Chapter 252: Jozu Appears
After leaving Axel's palm, the small sphere expanded rapidly.
Unlike the previous explosion that released violent wind, this time, it began to absorb the surrounding air.
Even under broad daylight, the intensity of its radiance could not be hidden.
As the target of the glowing sphere, Giolla felt the energy contained within it more clearly than anyone else.
Damn it.
This was absolutely not something she could withstand.
Even from several meters away, she could feel the heat waves rolling off it. It was like her skin was being seared and peeled back like fried fish. Every inch of her body seemed to be screaming in protest.
The sensation of her fat burning made her certain that if she somehow survived and returned alive, she would lose at least a few pounds.
If she took this attack head-on, she would undoubtedly die.
Giolla forgot to continue attacking.
Driven by pure survival instinct, she turned and ran toward the center of the ruins, hoping to use the complex terrain of the collapsed castle to block the glowing sphere.
However, once the plasma escaped Axel's control, it was like a wild beast regaining its freedom.
In an instant, like the thunder of judgment hurled by Zeus in ancient myth, a streak of blue light flashed through the air.
The world seemed to go silent.
Everyone in the Donquixote Family stared at the scene before them in stunned silence.
Whatever stood before that sphere, whether people, objects, or even the air itself, evaporated in that instant.
The vast castle and its sturdy walls failed to provide even the slightest protection from Giolla's demise.
The frantic plasma ran wild, leaving behind only a straight path dozens of feet wide.
Red sparks scorched by the terrifying heat dotted the path, and molten stone flowed in many places like red liquid.
There was no doubt.
Giolla was dead.
The rest of the Donquixote Family also realized that there was no longer any hope in continuing this fight.
Before this child, the military force they possessed had become a joke.
Axel looked down at the hand that had just caused that slaughter, then slightly raised his gaze.
He had not been wrong.
Killing was indeed a key factor affecting his emotions.
The moment he killed Giolla, a surge of violence suddenly welled up in his heart.
It was a spontaneous feeling, a silent voice telling him to follow his inner thoughts.
But before it could truly manifest, Axel snuffed it out.
Although he did not know how he had entered that state last time, he knew one thing.
Back then, he had simply followed his inner thoughts, and somehow entered that state without realizing it.
But speaking of violence, he did not seem qualified to use that word.
He felt that his experiences could already be written into a book called On How a Criminal is Formed.
In the past, even when he killed an opponent, it was done purely under the idea of upholding justice.
But just now, he had truly wanted to use Giolla as an experiment.
That behavior was no different from conducting human experiments on death row inmates.
More importantly, he had felt no emotion because of it.
It was as though he had been born not to feel anything toward such matters.
Just like how a person would not truly feel sad after accidentally stepping on an ant.
Axel realized that without him noticing, his emotional capacity was slowly fading.
But now was not the time to think about these things.
First, he was not a scientist and had no deep research into the brain, so he could not understand it no matter how much he thought.
Second...
"Come out!"
Axel shouted toward the path he had destroyed.
Then, a figure stepped across the boiling red stone liquid and walked forward.
His entire body was covered in brilliant diamond.
Any part of him would be enough to drive the world's top treasure collectors mad.
He was Jozu of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Axel had long been aware of Jozu's presence.
He did not know the reason, but Jozu had not attacked when the Donquixote Family ambushed him.
However, Axel did not think Jozu would simply let him go.
It had looked as though Axel had merely walked into the Donquixote Family's trap, but in reality, he had deliberately chosen a position that formed a straight line between himself, Giolla, and Jozu.
Judging by the torn clothes on Jozu's body, the previous attack had undoubtedly struck him.
It just had not truly injured his body.
As expected of a body that could withstand a slash from the World's Greatest Swordsman, Hawkeye.
Axel thought silently.
Jozu looked at the child before him with a trace of caution.
The attack just now had almost exceeded his reaction speed.
Even with his diamond body, the power of that attack had been somewhat painful.
The continuous heat waves coming from it even gave him the sensation that his body might melt.
"You cannot leave."
"Why can't I leave?" Axel asked.
"I don't know the reason."
Jozu's voice was steady.
"But Marco attacked you high in the sky just now, so I trust his judgment."
Although Jozu could not clearly see what was happening high above, he could still see the black dots moving in the sky.
He could distinguish which one was Marco by the blue wings he spread during battle.
Not long after Marco attacked the black dot belonging to Axel, that same dot had plummeted downward.
Worried about the situation, Jozu had immediately followed.
But because he could not discern the specific details, he only said that Axel could not leave, rather than attacking outright.
Axel scratched his cheek, feeling somewhat helpless.
Compared to the others, Jozu was not easy to deal with.
And since Axel was currently in this state, he wanted to avoid using force as much as possible.
That was also why he had deliberately stepped into the trap while silently gathering plasma.
From the beginning, he had intended to end the battle quickly.
The deterrent effect brought by that move, as well as the way it crushed the Donquixote Family's hope, was the most effective way to end the fight.
Sure enough, while Jozu pinned Axel down, Trebol gave the most appropriate order.
He commanded the family members to retreat.
The officers of the Donquixote Family withdrew in an orderly manner.
However, Jozu paid no attention to those who fled.
He disdained doing so.
And more importantly, Axel clearly posed the greater threat.
Although Axel had the speed to continue pursuing them, he abandoned the idea.
He did not plan to keep fighting.
In this state, God only knew whether he would still be himself if he continued hunting and killing.
"I say, are your eyes playing tricks on you?"
Axel spread his hands.
"Although I was also fighting high in the sky... uh... I was helping Marco fight Doflamingo."
He nodded to himself.
"In a sense, we're on the same side."
Jozu's expression remained unchanged.
He looked at Axel coldly.
"Liar."
"Uh... fine. I lied."
Axel admitted it quite naturally.
"I just saw the Marco you mentioned getting tangled up with Doflamingo. With such a fool helping me out, I'd be crazy not to slip away."
"Following the principle of collecting a debt from Doflamingo, I came down and launched an attack."
This time, Jozu did not immediately deny it.
Instead, he lowered his head in thought.
"If you are innocent, the Whitebeard Pirates will not harm you."
Axel looked up helplessly at the sky.
It seemed he could only escape from above.
.....
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