"ROOOAR—!"
Parker—now a beast in every sense—locked onto Pedro with blood-red eyes.
A terrifying animal aura poured off him, drowning out everything else.
Pedro stared back.
This wasn't a man anymore.
White Ghost had warned them: failed awakening meant no humanity left.
The Emperor Crocodile roared and charged.
The ground shook under its bulk like an earthquake.
Pedro roared back and ran straight at it, sword raised.
I'm an animal too.
Leopards hunted crocodiles in the wild—why should he fear this?
Pedro leapt and chopped down at the crocodile's skull.
Parker snapped upward—
BAM—!
Pedro was launched away like a pebble.
"Damn it—its strength jumped that much?!" Pedro gritted his teeth, stabilizing himself with Sky Walk.
He rushed again, refusing to accept it—
Up on the hilltop, Kuro watched, clicking his tongue. "Zoan power jumps are insane after awakening."
Kontena kept firing at climbers.
Hearing Kuro, he replied, "Only if you awaken successfully."
Then he took a shot at Parker.
BANG—!
The bullet struck the crocodile's hide and threw sparks.
It did nothing else.
Kontena had Sea Prism bullets—but very few.
White Ghost had already said it: let Pedro use this as a grindstone. It would help him grow.
Kontena turned and sniped someone trying to jump Wyper.
BANG—!
Wyper was already pushed back to mid-slope—his stamina and overall strength were the worst in the group.
Mid-slope was now the second line: Uta, Kuina, and Bai Hezi were there too, holding pressure.
Up front, A-Da, A-Er, Enel, Urouge, Señor Pink, Pedro, and Brook were taking the heaviest waves.
"Haah… haah…" Wyper panted, staring at Enel and the others cutting forward.
Why…?
I'm training too. I'm fighting too. Why can't I catch up?
His raptor claws swung again—
one claw, one kill—
but every kill felt like dragging his body through mud.
White Ghost glanced at him and sighed inwardly.
His talent… really is about here.
He was the best among the Shandians, but the ceiling was obvious.
"Alright," Kuro said, rolling his neck until it cracked. "I'll go too. I'll take some pressure off."
His wings spread.
He dropped down the slope.
White Ghost still didn't move.
His aura and Shura's aura were locked onto each other—two blades aimed at the same throat.
If they started, it wouldn't stop quickly.
Kuro descended, smiling.
"Tempest Kick."
His legs snapped out—blades of wind cutting forward.
Screams erupted as rows of lackeys were sliced open, bodies tumbling down the slope.
Kuro hovered above Akin for a moment.
"Akin. Fall back and support Wyper's line."
"Got it." Akin nodded and flew back toward mid-slope.
Kuro landed, adjusted his glasses, and smiled politely.
"Shall I entertain you all?"
He looked almost elegant—like a refined gentleman at a ballroom.
A bounty hunter licked his lips. "Devil Mantis Kuro… eight hundred million on the black market."
"That money won't be easy."
"Oh?" Kuro's grin widened. "Eight hundred million already?"
"I remember it was five hundred million not long ago."
He raised one hand—Finger Pistol.
A lackey's head snapped back and he dropped.
Kuro kept firing, picking off fodder like it was casual.
"What's wrong? Afraid to step up?" he taunted.
"Eight hundred million is right in front of you."
"Maybe some lucky bastard takes it… and never worries again."
The constant finger shots tore holes through the crowd's nerve.
Finally, someone shouted, "Together! Kill him!"
One person rushed—then two—then ten—
"That's more like it." Kuro smiled and transformed.
Hybrid Devil Mantis.
His silhouette sharpened. Bladed forearms unfolded, edged with rows of razor teeth.
He blurred into the crowd.
"Trash like you think you can claim my head?" he laughed.
Heads fell. Bodies split. Blood sprayed.
"Arrogant!" A huge man swung a warhammer at him.
Kuro smiled, fingers turning into claw-blades.
SHHK—SHHK—SHHK!
The warhammer was sliced into chunks in mid-swing.
"Nani?!" The brute stared at the ruined weapon—
Too late.
Kuro jumped and cut across his throat.
The man clutched his neck as blood poured through his fingers.
He tried to stop it.
He couldn't.
He collapsed, body twitching.
Kuro licked the blood on his claw. "Delicious."
"Shave—!"
The crowd screamed again as he vanished and reappeared, harvesting lives.
Spidey's face turned so dark it could drip.
This was getting out of control.
He waved.
Six figures—quiet, cold—stepped out and rushed in without a word.
Still not moving? Spidey wanted to scream at Shura.
He couldn't.
He didn't have the authority.
Shura simply exhaled smoke, unhurried. "Relax. This is nothing."
Then he glanced up the slope at White Ghost.
"When that kid and I fight, it won't stop in a day or two. I'm saving my strength."
Spidey's teeth almost cracked.
You're just enjoying watching us bleed because you didn't like how we spoke earlier.
Kuro's new opponents arrived.
Two split off toward him.
BANG! BANG!
One was a gunman—two shots in quick succession.
CLINK—CLINK.
Kuro caught both bullets between his fingers, smiling.
"Finally," he murmured. "Something interesting."
The swordsman stabbed in hard and fast—
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
Sparks burst off Kuro's clawed hands.
Meanwhile the gunman kept harassing from distance—tight rhythm, clean angles. Their coordination was excellent.
Elsewhere, battles flared:
Bai Hezi activated her Mythical Zoan power and intercepted one attacker without a word.
Kuina's angelic form flared and she pressed another opponent with relentless sword cuts.
Uta smiled sweetly and fought two at once—her ability was the most troublesome; anyone without solid Haki struggled to resist.
Mid-slope pressure spiked.
Akin and Wyper's line grew heavier. Kontena kept sniping.
Nami kept firing lightning threads from the fortress windows—she didn't step out, obeying White Ghost's order to protect Elena and the others.
Kuro frowned.
These two were too synchronized—every opening he created was interrupted.
The swordsman sneered. "Devil Mantis Kuro. With us brothers, you're dead today. This is your grave."
"You've got some nerve." Kuro's smile sharpened.
His wings opened.
He accelerated and slammed the swordsman with a brutal flurry—pressure like a storm.
Then—an instant gap.
Kuro's claw plunged into the man's chest.
SPLURT—!
"Nani?!" The swordsman's mouth overflowed blood. The broken blade slipped from his fingers.
He stared at Kuro in disbelief.
"You… weren't using full strength…?"
His eyes rolled shut. He dropped dead.
"Brother!" the gunman screamed, eyes blood-red.
He fired wildly at Kuro—
Kuro dodged and closed the distance.
The gunman threw the rifle away and drew a sword, slashing desperate and hard.
Kuro caught the blade.
With one squeeze—
CRACK—!
The sword snapped.
Kuro leaned in, voice almost gentle.
"Snipers like you…" he whispered, smiling.
"In close combat, you're always the weakest."
His claw rose—
and the gunman's scream cut off like a candle blown out.
Kuro straightened, wiping blood off his glasses with a calm, practiced motion.
Then he looked past the corpses—
toward the true pressure on the battlefield.
Toward Parker's towering shadow.
Toward Shura's still, patient gaze.
And toward the man at the summit who still hadn't drawn his sword.
White Ghost.
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