No matter how you looked at it, strength or words, Netero was at a disadvantage. Physically, if he landed a solid hit, the Ant King would be as defenseless as a child.
Verbally, the Ant King's mindset was changed. He had innocent, almost naive ideas that Netero couldn't correct. Even if Netero tried, the Ant King didn't seem to care, especially since none of it caused any real harm.
Lost in thought, Netero bent down, his face shadowed in the moonlight, yet a spark of realization flickered in his eyes. 'A breakthrough.'
'Maybe, just maybe, I can convince the Ant King to fight after all.'
Standing up slowly, he looked at the Ant King sitting cross-legged and spoke softly. "King Ant, do you know your own name?"
The Ant King's body trembled, his eyes growing sharper, and his voice took on a heavier tone. "How do you know my name?"
The question hung in the air, charged with emotion. It reminded the Ant King of a time before, when someone named Komugi had asked for his name.
He had never really had one, though he had always longed for one. Could this old man really know it?
A small, victorious smile tugged at Netero's lips. 'It's not easy for someone like me. Even getting him to throw a punch before giving up is tough.'
Seeing the subtle change in the Ant King's expression, Netero felt more confident. The name clearly meant something to him.
"My men witnessed your mother's death," Netero said quietly. "They even said your name before she died."
"So, what do you say? Are you interested in fighting me now?"
Netero stroked his beard thoughtfully and spoke slowly. "If you can get me to admit defeat, I'll tell you your name."
He planned to use the Ant King's name as bait to draw him into a fight. The Ant King's expression shifted subtly, and he finally rose from the ground, moving quickly toward Netero.
"So, you want to defeat me, but without risking your own life, right?"
The Ant King stepped firmly as strange, dark purple thought aura began to seep from his body.
Just looking at this aura was enough to make anyone uneasy. It was a terrifying aura, even more dreadful than the thought of death itself.
Soon, his entire body was enveloped in this dark purple aura, flickering like a will-o'-the-wisp.
He took a fighting stance, legs and arms positioned firmly, ready for battle. Finally, the fight could begin.
Netero spread his legs and adopted a jousting stance. At first, he held back the pure thought aura within him.
Then a brilliant golden light exploded around him, lighting up the entire wilderness.
The golden aura he radiated clashed immediately with the Ant King's dark purple aura.
The two forces met with a sharp dividing line, their collision stirring up violent gusts of dust and sandstorms that swirled wildly around them.
Before the Ant King could make his move, Netero pushed off the ground with his legs and leapt into the air. He settled into a Buddha-like posture, one foot tucked in, the other resting on the knee of the tucked foot, hands clasped together, eyes closed.
Bathed in golden light, Netero appeared to be standing on a glowing lotus flower, an image that vanished in an instant. Then, his eyes snapped open, wide and fierce, radiating an awe-inspiring fighting spirit.
He looked like a mighty King Kong, his presence exuding a powerful, intimidating aura aimed at crushing the little ant before him. "Hundred Styles of Guanyin!" he declared.
Time seemed to freeze as the Ant King's dark pupils glowed with golden light streaming from above. It signaled the start of an epic confrontation.
What immediately drew attention was a gigantic statue of the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara, its countless arms waving fiercely. It was the 99th Form, towering like a Gundam.
The statue launched a rapid barrage, each of its many arms striking the Ant King simultaneously. The Ant King's pupils contracted, his muscles tensing as a surge of aura flared in defense.
Suddenly, shadows of palms filled the sky, appearing one after another. The Ant King, standing in the middle, was overwhelmed and struggled to see them all clearly.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The sound of countless rocks shattering echoed as they were pulverized into fine dust. Smoke and debris swirled, forming a fierce rockstorm.
Each strike from the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara packed the power of a missile, but Netero unleashed them like a machine gun. Under this relentless assault, hard rocks crumbled to dust.
The Ant King, caught in the center of the attack, suffered the greatest damage, far beyond the physical smoke and dust.
Meanwhile, in the online world, two figures watched the scene unfold. Crack! Ging bit down hard on a pear, the crisp sound echoing as he chewed.
"The 99th style of the Hundred Styles of Guanyin? The power is seriously terrifying," he muttered. Ging often sparred with Netero and knew the Hundred Styles well.
There were a hundred moves in total, though the Zero Style was rarely used. He had witnessed all the styles from the first through the ninety-ninth.
The 99th style was the second most powerful, only behind the legendary Zero Style. It unleashed all previous moves in rapid succession within a short time.
Despite knowing Netero for years, Ging had never seen him use the 99th style from the start. The opponent was the Ant King, after all.
The old man's initial strike landed but barely fazed him. To deliver a truly effective attack, he had to go straight to the 99th style.
"Using other moves is just a waste of aura," Larry said, watching the battle on the field. He understood why Netero went straight for a big attack.
Against the Ant King, all previous moves were nothing more than scratching the surface. "Yeah, instead of wasting aura on useless attacks, it's better to fight head-on," Ging agreed.
He felt Netero's strategy made sense. This opponent was just too terrifying.
"By the way, your ability to watch this battle like this is really impressive," Ging added. The two of them were sitting cross-legged in the online world, facing a large screen that displayed the fight happening in the real world.
It felt like they had reserved a private movie theater. Normally, to see the real world from the online space, you needed a screen like a TV or computer as a medium.
But after Porygon Z reached S-level, it could clearly observe the outside world without any physical screen. It could even capture multiple angles for full coverage.