Wyper suddenly showed a look of realization. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, casually threw Vista aside, and eagerly rushed over to join Jack and the others in surrounding Whitebeard.
Even if he could not defeat the strongest man in the world alone, getting the chance to land a few hits was still exciting.
Only Jason looked completely dumbfounded.
"No... I understand the logic behind it. Saving his son and all that."
"If Pini or Youki were in danger, I'd do the same thing."
"But understanding it emotionally doesn't mean I can accept it physically!"
"I was over here minding my own business, playing with fire, then suddenly a slash comes flying at me. What kind of nonsense is that?"
Jason turned toward Diamond Jozu, whose body had stopped melting after the decrease in flame pressure. The more he looked at him, the angrier he became.
"We were having a great time over here, couldn't Whitebeard see that?"
"This was an even contest!"
"Either my flame temperature would break through its limit, or Jozu's defense would evolve through the pressure."
"Both sides had something to gain. That's what you call mutual benefit!"
"Besides, if we were using real weapons, I would've cut that oversized diamond block down ages ago!"
Jason muttered with an irritated expression. He stepped forward, intending to retrieve his severed arm, only to see Jozu charging out of the flames.
His mood instantly worsened.
Without hesitation, Jason raised his remaining right arm, summoning another massive surge of seawater that crashed directly onto Jozu's body.
The moment the seawater struck him, loud sizzling sounds erupted as extreme heat and cold collided violently.
Jason did not even bother looking at the result. He bent down, picked up his severed left arm, then glanced toward the group surrounding Whitebeard with a sour expression.
When he looked up again, he saw Pini and Youki floating nearby with helpless expressions while a dazzling golden light rapidly approached from the distance.
"You two are hopeless," Jason cursed immediately. "Two against one, and he still escaped. Do you even know how to fight?"
The brothers instantly rolled their eyes in annoyance.
How were they supposed to predict that Whitebeard, a man who looked like a straightforward brute, would suddenly start using psychological tactics?
Pini immediately fired back.
"That's Whitebeard, the strongest among the Four Emperors! What did you expect, some weak Shichibukai?"
"And don't act superior. Didn't your arm get chopped off too?"
"Do you not know how to watch for ambushes while fighting?"
Jason's expression darkened instantly.
"It would've been better if you didn't mention that!"
"I was this close to breaking through my bottleneck. I was completely focused, then suddenly, slash, there goes my arm!"
"How am I supposed to continue now? The feeling's completely gone!"
Then Jason narrowed his eyes.
"And what was that tone just now?"
"Do you look down on the Shichibukai?"
"I'll definitely tell Ash, Sali, and Wyper about this later."
Crack.
Crack... crack...
Before the argument could continue, a series of sharp cracking sounds suddenly echoed through the battlefield.
The three immediately turned their heads.
As the steam and mist gradually cleared, Jozu's body was finally revealed.
Countless bloody cracks covered his diamond form.
At that moment, Jozu desperately tried activating his Kira Kira no Mi ability again, but the transformed sections of his body were already riddled with fractures.
"What happened to him?" Youki asked in confusion.
Jason blinked. "How should I know? We agreed he'd do his thing, and I'd do mine. Then Whitebeard interrupted us halfway through."
"That guy charged out of the flames first, so I simply followed through with my side of the deal and dumped seawater on him."
"And then... this happened."
Pini immediately understood.
"So you basically quenched him."
Jason looked confused.
Pini stared at him speechlessly.
"You really know nothing, huh?"
"Steel can be heated and quenched to improve hardness and durability."
"But diamonds aren't steel."
"Heat a diamond too much, then rapidly cool it, and it becomes brittle enough to shatter."
"Diamond Jozu isn't Steel Jozu."
Jason widened his eyes in disbelief.
He genuinely had not known that.
Even Youki stared at Pini suspiciously.
"Hold on. We grew up together, so how do you know all this?"
"Have you secretly been studying behind our backs?"
Pini immediately snapped back.
"Studying my ass."
"Ash and Kirk were talking about forging techniques while discussing famous swords. I just overheard them mention it."
Youki immediately pointed at Jason.
"See? He overheard it. That's not his fault."
Jason nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Before the argument escalated further, the golden light descending from the distance finally landed beside them.
It was Conis, the user of the Holy Light Devil Fruit.
"I'll help reattach your arm."
Conis spoke with a pale face.
Although she forced herself to remain composed, her eyes clearly revealed discomfort while looking at Jozu's shattered remains nearby.
Jason naturally noticed her reaction.
Without saying anything further, he handed over his severed arm before casually reigniting a massive flame nearby.
The remaining fragments of Jozu's body were instantly reduced to ashes.
Jason scratched his head in annoyance.
"Damn it... Ash said we were supposed to keep the head."
"So troublesome."
Conis fell silent.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard's original plan had been simple.
He intended to rescue his remaining sons by attacking the Dawn members directly.
Unfortunately, Jozu had already reached his limit before suffering Jason's accidental "diamond quenching," turning him into hundreds of shattered pieces on the spot.
Vista's situation was not much better.
One of his arms had already been broken by Wyper earlier, reducing his dual-sword style to a single blade and severely weakening his combat ability.
Not long ago, Kirk had transmitted a warning to everyone, urging them to finish their battles quickly.
During the confrontation, Vista had already endured multiple lightning attacks from Wyper. If Whitebeard had not intervened earlier, he likely would have died already.
However, although Whitebeard briefly saved him from immediate death, Wyper's own injuries were nowhere near as severe as Jason's.
The Shandians' physical toughness was no joke.
After coughing up several mouthfuls of blood, Wyper immediately became energetic again and rushed straight into the group assault against Whitebeard.
Most importantly, Wyper was responsible enough not to ignore his original opponent before leaving.
Just before joining the siege, he casually hurled three additional lightning spears toward Vista.
Vista's luck was truly terrible.
If Wyper had continued attacking nonstop earlier, Vista might have barely held on for a little longer through sheer endurance.
But because Whitebeard interrupted the battle, Wyper briefly stopped attacking, giving Vista a rare chance to breathe.
Unfortunately, that moment of relief was far too short.
Anyone who had experienced intense physical strain understood the feeling.
If you force yourself through exhaustion without stopping, you can keep going for a while.
But once you finally relax and release that tension, your entire body immediately becomes heavy and weak.
Vista was in exactly that situation.
Before he could properly recover his breath, Wyper returned and essentially said:
"I'm done resting. Let's continue."
Vista could not continue.
The three lightning spears pierced directly through his body.
Now he lay twitching violently on the ground, three charred holes burned straight through him.
No one could tell whether the electric convulsions would stop first...
...or whether Vista's breathing would.
===
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