-String Fruit is now equipped. Duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: thirty seconds."
Jiang Lin unequipped the Quake-Quake Fruit, which was nearly off cooldown, and immediately loaded the freshly obtained String-String Fruit.
"Sky Path!"
While chaos spread from the quake, Jiang Lin seized the chance to soar into the air, flying toward the execution platform.
"Inugami Guren!"
A blazing magma hound's punch shot forth from the golden throne beneath the platform, hurtling toward Jiang Lin midair.
At last, in response to Jiang Lin's relentless advance, Akainu himself had taken the field.
"Spider's Web!"
Jiang Lin countered instantly, threads as fine as spider silk shooting from his left hand to intercept Akainu's magma strike.
"You have launched an attack on Sakazuki, wielder of the Magma-Magma Fruit. The system will now begin copying his Devil Fruit. Please endure for one minute."
Finally, Jiang Lin had reached this point—his first battle against Akainu. The searing magma, brimming with overwhelming might, made his expression twist in shock.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion blasted from his shoulder. Scorching flames instantly consumed his clothes and burned away the flesh on his left shoulder.
"Argh!"
Agonizing pain drenched Jiang Lin in cold sweat, his face contorting violently.
"The gap is enormous!"
Only after clashing head-on did Jiang Lin truly feel the terror of an Admiral. The crushing pressure, the overwhelming strength—he was nowhere near comparable.
His physical ability was leagues beneath an Admiral's. If it weren't for the variety of Devil Fruits at his disposal, he wouldn't even qualify to exchange blows with Akainu.
"Akainu! Take this!"
Enduring the pain, Jiang Lin rose to his feet and unleashed the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
"Dark Water!"
A violent suction burst from his hand, dragging Akainu's body toward him.
"Inugami Guren!"
Even as he was pulled in, Akainu countered without hesitation. A crimson magma hound, jaws agape, lunged at Jiang Lin.
"Come on, Akainu!"
Staring straight at the system interface, Jiang Lin roared as the magma beast rushed toward him.
"Cooldown for the Bird-Bird Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Phoenix Form: 10 seconds remaining… 9 seconds…"
The countdown ticked steadily, but Jiang Lin knew—right now, all he could rely on was himself.
"Ahhh…"
The burning agony swept through his body in an instant. For the first time, Jiang Lin experienced this kind of bone-deep torment, as though his entire body had been seared into nothingness. His vision blurred.
If not for sheer willpower holding him up, he would have long since collapsed into unconsciousness.
"Got you, Akainu!"
A gruesome grin twisted Jiang Lin's face as he confronted Akainu. By now, almost a third of his body had been burned by the magma. Under such torment, any ordinary man would have already died or slipped into delirium.
Yet Jiang Lin, clinging to his unyielding will, refused to fall—because he knew if he collapsed here, death was certain.
"Jiang Lin! Hold on!"
From a distance, Whitebeard's face showed rare concern. He longed to charge forward, but he knew he couldn't move. Sengoku, Garp, Aokiji, and Kizaru all fixed their gazes on him. If he made a move to save Jiang Lin, it would only spell disaster for him. All Whitebeard could do was silently cheer for Jiang Lin in his heart.
"D!"
Marco rushed forward, horrified by Jiang Lin's condition, only to be intercepted by Doflamingo.
"You dared to humiliate me this much? Die! Fufufufu!"
Doflamingo's eyes burned with venomous hatred—he wished nothing more than for Jiang Lin to perish at Akainu's hands.
"Jiang Lin, you mustn't fall!"
From atop the execution platform, Ace's face was etched with unspoken worry as he stared at Jiang Lin, engulfed in flames.
"D! Your existence is far too terrifying. Perhaps dying here is your best fate."
Sengoku looked at Jiang Lin with a trace of regret. If Jiang Lin had been a Navy talent, Sengoku would have risked his Fleet Admiral position to protect him.
Because Jiang Lin had declared himself an enemy of the Navy, Sengoku saw only one possible outcome—his destruction.
"Enter the darkness—Dark Hole!"
Jiang Lin sneered as boundless darkness surged from his body, swallowing everything it touched.
"Haki!"
Even without his Devil Fruit power, Akainu's strength was never solely dependent on it. His physique and combat skills far exceeded Jiang Lin's imagination.
Coating his right hand in Haki, Akainu flipped the tide, slamming Jiang Lin hard onto the ground.
Freed from Jiang Lin's pull, Akainu gathered fresh magma in his fist and thrust it toward Jiang Lin's face.
"Fufufu… I held out, Akainu!"
Facing near-certain death, Jiang Lin suddenly erupted into wild laughter. At that very moment, a system notification rang in his mind:
"Thirty seconds have passed. The Bird-Bird Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Phoenix Form, has cooled down."