As the smoke slowly cleared, what appeared before everyone was a bottomless chasm, gaping like a beast ready to devour. Yet despite such a devastating strike, the massive serpent remained unscathed. Only a faint white mark lingered across its steel-like scales.
"Hisss…"
The giant serpent's Rinnegan glowed a chilling violet as it locked onto the scar-faced Elder, its forked tongue flickering as if to say: You've made me angry, and the consequences will be dire.
The scarred Elder swallowed hard, disbelief screaming in his mind. How… how can this be possible?
Meanwhile, Rakuya sat casually atop a pile of rubble, a bottle of rum in his left hand and a slab of Sea King meat in his right. He chewed lazily, a faint smile tugging at his lips. All the flying debris and dust were held at bay by his repelling barrier.
"So this is the great power of the Five Elders? What trash." He took another swig of rum, smacking his lips with a faint chuckle.
Boom… boom… boom!
The ground shook violently once more. From the crater dozens of meters deep, the rhinoceros clawed its way back up, its body unmarred. The curly-haired Elder's devastating blow had left no mark at all.
"My god… what are these monsters? They can't be killed! And they don't even feel pain!"
A Marine rear admiral shouted as he led his men in futile cannon fire against the massive lizard, their shells exploding like firecrackers against its armored hide. The beast didn't even glance their way.
"I refuse to believe these things can't be slain!" The long-bearded Elder's composure wavered, but his words rang hollow. None of them had found a single effective strike.
"Let the Marines stall them. We'll rescue the bald one first, then figure out how to deal with these beasts!" The swordsman Elder, locked in combat with the colossal bird, looked utterly disheveled. His once-neat robes were now rags hanging loosely from his body, his pride as tattered as his clothes.
The bearded Elder nodded grimly.
"It is time for you to show your justice. For the World Government, for the Celestial Dragons hold these beasts back! We will handle that coward!" he declared self-righteously.
The Marines shuddered at his words. Are you joking? Even the Gorosei can't handle them, and you want us fodder to stall? That's suicide!
But no one dared disobey.
With gritted teeth, officers and soldiers alike launched into the sky with Moonwalk, their silhouettes streaking toward the rhinoceros as if they could truly make a difference.
Reality struck cruelly.
"Shigan!"
"Rankyaku!"
"…"
Their assorted techniques struck the beasts but had no effect whatsoever.
"They're like iron walls!"
"Ah! My finger it's broken!"
Above, Marines trying to close in on the giant bird were blasted away by a hurricane gale, their bodies spinning helplessly before crashing into the ground like broken kites.
And then the bird screamed. Its blood-red wings blazed like fire, and with a single breath, torrents of flame dragons poured from its beak. The ground itself seemed to roast under the suffocating heat.
Marines fell from the sky like dumplings dropped into boiling water.
On the ground, the serpent's massive tail swept sideways, sending hundreds of soldiers flying like ants into a heap of rubble.
"Cough!"
A vice admiral clutched his mangled arm, his eyes seething with hate as he glared at the burning bird above. He had barely managed to approach before the creature's gale had hurled him into the earth, snapping his bone with its force.
"Curly-hair, are you still alive?" The swordsman Elder flashed across the battlefield, using Soru to reach his battered comrade.
The other two Elders quickly regrouped as well.
"Damn it! We can't keep fighting like this. The Holy Land was just rebuilt, and in moments it's worse than what Liu Yun destroyed!" The long-bearded Elder's face was black with rage. The Five Elders had never suffered such humiliation. And that brat Rakuya sitting there with his rum and meat, watching as if this was theater.
Seeing Rakuya's smug expression, the scarred Elder snapped, veins bulging. "Coward! Hiding in the back because you're afraid of us, aren't you?!"
Rakuya chuckled coldly. Afraid of you? What a joke.
"Old fool. At least have some self-awareness. If I were serious, none of you would even get the chance to raise your voices, let alone still be standing there."
He rose smoothly, gaze sharp and contemptuous as it swept over the bedraggled Elders.
"Hmph! Arrogant brat. All you do is spout big words!" The swordsman Elder sneered, trying to mask his own exhaustion.
But they all knew the truth. If they kept wasting strength against the beasts, Rakuya would simply pick them off once they were drained. Better to confront him now while they still had some stamina left.
The plan wasn't bad in theory.
But Rakuya's eyes turned icy at their provocation. So eager to die, are you? I was just playing with you. Seems you've gotten far too comfortable on your throne.
Crossing his arms, he clenched his right fist, his aura surging like a tidal wave.
"Thousandfold Repulsion Dragon God Cannon!"
The rubble around him exploded outward as if struck by an invisible giant's hand. A vacuum formed in the wake of his fist.
A blinding white shockwave burst forth, faster than sight.
The scarred Elder's eyes widened. He barely managed a grunt before his body was blasted away like a broken doll, carving a trench across the battlefield deeper than any Rankyaku strike. His fate was uncertain, his body limp.
The other three Elders gasped in unison, their hearts lurching. One punch… just one punch!
For the first time, true fear gleamed in their eyes.
Rakuya's gaze swept over them, cold and merciless.
"Courting death."
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