However, this time, faced with his challenge, Harald hesitated.
It was because the injuries on Carlo's body looked truly serious.
Although he could tell that Carlo seemed to be using him to temper his own body.
He hadn't used the power of Haki or his Devil Fruit Power at all.
But regardless, Carlo had been beaten like this; if the fight continued and Carlo suffered some permanent injury, it wouldn't be good.
Who knew if Carlo would hold a grudge?
If Carlo held a grudge and took out his frustration on the giants of Elbaf, Harald would be to blame.
After all, Carlo's strength was not weak at all.
On the contrary, he was very powerful.
Moreover, he was so young and already a world-renowned Great Pirate.
Therefore, logically and reasonably, he should not continue the fight.
Thus, Harald put away the giant sword in his hand.
This caused Carlo, who had rushed before him with an eager face waiting to be beaten... no, waiting for another fight, to almost choke on his own momentum.
"Hey! Harald! What are you doing? Don't stop! We're not finished yet!"
He almost wanted to curse.
Really, you're stopping at such a critical moment?
I was just a tiny bit away from breaking through!
Harald pointed at his gruesome injuries: "There's no need to continue, is there? You're injured like this... I know you want to temper yourself, but there's no need to rush. You're still so young; if you want to spar with me, you can stay in Elbaf for a few more days..."
"No way!"
Carlo shouted: "This battle isn't over! Let's continue!"
"Uh..." Harald looked at Rocks helplessly, seeking help.
"Carlo! Don't be unreasonable! Stop at once! I still have official business to discuss with Harald..."
"Shut up!!"
Rocks' words were interrupted by Carlo.
A powerful aura emanated from him, his white hair stood on end, his heart beat faster, the blood in his body surged and boiled, and his aura instantly rose to its peak.
Carlo held the heavenly dragon halberd in one hand and looked at Harald opposite him.
"Since it's a battle, there must be a winner and a loser."
"One last strike! Let's settle this, Harald!"
Harald was startled, then he became serious, gripping the giant sword with both hands again, ready for action.
"Fine! Then let's settle it with one blow!"
In the next instant, both of them lunged forward simultaneously, swinging their weapons and slashing wildly at each other.
"Heavenly Dragon Void Slash!"
"Haikoku!!"
Slash clashed with slash.
Weapon slammed against weapon.
In an instant, two massive shocks collided violently between the two.
A terrifying shockwave swept in all directions, uprooting all trees within a three-kilometer radius.
The ground beneath their feet was churned up by the violent force, like raging waves.
A colossal hurricane blew across the land of the Underworld.
In the violent clash, Carlo was ultimately a notch below, sent flying by Harald's unmatched, fierce strength like a meteor streaking across the Underworld.
This time, he flew further than ever before.
He flew back straight for over ten kilometers, crashing into the trunk of the adam tree and embedding himself deep within the iron-hard wood before coming to a stop.
The fact that Carlo was sent flying did not surprise Rocks and the others.
What surprised and even shocked them was...
...that at the same time Carlo was sent flying...
...Harald, opposite him, was actually sent flying as well!
And it wasn't the kind of retreat to avoid the edge of an attack.
He was truly blasted off the ground, his massive body hurtling back hundreds of meters. Amidst Rocky's exclamation, he slammed heavily into a sharp, thousand-meter-tall iceberg, snapping it right in half!
At the corner of Harald's mouth as he lay on the ground, a clearly visible trace of blood even seeped out!
"How is this possible?!" Golden Lion's eyes nearly popped out as he looked at the injured Harald in disbelief.
"Harald was injured! In a clash of pure physical strength... he was injured!" Whitebeard was also shocked.
Rocks turned his head to look in Carlo's direction and muttered to himself:
"That kid... really has that talent for getting stronger as he fights! We all thought he was just being abused, but in fact, he was growing rapidly in battle! This kid... is truly extraordinary; I just don't know where his limit is."
Then he seemed to sense something, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
"His life aura! It's growing rapidly! Such vigorous vitality! Just like another Harald! Could such a thing... really be possible?"
No wonder even Rocks was shocked.
The change in Carlo was truly too startling, too immense.
You have to know that just a few minutes ago, Carlo was being suppressed by Harald in every way, one could say he was beaten without any ability to fight back.
Carlo's strength wasn't weak; it could even be said to be quite powerful.
But compared to Harald, it paled in comparison.
Therefore, when he didn't use Haki or Devil Fruit Power and wanted to compete purely in physical strength with Harald, he was bound to be at a complete disadvantage.
Not just him.
In a contest of strength against Harald, even if Rocks went up, he would have the crap beaten out of him.
That's why Carlo was beaten so badly in the interim.
Yet, it had been less than a few minutes.
In this final collision, no one expected that Harald would actually be sent flying by Carlo.
And even suffered a slight injury.
That impact, powerful enough to snap an iceberg, was no joke.
Looking at it this way...
Doesn't that mean Carlo used only a few short minutes to elevate his body to Harald's level?
What a terrifying rate of progress!
Rocks couldn't help but think back to two years ago, when Carlo first arrived at Hachinosu and was sent flying a thousand meters into the sea by a casual slash of his sword.
Compared to then, how could Carlo's current strength be anything less than a hundred times greater?
Now, even if he went all out, taking down Carlo probably wouldn't be something he could do in a short time.
On the other side, deep within the trunk of the adam tree.
Carlo's severely injured body was growing and healing at an incredible rate.
A vigorous vitality was radiating from him.
His body became more active, his muscles stronger and tougher, full of explosive power.
His skin also became incredibly hard, resembling Linlin's Iron Balloon, but with more resilience than Linlin's skin, like steel springs.
Even his internal organs, which were originally the most fragile, became stronger than ever.
With a series of crackling sounds, his bones popped like firecrackers, and his height shot up significantly, from just over three meters to nearly three and a half meters.
An aura like that of a prehistoric beast emanated from him.
"Finally broke through, Nine-Star Physique!"
[Host: Sorus Karlo, 20 years old]
[Physique: Nine-Star — Indestructible Diamond — 90.8]
[Haki]
[Observation Haki: Nine-Star — Future Sight — 92.32]
[Armament Haki: Nine-Star — Martial Armor — 92.205]
[Haoshoku: Nine-Star — Haki Entanglement — 91.12]
[Devil Fruit Power: Eight-Star — Awakening — 86.12]
[Comprehensive Evaluation: Nine-Star! Top-tier Combat Power!]
[Comment: Pentagonal Warrior! Pirate Overlord! Emperor Level! You are getting closer and closer to the title of the Humanoid Ancient Weapon, Uranus!]