#4: IIpyo Park, Dawei Han Mira yoo and Mori Jin vs Taek Jegal
The greatest of manwhas are often the ones where the role of the main character is transferred, and I think that this fight shows that of the best. With most of his team crippled by the venomous Taek Jegal, the usually calm and pragmatic fox is all out of patience as the end of the regional tournament rolls around in one epic encounter. Years of bitter resentment come to a fever pitch as Iipyo starts off the fight at full power, completely decimating Taek and the ring before he even can react for even a second. Unfortunately, a second is all Taek needs as in one instant; he manages to steal half of our hero's power. And thus, we get introduced to one of the series most terrifying borrowed powers: Greed. With a small army of borrowed powers, Taek pushes Ilpyo beyond his limits, wading his way through a literal army of monsters.
And as IIpyo manages to "win" the fight without his borrowed power, instead of relying heavily on his analytical skill and his martial art experience. But like any good boss fight, there are multiple stages. Flash forward to a couple of chapters later, we see Dawei Han and Mori jin fight one of their hardest battles to date as they deal with an endless volley of powers. Jin and Taek, in particular, is a great genuine contrast as they both engage in the first of many deathmatches of the series. It is almost frustrating as even with Jin being pushed to his upper limits, relying on both his painkiller and limiter to increase his power even further, but Taek just has an answer for almost everything. But using the power of the acupuncture and friendship (I'll explain that later), he manages to take him out a second time. Flash forward another couple of chapters, and we enter into a completely different stage as our heroes are subject to a battle of the gods.
Using the power of Greed, Taek absorbs even more power as his strength becomes almost mind-boggling. And just when you think all is lost, Mori jin finally ascends to his rightful place, with only a fraction of his massive strength he turns one of the strongest opponents we have ever seen into nothing more than a joke, defeating him a third time. But it is only with the help of all of his friends does he manage to pull through and "take" any chance Taek has of obtaining any more power, leaving him with nothing, no friends or family as he finally fades away.
Every part of this fight is a joy to watch. IIpyo's violent and satisfying beat down of Taek made me feel for him as a character and shows that he is the greatest combination of borrowed power, talent, and fighting experience in a kickass package. Though I also have massive respect for the parallel between Jin and Taek. Despite both of them being on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of ability, they are both alike in a way. Through his copying Jin is also considered to be a "thief," but through this ability, he managed to use it in a way to make himself a better fighter, to honor his friends and use it as a way to protect them, while Taek selfishly hoards his powers for himself and has no one to help him the end. Combine that with Mori Jin's ascension as a god and completely giving the title some weight, and this was a fight that changed the name of the game forever.
#3: Mori Hui vs the King
Hell yeah, finally managed to get all of Hui's major fights on the list! Though in all seriousness, if you guys didn't think this deserved to be on here, I'm going to need you to watch this fight again. With the raid on Nox in full force, Hui is forced to answer a major question as he faces the powerful and almost unbeatable king in single combat. Will he stand and fight a battle he has almost no chance of winning with a guaranteed bid for pure sentience, or will he stand and fight with the people that he cares for? For Hui, that is not even a question as he quickly strikes the King at full force, and from there, it becomes the ultimate battle of David and Goliath. Far above most of the carnage as people are giving it, their all Hui begins the epic clash using everything in his arsenal against the mighty deity. It is the true definition of a struggle as you can feel Hui push himself to his very limit to get even the slightest bit of progress as one by one they manage to answer every bit of the older man's mighty arsenal.
Realizing that his godly powers are getting himself nowhere and realizing that he will put his fragile life on the line, Hui uses his martial art talent to overwhelm him for a few seconds, but even that is useless as he simply copies him blow for blow. And yet despite the struggle, Hui still smiles, because he knows that through his pain and progress throughout the fight only proves now more than ever that he is alive and making an impact. And through this one of a kind experiences, he managed to mix them all to push him back finally!
And all of this was almost culminates in one of the most powerful climaxes in the series as with the King now reaching the peak of his power; our heroes pour everything they have into Hui, bringing his power to limits he has never before seen! And as the sheer power of their blows annihilate the entire city and quake the very planet to near smithereens! Once again, another desperate ensues as bit by bit. You can still feel the gap being narrower than ever as Jin using the power of his own Yeoui passing the torch of mc to Hui as their combined battle breaks the blade of Tathagata! It doesn't get more epic than this as using an opera of martial arts they clash again until Hui using a seemingly insignificant move from earlier in the fight made the even the King sweat in fear as he attempts to kick his head clean off! Yet even after all of that, Hui, unfortunately, loses steam and transforms back, but it is still enough as The King finally admits defeat, realizing that the puny beings that he once looked under have finally caught up to him. Which by my book is still a major win.
This fight truly symbolizes everything that I love about Hui as a character and a perfect note for him to go out on. While this could be better as everyone vs The King but Hui is still the real MVP. It saddens me sometimes how much the fandom seems to crave Mori Jin as a character to the point of ignoring or undermining everybody else. In the grand scheme though, it was a beautiful move as it gave us time to appreciate the other characters of the series. Mori Hui, from his first breath to his last, was a man who could have had so many paths laid before, many of them dark. But instead of living in constant fear and limiting himself to his title Hui lived every second of his life and milked it for all it was worth. It didn't matter if he was a mere clone because his utter resolve and ability to take in his every experience made himself a unique fighter that garnered him respect and admiration that made him equal to people far stronger than him. It's just as the two strongest characters in the series once said.
