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"Peerless Donuts!" Katakuri yelled, remaining calm. Only by remaining calm could his Observation Haki see the future. He often used it to "learn" his opponents' moves and counter them.
But against Jin, it was useless.
Learn it? How could he possibly learn it? Jin had done nothing but throw punches and kicks from the very beginning. It was a pure, overwhelming beatdown of raw power—there were no techniques to copy.
It was absurd.
Katakuri controlled the ground, and massive donuts of mochi formed in the air, surrounding Jin.
Then, "Mochi Glee!"
From the center of each donut, a massive, Haki-hardened arm of mochi shot out.
A giant mochi fist crashed down, followed by another, and another. It was a spectacular and terrifying sight.
The relentless attacks came from all sides.
Jin met them with his own fists, blocking every single one.
The sound of their impacts was deafening.
"WUUUAAAAAH..." Katakuri roared, his attacks becoming more and more frantic, the giant mochi arms a relentless tidal wave of blows, each one stronger than the last.
The mochi began to glow red-hot, steam rising from its surface as if it were on fire.
But Jin was calm. In the storm of fists, the trajectory of each attack was clear in his mind.
All he had to do was follow the path, to punch, to parry.
Suddenly, a line of poetry came to his mind.
"Biting down on the green mountain, not letting go, its roots deep in the broken rock. A thousand strikes, ten thousand blows, yet it remains strong, letting the winds from all directions blow."
Though he was trapped in place, he was not in trouble. He was in complete control.
He stood his ground, an unmovable mountain. And as the fight went on, he became more and more relaxed.
His punches became fluid, natural, tracing beautiful arcs through the air.
Anyone who has been in a real fight knows that a clenched fist is not always the best. You need a certain "looseness." A tight fist can't unleash its full power.
Only when you can freely extend and retract, tense and relax, can you unleash a truly explosive force.
As he began to grasp this concept, in the midst of the battle, Jin started to understand the state that the warriors of the Flower Capital pursued.
A perfect unity—with oneself, with the world, with the flow of battle itself.
A supreme state of being.
You could call it... the Way.
In that instant, Jin, the wind, the clouds, and Katakuri's fists all existed in a state of perfect harmony.
The mochi that had trapped him had been shattered by the force of their blows.
And then, amidst the storm of giant fists, he "saw" a path. He calmly walked along it.
"What??" Katakuri was horrified. It was as if Jin could see his every move, dodging by a hair's breadth.
It was uncanny.
Danger!
Alarm bells screamed in Katakuri's mind. Behind him, more donuts formed, and from them, more giant fists. He controlled them, merging them with his own arms, creating two massive, scorching hot fists.
"Burning Mochi!"
He threw both fists, and the flames covered half the sky.
Jin leaped into the air and met the attack with his own punches.
Compared to Katakuri's spectacular display, his attack was simple, almost plain.
But his breathing, the expansion and contraction of his muscles and tendons—they were in perfect harmony.
When he threw a punch, it was not just his own strength, but the strength of the world behind him.
The world itself had become his power.
Conqueror's and Armament Haki coiled around his fists.
To Katakuri, it was as if the entire sky and earth were crashing down on him, as if the whole world were squeezing him.
Was it an illusion?
No.
It was an indescribable aura.
His "Ki" had filled the entire area, creating a "domain" of its own.
Even Katakuri's awakened state was being suppressed.
It all happened in an instant.
Their fists collided.
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A dull, thunderous roar.
Jin's fist was like a cannonball, a powerful, focused strike that slammed into the massive mochi fist.
The contained power of his punch exploded outward.
There was no struggle.
With a single impact, Katakuri was sent flying, like a meteor streaking across the sky.
He lost control of his body. The immense force of the blow had left him completely rigid.
He could hear his bones cracking, his skin tearing...
Pain?
He felt nothing.
He was numb.
Katakuri looked up at the sky.
Defeated?
He had never been defeated before.
And now... his undefeated streak was broken.
How did it feel?
He couldn't say.
Pain? Anger? Disappointment?
It was none of those.
It was... a sense of relief. As if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
So this was what it was like to lose.
He fell from the sky.
CRASH!
A sand dune exploded, a fountain of sand and dirt shooting into the air.
He was driven dozens of meters into the ground, until he hit the solid rock foundation of what was once the city of Erumalu.
It was over. Jin had won.
And it had been easy.
Compared to the battered and beaten Katakuri, he had barely broken a sweat.
The gap between them was clear.
Stussy was stunned, her expression complex. The young man before her reminded her of a certain terrifying person.
"KATAKURI!"
Daifuku and Oven, who had just woken up, had seen him fall. They cried out in shock.
In the Big Mom Pirates, Katakuri was the most beloved, their "hero."
As Big Mom grew older, as her eating disorder worsened, as she became more and more unreliable, Katakuri had become the tower that protected the family.
And today, the undefeated man, their "hero," had fallen. They couldn't believe it.
They rushed toward the spot where he had fallen.
Jin's breathing was steady. He took a moment to savor the feeling. Real combat... it really was the fastest way to put his "stats" to use.
Of course, it had to be against an opponent like Katakuri, someone who could give him a good fight.
Daifuku and Oven pulled the unconscious Katakuri from the crater.
He was covered in blood, but he was still alive.
They needed to get him to a doctor, quickly.
The life force of the strong in the world of One Piece was exceptionally resilient. Unless you were killed on the spot, you could usually recover.
Like Zoro, who had taken the full force of the "Conquest of the Sea," his bones shattered, and after a short rest, he was back on his feet, as good as new. A complete freak of nature.
"Hey!" Jin called out.
Oven and Daifuku froze and turned to look at him, sweat beading on their foreheads. The contempt they had shown him before was gone.
In its place was tension, fear, and awe.
This man was terrifyingly strong.
"Remember," Jin said. "You still owe me three Devil Fruits."
"Right, of course..." Oven stammered. "We'll have them sent over."
"Good."
Jin smiled with satisfaction. Six Devil Fruits in one go. You really had to "rob" the big players. They had the connections and the resources to collect them.
"So... Mr. King, sir... can we go now?" Daifuku asked, his tone now humble, respectful, his expression cleared of all its previous arrogance.
"Go on," Jin said. "And when you're looking for a doctor, be polite. After all, you're on foreign soil. If your actions reflect badly on me, it could damage my reputation..."
"No, of course not," Oven said quickly. "You can count on us."
"Alright," Jin said. "Follow the river down. It will take you to Nanohana. Don't get lost."
"Thank you!"
Oven and Daifuku bowed politely, and then, leaving their camels behind, they picked up Katakuri and fled.
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