Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Global Layer of the Supernatural Realm
The morning passed quickly. And during that time, Diamond Jozu eliminated quite a few strong participants.
It was a little after 2 p.m. when Matthew, who had been sitting and watching the show, finally received the prompt to go on stage.
"It's my turn," Matthew said and stood up, preparing to step into the portal.
"Matthew, be careful. If you feel disadvantaged, just surrender." Professor Holland whispered.
Matthew smiled and nodded, then stepped into the portal and arrived at the ring.
His appearance immediately attracted the attention of countless people. Everyone remembered that Matthew, a freshman, performed very well in the previous round.
"I wonder if he can pull off another miracle this time."
"Do you guys think this kid can still win?"
"Most likely he won't succeed, right?"
"I don't think he can win. It's already a miracle that a freshman has come this far."
"The main problem is that Diamond Jozu is too strong. Those who can defeat Jozu are basically all seventh-rank powerhouses."
Similar discussions arose everywhere in the audience area.
...
Meanwhile, on the ring, upon seeing Matthew, Diamond Jozu quickly approached him.
His eyes, like those of the previous champions, were red. He looked like a crazed beast that had lost its mind and only knew how to kill.
At first, Diamond Jozu was walking, but soon after, he started running.
This guy was incredibly big and heavy, and when he ran, the entire ring shook. It was an incredibly oppressive sprint.
In the Champion Challenge Format, although Diamond Jozu's consciousness was erased and only his fighting instinct remained, there were still advantages to it.
That was, no matter what kind of opponent they face, the defending champion would go all out.
Just because Matthew was a freshman didn't mean Diamond Jozu would go easy on him.
Faced with Diamond Jozu's charge, Matthew didn't move. He just stood still.
From the outside, he might have appeared to be so frightened that he couldn't even move.
When Diamond Jozu was only a dozen meters away from Matthew, he leaped up, his entire body, like a mountain, crashing toward Matthew.
With its massive body and astonishing strength, even Ma Dongwu would have to evade such an attack.
But Matthew simply clenched his fist and waited.
Seeing that Matthew showed no sign of backing down, countless people in the audience stared wide-eyed.
Just when everyone thought Matthew was about to be crushed into mincemeat.
-Buzz
Suddenly, a white aura ball appeared on Matthew's fist, along with... a powerful Armament Haki coating.
Seeming to have sensed Matthew's threat to himself, Diamond Jozu, who was in mid-air, immediately activated his Devil Fruit ability, turning his entire body into a diamond.
From a distance, it looked like a giant diamond hurtling towards Matthew.
The two sides were about to clash, and everyone was watching all this with their eyes wide open.
The next moment, Matthew suddenly took a step forward and threw a punch at Diamond Jozu, who had not yet landed.
-Snap...
Suddenly, an indescribable shattering sound rang out, and everyone in the arena heard it.
It was as if the whole world, like glass, had been shattered by a tremendous force.
Everyone could clearly see that the void in front of Matthew was shattering, with countless cracks spreading across it.
Then, the void trembled, and the earth shook.
-Rumble, rumble…
The ring also began to crack and collapse. The entire arena was also trembling. Countless supernatural individuals sitting in the audience felt their seats shaking.
"An earthquake?"
"No, it's that freshman. He threw a punch, and the shockwave from it reached us..."
"What kind of terrifying ability is this? Its power can actually penetrate the protective barrier at the edge of the ring and reach the audience seats?"
"Damn. It's the Tremor-Tremor Fruit power, Whitebeard's signature power."
Everyone wore expressions of disbelief, their eyes wide as they stared intently at the ring.
And on the ring, Diamond Jozu seemed frozen in mid-air, unable to fall.
His face showed an expression of extreme pain.
-Snap
A crisp sound was heard.
It was Diamond Jozu's diamond body that developed a crack.
The appearance of this crack seemed to trigger a domino effect, with more and more cracks appearing on Diamond Jozu's body.
In the blink of an eye, Diamond Jozu was covered in cracks and on the verge of breaking.
His diamond body vanished instantly, returning him to his flesh-and-blood form.
Although this prevented his body from being shattered into countless pieces, he was still severely injured and covered in blood.
At first glance, Diamond Jozu looked completely wounded.
-Bang
Diamond Jozu's massive body was sent flying backward, then crashed heavily to the ground. He was motionless, and his fate was unknown.
