Chapter 168

Ken and Im ran towards each other. Ken punched towards Im's right side, but he got blocked. Im grabbed Ken's hand with his left hand and tried to punch him in the face. But Ken dodged the attack and punched Im's left side with his free arm. It looked like he punched the air out of him.

But Im didn't back down. He kicked towards Ken's knee. Ken tried to jump back, but Im was still holding onto his fist, so he didn't manage to jump back. When the kick was about to hit him, he suddenly jumped into the air and did a flip over Im. He kicked the side of Im's head mid-flip, sending him flying. But Im quickly stabilized himself in the air and immediately ran towards Ken.

"Arc!"

Lighting suddenly enveloped Im's hand. The lightning shot towards Ken at an incredible speed, but it only hit the air as Ken kneed Im in the face. He quickly maneuvered in the air to send a second attack. Before Im could grimace in pain from the knee, he got a heel on his head, smashing him into the floor.

"Deuce's lightning is way faster. You've got to do better than that to beat me, you fake," said Ken as he landed next to Im. As he was about to kick him again, he suddenly got hit at point blank range by a blast of fire. Ken jumped out of the blast with minimal damage.

"Turn to ashes!"

Ken looked shocked. A fire tornado suddenly appeared around him before he could dodge it. And the tornado started significantly increasing in speed, scale, and temperature every second.

'It looks different from Ace's flames. I can hear the wind raging around it, so he probably used some kind of wind power to enhance the flames. Too bad Ace can't do something like this. But this technique is just annoying at best.'

"Haoshoku Haki."

Ken used his Haoshoku Haki to push the flames away, canceling out Im's technique. Ken started walking towards Im with an annoyed look.

"You are strong, stronger than I ever imagined. All of your Haki is superior to mine, you can use different elemental attacks, and you're either immortal or have an incredible regeneration technique. Right now, I can't beat you."

"Hahahaha! You have finally realized that you are no match for me!"

"But."

"Huh?"

"That just means that I'll have to use everything to surpass my limits and annihilate you!"

"Bastard!"

"Busoshoku Haki: Max Hardening."

Ken hardened his arms and ran towards Im. He swung his fist towards Im, who put his arms in a cross to block it.

"BOOM!"

A giant shockwave appeared as Ken hit Im's guard. But Ken didn't manage to make Im move. He immediately punched out again, and again, and again. With every punch, his attacks seemed to become fiercer and fiercer. Not only were his attacks getting faster and stronger, but his Busoshoku Haki was also going from completely black to black with a blue shade. It wasn't noticeable at first, but it keeps getting more and more visible with every punch.

"Crack!"

"Argh!" Im grimaced in pain as both his arms just broke. But they went back to normal instantly.

"Not enough! I need more!"

Ken rotated his body and punched out again. He hit Im's guard and broke both of his arms again. But this time, he also pushed Im back, unlike the first time where Im managed to stand his ground.

"I need more!"

Ken immediately punched Im again. Im didn't have the time to do anything but block.

'How is this possible! First, I managed to easily block his attacks, but now he can break my bones even though I am using my Busoshoku Haki at max power. This guy is more dangerous than I imagined! I should have just eaten him and that other brat when I had the chance.'

Ken was starting to push Im back more and more while breaking his arms with every hit.

"I wonder why you aren't attacking me from behind with one of those earth spikes. I'm sure the reason wouldn't be because you can't use Haki and that power at the same time."

I'm didn't say anything and kept blocking the attacks.

"What happened? Did you lose your tongue or something? Do you really think that I wouldn't spot something so obvious? Every time you attack with your powers, you stopped hardening your arms. And there is no reason for you to do so because, on this level, Haki is something we can keep on for days without the worry of running out of stamina."

I'm clicked his tongue and tried to jump to the side and dodge Ken's punch, but he got kicked back into place and had no choice but to start blocking again.

'Tsk, was it really that obvious? And this Ryou technique is getting really annoying. I should have learned it when I had the chance.'

"Oh, so you think that this is Ryou?"

"Did you just read my mind!"

"Nah, You're just easy to read. Which is not something I expected from the King of the World, but whatever. And just for your information, I have not used Ryou in any of my attacks. Me breaking your bones has nothing to do with fancy techniques!"

"BOOOM!"

Ken's fist suddenly exploded with power as it hit Im's guard and blew off his arms. Im looked petrified, but before he could regenerate his arms and block the next attack, Ken had already swung his left fist.

"Thud."

Im fell on his knees in front of Ken with a giant hole in his chest. His neck is just barely attached to his shoulder. Ken grabbed his hair and pulled him up.

"Do you still think that your selfish power is stronger, Im?"

Before Im could answer, Ken smashed his head into the ground creating a humongous crater that shook hell itself. Im looked like he was barely holding onto his life, and his wounds are healing at a snail's pace.

"Your heart is gone, but you're still alive. You're such a monster."

"Y… you asked m… me if I still believe in my powe-"

Before he could finish talking, Ken smashed his head into minced meat.

"I don't care about your ideals. It was just a way to get you unfocused. Fighting for someone or fighting for yourself are both strong powers."

"Roar!"

Ken walked away from Im's disfigured body, and multiple monsters immediately pounced at Im. They started eating his body, and they started fighting for the meat.

'I have become way stronger than I was before. If I were to fight him again, I should be able to take care of him easily.'

(A little birdy told me that that won't be the case with the real Im.)

"Big Brother!"

As Ken was thinking about what he could have done better in the fight, he suddenly stopped moving and looked at the grey surroundings. Everything turned deadly quiet, and nothing moved. Even the flames weren't budging an inch. As he was trying to figure out what has happened, he suddenly got blinded by a bright white light.

Ken looked up at the sky, seeing someone who looks to be almost the exact copy of him. But this copy has 1 beautiful white wing and a smile so innocent that no one would dare to think that that is Ken.

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[Who the hell is this guy?]

Facts:

- The world's longest French fry is 34-inches long

- The double coconut palm produced the biggest seed in the world: 45 pounds.

- Ice cream was once called "cream ice."

- Peanuts aren't nuts! (They're legumes.)

- Lima beans have an amazing ability to command wasps as a defense. If insects are eating the lima bean's leaves, the plant gives off a substance that acts as a signal to parasitic wasps to swoop in and destroy their enemy (i.e. the leaf-eating insects).