At this moment, the muscles on Jack's body writhed at a staggering speed.
Those originally gruesome wounds actually began to heal under this incredible regenerative ability.
A trace of contempt flashed in his eyes as he continued to taunt, "Seems like hiding behind Whitebeard has made you forget how to fight!"
Jozu remained silent, his eyes showing no trace of panic.
Only the bulging veins at his temples revealed the barely suppressed fury deep within.
He pondered his strategy while simultaneously noting Jack's abnormally astonishing recovery ability.
Injuries that would be fatal to ordinary people could heal on this monster in mere minutes, undoubtedly raising the difficulty of this battle.
What surprised Jozu even more was that as the fight progressed, Jack's offensive grew increasingly ferocious.
He was like an unstoppable fighting machine, growing stronger with each passing moment.
"What's wrong? Diamond Jozu!"
Jack suddenly erupted, his thick legs unleashing astonishing jumping power.
His body transformed from Mammoth Form into his hybrid form!
With a powerful kick against the ground, he shot toward Jozu like a cannonball, bringing with him a fierce gust of wind.
"CLANG—!"
The two collided once more, the piercing impact sound cutting through the battlefield's chaos and echoing to the skies.
The battle had reached its white-hot phase.
Jozu felt his arms go numb from the impact.
The tremendous force traveled through his arms and spread throughout his body, causing an involuntary shudder.
He was secretly astonished—this guy's power kept increasing without any apparent limit.
But even so, he had no thought of retreat.
Instead, he grinned, revealing a battle-crazed smile filled with love for combat and thirst for victory.
"Interesting..." Jozu murmured softly. "Then let me show you the true hardness of diamond!"
With that, he withdrew his supreme Armament Haki.
In his view, this battle wasn't just about strength—it was a contest of skill and willpower.
He intended to use this powerful opponent to temper his martial arts and elevate his combat techniques to new heights.
Thus, Jozu began delivering precise strikes at key joints from calculated angles.
Each punch landed accurately on target. Sometimes he'd dodge Jack's attacks with sidesteps, other times he'd counter with swift strikes.
Every movement was perfectly timed, making it difficult for Jack to predict his next move.
"Useless!"
After enduring over a dozen heavy blows, Jack suddenly seized an opening in Jozu's defense.
A cunning glint flashed in his eyes before he delivered a powerful headbutt straight into Jozu's chest.
This strike concentrated all his strength and rage, as if intending to shatter Jozu's ribcage.
"Humph!" Jozu grunted, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth.
But he wasn't knocked down by this blow.
Instead, he laughed even more wildly, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth excitedly.
"Finally... it's starting to feel like that great battle from back then!"
Immediately after, Jozu swiftly grabbed Jack's horns, his hands clamping down like iron vices as his arm muscles instantly erupted with tremendous strength.
With a loud roar, he lifted Jack high into the air and executed a shoulder throw, slamming him violently into the ground.
"But you really lack common sense. Let me tell you... diamonds never rust!"
After being smashed into the ground, Jack quickly rose and retreated, his eyes still filled with ferocity as he stared intently at Jozu, while his body rapidly recovered from the injuries.
The speed of his recovery was astonishing enough to leave anyone in awe. He knew this battle was far from over.
Jozu slowly straightened his posture, the sunlight pouring down unreservedly and reflecting off the dense, hard diamond crystals covering his body, casting a cold and dazzling glare.
He slightly twisted his neck, the friction between bones and joints producing a series of crisp cracking sounds.
With these movements, the blazing fighting spirit in his eyes gradually gave way to a cold, murderous intent that seemed to emanate from the depths of an ice cellar.
"I originally planned to use you for more practice..." Jozu's voice was deep and resonant, echoing through the space.
He paused briefly, his gaze firmly locked onto Jack. "But since you're in such a hurry to meet the King of Hell, I'll send you on your way."
As soon as the words fell,
his right fist suddenly glowed with an eerie black-purple light.
The Armament Haki, unlike its usual even and steady coverage, now seemed to possess a life of its own, flowing and swirling nimbly across the surface of his knuckles.
It intertwined and coiled, sometimes converging into a powerful force, other times dispersing again.
"Ryuo?"
Jack instinctively felt a chill run down his spine.
As a Zoan ability user, his keen intuition screamed warnings of danger like a tolling alarm bell.
However, before he could mount any effective response, Jozu's figure blurred.
A phantom shadow shot forward like lightning, so fast that it tore fine cracks through the air.
"Boom!"
A sonic boom shattered the brief silence as Jozu's fist seemingly floated gently against Jack's abdomen.
Jack was momentarily stunned, a look of bewilderment flashing across his face, before the corners of his lips curled into a sinister grin.
He inwardly sneered, "Is that all—"
But before he could finish the thought, his pupils contracted to pinpricks.
He clearly felt that the seemingly ordinary punch contained Armament Haki that seeped into his body like quicksilver, infiltrating through his pores strand by strand.
Jack felt a terrifying shockwave instantly erupt within his internal organs, as if a powerful bomb had detonated inside his body.
His skin remained intact, smooth and resilient, but the muscle fibers inside felt as though they were being pierced by thousands of steel needles simultaneously, wracking him with unbearable agony.
And those fragile internal organs were as if thrown into a high-speed meat grinder, ruthlessly crushed and torn apart.
"Gah—!"
Jack couldn't help but vomit a mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments, the blood appearing particularly glaring under the sunlight.
His body involuntarily arched like a shrimp, his hands tightly clutching his abdomen in an attempt to alleviate the overwhelming, tide-like agony.
"Impossible!"