Smack!
In the sky, Killingham's head exploded once again.
A vile black mist spewed forth, and in the next instant, his flesh and blood body regenerated and restored.
"Argh!"
Killingham grimaced in pain. Although this body's resurrection was a divine power and did not require him to expend any energy,
the heart-wrenching pain in that moment was undeniable.
Initially, it didn't matter much, relying on Haki and the powerful physique granted by the Mythical body to resist most of it, but as the repetitions increased, the pain became increasingly unbearable.
It was at this moment.
He clearly heard Kuma's voice:
"791."
Killingham was stunned and instinctively looked up, "What?"
Bang!
His head exploded once more.
Amidst the swirling black mist, a new head quickly regenerated. Killingham staggered back, clutching his head, a tinge of fear finally flashing in his eyes, "You madman! Madman! What on earth are you counting?!"
"792."
Kuma said in a low voice, "A total of eight hundred, eight more to go. These are the days Gine was tormented by your Heavenly Celestial Dragon. Every day, every night, all the pain, I remember it clearly."
"Today, I shall return it all to you on behalf of Gine."
"793."
Another powerful punch landed, blasting open Killingham's entire waist and abdomen. In the midst of the surging black mist, he dropped to his knees in agony.
"794...795...796..."
With every number reported, Kuma launched another shockwave, faster and faster, with shorter intervals.
Killingham's body continually exploded and reformed, the piercing screams echoing across the battlefield.
"Stop it, commoner!"
Ikuko raced to the rescue, standing on the arrowheads, shouting, "If you want a fight, then fight properly. Who's this Gine woman? Tortured or not, dead or alive, never heard of her. What's it got to do with us!"
Kuma turned his head to glance at her.
"What are you staring at me for?"
Ikuko frowned, looking baffled, "Did I say something wrong?"
Kuma stayed silent.
His face was calm, his eyes were calm, but for some reason, Ikuko felt a chill suddenly shoot from her spine straight to the top of her head.
In the next moment, Kuma in front of her vanished.
Not good!
Ikuko's pupils narrowed, her right arm swung forcefully, and the arrowheads entwined around her arm like bandages swiftly shot out, whistling backward.
But, in the end, it was a step too late.
Swish!
The sound of wind breaking came from behind, and in an instant, a large hand had already grasped her forehead tightly.
"797."
A cold voice drilled into her ears.
Smack!
Ikuko's head instantly burst, black mist spewing forth, but before she could regenerate, another terrifying shockwave from Kuma's other hand slammed into her chest!
"798."
Boom!!!
Ikuko's upper body was directly blown apart, black mist churning wildly, but Kuma's attack didn't stop.
"799."
Another shockwave completely shattered her lower body as well!
"800."
The black mist had just formed a new body when Kuma's fist descended again!
With each number announced, a destructive shockwave followed, Ikuko's body ceaselessly exploding and reforming, her screams growing hoarse, even turning into sobbing cries of despair.
"Madman! Completely insane!!"
Killingham watched this scene, eyes wide, his whole body trembling with rage, "You worthless thing, when are you going to stop torturing her?!"
Screaming as he might, he still stood in place, not moving closer.
"I said eight hundred, and eight hundred it is."
Kuma opened his hands, allowing the just-repaired Ikuko to weakly fall, and said in a low voice, "That's enough."
Buzz!
Two enormous transparent bear paws suddenly formed in the air and swiftly pressed down, trapping both firmly against the ground, unable to move.
If it had been at the start, as members of the Divine Knight, the two of them might not have taken long to break free.
But the drawn-out battle... or rather, being brutally beaten to this point, their stamina was already significantly depleted, coupled with the constant bodily explosions, the intense pain coursing through them wave after wave...
In that moment.
Even maintaining normal breathing and consciousness became difficult, let alone having the strength to resist.
"It's over."
Kuma slowly retracted his hands, gazing calmly at the two trapped beneath:
"Your undying bodies are troublesome indeed, but not unsolvable. As long as you're completely restrained, once the Captain finishes the battle on their end, there's a way to deal with you."
"You... you wretched commoner!"
Ikuko struggled to lift her head, eyes filled with venom:
"Don't think this is over! The might of Lord Shamrock is beyond the imagination of you lowly scum. Just wait, when he frees up, you'll all die!"
"?"
Kuma tilted his head slightly, looking at her with brief curiosity.
Then suddenly, as if sensing something, he lifted his head.
Boom!!!
With an ear-splitting explosion, a figure flew backward like a meteor, crashing heavily beside the two, stirring up clouds of dust.
