Dong…!
A sound like a massive temple bell echoed far into the distance!
Loki seemed to trigger a time-stop mechanism, his body frozen mid-air.
His eyes bulged, his lips wide open, his tongue lolling out like a wave.
"Fly far away, Loki!!!"
With Bazel's roar, the 'time-stop' ended.
Loki screamed as he was sent flying toward the sea, shockwave rings continuously forming around his body due to the high speed.
Boom!
The sea erupted into waves hundreds of meters high.
Dorry, watching from the crowd below, was dumbfounded:
"Brogy, Bazel has gotten much stronger than before! Weren't you saying you wanted a rematch with him? I support you!"
Brogy pretended not to hear, staying silent.
Regardless of Loki's reputation, his strength was absolutely top-tier.
Especially now that his body was maturing, it could be said that in Elbaf, aside from Harald, no one could reliably suppress Loki.
Not even he or Dorry.
They might be able to win, but Brogy couldn't even estimate the odds of victory himself.
Rumble!
The originally clear sky suddenly turned dark and overcast.
Lightning snakes danced within the clouds.
"Ragnir, kill him!!"
A furious roar erupted from the sea. Immediately after, a giant wreathed in lightning burst forth.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Loki shot forward like a missile.
The black iron hammer in his hand flashed with dazzling lightning!
Ragnir, also known as Iron Thunder, was a special weapon capable of attracting and controlling thunder.
Due to its unique material, very few Giants in the entire world could even lift it.
The hammer struck its target, and lightning that seemed to pierce heaven and earth instantly descended.
"Awaken, Thunder Serpent."
The last Phantom Serpent Spirit Bazel carried with him slithered out from his sleeve, lunging toward the lightning aimed at its master.
In an instant, Loki's previously ferocious expression turned blank.
"Hey hey, what is this?!"
Seeing the lightning he had unleashed circling the opponent like a puppy, Loki felt the urge to drop his hammer and quit.
'How the hell was I supposed to fight this!'
'Lightning was my weapon, and now it had become the other guy's pet?!'
"One of the abilities of Yamata no Orochi. You didn't think this Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit only had the ability to enhance the body, did you?"
Bazel extended his right hand, rather flippantly scratching the Thunder Serpent under its chin. Watching the elemental Thunder Serpent squint its eyes in pleasure, a spark of inspiration flashed through Bazel's mind.
But before this inspiration could be realized, Loki's continuous attacks were already upon him.
Observation Haki, combined with the combat instincts of his Gear 3's state, controlled his body to automatically evade.
Sinking backward, he avoided another hammer strike from Loki, his hands grabbing the giant's ankles.
His waist twisted, the veins on his arms bulging.
Angry shouts continuously erupted from deep within his throat.
Bazel, holding onto Loki's foot, began spinning him like a windmill.
After spinning an unknown number of times, Bazel slammed him forcefully into the ground.
Then, his mouth opened, and behind his sharp fangs, an intensely condensed flame appeared.
Whoosh!!!
The onlookers only saw a line of fire shoot from Bazel's mouth, directly hitting the dust cloud where Loki lay.
Boom, boom, boom!
The massive explosion sent smoke billowing into the sky!
Olga hurriedly clung to Toki's leg to steady herself.
"The hell, when did that stinky snake get so strong…"
No one answered. Even Hanafuda and King were focused on the battle.
If it came to one-on-one combat, the current strongest in the Beasts Pirates was naturally Kaido.
Next in line was Bazel.
He and the others would have to move further down the list.
Although somewhat unwilling, they knew in their hearts that if Bazel got serious, they were no match for him.
"Arber…"
Hanafuda said with a grave expression, "I remember Bazel has another Venom Form, right? If it were you, could you withstand the poison of the Gear 3 Venom Form?"
King didn't answer immediately. Instead, he used the flames from Bazel's current state to simulate the poison potency of the Gear 3 Venom Form.
"…Difficult. When I sparred with Bazel before, I often had him attack me in his Venom Form, precisely to build up more antibodies in my body."
"The effect is good, but there's still a long way to go before true immunity."
"Perhaps I'll never achieve complete immunity to Bazel's serpent venom in this lifetime. His poison changes too much, my body's immune system can't keep up with the variations."
