As the two very powerful individuals continued fighting and colliding on Drum Island, it was only natural that the people of the island would feel it. The battlefield between Gojo and Jinbe was constantly shifting. One moment, Jinbe was sent flying by Gojo's strike, carving through layers of snow before regaining his footing. The next, Gojo would appear at that very location in an instant, pressing the attack again. Jinbe would resist, bracing himself, countering with all his strength.
Most of the time, Jinbe was on the receiving end.
But clearly, Jinbe was able to take the beating from Gojo.
As for Jinbe landing a clean hit on Gojo—that was simply not possible because of Gojo's Limitless. Yes, Jinbe's Armament Haki could penetrate the Limitless. But whenever his Haki-coated fist or attack moved through that invisible distortion, it slowed down considerably. The resistance was immense, like moving through layers of compressed space. And for Gojo, dodging those slowed attacks was child's play.
So Gojo was never hit even once by Jinbe.
Only Jinbe was being sent flying again and again after Gojo's powerful attacks. Snow exploded upward with each collision, trees cracked and toppled under the pressure of stray shockwaves, and deep scars formed across the white landscape.
Still, Gojo wasn't able to deal massive damage to Jinbe in the beginning.
But the amount of damage on Jinbe was increasing as the fight progressed.
Gojo's Armament Haki was being refined more and more during the battle itself. With every clash, every blocked strike, every exchange of force, his control sharpened. His level was reaching very close to Jinbe's. And because of that, his attacks were now beginning to truly harm Jinbe.
Bruises formed beneath Jinbe's hardened skin. Cuts deepened. His breathing grew heavier.
Once Gojo's Armament Haki became equal to Jinbe's, his attacks would become even more harmful. And if it surpassed Jinbe's level, then it would be even more devastating for him.
The fight had been going on for almost six hours.
Six hours of full intensity.
Both combatants were using Haki continuously without stopping. The air itself felt heavy from the constant clashes. Jinbe was getting exhausted. Even his immense stamina as a fish-man had its limits.
From a distance, the people of Drum Island could see the aftermath of their collisions. They heard the sounds—the booming impacts, the cracking of trees, the thunder-like vibrations rippling across the island. The ground trembled repeatedly beneath their feet.
On one of the castle balconies, Chopper and Dr. Kureha stood watching from afar. They could see massive plumes of snow rising again and again into the sky, each one marking another violent collision between the two combatants.
This sight made Chopper fearful.
And not just him—all the residents of Drum Island were fearful.
Fearful of the simple fact that if these two reached the residential area, they were doomed. Never in their lives had they witnessed such a battle—where mere attacks were enough to vibrate the entire island, displace massive amounts of snow, and expose the ground beneath.
This fight was enormous.
Thankfully, both Gojo and Jinbe had deliberately avoided the residential area. Despite their fierce battle, they had not entered the town. Otherwise, by now, most of it would have been destroyed by the overwhelming power of these two.
After almost six hours of relentless battle, both Gojo and Jinbe were panting heavily. Their breaths came out in visible bursts against the cold air, mist curling between them as snow continued to fall around the scarred battlefield.
Jinbe looked at Gojo carefully.
He knew Gojo was a human. In terms of raw physical strength, a human should be inferior to him. And yes—Gojo was definitely inferior to him in physical strength, but not by much. Just slightly.
That slight inferiority, however, was compensated by something else.
By his Haki.
And by his fighting style.
Gojo never truly took an attack head-on in the conventional sense. He never resisted rigidly. Instead, he moved with the force. Just like a piece of cloth struck by a powerful punch—the cloth does not shatter or resist; it bends, takes the shape of the impact, and nullifies much of the force.
In a similar way, Gojo adjusted his muscles, shifted his posture at the final instant, and redirected the force across his body. He appeared to take Jinbe's attacks directly, yet he suffered close to no impact. The snow beneath him barely shifted compared to the destruction his own strikes caused.
This fighting style deeply surprised Jinbe.
Another thing that surprised him was Gojo's use of Armament Haki.
Gojo's Armament Haki functioned almost like a switch—on and off with absolute precision. The moment they were about to collide, Gojo would coat his sword in Armament Haki. The blade would harden instantly, sharpened in both presence and lethality. The collision would occur—shockwaves bursting outward, Jinbe being pushed back or slightly injured—and the very next instant, when Gojo's sword left the surface of impact, the Armament Haki would switch off.