The dust dispersed, revealing Saint Shamrock's embarrassed figure.
He was covered in blood, his clothes tattered, red hair disheveled and unkempt. The black mist dissipated from his chest, clearly just having completed rebirth, and he clutched his chest, coughing violently. Where was the usual proud demeanor of looking down on the world now?
"Impossible... Impossible!"
Ikuko and Killingham simultaneously widened their eyes, faces full of disbelief.
Lord Shamrock is second only to Lord Garling within the Divine Knight! How could...?
"Nothing is impossible."
Shano's figure descended from the sky, landing lightly next to Kuma.
Having fought with Shamrock until now, he could give a precise judgment on the other's strength.
—Not as good as Sengoku.
He could even say that in the absence of that Hellhound, Shamrock was at most similar to Zephyr, a character at the lowest tier of the General Emperor Level.
There are differences among Emperors.
As a fellow Emperor, he could fight with the so-called strongest creature, Kaido, hand-to-hand for five days and five nights without a clear winner!
Mere Shamrock, humph, what could he compare with!
If it wasn't for this guy being granted an Undying Body by Imu, possessing endless self-healing abilities, this flower raised in a greenhouse would have been broken by him long ago!
"These two..."
Shano glanced at the two wretched members of the Divine Knight, then at the silent Kuma, understanding everything at once.
He said nothing, just reached out and patted Kuma on the back.
Kuma stood still, pursing his lips, also saying nothing.
Everything was understood without words.
Shano turned again to look at Jack.
This guy was still standing there, his mouth agape, staring blankly at Kuma. Shano couldn't help but frown: "What's wrong with you?"
Jack instantly shivered, snapping back to reality.
"I'm fine, boss." Jack swallowed, "It's just, I've never seen Big Brother Kuma like this, it scared me a bit..."
Adding it all up, did he blow up the two Divine Knights eight hundred times?
Eight hundred times!
How brutal, how fierce!
Usually on the ship, Kuma always acted like a gentle and affectionate father, extremely polite and restrained during sparring, emphasizing moderation.
Jack often ended up with ties in their sparring sessions, and even won once.
Making Jack feel a bit smug, believing he had greatly improved, among the ship's three major officers, he was finally not at the bottom.
Now, he's much more humble...
As for the last one of the three major officers.
Jack instinctively turned his head, looking northeast.
The battle between Kizaru and Sister Kuina was still fiercely ongoing.
The situation was not looking good.
Even though Kizaru did not seem to use his full strength as he did last time, Sister Kuina was still completely suppressed.
As time passed, her situation grew increasingly difficult, leaving her powerless to counterattack, forcing her solely into a defensive position...
But isn't this still incredible!
Sister fighting alone, able to hold a Navy Grand Admiral at bay for so long, that's the strength of their Endgame Deputy Captain!
How many of the highest-ranking officers under the other Sea Emperors could achieve this?
————
Northeast corner of the battlefield.
"So frightening~"
Kizaru dodged Kuina's slashes casually, commenting in an exaggerated tone:
"Not even twenty years old and your swordsmanship has reached this level? No wonder Gion praised you so much last time upon returning. Give you a few more years to grow, and even I would find it troublesome~"
Kuina did not respond, nor did she have the time.
Her teeth clenched, forehead sweating profusely, constantly swinging Wado Ichimonji to slash out fierce Sword Qi, yet Kizaru easily evaded them all.
"But~"
Kizaru finally grew a bit impatient, tilting his head to look at Kuina:
"After fighting for so long, should it come to an end?"
Without waiting for a reply, his figure suddenly vanished from the spot!
Kuina's pupils shrank, instinctively blocking with her sword.
Clang!
With a piercing clash of metal, Kizaru's Light Speed Kick landed heavily on Wado Ichimonji, a terrifying force erupting, knocking Kuina back over a hundred meters!
"Ugh!"
Kuina spat out a mouthful of blood, stumbled, then fiercely inserted her sword into the ground, keeping herself from falling.
"Seems the force of that kick wasn't quite enough, you old thing!"
She panted heavily, lifting her head to look at Kizaru, though her hands were trembling, her lips still curled into a grin and her eyes shining with fighting spirit:
"With just this level, it's far from enough to get through me!"
"Such times, don't emulate your captain and spout provocation, how? Still want to continue?"
Kizaru strolled forward leisurely, hands in pockets:
"Old man kindly advises, you'd better voluntarily give up, because..."
He suddenly paused, footsteps halted, cold sweat forming on his forehead.
"Because of what?"
A cold voice came from his behind, "Continue, Borsalino."