"Anyway, trust me, Uncle Gat! Fire the cannon first, and force this guy's body completely out of the sea surface. It's been moving up and down like this; I can't aim with it constantly moving."
Shano noticed Gat's hesitation and added quietly.
Without waiting for a response, Shano turned his head back and continued staring at the Sea King's riddled abdomen.
A few minutes earlier.
After realizing what this creature, so similar to the King of the Near Sea, was doing, a bold idea emerged in his mind.
The reason for the creature's madness was the unbearable pain in its abdomen. What if he could help remove the source of its pain?
Sea King Species are also intelligent beings, and their intelligence level is quite high.
Helping such a creature, not expecting any reward, but at least it wouldn't regard them as a meal, right?
With his current strength, attempting to defeat the Sea King head-on was pure fantasy. To avoid being eaten, there was only this way out.
Regardless of the possibility of success, in a life-or-death situation, how could one not try it?
"...Alright, let's do it your way." Gat sheathed his sword, finally made a decision.
"Captain..." A seasoned sailor hesitated to speak.
"Don't talk, do we have any other options!"
Gat interrupted directly, once he made up his mind, he became extremely decisive, "Starboard gunners, load the cannonballs immediately, listen to my command!"
"Ready?" He looked at Shano.
"Yes."
The young man continued staring at the sea, nodding slightly.
"Good." Gat took a deep breath, waved his hand sharply, and issued the order, "Aim at the Sea King's abdomen. Three, two, one, ignite, fire!"
BOOM!!!
The eight cannons on the right side simultaneously roared, the orange-red tongues of fire from the cannon muzzles illuminated Shano's tensed leg muscles.
In his eyes, the trajectory of cannonballs tearing through the night sky reflected, and after a brief moment of silence, the Sea King's abdomen suddenly exploded with fire.
ROAR!!!!
A piercing roar shook the entire sea area, a shadow surged violently beneath the sea, making everyone's hearts skip a beat.
In the next instant, an iron-gray scaled body broke through the waves, its ferocious head casting giant waves, and as it bent down, its snake-like vertical pupils ominously stared at the crew on the deck.
Now's the time!
Shano's muscles tightened, legs pushing hard against the deck, using the momentum to leap over the railing, and at this exact moment, the Sea King's pain-wracked abdominal muscles coincidentally formed slope-like folds.
Splat!
The youth's foot landed firmly on the wrinkle, and his right fist, filled with gathered power, aimed below the bulging area, punched swiftly upwards!
Hmm?
The Sea King was stunned, unable to lower its head to see what had happened, while its throat's tympanic membrane vibrated uncontrollably, causing it to gag and spit out some dark green mucus, forming web-like strings in the air.
At the same time.
Shano's left fist had already fully penetrated along the esophageal folds, the impact causing the foreign object behind a layer of abdominal skin to move a few meters upward.
The effect is excellent!
Joy flashed across Shano's eyes, turning fierce in an instant, there's one last punch!
Utilizing the twisting force of his waist and abdomen, he added this final uppercut, with spinning force practice day and night amidst orange groves, making the impact of this punch surge straight along the intestines!
"Ugh—!!!"
The intense vomiting sensation finally reached a critical point, large masses of mucus mixed with silt and seaweed were spewed out, splattering onto the deck, corroding through the wood in just an instant, making sizzling smoke.
The rest gushed down like a torrential rain onto the sea surface.
Shano struggled to swim and rushed over, dug around a few times, suddenly paused his gaze at a certain spot.
Floating there was an arm.
A human arm, with black marks resembling a pentagram painted on it, not knowing why, it showed no signs of decay until now.
Indeed!
Shano grabbed the severed arm, eyes filled with delight.
He guessed right!
This Sea King is the King of the Near Sea!
And this severed arm is the culprit causing its unbearable pain, seeking ways everywhere to squeeze and scrape its abdomen!
How long has it been?
Shano didn't know, he only knew that one day, one who killed fifty-six Mountain Bandit King Siger couldn't withstand the corrosion of stomach acid and bile, had long turned into excrement and passed out.
Only this arm couldn't be digested, it couldn't spit it out by itself, and it just stuck in its stomach like that.
Looking up, confirming his position blocked by the hull, people above on the deck couldn't see him, he no longer hesitated and directly initiated the sacrifice.
In the next moment, the severed arm in his hand disappeared into thin air, and the system transmitted the successful sacrifice prompt.
[Sacrifice: Shanks' Severed Arm]
[Quality: Legendary]
[Value: 10,000 points]
[Appraisal: The severed arm of the son of the Supreme Commander of the Divine Knight Order, Heavenly Celestial Dragon Saint Shanks, swallowed by the King of the Near Sea to save Straw Hat Luffy. Since then, the world line dramatically changed, the future Emperor of the Seas will throw this arm into East Sea, yet believes it was a bet on the new era]
Legendary quality!
Ten thousand points!
Shano's eyes widened, ensuring he counted four zeros, uncontrollable joy surged through his heart.
Beneath the ink-black night, he couldn't help but laugh heartily.
Before acting, he feared whether he could succeed, worried whether he'd be swallowed by the King of the Near Sea before reaching it, even doubted this arm could be sacrificed the moment he found it.
Now the sacrifice succeeded seamlessly, he gained massive points he never owned before.
In an instant, all doubts and concerns dissipated, leaving Shano feeling utterly refreshed, as though he wasn't floating on the sea, but wandering amidst clouds.
"Hey! Are you okay, Shano!"
A sudden shout from above brought him back to reality; they were anxious not seeing the youth's figure.
"I'm fine, Uncle! Please lower the soft ladder!"
He replied smilingly and loudly.
As the soft ladder was lowered along the hull, climbing halfway, the youth suddenly sensed a turbulent wave surging behind him, mixed with the intense salty smell flowing into his nose.
"Hiss—!!!"
It was the sound of the King of the Near Sea, right next to him.
Shano heard pleasure and joy distinctively in this cry, different from before, he raised his head and met the scarlet eyes of the King of the Near Sea.
"How are you, big guy!"
Shano grinned at the creature, showing no fear on his face, "How's the surgery I performed for your digestive tract? Not bad, right!"
The King of the Near Sea squinted at Shano, drooling between its fangs, remained motionless for a long time.
Gat and the others above watching this scene had their hearts tightened instantly.
After more than ten seconds.
The King of the Near Sea suddenly extended its tongue, gently licked Shano's back, then raised its head, letting out a roar that tore through the night.
Finally, it flipped backward, and with a loud crash, it disappeared into the sea, gradually vanishing without a trace.