Chapter 5: The Clash

"A Devil Fruit?"

Charlotte Linlin's eyes widened as she saw the object in Renji's hand. She frantically patted the spot where she had stored the Devil Fruit earlier, only to find it was gone.

"You're asking for death?!!"

She had always been the one to take from others. No one had ever dared to steal something from her—no one!!!

"I have no intention of dying here."

Renji looked at the fruit in his hand, curious. He had heard that Devil Fruits tasted worse than excrement, but if he swallowed it whole, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Seeing Renji's intention to eat the fruit, Charlotte Linlin softened her tone and said gently, "Put that fruit down, and I can exchange it for something else."

Renji glanced at her, as if to say, "Do you think I'm stupid? Trust a pirate's words?"

Seeing this look, Charlotte Linlin was furious. If soft words didn't work, then she would use force.

Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Renji closed his eyes, took a bite, and then, before his tongue could react, swallowed the entire Devil Fruit in one go.

"Prometheus, burn that bastard to ashes!"

Seeing that the deed was done, Charlotte Linlin was filled with hatred. She dragged out her strongest Homie, Prometheus, from her hat and infused it with her soul.

The once crudely drawn sun in her hat transformed into a blazing fireball.

Charlotte Linlin grabbed Prometheus and swung it around, creating a vortex of flames that surged toward Renji with scorching heat.

Crack!!!

High above, the sun was instantly obscured by dark clouds. A fierce wind swept across the land, and a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky.

Boom!!!

The lightning bolt struck the vortex of flames, causing a violent collision.

In an instant, the shockwave from the explosion spread outward, carrying with it debris from rocks and trees, destroying everything in its path.

This... was the destructive power of the strong in this world!!

Kuma, Ivankov, and others nearby were blown away by the intense blast.

"This place is too dangerous, Kuma."

Ivankov pulled his head out of the dirt, still shaken, and looked into the distance with a grave expression.

"Renji... Renji is still in there..."

Kuma wasn't faring much better, covered in dust as if he had just crawled out of the mud.

"He'll be fine!"

Ivankov said something even he didn't believe, but they had more important things to do.

"But... but..."

Kuma didn't want to abandon his friend, even though they had only known each other for a few hours.

Ivankov looked at the strong and kind-hearted child and sighed. "We still have a lot to do. Pull yourself together."

"He'll be fine!" This was as much for Kuma as it was for himself. "We'll all be fine."

Kuma looked at the paw pads that had grown on his hands after eating the fruit. He had already used this ability once.

"With this ability, we can succeed!"

With that, Kuma and the others ran off, using their hands to slap away anyone they saw.

...

"You're quite tough, kid."

The battle between Charlotte Linlin and Renji continued.

The fight wasn't one-sided. Although Renji was at a disadvantage, he could still withstand Charlotte Linlin's ferocious attacks.

"The Azure Dragon Fruit has made you more durable."

Charlotte Linlin's eyes were red with rage. That was supposed to be her fruit, and now her enemy was using it against her.

Renji, who had been taking a beating, was also fed up with this tall beauty. They could have escaped with the fruit, but she had shown up out of nowhere and ruined everything.

Not only had their plans been disrupted, but she also hit really hard. (It was hard to get injured or bleed, but the pain didn't lessen.)

Glancing at his system panel, his physique had now reached 79 points (including the temporary bonus). It seemed that 80 points was a significant threshold, and the temporary attributes were somewhat diluted.

But now, he was practically invulnerable to swords and guns.

However, it just made him more durable.

He wondered how Kuma and the others were doing.

"You dare to lose focus while fighting me!!"

Charlotte Linlin tugged at Prometheus's face and then grabbed it.

"Take this! Heavenly Fire!!!"

She infused her power into Prometheus and hurled it at Renji.

"Wahahaha, take this!!!"

Prometheus roared as it charged at Renji, the scorching heat distorting the air.

At that moment, Renji, who had been standing still, moved...

He calmly faced the overwhelming heat, his expression unchanged as he looked up at the dark clouds and pointed two fingers toward the sky.

A beam of light shot from his fingers into the clouds, causing them to churn.

Then, the air trembled with the vibration of electric currents. Thick purple lightning bolts, like giant serpents, writhed within the clouds, and an invisible aura slowly spread.

Charlotte Linlin, the first to sense the danger, stood frozen. It wasn't that she didn't want to dodge, but she felt an aura locking onto her, leaving her no escape.

"Prometheus!!"

Charlotte Linlin shouted, trying to call it back for defense... but it was too late...

Prometheus's attack hit Renji head-on, but it wasn't happy. It also felt the terrifying aura in the air.

Crack!!!

A thunderous roar echoed from the sky. The lightning, having gathered for so long, seemed to receive a signal and transformed into a thunder dragon, descending from the heavens and striking Charlotte Linlin, who was defending with her sword.

Boom!!!

As the thunder dragon struck, the island, unable to withstand the violent impact, shook violently.

Everyone on the island was thrown to the ground by the sudden earthquake. It was one of the few pauses in this deadly game.

"Is this earthquake a punishment from the heavens for this cruel game of killing for fun?"

Many who were injured by the earthquake felt the pain caused by the immense power of nature but were overjoyed.

"The Celestial Dragons and nobles are nowhere to be seen. Have they been punished?"

They needed to hold onto a belief to support their broken bodies through this calamity.

...

"Mom!!"

A panicked Prometheus, ignoring Renji, who seemed incapacitated with burnt skin, rushed toward where the lightning had struck.

It was unclear whether Charlotte Linlin was alive or dead.

Sss...

The pain from the burns made Renji involuntarily twitch.

Because his technique required too much preparation time, he couldn't dodge Charlotte Linlin's attack and had to resort to a trade-off.

However, the pain made him reluctant to use this tactic again.

Strictly speaking, this move wasn't achieved by Renji's own power. He borrowed Sasuke's method of using Kirin, using a strand of energy to harness the power of nature to achieve his goal.

The abilities of Devil Fruits are determined by how the user develops them. In Renji's subconscious, the Azure Dragon was one of the "Four Symbols" and the "Seven Mansions of the East."

It possessed infinite possibilities, giving him many directions to explore in its development.