"A bunch of old bastards who can't show their faces in the light finally decided to come out?"
Shano swept a glance around, casually flicked off the purple-black blood on his fist, then burst into loud laughter: "Looks like the lesson I left you back in the North Sea still wasn't miserable enough!"
"Wipe us out in one net? You think you're worthy of that?!!!"
Before the words fell, his figure had already shot toward the four Five Elders like lightning!
Strongest technique, Clashing Fang Dragon Slayer Fist!
"Arrogant!"
Saint Peter snorted coldly, and the four struck at the same time, either swinging their scepters or cleaving down with blades.
Purple-black torrents of energy instantly wove into a net and collided head-on with the punch Shano loosed with a feral grin!
RUMBLE!!!
The entire sea region was torn apart by the raging energy, the clouds in the sky were shattered by the shockwaves, revealing a clear blue firmament.
And in this earth-shaking clash, Shano, with one punch against four, actually stood there without his body budging an inch, not falling the slightest bit into disadvantage!
"How is that possible?!"
Saint Nusjuro's pupils shook violently. The four of them joining forces in one strike—how terrifying was that power?
This brat, no matter how tough his body is, he should at least have been blasted back, taking more or less some injuries—how could he…
"That's all you've got?"
Shano's mocking voice came through.
His face twisted into a vicious grin, he stepped out of the smoke one step at a time, his whole body unscathed, only his breathing having turned slightly heavier.
Clearly, throwing out Clashing Fang Dragon Slayer Fist in succession was not a wise choice; the drain on his stamina was enormous. This kind of move was never meant to be spammed.
But… whatever!
Stamina is something you can recover while fighting. First you've gotta throw one of these out, get the momentum rolling!
And from the way those four old geezers were stunned, from the horrified eyes of those Marines whose morale had just soared and then instantly deflated…
The effect was pretty damn good!
Shano's gaze swept once more toward his own officers.
Aokiji and Fujitora were still locked in fierce battle with the two Grand Admirals, Akainu and Ryokugyu; the strength gap between them and their opponents was almost nonexistent, so they couldn't pull away for now.
As for Jack, who had just been fished back up, and Kuma…
"We're here, boss!"
The two appeared behind Shano, one on the left and one on the right, like two small mountains.
"We meet again, oh lofty gods!"
Jack grinned and laughed, battle intent blazing in his eyes. "Compared to those Pirates who wag their tails as lapdogs, beating on you thick-skinned old bastards is way more satisfying!"
Kuma also nodded in agreement, lifting his head to stare coldly at the Five Elders before them.
The opponents they had originally picked were all from the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
But enemies of that level were clearly a notch weaker than the two of them. Fighting them wasn't satisfying enough, it felt lacking, yet if they wanted to completely finish them off, it would still take quite a bit of time and effort.
How could that compare to the sheer thrill of tearing into monsters of this caliber!
As for those two Seven Warlords of the Sea, leaving them to Whitebeard's Captains would be more than enough.
"Hmph, you little brats who don't know how high the sky is!"
Saint Garling's gaze turned icy cold, and he slammed his scepter heavily into the ground. "Since you insist on seeking death, we'll gladly oblige you!"
"Prepare to move!"
With his command, the four Five Elders simultaneously erupted with terrifying purple-black energy, their humanoid forms transforming into gigantic demonic phantom beasts!
Fengxi! Sand Worm! Horse Bone! And Tsukuyomi!
The entire battlefield was instantly shrouded in oppressive darkness.
Oh?
Shano's brows knit slightly; he immediately sensed the difference.
Including Garling, he had crossed blows with these four Five Elders before.
Compared to the impression in his mind, this time when they reappeared, the evil undying aura on them had clearly grown much thicker and heavier.
"What, you noticed?"
The enormous skeletal horse that Saint Nusjuro had become let out a cold laugh. "This is a special blessing granted once more by our Lord! You thought you could still use some lowly Angel from who-knows-where to suppress our Power? That sort of thing will never happen again!"
"That's right! We've already lured Whitebeard away. Without a powerful ally of that tier, today this sea will be your burial ground!"
Garling also shouted coldly.
"Is that so?"
A cool female voice rang out.
It was Angewomon who, at some unknown moment, had appeared behind Shano as well. She gave a cold snort, her eight wings spreading open. Her slender jade fingers drew back a golden longbow, and a Holy Arrow entwining lightning suddenly formed:
"Then I'd like to see for myself—Grand Holy Arrow!"
Whoosh—!
The arrow tore through the air and instantly struck Saint Nusjuro in the chest. The purple-black Demon Qi clashed fiercely with the holy light, emitting a sizzling sound of corrosion.
The next instant.
"Urgh ah!"
Saint Nusjuro let out a cry of pain as a bowl-sized wound was finally burned open in his chest, black blood gushing out from it.
"Looks like light still restrains darkness after all."
Angewomon's red lips curled into a cold smile beneath her visor. "Boasting that hard, and you're not afraid of choking on your own words."
"Hmph!"
Saint Nusjuro's face was gloomy as he yanked out the Holy Arrow, which had already turned filthy and murky.
Though he hadn't managed to block that arrow, it actually proved that the strengthened undying Qi specially granted by their master was indeed quite effective.
At the very least, in the past, just one arrow hitting his body would have been enough to seriously injure him; he definitely wouldn't have dared to touch this pure light energy directly with his hands like this.
But the problem was… the sight of him being shot and bleeding with one arrow was just too disgraceful, and he had indeed spouted too much big talk. He really didn't have the face to argue back now.
Shano saw this as well.
"Looks like your master either isn't that impressive, or he just doesn't treat the lives of you dogs as worth anything."
He laughed mockingly. "Since it can still be restrained, then we can go all out. Glutinous Rice Cake, I'll leave that sword-wielding old man to you. No problem, right?"
"Rest assured, Master."
Angewomon answered solemnly.
Only then did Shano sweep his gaze over the remaining old men.
Last time in the North Sea, he'd gone all out and killed the two weakest Five Elders, while the four in front of him now were each a cut above them in strength.
"Jupiter" Sand Worm would be tanked by Jack again, just like last time;
"Mercury" Fengxi lacked a bit in offensive means, but its Defense was the most formidable, practically at the top of the world. However, with Kuma's ability, he could still maneuver around it, even seize the initiative;
The last two remaining—Nusjuro and Garling—were both bona fide General Emperor Level, and far stronger than a useless hack like Shamrock.
If Angewomon could use the restraining force of her holy light to pin down one of them, the pressure on his shoulders would instantly ease a lot.
In that case, his opponent would be…
Shano looked toward Garling, and behind Garling, at the enormous Demon Buddha that had finally gotten a chance to breathe and stand up again.
"One against two, huh?"
Shano's lips curled up. He just so happened to want to test whether his current self could take on two General Emperor Level powerhouses at once—and win!