As the two chatted, Loki launched another charge.
Even though covered in wounds, the Giant Prince maintained high fighting spirit.
"Those aren't even considered injuries to us Giants."
Brogy laughed strangely, "Kabababa, even when we go hunting, we sustain injuries like these. For you humans, such wounds might be severe."
"But for us Giants, they're just superficial scratches, too minor to mention."
"Not to mention, Loki is the son of Harald, who awakened the ancient giant bloodline. His mother also awakened the ancient giant bloodline."
"As long as Prince Loki doesn't die, it's only a matter of time before his strength surpasses Harald's in the future!"
'Surpass the Giant King...'
Hearing this, King and Hanafuda exchanged a glance, both shocked.
Although they didn't know how strong the Giant King was, Kaido had once said that Rocks fully acknowledged Harald.
For a man who dominated an era to acknowledge another man spoke volumes itself.
Watching the two tangled in combat in the snowy underworld, a sense of urgency welled up in King's heart.
He was also one of the All-Stars.
But with his current strength, he didn't deserve this position.
Whether it was Loki or Bazel, he couldn't defeat either… forget defeating them, staying undefeated would be an achievement.
His right hand subconsciously pressed against his inner pocket, where an Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruit lay.
'Should I really eat this ordinary Ancient Zoan?'
Seeing this, Hanafuda, standing nearby, simply pondered for a moment before understanding King's conflict and worry.
"Arber, don't rush. According to Bazel's plan, you and Loki should eat Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits."
"This Ancient Zoan is an excellent fruit for ordinary people, but it's indeed a bit ordinary for you."
Placing a hand on King's shoulder, Hanafuda comforted him:
"There's no need to pursue temporary strength and regret it for the rest of your life. Be patient. Bazel won't let you down."
The eyes behind the mask calmed. King activated his Observation Haki, focusing on sensing the battle not far away.
"...I understand."
A few hours later…
Underworld Forest.
Bazel glanced at the setting sun gradually leaning westward in the sky, panting heavily.
"You're really thick-skinned and tough, huh? You can still stand up even like this?"
Not far away, in the ruins, a scar-covered hand pierced through the dry soil, slowly pushing up from the mound that resembled a 'grave'.
"What's this? Compared to the pain of being abandoned in the underworld by my mother at birth, these injuries aren't even enough to make me cry out in pain."
Standing up, Loki dug out his hammer from the pile of dirt.
"Bazel, you have an aura that strongly attracts me. I can't pinpoint its source, but…"
"Regardless of the outcome of this duel, I want to join you!"
"Staying by your side, I'll definitely see a different sea!!"
Looking at Loki, whose fighting spirit was growing fiercer, Bazel scratched his head and sighed heavily.
"No choice then. It seems if I don't defeat you here, you'll cause trouble every day even if you join the Beasts Pirates."
"Loki, from now on, everything you see must be kept secret. I've never shown this other form in public view."
"After all, that form can no longer be called human."
The deified form of the Setting Sun Body faded, and Bazel slowly landed on the ground.
The Thunder Serpent in the air disappeared. The Phantom Serpent Spirit turned and burrowed into the heavy snow, stirring up even more violent snowflakes to block all vision.
"Yamata no Orochi represents natural disasters. The Setting Sun Body you just saw represents drought and scorching sun. Next, the Venom Form will be the Naraku Hell."
Hearing these words, for some reason, a sense of foreboding suddenly arose in Loki's heart.
"I killed over a thousand pirates on Jaya."
"They called me a murderous demon, said the bodies of those I killed piled up higher than a palace. Heh..."
Gear 2: Venom Torrent Serpent Form!
"Gear 3..."
Under Bazel's murmur, a purple mist suddenly emerged from his feet, swirling and spreading in all directions until it completely enveloped the man's figure.
"Lord of Naraku."
Loki's expression suddenly shifted from grave to horrified, staring in disbelief as the underworld, dried out by the high heat, transformed into a poisonous pool hell!
Within the vast forest shrouded in a toxic pool, jetting up pillars carried a thick purple hue.
"Deification. Awaken, souls of those who died by my hand!"
"Zero Form: Heaven's Gate!"