Chapter 85: Reinforcements, Utter Annihilation
The thunderous roar of explosions continued without pause, echoing all the way to the horizon.
Yumesaki gazed into the distance, seeing clearly that as time ticked away, the battle on both sides had reached its absolute climax.
Shimotsuki Ryuma was holding nothing back. Fueled by a burning desire to avenge Wano Country, he attacked with cold, decisive cruelty. He unleashed his Flying Slashes as if they cost him nothing, scattering massive waves of compressed air that rained down relentlessly upon Kaido.
Kaido, of course, wasn't about to back down. Wasn't this a fight to the death? He had never known the meaning of fear, regardless of who stood before him.
Yet, while Kaido's sheer bravado was a match for Ryuma's, he was undeniably a step behind when it came to pure combat technique. Time and again, he was sent flying by the force of Ryuma's legendary strikes.
The situation was much the same for King the Wildfire. He was a true Emperor's right-hand man in terms of combat power, but facing the man widely considered the world's greatest swordsman, Hawkeye, he found himself slightly outclassed.
After all, Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk was a man whose strength could truly rival that of a Navy Admiral.
Their clash was equally fierce, but like his captain, King was repeatedly repelled by the weight of Mihawk's swings. While he hadn't lost yet, it was clear that defeat was only a matter of time.
The problem, however, was that the Beasts Pirates didn't consist of just Kaido and King.
Since Kaido and King had departed together and failed to return, the other two members of the Lead Performers—Jack the Drought and Queen the Plague—sensed something was terribly wrong. Even when they tried to reach their leaders via Den Den Mushi, there was no answer.
Panic began to set in for Jack and Queen. Could something have actually happened back in Wano?
After a brief discussion, the two decided they couldn't just sit around and wait. They had to go and reinforce Kaido and King. Thus, they decisively mobilized the entire high-level combat force of the Beasts Pirates.
Beyond the two of them, the Tobi Roppo, the Numbers, and the Shinuchi were all deployed.
When they finally arrived at Wano, they were greeted by the sight of Kaido and King being systematically beaten down. They could hardly believe their own eyes.
That was the Governor-General of the Beasts Pirates, the Yonko Kaido, and the leader of the All-Stars, King the Wildfire. They were actually being suppressed by the enemy.
"King, I'm here to save you!"
Jack the Drought let out a deafening roar that shook the very heavens. Without a moment's hesitation, he shifted into his Hybrid Form and charged at full tilt toward Shimotsuki Ryuma.
"Good timing."
Seeing the reinforcements, King felt a wave of relief wash over him.
No matter how strong their enemies were, it was impossible for a few individuals to stand against the combined might of an entire Yonko crew. If nothing else, if he teamed up with either Jack or Queen, they could surely pressure Hawkeye Mihawk.
In King's eyes, the arrival of the Beasts Pirates' elite meant the tides of battle were about to turn completely. Victory was now just a matter of time.
Morgans, watching from the sidelines, noticed this too. He couldn't help but mutter, "This is bad, this is really bad."
From his perspective, Robin and her mysterious boss were likely going to lose. After all, how could a handful of people possibly hold their own against a Yonko's fleet?
Just as he was contemplating how to sever his ties with them, the ground suddenly groaned and shook violently without warning. It felt as if a massive earthquake had struck, leaving everyone paralyzed with shock.
"What's happening? An earthquake?"
"No, look! What is that thing!?"
"You've got to be kidding me! That... what in the world is that!? Aaaaahhh!"
Amidst the violent upheaval of the earth, the members of the Beasts Pirates were overcome with expressions of terror, shock, and disbelief.
A Senju Kannon statue, standing a staggering three hundred meters tall, rose from the depths of the earth under the horrified gaze of the masses, forcing its way into everyone's field of vision.
The Kannon statue bore a serene, calm expression, looking down at the members of the Beasts Pirates as if they were nothing more than a swarm of ants.
In an instant, the world fell silent.
It was too big—simply too massive. Its scale was nonsensical, something that defied belief. Even Kaido, looking up at this three-hundred-meter wooden titan, felt a primal chill creep up from the depths of his soul.
Just what is that thing?
Standing atop the Kannon's head, Hashirama Senju pressed his palms together. A calm, light shout rang across the entire battlefield.
"Everyone, I'm going on the offensive now. Please try your best to stay alive."
"Sage Art: Wood Release: Shinsu Senju!"
The moment the words left his lips, the titanic Buddha statue moved. Thousands of gargantuan wooden fists fell from the sky like a meteor shower, raining down upon the members of the Beasts Pirates.
The power of the Senju Kannon was terrifying, capable of shattering mountains and dominating the seas. It carried an unparalleled momentum of destruction, grinding the very surface of the earth into dust.
The air shrieked in protest, and the ground cracked into a million pieces.
The entire battlefield was suddenly swallowed by a world-ending natural disaster—a force that human strength simply could not oppose.
Any Beasts Pirate member below the rank of Tobi Roppo was sent flying the moment they were touched; even a glancing blow left them broken. They were utterly powerless against this overwhelming, crushing assault.
Even the Tobi Roppo couldn't withstand more than a few hits.
Sasaki, the stubborn member of the Tobi Roppo and user of the Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Triceratops, was known for the incredibly thick hide typical of Ancient Species. Facing the fists falling from the sky, Sasaki didn't retreat. He let out a fierce roar and charged forward.
Then, he was hammered into the dirt.
The Senju Kannon used only four of its many arms to shatter the man's defenses, denting his head and sending him crashing to the ground. With blood streaming from his eyes, nose, and mouth, it was impossible to tell if he was even still alive.
Who could possibly stand against this?
The other Tobi Roppo, seeing the carnage, immediately tried to dodge.
Who's-Who, the user of the Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Saber-toothed Tiger, had maximized his agility, but the result was no different from Sasaki's. He was surrounded by several of the Kannon's arms, eventually being batted away like a fly, left lying in the dirt, unable to rise.
Ulti, Page One, Black Maria, and the rest were not spared from the catastrophe either. All of them were sent flying by the Senju Kannon's strikes, each suffering heavy injuries, left to do nothing but gasp for breath on the shattered ground.
Only Jack the Drought and Queen the Plague managed to hold out for a bit longer amidst the onslaught.
But the reality was that they only lasted a few minutes more.
Facing the limitless strikes of the Senju Kannon, it wasn't that they hadn't thought of counterattacking; it was simply that there were too many arms. Countless strikes surged from every direction—even having Observation Haki was useless against such a concentrated saturation of attacks. There was simply nowhere to run.
A few minutes later, Jack and Queen were successively blasted away, falling to the ground where they lay perfectly still.
At this point, the entire Beasts Pirates force that had come to aid Kaido and King had been completely wiped out.
Morgans stared, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
What kind of god is this?
One man had taken on a Yonko's crew single-handedly—and he had won. It was utterly absurd. That hundreds-of-meters-tall Buddha statue was truly too terrifying.
It seemed that this time, Robin had found a backer unlike any the world had ever seen.
But on the other hand, where did this group of monsters come from? They were truly beyond the realm of normality.
In truth, it wasn't just Morgans. Even Kaido and King felt a sense of dazed unreality as they watched their crew being annihilated. Their heads were ringing.
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