Everyone who witnessed this scene was stunned.
One punch! Just one punch!!
Matthew actually beat the so-called "invincible defense" Diamond Jozu so badly with just one punch.
Based on the extent of his injuries, it was safe to say that Diamond Jozu was unlikely to survive.
Such destructive power was terrifying.
Looking at Matthew, who was still standing in the ring, everyone was shocked and filled with doubt.
'How could this Matthew kid be so ridiculously strong?' That was the question on everyone's mind.
They certainly knew about the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, which was hailed as the strongest Paramecia-type Devil Fruit.
However, everyone knew that immense strength was required to unleash the real power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Matthew was just a freshman, so how could he possess such great strength?
That punch just now caused almost as much damage as Whitebeard himself. Even someone with 10,000 points in strength couldn't have done that.
But what many people didn't know was that Matthew used Supreme Level Armament Haki in addition to the Tremor-Tremor fruit.
And after reaching the Supreme Level, Matthew became able to use Internal Destruction.
Therefore, the punch Matthew threw using the Emission and Internal Destruction aspects of Armament Haki also damaged Diamond Jozu from the inside.
External damage from the Tremor-Tremor fruit's power and internal damage from Armament Haki... Diamond Jozu had no chance against Matthew from the very beginning.
...
For a while, people in the audience fell silent.
Only after Matthew emerged victorious and left the ring, and the ring was restored to its original state, did the crowd begin to discuss the matter animatedly.
"Holy crap. How can that guy be so strong?"
"He took down Diamond Jozu with a single punch! That's too outrageous. Could it be that his strength has completely surpassed the seventh rank and reached the level of a king-rank expert?"
"No, it must be the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, which is perfect for countering Jozu's diamond body. Although diamonds have extremely high hardness, their structure can be damaged under high-frequency vibrations..."
"I see. However, the aftershocks of the tremor just now even reached our side, which is enough to show how capable this kid is."
"No, he's a freshman. How can he be so strong?"
"Yeah. A freshman knocking out a seventh-rank champion with a single punch, even if it's due to a suitable ability, it's still a bit too exaggerated."
"I now strongly suspect that the reason this kid and Natalie Russell were able to achieve such incredible feats in the Supernatural Realm wasn't because of Natalie at all, but because of him..."
...
Countless supernatural individuals were terrified by Matthew's performance just now.
Especially the Matthew's acquaintances, such as classmates like Filip Walker, Denis Read, Sam Harris, and Lucian Richards, felt like they were dreaming.
Matthew's older cousin, Maximus Atkinson, finally understood why his grandfather had suddenly changed his mind and was strongly supporting his uncle William in starting his company.
Even the top contenders for the championship were now finally taking Matthew seriously and regarding him as a significant competitor.
To put it bluntly, Matthew's punch just now completely changed his standing in everyone's eyes.
So, when Matthew returned to his seat, he was greeted with shocked gazes from everyone.
Professor Ricardson: "My goodness, Matthew, you're amazing."
Professor Holland: "You little rascal... You really scared me."
Grand Magister Russell: "Originally, I had some doubts when Natalie said that she was only able to get SSS-grade mission ratings in the Supernatural Realm because of you. I thought she was just saying nice things for your sake. But now... Matthew, thank you for taking care of Natalie all this time."
Professor Isabel Grant: "Matthew, I want to apologize again for my previous prejudice against you."
After seeing Matthew's performance on the fifth level, she apologized to him, but at the time, she still thought he had a smart mind and only helped a little Natalie in the Supernatural Realm.
But now it was clear that Matthew himself was responsible for the SSS-grade results.
Aria Powell: "Matthew, you've surprised me a bit. I've never seen a freshman like you before..."
"What are you doing?" Matthew said helplessly, "You guys are making me feel embarrassed. I still prefer your previous unruly self."
Of course, he was joking.
Normally, as a junior and a freshman, it was inappropriate for him to make jokes like that with everyone.
However, now that he had demonstrated his strength, his standing in everyone's eyes had changed significantly, so a joke like this was perfectly harmless.
Upon hearing this, everyone smiled.
At this moment, in the team behind them, even the seventh-rank expert, Director Hart, couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Atkinson, do you have such great power because of your Kryptonian Bloodline?"
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.182:The Sixth Champion – Magneto
Ch.183: Even Magneto Couldn't Stop Him
Ch.184: The Seventh Champion – Marine Admiral