Perfect control.
No wasted energy.
Jinbe had never seen such precise usage of Haki in anyone before.
His grip tightened slightly as he studied the man before him. He knew now without doubt—this man standing in front of him was a monster. A genius among geniuses.
Not to mention, by now both of their Armament Haki had reached an equal level. The density, the sharpness, the weight behind their clashes—there was no longer a clear gap.
But what unsettled Jinbe was something else.
Gojo's refinement of Armament Haki was not stopping.
It was still increasing.
Even now.
With every exchange, every clash of blade against forearm, every shockwave that split the snow apart, Gojo was growing.
In the next few attacks, Jinbe knew it clearly.
Gojo's Armament Haki would surpass his.
On the other hand, Gojo had a smile on his face—a smile born from having a truly good fight after a long time. Fighting someone with equal abilities, someone who could push him to refine himself mid-battle, stirred something inside him. There was excitement in it. The thrill of surpassing the very person standing before you.
Jinbe looked at Gojo, chest rising and falling heavily. "We both are running low on stamina and would soon enough run out of stamina. How about we decide the winner in one final clash?"
Snow drifted between them as silence lingered for a brief second.
Gojo nodded after hearing Jinbe's words. He had genuinely loved this battle, but what Jinbe said was true. Although he had fine control over his Haki and could still use it for the next few hours in that precise switch on–switch off manner, he knew that by then it would no longer be enjoyable. Nor would it benefit him any further.
Mainly, Gojo had been fighting Jinbe from a learning perspective—from a desire to become stronger—not because he wanted to kill him. Jinbe had never shown any killing intent toward him. His reason for fighting was solid: revenge for the death of someone he considered a brother, Arlong.
Gojo wasn't resentful toward Jinbe.
Though, he was regretful about one thing.
He had tried to use future sight again—that brief future vision he had awakened on the ship, the one that had saved them. He thought that under the pressure of fighting Jinbe, he would awaken that level of Observation Haki again.
But he wasn't able to use it.
Gojo shook his head slightly and thought to himself, Okay, let's not be greedy.
Looking toward Jinbe, he said calmly, "Very well then. Let's give our best shot."
With that, both Gojo and Jinbe disappeared from their locations at the same time.
Snow burst upward where they had been standing. The air cracked from the sudden acceleration.
Gojo's sword was covered in a flowing blue light, similar to how he had previously covered his fists. The aura swirled around the blade like living energy. At the same time, he coated it in Armament Haki, the dark blade blending with the blue glow, making the sword look both sharp and radiant.
On the other side, Jinbe's hand was fully covered in Armament Haki. The muscles in his arm tightened as he gathered everything he had left into this single attack.
Gojo's voice rang out across the battlefield.
"Limitless: Azure Event Horizon."
Jinbe roared in response, "Fish-Man Karate: Gosenmaigawara Seiken!"
The two forces collided.
For a brief instant, the entire battlefield went silent.
Then a massive shockwave exploded outward. Snow was displaced in all directions, rising like a white storm. The air trembled. The ground beneath the snow cracked under the pressure of their final clash.
And then—
Both stood still.
Their backs were facing each other.
A few meters apart.
The snow slowly began to fall back down.
Gojo calmly sheathed his sword into its sheath, the metallic click echoing faintly in the quiet aftermath. Jinbe stood upright for a second longer.
Then blood gushed from his abdomen up toward his chest area, staining the white snow beneath him.
Clearly, in this final collision, Gojo was the winner.
Jinbe spoke, his voice heavy but steady. "You really kept your word. You became stronger than you were before the battle… and I was not able to become stronger than myself before the battle. And I lost."
With that, Jinbe fell onto the snow-covered ground.
Gojo turned around and looked at Jinbe lying there. For a moment, he simply observed him. Then he walked forward, grabbed Jinbe by the collar, and disappeared from his location.
From the place where Dr. Kureha and Chopper had been watching from a distance, Gojo suddenly appeared in front of them, still floating in the sky. Snow swirled lightly beneath him.
He threw Jinbe's body gently but firmly onto the snow before them.
"I can say that you are doctors," Gojo said calmly. "If you want, you can save him. If not, then let him die."
After saying this, Gojo disappeared once again, leaving behind only drifting snow and the heavy silence of what had just transpired.
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