Jotaro found the chance, he clearly could have further injured Akainu.
But in the end, he only sent the opponent flying with a punch, missing this golden opportunity.
Of course, this wasn't Jotaro's wish, but rather something he had no choice but to do.
Though Jotaro was furious to the extreme, he hadn't completely lost his calm.
Star Platinum's power far beyond its normal offensive state was something he couldn't maintain for long.
He had indeed suppressed Akainu for a long time, leaving the other without any chance to fight back.
But this overwhelming assault consumed Jotaro's stamina at a terrifying rate.
While he seized the chance to heavily wound Akainu, he also revealed a weakness.
Because of his rapidly declining stamina, his attack rhythm became unstable.
In this state, he wasn't confident he could strip Akainu of all offensive power.
Moreover, a disrupted rhythm would also give Akainu the chance to counterattack.
At close range, magma's explosive force was unparalleled, and Jotaro worried he would suffer heavy injuries if Akainu retaliated. That was why, without hesitation, he struck Akainu away from him.
In that instant, he had already decided, the next exchange would determine victory.
To settle it in just one round of blows was still too difficult.
Jotaro looked silently at the standing Akainu, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.
'Yare yare… he won't give me the chance to get close again!'
Akainu was as strong as a monster, and beyond that, his battlefield experience was exceptionally rich.
With the Magma Fruit protecting him, anyone attacking him at close range would inevitably be scorched by the intense heat.
Why did Jotaro choose to endure such heat, using a method of attack where he hurt the enemy a thousand but damaged himself eight hundred?
The reason was simple, his long-range attacks could never achieve the terrifying results of close-range ones.
Akainu only needed to think a little, and he would understand this point.
Besides, Jotaro still had time stop, so Akainu would never again allow him to attack from that distance.
Of course, the moment Jotaro struck Akainu away, he had already foreseen the Admiral's next move.
"Jotaro! Missing that chance just now, you think you can suppress me again? Hmph! That's absolutely impossible now!"
Since becoming an Admiral, it was the first time Akainu had been made so miserable by a pirate.
Both sides of his face were swollen from the blows.
Even if he killed Jotaro here today, afterward, he would still have lost face.
Aokiji and Kizaru would no doubt mock him.
'Jotaro, this is all your fault!'
Akainu's eyes brimmed with hatred.
"Let me show you the power of the Magma Fruit! I'm not like you, my long-range destructive power is just as strong!"
"Great Eruption!"
The move that had been interrupted by Jotaro before was finally unleashed.
Akainu's fists took the form of lava, erupting violently with the impact of a volcanic explosion.
Its power could instantly vaporize icebergs dozens of times larger than a giant.
The lava fists sprayed upward, forming countless volcanic bombs in the air. Each one could easily destroy a massive warship, and their coverage range was immense.
"Even with time stop, you won't escape the range of my volcanic bombs!"
"Jotaro! Now it's my turn to play with you!" Akainu spoke cruelly.
Yet even as the volcanic bombs were about to fall on him, Jotaro stood unmoving, rooted to the spot.
Akainu's expression stiffened slightly.
"Have you given up already? What a pity…"
But Akainu's words abruptly stopped, for Jotaro's appearance deeply unsettled him.
"Jotaro! With death right before you, what are you laughing at! What's so funny!"
"Heh… heh…" Jotaro slowly stopped his laughter, speaking coldly, "Nothing much. It's the laugh of anticipation."
"Just now, I thought of a way to deal with you. What I'm laughing at is that in a moment, the fun will only increase."
"It's something truly worth looking forward to."
Akainu clenched his teeth tightly. 'Has this guy completely lost his mind!'
He had never before seen someone who could still laugh so joyfully while facing his Great Eruption.
Clearly the victory was in his grasp, but for some reason, Akainu's heart filled with an overwhelming sense of unease.
"Meteor Volcano!"
Following Great Eruption, Akainu unleashed two more of his signature techniques, roaring, "Go die, Jotaro!"
Jotaro's expression remained indifferent, his gaze coldly fixed on the onrushing magma.
"Star Platinum!"
Countless torrents of searing magma rained down beside Jotaro, a scene identical to the hopeless sight of a doomsday volcano erupting.
No living being could possibly survive in such an environment.
"Second time stop!"
"Time, stop flowing!"
The magma pierced through Jotaro, crashing into the sand behind him.
His body seemed to exist, yet at the same time not, like an unmoving image frozen in this world.
This was the technique he had used to escape the Light Sphere of Indomitable Trap before.
He had stopped his own time completely.
The world's time, however, still flowed.
His body remained in the state it had been in just before time stopped.
All matter's existence depended on time and space.
With time stripped away, his existence in this world had already been erased.
Only a shadow of unknown nature stood silently in place.
This was the strangest scene in the world, for no one knew what it meant for matter to be stripped of time.
The magma all crashed down, and at that moment, Star Platinum returned Jotaro's time to him.
This step was entirely Star Platinum's own will.
Jotaro's existence rejoined the world, and in the instant his consciousness returned, he raised his hand and pointed forward.
"Za Warudo!"
This time, it was the exact opposite, everything except him froze.
And in this frozen world, he could attack any matter stripped of time without restraint.
Here, he was king.
"Ora!"
Star Platinum slammed its foot into the ground, Jotaro charging Akainu at extreme speed.
Akainu, an experienced warrior, knew Jotaro had time stop, so he never relaxed for even a second.
Magma surged constantly across his body.
Even if Jotaro attacked him in stopped time, the opponent would still be burned by the heat of the magma.
After all, the magma preserved its searing temperature from before time stopped.
Akainu was cautious, and his distance was calculated precisely.
In ten seconds, Jotaro could never possibly reach his body.
"Ora!"
Star Platinum stopped and hurled something from Jotaro's hand at Akainu.
"Time, resume its flow!"
Akainu stared and burst out laughing, "Jotaro, even with time stop you can't reach me. Everything is within my calculations!"
"You can't use time stop continuously. At this distance, I can execute you with ease!"
Glaring at the approaching Jotaro, Akainu roared, "Dark Hound!"
'What!'
The instant he used his move, Akainu realized something was wrong.
His Devil Fruit power was restrained.
'Sea… seastone?'
"Seems you didn't expect this." Jotaro was already upon him, his voice cold and eerie as death itself. "The one to be executed… is you!"
"Ora ora ora ora ora ora!"
With his Devil Fruit restrained, Star Platinum's fists easily tore through Akainu's double defenses.
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