Countless massive trees burst from the ground, their thick branches coiling around Diamond Jozu like living things.
Jozu snorted coldly, his diamond-hard body gleaming with brilliant light.
His fists struck the surrounding trees like meteors, each blow carrying enough force to split mountains and crack stone.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The thick trees snapped and shattered under Jozu's fists, sending wood chips flying in all directions.
Yet these trees seemed endless; the moment one broke, new ones grew in its place.
"It's useless," Hashirama's voice came from atop the trees. "In this forest, I am the master."
Jozu clenched his jaw, sensing that some of his stamina was somehow being drained away.
This man's abilities were just too strange—not only could he control trees, but he could also make them regenerate indefinitely.
"Looks like I'll have to use that move…" Jozu took a deep breath, his diamond body beginning to radiate a blinding light. "Diamond Meteor Shower!"
His fists became a blur of countless afterimages, striking the surrounding trees like meteors. Each punch carried tremendous force, and under such a frenzied assault, the trees finally gave way, shattering one after another.
Hashirama stood atop a tree, a glint of admiration in his eyes. "Not bad. You were able to break my Deep Forest Emergence. Your strength has already reached the Kage level."
"Kage level?" Jozu frowned, the unfamiliar term confusing him.
But he quickly pushed it aside, because the power this man before him had displayed had already far exceeded his expectations.
"However," Hashirama's voice rang out again, "if this is your limit…"
"Enough talk!" Jozu roared, bending down abruptly and driving his hands into the ground.
With a thunderous rumble, he wrenched a massive boulder from the earth.
He raised it high above his head, his diamond-hard arms bulging with muscle and veins standing out.
"Let's see how you block this!" Jozu bellowed, his arms surging with power as he hurled the boulder like a cannonball straight at Hashirama.
The boulder sliced through the air with a piercing howl, the sheer wind pressure tearing at the ground in its wake.
Hashirama gazed up at the incoming boulder, a flicker of appreciation in his eyes, yet he remained utterly composed.
He pressed his palms together, chakra surging within his body, a faint smile playing at his lips. "A fight like this might just be enough to stretch my limbs a little."
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
With his low chant, a colossal wooden dragon erupted from the earth. Its body coiled, its head reared high, and it unleashed a deafening roar.
The wood dragon opened its massive maw and charged straight at the flying boulder.
Boom—!
The boulder and wood dragon collided, unleashing a sky-shattering explosion.
The dragon's head was smashed to pieces by the boulder, but its body rapidly regenerated, restoring itself in an instant.
The wood dragon circled in the air, its eyes gleaming with an eerie green light.
"What?!" Jozu's pupils contracted, shock coursing through him. He had thought this attack would seriously injure his opponent, but he never expected the wood dragon's regenerative ability to be so terrifying.
"It's useless," Hashirama's voice came from behind the dragon, as calm as still water. "Unless you can completely destroy its core, this wood dragon will regenerate indefinitely."
Jozu gritted his teeth, his diamond body shining once more.
He couldn't back down, and he couldn't fall here. The honor of the Whitebeard Pirates would not be trampled by anyone.
"Diamond Meteor Shower!" Jozu roared, his fists blurring into countless afterimages as they struck the wood dragon like meteors.
Each blow carried immense power, and under such a ferocious assault, the dragon's body continuously shattered, only to reform just as quickly.
The battle lasted a full ten minutes, draining much of Jozu's stamina.
Finally, with one all-out burst, he managed to seize the wood dragon's core and crushed it with a single punch.
Boom—!
The wood dragon's body disintegrated into countless splinters, scattering across the ground.
Jozu dropped to one knee, gasping for breath. The fact that this wood dragon could also absorb his energy was truly disgusting.
"So you really are the World's Worst Criminal…" Jozu lifted his head, his gaze filled with deep apprehension.
He could already sense it: this man's strength was unfathomable, far beyond what he could match.
But just as he thought the battle was over, Hashirama pressed his palms together once more.
"Wood Release: Threefold Dragon Strangulation!"
Three wood dragons, even larger than the previous one, burst from the ground, each emanating a pressure that made the heart quake.
They circled in the air, unleashing deafening roars, their eyes fixed unwaveringly on Jozu.
Jozu's pupils contracted sharply, a wave of helplessness washing over him. He no longer had enough stamina to take on three wood dragons at once.
"It's over." Hashirama's voice was calm.
The three wood dragons lunged at Jozu simultaneously, their roars shaking the heavens.
Jozu barely managed to raise his arms, his diamond body shining again, but this time his defenses faltered under the combined assault of the three dragons.
Boom—!
With a thunderous crash, Jozu was completely engulfed by the wood dragons.
Their bodies coiled around him, their jaws emitting dense chakra as they tried to absorb his stamina.
Jozu gritted his teeth, his diamond-hard body producing a harsh grinding noise under the dragons' constriction.
"Damn it… I can't hold on…" Sweat beaded on Jozu's forehead as he felt his stamina rapidly depleting.
Cracks began to appear in his diamond form, its light fading.
When the dust settled, Jozu was kneeling on the ground, half-collapsed. The wood dragons had drained too much of his stamina, and he could barely maintain his diamond form.
His body gradually returned to normal, the diamond luster completely gone, leaving only an exhausted, battered physique.
Hashirama stood not far away, lowering his hands slowly, a trace of admiration in his eyes. "You're a worthy opponent. A pity you weren't enough to make me go all out."
Jozu looked up, his eyes filled with frustration, but more than that, with awe at the power of the man before him.
This kind of strength faintly reminded him of facing Pops.
"Go back and tell your so-called Whitebeard," Hashirama said calmly. "I have no intention of making an enemy of him, but don't keep bothering me."
With those words, Hashirama vanished from the spot, leaving behind only the ravaged battlefield and the exhausted Jozu.
Jozu struggled to his feet, dusting himself off, a complex expression in his eyes.
He knew he had done his best, but facing an opponent like this, even the Third Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates seemed utterly insignificant.
He dragged his weary body toward the pirate ship anchored at the coast. The crew members had been anxiously awaiting his return.
When Jozu's figure appeared on deck, everyone was stunned.
"Commander Jozu… lost?" one crew member whispered in disbelief.