Adamantinous!
This move was originally the name of Zeus's strongest form-a form created by compressing his Titan-like muscles to the extreme, combining elements of power, speed, sturdiness, and many other factors!
While it may not sound like much.
You must remember that even in his previous Titan form, Zeus's strength, speed, and defense were extremely formidable!
His physical condition had reached a certain limit, and now, to have a significant further increase from that state of limit-this is simply unimaginable for ordinary beings!
It's like the hero, after great effort, defeats the evil dragon, only to discover that it was just the dragon's son, and that the stronger, true evil dragon father is still around!
It's hard not to feel despair, right?
Facing a Zeus like this, most beings could only feel despair.
But Jaden was different.
Zeus knew this very well.
He had entered this form when he faced the Archenemy of the Gods back then, yet even so, that guy, covered in wounds and supposedly having reached his limit, still managed to struggle and defeat this form of his.
Therefore...
-Zeus no longer held any intention of underestimating Jaden!
He looked at Jaden and slowly raised his fists.
Zeus's attacks did not rely on any fixed stance.
While he had many techniques, his attacks did not actually rely on them-Zeus's true core was his speed and power!
So...
Shh-
Zeus's feet spread apart, and his soles continuously pounded the ground.
In a certain instant, his figure seemed to be directly swallowed by the surrounding darkness. His afterimage disappeared bit by bit into the darkness, and he himself appeared behind Jaden, clenching his fist.
Bang!
Jaden's elbow instantly struck Zeus's face, and Zeus retreated half a step at this moment. He then fiercely stamped the ground with his retreating foot, generating new support, and smashed his newly raised fist into Jaden's face!
When struck by Zeus's punch, Jaden finally felt the extent of Zeus's power in this state.
Even with his Iron Body, the reduction technique, and Armament Haki-even with all that, he was still knocked backward, and he genuinely took damage!
But...
-Demon's Grasp!
The force of this blow broke through Jaden's defense, so Jaden channeled the force of Zeus's strike through his body, and then retaliated with the ultimate move of the Niko Style, Demon's Grasp-kicking Zeus right under the chin!
Before Zeus's head, which had been kicked up, could drop, Jaden's hands, raised high above his head, came together like a hammer descending from the heavens, crashing heavily onto the crown of Zeus's head!
His previously raised foot retracted and curled up towards his chest, kicking Zeus right in the chest from the front.
Then, Jaden's upper body leaned back, standing firm on one foot like a nail. His fists, having completed one strike, used the momentum of his waist to drive his back and shoulders, and a chaotic barrage of punches rained down upon Zeus!
Zeus, in the Adamantinous state, did not block Jaden's barrage of punches. He simply flashed his upper body, avoiding the ones he could, and taking the few he couldn't head-on. Meanwhile, his own fists bypassed Jaden's attack trajectory and smashed toward Jaden's body!
Punch after punch, an unknown number of blows landed on Jaden, causing Jaden's foot, which was previously kicking Zeus, to drop to the ground.
And just as Zeus was about to retreat, Jaden stepped directly onto Zeus's foot!
Then, Jaden lowered his center of gravity, suppressing Zeus's tendency to retreat, while his own punching speed increased, and the force of his punches grew heavier!
Bang, bang, bang, bang-
A continuous, explosive sound of flesh meeting flesh, faster than even machine gun fire, erupted within this massive deep pit.
The sight of two men relying purely on their physical bodies to trade punches was one that the Empire's higher-ups had seen many times since Jaden and Izuru Kaminashi officially ushered in the Era of Heroes.
But even so, this was the first time these Empire higher-ups had witnessed a scene like this today!
The drone above the great pit should have been observing a pitch-black hole.
But with the eruption of these continuous, explosive sounds of flesh, they actually saw tiny flashes, like sparks, constantly bursting forth from a single location within the pitch-black hole!
-Was this truly a sight that could erupt from the collision of flesh and flesh!?
The tiny flashes, like those produced by the high-speed intersection of swords or steel, made the Empire's higher-ups realize for the first time what kind of monster Jaden truly was.
