Starting from the pirates, pushing the world.

Chapter 2495 The Holy Mark Shines Once Again!
Joz stopped a hundred meters in front of Crocodile.

Rain pelted his massive, five-meter-tall frame.

Fine water droplets kept splashing up.

His gaze was fixed intently on the solitary figure opposite him.

"General Sand Crocodile".

Joz's voice was deep and powerful, like a war drum being struck.

"Jozu, come and challenge me!"

Crocodile exhaled a smoke ring.

The white smoke stood out clearly against the backdrop of the rain.

When he met Joz's gaze, it no longer carried the obvious laziness or mockery he had shown when facing the previous challengers.

Instead, it showed more seriousness and prudence.

The calm and steady aura emanating from Jozu, yet containing immense power, was enough to make him take things seriously.

“'Diamond' Joz.”

Crocodile's voice came through the rain: "Your strength certainly qualifies you to be an admiral."

"But you can't get past this 'battle at the top'."

"We'll only know after we try!"

Upon hearing this, Joz clenched his fists tightly, and terrifying pressure burst outwards through the gaps in his fists, instantly creating a shockwave that repelled the torrential rain.

At the same time, a heavy, imposing aura, like a mountain, yet restrained and unleashed, rose up.

It subtly clashes with Crocodile's invisible aura.

"That's it."

Crocodile, with a cigar in his mouth, sharpened his gaze.

"Let me see it."

The sky is overcast.

The seawater pounded violently against the coastline, constantly splashing up murky waves.

Large raindrops continued to fall heavily, leaving countless ripples on the sea and the beach.

until
The world lit up instantly.

A pale bolt of lightning tore through the dark sky.

The two cold, confrontational faces were illuminated in minute detail.

A deafening clap of thunder followed, as if to set the stage for the battle at the summit.

The two sides suddenly started fighting.

Crocodile habitually raised his right palm: "Sandstorm!"

[Boom!]

In an instant, a sand tornado with a diameter of over 100 meters and a height of 1,000 meters appeared.

It took shape abruptly on the coastline amidst torrential rain.

It frantically seizes up sand and rainwater that hasn't yet hit the ground, its volume expanding rapidly at a visible speed.

It swept towards Joz with the overwhelming force of a cataclysmic disaster that could devour everything.

Wherever it passed, the ground was torn apart and the seawater was swept up into the sky, creating an extremely terrifying spectacle.

Despite such a terrifying display of power, Joz remained calm and fearless.

He suddenly roared, "Diamond Armor!"

【Om! 】

As the Devil Fruit power within him was activated.

His already imposing body was instantly covered with countless dazzling, sharply defined diamonds.

Transformed into a true diamond giant.

When the lightning that burst forth from the dark clouds shone on him, it reflected a dazzling array of seven colors.

at the same time.

A pale white flame, hot and boiling like steam.

It rose from every joint and every angle of his diamond body.

This is the energy he cultivated through arduous practice, the pure life force.

Joz made no attempt to dodge.

Instead, he concentrated his 'domineering aura' and 'qi' into his right fist.

He threw a simple and direct punch at the oncoming sandstorm!
"Diamond Burst Punch!"

【boom------】

The space in which the fist struck seemed to be compressed.

The catastrophic sandstorm swept within tens of meters of Joz in an instant.

It was like crashing into an unshakeable, ancient barrier, followed by a terrifying impact.

The surface was instantly torn open by wind and sand, creating a large hole.

next second.

The entire tornado structure began to collapse and disintegrate from its core.

The raging sandstorm was forcibly dispersed and blasted away by pure force, emitting a mournful cry of resentment.

Finally, it completely exploded into a sky full of yellow sand, which mixed with a large amount of rain and fell down.

One punch!
Just one punch!
Jozu then directly blasted Crocodile's signature Sandstorm!

"Diamond Sparkling Collision!"

Joz's unusually large diamond body suddenly unleashed an astonishing speed that was disproportionate to its size.

The beach beneath our feet has been blasted open into a crater hundreds of meters in diameter.

The person had already transformed into a dazzling stream of light and rushed straight towards Crocodile's location.

The pale white energy emanating from his body left a long trail behind him.

"Well done!"

Crocodile's eyes blazed with fighting spirit.

He did not dodge or evade Joz's aggressive charge.

Take a big step forward.

He raised the blackened golden hook, now covered in cherry blossoms.

Head-on confrontation.

He wanted to personally test just how strong Jozu was, and to see how he compared to Loki.

Before the golden hook and the diamond fist had even made real contact, the two immense forces had already collided from a distance!

【boom! 】

In an instant, it was as if hundreds of thunderbolts exploded in the same spot.

A visible shockwave, a mixture of sand, rain, white blasts of air, and purple arcs of electricity.

It spread rapidly in all directions in a violent spherical shape.

The center point of impact between the two sides.

The ground collapsed, shattered, and vanished layer by layer, like fragile glass.

In the blink of an eye, a huge circular pit with a diameter of over a kilometer and a depth of over ten meters was formed.

Its pit walls are as smooth as a mirror, and the edges are constantly collapsing.

The surging energy created a violent turbulent current, forcibly pushing away even the distant seawater crashing against the shore.

It is difficult to get close to the edge of the circular pit.

Until about ten seconds later.

The terrifying shockwave that had been released gradually dissipated.

The seawater that had been waiting around poured into this huge circular pit like a waterfall.

It emitted a deafening, continuous roar.

Looking at the center of the circular crater, the two figures separated after a brief touch.

Crocodile slid backwards for over a hundred meters.

The moment the hook collided with the fist, an indescribable force spread from the arm throughout the entire body.

This made him realize something clearly.

While Jozu may not be as strong as Loki in terms of raw power, the punches he unleashes in a short burst are definitely more powerful than the 'Iron Lightning' that Loki throws after transforming.

Fortunately, Crocodile's Armament Haki is at its peak.

That's enough to neutralize most of its power.

Therefore, he was not injured.

"It's really strong."

Crocodile's expression turned serious.

Although he has advantages in many aspects, both sides are at the level of generals.

Joz is also among the best.

If I want to stop him from lasting five days, I must go all out and make full use of my strengths.

At the very least, we should try to avoid further direct confrontation with the other party.

Think of this.

Crocodile no longer hesitated.

The iconic gold hook on his left hand, just like it had when he fought Loki, suddenly turned into golden dust and vanished in the wind.

Once again, that hand with its distinct knuckles and jeweled ornaments was revealed.

He slowly raised the back of his hand.

The Kabbalah Tree of Life pattern, which contains the ultimate truths of the universe, suddenly lit up with a pure and mysterious white light.

Stigmata revealed!

At this moment, he clasped his hands together in front of him.

The intention is clear.

They intend to rebuild that vast territory-transforming array.

"Don't think about it!"

Joz roared.

He had already witnessed the terrifying power of this move from Loki's defeat.

We must never allow the opponent to launch their attack smoothly.

His pale white aura surged suddenly, unleashing unparalleled speed once more.

He charged at Crocodile like a cannonball.

The latter's expression changed drastically.

Although the distance between his palms was only a few centimeters, he would surely suffer if he continued.

Left with no other choice, he had to stop what he was doing and deal with this brute first.

(End of this chapter)