"I just can't hate you," Ultio R ch. 284.
"Three good friends. One is Dawei Han, and another is Mira yoo. And the guy who was more "real" than anyone is than anyone in the world. Mori Hui," Mori Dan, ch.440.
To this day, I miss Mori Hui, but I know at the very least his actions still made an impact that is felt to this day.
#2: Mori Jin vs Satan
Okay, going to get flack for this but stick around because I have my reasons. With Mori Jin being gone for almost three years in real-time he's glorious return is met with the death of literally millions of enemies. Hui's righteous funeral pyre is fueled with the bodies of them all. But all these guys were simply the warm-up as Jin prepares himself for the real fight against the most dangerous opponent in the entire series. The calm before the massive storm is displayed through the two opponents measuring each other up. But all of that ends here as they attack each other at full force. And after an entire arc filled with country demolishing gods and literal planet tossers, it was only now where we start to see the upper echelon of this grand universe.
This fight almost feels like it's an Amv as it just hits you with so many dynamic moves and transformations that you can barely keep up. And even with an arc filled with so much insane shit, these two truly feel like gods as their every blow completely rends the land apart and every blink and you miss it moment sends them off to another location. Hell, the sheer destructive power of their techniques turns entire landscapes into ash as their seemingly immeasurable power just increases even more! The clash continues near the sun itself as Mori decides to unleash everything he has available, multiplying his power a quarter of a million times and using an opera of martial arts that almost annihilates him one blow! But Satan does not even stop there as Satan goes on to his final form and uses the power of the sun itself to roast the Monkey King! But calling upon the power of his late clone, Jin in honor of Hui's first bid of sentience creates a Kick of Imoogi so strong it makes the universe turn off for a moment!
And even then it doesn't end as using the last vestiges of their power Jin manages to ascend even higher from his limits and beats the literal devil, with one earth-shattering kick, thus ending the most destructive and crazy battle in the series. There literally isn't a wonder why this is one of the most popular and well-loved fights in the series. It's insane and over the top nature, combined with the long-awaited hype of Ragnarok makes it one of the most awesome fights I have ever seen. Though there isn't much to say beyond that, though this could be because I don't know much of journey to the west and I find it a little weird of how Jin was able to get Hui's and Taijein's moves, overall it's the most awesome fight but not the best fight.
#1: Mori Dan vs Dean
Okay, this is where I'm going to get the most flack, but before we get into it, i might as well get into some of the particulars. After tearing his way through all of the new executives, Mori jin finally is about to partake in the 17-year-long struggle that he's imagined for years now. However, before their battle could destroy countless lives, Dean decides to step in to fight and duel with the weakened Mori Jin hundreds of feet below the earth, free of any bystanders. The battle goes exactly how you would expect it to for a little while, as we get one of the cleanest beatdowns of the series. But the future of this fight quickly becomes uncertain as Dean pulls out the iconic dragon armor suits as Mori Dan must now answer the call.
The conversation before the fight begins one of the most intellectual and awesome moments of the series. With Dean's ability to copy any move, his Gen x power, ability to see 5 seconds in the second and his new armor provides for one of the most of unbeatable combinations of the series but it almost immediately gets discredited when Dan manages to throw a pebble at Dean without him knowing. With the fact being all the more clear that Dan has a chance, he tells Dean a question that has been hanging over everyone's head as soon as the arc began. Is Jin just a placeholder for the power of the Monkey King, or is he truly the same badass Mori jin who used his Retawkendo skill to win the day? And in a similar vision to Hui, Dan decides that he will fight in his way with his power as we get to see Mori at his absolute most tactical.
Using moves and lessons that haven't been used in decades, Dan tries using Yeoui as an easy way to overwhelm Dean, but the dragon armor suits power is too much to handle. But just when you think that Dan is down and out again, it was all a part of his plan, as using the lessons of Ilpyo, he exposes Dean's biggest weakness and the biggest reason why I love this arc. For years on end, we've seen Mori Jin fight every opponent with overwhelming power and talent, but Dan realizes that now that he is at his most vulnerable now must work on all of his greatest weaknesses to become even stronger, realizing he wasn't as great as he thought was. And through that power of experience, not only is he able to improve his skills, but also evolve them as his infamous recoilless kick is turned into Recoilless Retawkendo that completely tears the armor suits apart, answering the question we knew the answer to all along! And after that, a serious fight turns into a happy one as Dan emerges as the winner of the tournament and takes the first of many steps to regain his godly powers after mastering his martial arts skills.
This fight was truly a godsend for every G.O.H. fan as it feels like the culmination of both the arc and for every fan who made it here. The art, tactics, and choreography are completely on the level of the gods as we see Dan be at his most tactical here and here alone. And on a side note, a lot of people hate Dean for a lot of the same reasons that Gen.X here, but I honestly think that both sides have plenty of motivation to duke it out. From Dean's Pov, someone he admires more than anyone is going to kill the world president, who like it or not people, rebuilt a nearly destroyed world to a technological utopia that can handle another Ragnorak in only 17 years. Combine that with precise control of the media, and it's perfectly justified. Aside from that, this is a true way to end the first half of chapter 6 and a true way to show just why I love Mori Jin and this series as a whole.
Epilogue
This took me a long ass time to complete, and I hope that you all enjoyed every entry I put on this list. I've got plenty of light to spread on both G.O.H and other webtoons, so stay tuned to see where I shine my spotlight next.