The sun was so dazzling, its power so immense.
The moment it appeared, this land of eternal night was completely illuminated!
Moria found his vision filled with golden-orange light, its warmth strangely uncomfortable to his current state.
But then the golden radiance turned aggressively potent, like concentrated explosive flames!
Jet-black Conqueror's Haki instantly coated his entire body, yet even so, Moria still felt the terrifying Holy Light scorching every inch of his being.
It was like waves of fire passing through his body, one after another without respite.
His skin began drying out, the intense heat making his internal organs protest.
With a roar, countless Shadow Bats emerged from the darkness beneath his feet, enveloping him completely.
"Shadow Ball!"
The swirling Shadow Bats formed a smooth black sphere around Moria, standing like a charred rock against the endless golden tides, resisting the seemingly boundless flames.
But the scorching flames seemed endless.
Moria had almost pushed his Shadow-Shadow Fruit to its limits, feeling his stamina depleting at an alarming rate.
At this rate, he would collapse from exhaustion in no time!
'Damn it! How long could Jake, that bastard, possibly sustain an attack of this magnitude?!'
Just as Moria was beginning to despair, the relentless wave of flame-like impacts suddenly ceased, leaving only Jake, his body radiating a golden glow.
Despite his disheveled state, Moria couldn't resist taunting Jake.
"Your move is powerful, no doubt, but the stamina cost must be insane. Even as a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, how much energy could you possibly have left after such a wide-range attack?
Instead of wasting it like that, you should've focused it into a single point. At least then, I'd be in a far worse state right now!"
Jake didn't argue.
After all, Moria's suggestion wasn't bad.
But the true power of Holy Light Awakening wasn't the endless waves of Holy Light—it was the near-absurd enhancement of his physical abilities for those thirty seconds!
"Moria, your advice is sound. But those Holy Light waves were just the prelude. Let's end this battle in the next thirty seconds!"
"Thirty seconds?! Are you mocking me or yourself?!"
Moria bristled at Jake's words.
Grinning, Jake replied, "On the contrary, I respect both of us more than anyone else. If I can't finish this in thirty seconds, I'll surrender myself."
Hearing this, the veins on Moria's grotesquely thick arms bulged violently as he swung a fist straight at Jake's head.
"If that's how it is, then let's see if you're as good as your words! Show me how you'll defeat me in thirty seconds!"
The terrifying force behind the punch seemed to fracture the air itself.
The old Jake would've dodged without hesitation, but under the sun's power, he wanted a direct clash.
His Holy Light energy blazed like fire as he vanished from sight, reappearing like a miniature sun to slam Moria's massive arm into the ground.
Moria felt an incomprehensible agony shoot through his arm—this was his strongest physique, temporarily gained after absorbing hundreds of shadows!
With this body, he'd even believed he could fight Kaido to a standstill.
So why did it feel so fragile against Jake?!
Before Moria could react, Jake had already smashed him into the ground.
The searing pain in his back felt like being burned alive.
Before he could react, Jake's fist had already smashed into his face.
Moria, who had just landed on the ground, was sent flying again, tracing an extremely graceful arc through the air before crashing through dozens of large trees!
"Damn it! What kind of monstrous speed is this?!"
Moria tried to adjust his posture mid-air to mitigate the force of Jake's attack, but to his horror, he found that with his current physical condition, he couldn't even move a muscle, let alone change his stance.
The sheer force behind Jake's punch had practically locked down every inch of his body!
A metallic taste rose in his throat, and he couldn't stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood.
By then, Jake had already appeared at his landing spot on the ground.
Several angelic figures, as if from myth, materialized around him, and a dazzling golden magic circle rose beneath Jake's feet.
A divine blessing, as if from the dwelling of gods, manifested in the sky, accompanied by a terrifying pressure that nearly suffocated Moria.
In just an instant, Moria knew the outcome—there was absolutely no way he could withstand that attack!
So he promptly surrendered:
"Stop! I admit defeat!"
Jake immediately halted his movements.
Truth be told, he hadn't actually planned to unleash the Song of Courage.
Doing so would have inflicted too much damage on Moria, far beyond the scope of a sparring match.
As the Holy Light dissipated, Jake looked at Moria, who was panting heavily and struggling even to sit up.
He roughly estimated the time—with the sun's enhancement, it had taken him about 20 seconds to defeat Moria.
Though activating the sun drained his stamina quickly, the trade-off for 30 seconds of power far surpassing his usual level was well worth it.
The only downside was the tight time limit.
If he couldn't defeat his opponent within those 30 seconds, his stamina would likely run out.
Even with Healing Prayer, Holy Light Energy wouldn't recover that quickly.
Moreover, the reason for such a massive boost this time was that all the enhancements within the sun's range were concentrated on him.
If distributed evenly among allies, the effect wouldn't be as potent.
This was somewhat different from the game, where the sun's benefits were equally shared by all.
But Jake could accept that.
Otherwise, after mastering the sun, the Marines would have already conquered the entire world.