Joy Boy's palm rested on Pedro's shoulder.
Hearing the Drum of Liberation resounding so close, the pain in Pedro's abdomen eased rapidly, and the color gradually returned to his pale face.
He gritted his teeth. "Joy Boy, I..."
"Live on, Pedro. I want you to witness the coming New World with me."
A corner of Joy Boy's straw hat lifted slightly in the night wind as he continued, "I already told you, this is not your battlefield. Go and help your people."
With that, Joy Boy gently set Pedro down and turned his gaze toward the five Admirals in the distance.
A surge of red and black Conqueror's Haki burst forth from him, sweeping across the frozen battlefield like a raging tide.
Pedro looked at Joy Boy with deep reverence.
He nodded firmly. "Those five are extremely powerful, Joy Boy. Be careful."
Joy Boy gave a faint smile and raised his hand. "No need to worry. This time, I will not fail again."
Pedro said nothing further. He clenched his fists tightly and rushed back toward the battlefield behind him.
Aokiji glanced at the ice blade in his hand, now riddled with cracks from the impact of Joy Boy's Conqueror's Haki.
He clicked his tongue. "Oh my, looks like it is finally time to get serious."
The moment his words fell, the two Plutons on the battlefield completed their charge at the same time.
Two beams of dark green light tore through the night sky and collided head on.
The damaged First Generation Pluton trembled violently, while the Second Generation Pluton stood firm, unmoved.
Meanwhile, Joy Boy had already vanished from where he once stood.
A sharp glint flashed across Kizaru's brown-tinted glasses.
He spoke in an unusually serious tone. "Up there."
In the next instant, Kizaru gripped the Ama no Murakumo and transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting straight into the sky.
The clash of metal rang out above, followed by countless fragments of golden light scattering like rain, blasting charred holes across the icy ground below.
Joy Boy blocked the Ama no Murakumo with a hand coated in Haki.
Grinning widely, he said, "Such quick reflexes. As expected of the Glint-Glint Fruit."
Kizaru smiled as well. "Against someone like you, being slow would be fatal."
As he spoke, he extended a finger from his sword hand.
A cross-shaped flash of light formed at his fingertip, aimed directly at Joy Boy's face.
In the next moment, a golden laser fired point blank, exploding on impact.
Joy Boy took the attack head on.
Yet after the smoke cleared, he merely shook his head, dispersing the black smoke, then shouted exaggeratedly, "My eyes! My eyes!!"
Kizaru's gaze sharpened behind his glasses.
His body dissolved into countless points of light and reformed behind Joy Boy.
At the same moment, Kuma appeared as well.
Joy Boy continued his exaggerated shouting, completely unguarded.
Kuma raised his hand and struck downward, landing squarely on the straw hat atop Joy Boy's head.
With a soft popping sound, Joy Boy vanished instantly.
It appeared that Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit had taken effect, but Kuma's expression remained grave.
Everyone present understood that Joy Boy could not be defeated so easily.
Akainu, Aokiji, and Aramaki immediately turned their attention toward the center of the battlefield.
There, within a massive paw-shaped crater, Joy Boy stood laughing loudly.
"Hahaha! Fun, fun! That ability is really interesting!"
In the next second, magma, ice, and a massive surge of vegetation rushed toward him simultaneously from three directions.
Joy Boy covered his face with one hand.
With a light push from his legs, his body shot high into the sky, effortlessly evading the combined assault.
He reappeared directly in front of Kuma, grinning as he threw a punch.
Kuma raised his paw pad to block it, but immediately felt an overwhelming elasticity from Joy Boy's strike.
For a moment, the elasticity of the Paw-Paw Fruit and the rubbery nature of the Nika Fruit clashed, sending ripples through the air.
Kuma's paw pad trembled, and fine beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
In contrast, Joy Boy remained completely at ease.
He even extended his little finger and flicked Kuma's paw pad playfully, laughing as he did so.
Even with Kuma's composed nature, irritation flickered within him at Joy Boy's mocking behavior.
Lowering his head slightly, Kuma pressed the compressed air sphere in his other hand directly against Joy Boy's abdomen.
Joy Boy's body trembled violently, followed by a chain of explosions.
Seizing the moment, Kuma struck Joy Boy across the face, sending him flying.
Kizaru immediately followed up from above.
He delivered a light-speed kick, turning Joy Boy into a streak of light that crashed violently into the ice below.
Akainu wasted no time.
He pressed both hands onto the frozen surface.
Magma surged beneath the ice like a raging crimson tide, erupting violently from the crater Joy Boy had created.
The hole expanded rapidly as molten rock burst forth, forming a scene reminiscent of a volcanic eruption.
Under such a relentless barrage, even a Yonko would suffer severe damage.
But Joy Boy was no ordinary opponent.
Amid an odd, almost comedic tone, he rose from the magma, now wearing a pair of goggles he had somehow produced.
He landed on a fragment of floating ice.
Feigning unsteadiness, he staggered slightly before letting out a loud burp, releasing a puff of white mist shaped like Kuma's paw.
Patting his stomach, he shook his head. "That was close. Almost blew my stomach apart."
Aokiji narrowed his eyes as he watched Joy Boy's antics.
"Is that guy even human?"
If he had taken Kuma's attack directly to the stomach, he would not have fared nearly as well.
After all, Kuma's attacks were infused with Haki, not just Devil Fruit power.
Joy Boy's resilience was beyond normal comprehension.
Aramaki scoffed. "Just a clown. I am tired of his performance."
Cracking sounds echoed as countless vines burst forth from his body, intertwining and expanding.
In moments, they formed a colossal treant towering over a hundred meters tall.
Even the giants on the battlefield appeared small before it.
"Forest of Hate!"
The massive treant roared and charged forward, accompanied by a surging sea of vegetation.
The instant Joy Boy turned his head, Aramaki was already upon him.
A gigantic fist slammed downward, driving Joy Boy and the shattered ice beneath him deep into the sea.
Moments later, Joy Boy's flattened body slowly floated back to the surface like a pancake.
Then, in an instant, his form expanded like a balloon, swelling back to normal as he hovered before Aramaki once again.
=≠=
Want to read ahead?
Get access to chapters before they are released on Webnovel through Patreon.
Patreon: _Zeph