At the same time, it made them understand what kind of monster Jaden's current opponent was...
They were all profoundly shocked by this scene!
Yet, Jaden and Zeus completely ignored these outside factors, persisting in their respective beliefs and continuously striking their opponent!
Zeus felt that his determination to defeat Jaden was exceptionally firm!
He did not want to lose to Jaden's clan a second time!
He did not want to fail a second time!
For him, this battle was revenge for the past!
For him, this battle was a salute to the re-establishment of the Gods' status!
For him, this battle was a necessary medal as a warrior!
Hatred, fighting spirit, honor, status...
He possessed all of these things, each of which could, on its own, be a reason to fight to the death!
And every single one was burned to its maximum!
Therefore, a man like him...
-Had no reason to fail!
Zeus continuously threw punches with this thought, punching and punching again-but he could not maintain the Adamantinous state for a prolonged period.
The force of his punches grew weaker, his punching speed grew slower, his guard became looser, and his reactions became more sluggish...
But what about the guy opposite him?
His punching speed grew faster, the force of his punches grew heavier, and even his skin turned red during this process, with steam constantly rising from his breath!
Sensing this situation, Zeus looked up at Jaden's face.
He wanted to know now what exactly allowed this man in front of him to punch with such conviction, to stand here with such conviction, and not fall down even after enduring so many of his attacks...
The reasons supporting him to stand here and punch were already so numerous.
He wanted to know what reason could possibly surpass his own and make this man in front of him grow stronger the longer he fought!
And then...
-He saw Jaden's wildly grinning face.
It was like a reappearance of ancient times, like the expression this guy's ancestor always wore...
When Zeus was defeated in ancient times, he couldn't understand why the other person was laughing wildly.
But now... he seemed to understand.
He understood, along with Jaden's previous words...
The other person was not fighting with some irreplaceable reason, nor was he fighting for anything in particular with firm conviction.
He... or rather, they-were simply enjoying the fight!
No reason, no persistence.
They simply found more pleasure the stronger their opponent was... that was all.
Heh.
His own reasons were firm and clear, like a piece of hardened cast iron.
But cast iron, under continuous striking, would eventually deform.
So...
-He had failed.
Zeus's punching speed grew slower and slower, and the number of times he was struck by Jaden increased-by this point, his fists couldn't even break through Jaden's attack trajectory anymore. He was pinned down by Jaden and was being unilaterally beaten!
At this moment, Zeus felt a dizzying blackness before his eyes.
But unlike the unwillingness of his previous failure, this time, he couldn't help but laugh.
-In every sense, he had failed.
This was truly a thorough loss.
Bang!
With one punch from Jaden, Zeus's entire body collapsed. Jaden released his foot, and Zeus recovered from his compressed state back to his normal appearance, lying straight on the ground.
Seeing him like this, Jaden walked over to him and looked down at his face.
"It looks like... it's over, huh..."
The smile on Jaden's face gradually subsided, and he slowly recovered from his Gear Second state.
Looking at the extremely weak Zeus, who couldn't even open his eyes anymore, he slowly spoke.
"You are, after all, the strongest opponent I have encountered so far... so I permit you to speak any last words you have."
Hearing Jaden say this, Zeus slowly opened his mouth.
"Did... you use your full strength?"
He had intended to curse, to let out an unwilling roar, but in the end, when the words reached his mouth, Zeus could only manage to ask this one sentence.
And Jaden slowly closed his eyes.
"...Yeah."
He answered, and then stepped on Zeus's head.
Zeus, who was incapable of any defense at this point, had his head crushed by Jaden's tremendous force, and even the ground was pushed down, his body directly swallowed by the earth.
After finishing all of this, Jaden let out a long breath and leaped out of the massive pit.
He saw it: after he answered, Zeus had revealed a satisfied smile.
But...
Jaden, jumping out of the great pit, looked at the Special Mission on Garp's panel that could actually have been completed in advance right now...
[Special Panel Mission: Fight a full-power battle against an opponent of equal or greater strength (0/1)]
...