From the way the marine attacked, Hui immediately confirmed his identity.
And then, his interest was piqued.
Turning around, a layer of energy formed over his body. Hui clenched his fist and struck toward the incoming magma that was already in front of him.
A powerful shockwave erupted from his fist, instantly splitting the terrifying magma apart.
Yet the shockwave did not lose momentum, continuing to surge toward Akainu's position with unstoppable force.
This scene caused Akainu's pupils to contract.
However, he did not dodge, allowing the shockwave to strike his body, creating a large hole right through him.
Yet, instead of blood, the hole was filled with molten magma.
Elementalization, the powerful ability of a Logia-type Devil Fruit.
Retracting his fist, Hui gazed at the unharmed Akainu, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips.
Elementalization, this ability was indeed fascinating.
In fact, he could also achieve a form of elementalization, but only with water.
Because he had already mastered the Water Transformation Technique.
However, transforming into light, natural energy, or other elements was beyond his current capabilities.
The Water Transformation Technique was exclusive to water, and attempting to derive other transformation techniques from it was extremely difficult. Hui had tried before but had failed.
Of course, part of the reason was that he had not devoted enough time to studying these techniques.
"This is truly an interesting ability. As expected, in this place, there is no shortage of test subjects."
Hui spoke, feeling an overwhelming urge to capture Akainu for research.
And then, there were Devil Fruits. Hui was growing more and more intrigued by them, itching to start researching all kinds of Devil Fruits immediately.
However, he only had one Devil Fruit in his possession. The experimental materials were too few.
He needed to collect more.
Hearing Hui's words, Akainu remained expressionless, his cold gaze fixed on him.
Hui's previous strike had shocked even him.
Because this was the first time someone had directly countered his attack head-on.
Others, when faced with his magma assaults, would usually choose to dodge or defend.
Yet this man had simply thrown a punch and shattered his magma.
Then… how could he be defeated?
Akainu pondered as he clenched his fist once again.
His arm turned into molten lava, swiftly extending outward and morphing into the form of a vicious dog with sharp fangs and claws, lunging toward Hui.
"Inugami Guren"—one of Akainu's signature attacks.
The attack was incredibly fast, leaving ordinary people with no time to react.
But who was Hui?
His reaction speed had long surpassed the level of these people. Moreover, with his Celestial Eye activated, his perception was unparalleled.
With a slight movement, he effortlessly avoided the attack.
However, Inugami Guren was an attack that could be controlled. As soon as Hui dodged the first strike, the magma hound twisted its body and lunged at him again.
Yet, even such an attack was still far from being able to land a hit on Hui. With a slight tilt of his body, he evaded it once more.
Akainu's heart grew even heavier at this display of reaction speed.
Still, he continued manipulating the magma, launching relentless attacks at Hui.
But this time, Hui didn't even bother to move.
He simply stood still and allowed the magma to crash against his energy armor.
The result? the magma hound was completely shattered upon impact, scattering into a useless puddle of lava, losing all shape.
This scene left not only Akainu but also the surrounding Marine soldiers gasping in shock.
That was magma!
Yet it had absolutely no effect on this man.
"What kind of Devil Fruit ability does this guy have?"
Someone couldn't help but speak up. From the abilities Hui had displayed, it was impossible to determine what type of Devil Fruit he possessed.
"He's so strong… and it feels like he hasn't even used his full power yet!"
"Wasn't this guy supposed to be gravely injured? Damn it, we were deceived!"
The Marines whispered among themselves, their voices filled with fear.
Meanwhile, Akainu's expression grew even darker.
"What kind of Devil Fruit ability do you have?"
Akainu took the initiative to ask Hui directly.
"Devil Fruit? Of course… why don't you take a guess?"
Hui responded, causing everyone around to freeze momentarily before they collectively felt a sense of exasperation.
"Then I'll just have to beat it out of you!"
Akainu roared, charging straight at Hui.
At the same time, his arms turned black.
Seeing this, Mochizuki Hui's eyes lit up, he had already recognized this power.
Armament Haki.
A power that could enhance one's defense, acting like an invisible armor.
It could also be used offensively, allowing users to clash against Devil Fruit ability users, and even touch the physical bodies of Logia-type fruit wielders. It was said to be one of the only known ways to counter Logia Devil Fruit users.
However, Armament Haki only allowed physical contact, it couldn't negate a user's abilities like Seastone could. In addition to covering the body, Armament Haki could also be infused into weapons to increase their attack power.
Such a power interested Hui deeply.
Not because it countered Logia users, but because of its defensive and offensive potential.
Then, let's test out this Armament Haki.
Hui thought to himself as his fist glowed with light.
It was Super Strength.
He, too, threw a punch toward Akainu.
With this punch, even space itself seemed to tremble, carrying an overwhelming force and an unstoppable momentum.
Seeing this incoming attack, Akainu suddenly had a bad premonition, and he prepared to turn into magma at any moment.
The next instant, the two fists collided.
Magma erupted violently from Akainu's back, and his entire body was sent flying backward.
His eyes were filled with disbelief, he simply couldn't accept that someone had punched him away with a single strike.
The Marines were just as stunned. Their eyes widened, jaws dropped as they watched Akainu soar backward while Hui calmly retracted his fist.
"It seems to work well. Now, let me have a look at your training method."
Hui spoke, looking at Akainu, who was climbing back to his feet on the battleship.
At this moment, Akainu realized that he had fallen into serious trouble.
The man before him… was much stronger than he had imagined, far stronger.
And they were at sea, not on land.
Even with warships present, fighting in this environment placed some limitations on Akainu's power.
"I'm talking to you. Can't you hear me?"
Hui's voice was calm as he looked at Akainu.
However, Akainu remained silent, desperately thinking of a countermeasure.
Seeing this, Hui shook his head.
"This kind of rudeness is a bad habit. Forget it, I'll just take it myself."
As he spoke, a smirk appeared on his lips, sending a wave of unease through Akainu.
Akainu braced himself, preparing for defense, ready to counter Hui's next move at any moment.
Hui continued speaking, "The ability of elementalization…indeed, if one doesn't know Armament Haki, it could indeed be a bit troublesome."
"However, that's not a problem. Logia users… fear more than just Armament Haki."
"They also fear… seawater."
The moment Hui finished speaking, Akainu's heart pounded wildly, an intense feeling of unease creeping up.
Then, his eyes widened in shock.
"Impossible?!"
Even with Akainu's temperament, he couldn't help but cry out in disbelief.
And the Marines—
Their faces turned deathly pale, eyes filled with fear.
...
Their warships were loweering, while the surrounding seawater was rising.
The entire fleet seemed to be falling into a trap set in the ocean.
The surrounding seawater began contracting, forming a massive basin that surrounded them.
Then—
Slam!
"No!!!"
Desperate screams echoed but were quickly swallowed by the rising seawater.
Because in an instant—
The terrifying seawater engulfed the entire fleet.
...
After a long while, the ocean returned to calmness.
Hui stood atop the water.
A strand of energy extended from him, forming a rope that plunged into the sea, binding the now powerless Akainu and swiftly pulling him onto the surface.
Half of Akainu's body was still submerged in the water, with only his head above the surface, allowing him to gasp for air desperately.
He wanted to move, but his body was completely drained of strength, leaving him only able to breathe.
Hui stood on the water's surface, looking at Akainu with a smirk.
"Even though I can take whatever I want anytime I please… that would be too boring."
He spoke lightly.
Akainu's head was suddenly forcibly pushed underwater by an invisible force.
Seawater rushed into his mouth, nose, and ears, instantly making his face twist in agony.
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