"Armament Iron Body!"
Doberman roared, his arms instantly turning pitch-black as the rest of his body hardened to a burnished bronze sheen.
Sparks shrieked across the battlefield as Hidan's scythe-born waves of bluish slashes ground mercilessly against Doberman's armored arms.
Yet the barrage did not cease. The bloodstained crescent scythe spun with an eerie rhythm, releasing more slashes to replace those already spent.
Soon, the color of Doberman's arms began to fade, black giving way to dull gray. The once-unyielding Armament hardening was cracking.
"Kehehehe!" Hidan's twisted grin widened. "Let's see how long you can last."
A sharp crack split the air. Blood seeped from Doberman's arm, staining his uniform.
He couldn't hold out any longer.
Panic gripped him, sweat bursting down his forehead. Where had this monster come from? How could he be so strong that Doberman couldn't even fight back?
The deadly slash waves drew closer to his chest. His entire body was already cut to ribbons, his cloak of justice reduced to tattered scraps.
"Support Doberman! If not, that lunatic will kill him!" The Elder with the blade barked furiously. He might not have thought much of Doberman's strength, but to lose him publicly in front of so many Marines was unacceptable.
With no time to hesitate, the Elder unsheathed his twisted sword. With a powerful swing, a towering slash wave ripped forward, tearing a gash in the earth as it carved its way toward Hidan's weapon.
The very ground split apart, rocks and dust scattering in its wake.
"You're a nuisance." Hidan's face darkened. He wasn't about to let his beloved scythe be destroyed. With a flick of his hand, the weapon whirled back into his grip. Doberman collapsed in the dirt, vomiting blood, his body mangled beyond recognition. A few seconds longer and he would have been carved apart like an execution victim.
"Damn you! To wound a Marine Rear Admiral like this you've gone too far!" The scarred Elder roared.
"Finger Gun Ape King!"
From his hand burst a titanic shockwave, the air vibrating with killing intent.
At the center of the battlefield, Hidan's expression sharpened. His bloodlusted grin shifted to interest. These decrepit men weren't just figureheads they were the Five Elders themselves.
"Three Thousand Six Hundred Reaper Tornadoes!" The sword-bearing Elder would not be outdone. His blade spun in a deadly flourish, conjuring a colossal whirlwind that rose into the heavens.
"Holy hell…"
Hidan's eyes flickered as he watched the cyclone and the onrushing ape-shaped shockwave converge on him. These weren't tricks of rabble pirates this was real power. Their sheer might reminded him of forbidden jutsu back in the shinobi world.
Seems I'll have to show some of my real hand too.
The roaring tornado churned toward him, gravel and rubble caught in its maw, while the colossal Ape King shockwave barreled down like a tidal wave.
"Scythe Technique Blood Shield!"
Hidan spun his scythe in a circular motion, a dark red barrier forming around him.
In an instant, the Elder's storm of slashes crashed against the shield, its banshee shrieks mingling with the howl of stone and steel.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The eerie barrier screeched under the assault, but before it could shatter, the titanic Ape King shockwave was already upon him.
"Grrraaah!"
The spectral beast bellowed, its roar scattering the very clouds, then hurled itself into the tornado.
"Boom!"
A deafening detonation shook Mariejois to its core. Hidan was blasted hundreds of meters away, skidding across the earth and leaving behind a deep scar carved into the ruins.
"Kh… cough!"
Slowly rising to his feet, Hidan wiped the blood from his mouth. His eyes glimmered with a newfound seriousness. He had underestimated this world's so-called rulers. Only two of them had acted, and already he'd been pushed this far. If all five struck together, he might not last a minute.
This world was built on survival of the fittest. He knew better than anyone that numbers didn't matter overwhelming force did.
No more long-range games. Against men like these, that was suicide. His forte was close combat, and unless the power gap was insurmountable, that was where he thrived.
His gaze locked on the sword-bearing Elder.
A swordsman, huh? Perfect. A close-combatant. I'll test my Bloodstained Crescent Scythe against his blade.
The Five Elders themselves were not without doubt. Was this truly Liu Yun? They remembered well how even all five of them had once failed to overcome him. But this man, this so-called Liu Yun, was already struggling against only two of them. Something didn't add up.
The blade-wielding Elder's eyes gleamed with cold suspicion. "There are too many inconsistencies with this one. If he is Liu Yun, then he's holding back on purpose. If not, then he must be tied to him somehow."
The others nodded grimly. They all knew the strength of the swordsman Elder. Even if this really was Liu Yun, at worst it would mean dying once and being reborn. Nothing they hadn't faced before.
"Boy, don't get cocky. This old man will test you himself!"
With that, the Elder stamped into the air with Moonwalk and hurtled forward.
Hidan's grin curled wider, sly and cruel. Just what he wanted. These fools were practically delivering themselves to him. To not sacrifice this one to Lord Jashin would be a waste.
His expression twisted with excitement, a grotesque blend of madness and anticipation.
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