"Anyway, trust me, Uncle Gart! Shoot first, get this guy completely out of the water. With this movement, I can't aim properly."
Shano noticed Gart's hesitation and added in a grave voice.
Ignoring his reaction, Shano looked again at the sea king's riddled abdomen.
A few minutes earlier...
Realizing what this creature, which seemed to be a king of the nearby seas, was doing, a bold idea formed in his mind.
The reason it was acting so frantically was excruciating abdominal pain. What if he could help it eliminate the cause of the pain?
Sea kings are intelligent beings, quite intelligent indeed.
By doing him such a great favor, he wasn't expecting anything in return, but at least he wouldn't treat them like food again, right?
With his current strength, defeating this sea king head-on was pure fantasy; to avoid being devoured, this was his only option.
Regardless of the odds of success, at this critical moment, how could they not try?
"...Alright, we'll do as you say." Gart sheathed his sword, finally making a decision.
"Captain..." a veteran sailor hesitated.
"Say no more! Do we have any other choice?"
Gart interrupted directly, his demeanor clear and extremely determined. "Starboard gunner, load the cannons immediately, on my orders!"
"Ready?" He looked at Shano.
"Yes."
The boy, his gaze fixed on the sea, nodded slightly.
"Okay." Gart took a deep breath, made a sharp gesture with his hand, and gave the order: "Aim for the belly of the Sea King, three, two, one, fire! Fire!"
Boom!
All eight cannons on the starboard flank roared simultaneously, tongues of orange-red fire illuminating the tense muscles of Shano's legs.
His pupils reflected the trajectory of cannonballs streaking across the night sky. After a brief moment of silence, the Sea King's belly suddenly erupted in flames.
Roar!
The piercing roar shook the entire sea, and the shadows that suddenly and violently emerged from beneath the surface nearly stopped everyone's heart.
The next instant, a scaly, iron-gray body emerged from the waves, its ferocious head lashing out at towering swells. As it lowered its body, its long, narrow, vertical pupils, like those of a viper, glared menacingly at the sailors on deck.
Now!
Shano tensed every muscle, his bows propelling him from the deck, using the momentum to leap over the railing. At that moment, the Sea King's abdominal muscles, contorted with pain, formed a slanted fold.
*Thud!*
The boy landed firmly on that crease. His right fist, already brimming with power, aimed at the underside of the protrusion and slammed upward!
*Huh?*
The sea king was stunned. Before he could even look down to see what had happened, his eardrums began to vibrate violently. He choked, spitting out a small amount of dark green mucus that left a trail like a spiderweb in the air.
Meanwhile,
Shano's left fist had already plunged with full force along the folds of his esophagus. The shockwave sent the foreign object, separated by the abdominal skin, hurtling upward several meters.
*Excellent effect!*
A flash of glee crossed Shano's eyes, quickly turning into a ferocious glare. One last strike!
Using the momentum from his waist and abdomen, he landed the final hook. The powerful spinning technique he had perfected day and night in the orange grove sent the shockwave of this blow from his gut to the top of his head.
"Uf!"
The intense nausea finally reached its peak. Large clumps of viscous mucus, mixed with seaweed, shot out, splashing and dripping. A small portion landed on the deck, instantly corroding and perforating the wooden planks, hissing and emitting blue smoke.
Most of it, however, spilled into the sea like a torrential downpour.
Shano, tossed aside by the struggling sea king, swam desperately toward it, searching for a moment before his gaze suddenly settled on a specific spot.
There it floated, without a doubt, an arm.
A human arm, with black markings resembling a pentagram, and for some reason, it showed no signs of decay.
Just as he had expected!
Shano grasped the severed arm, his eyes wide with surprise.
He had been right!
This sea monster was, indeed, the Near Sea King!
And this severed arm was the culprit causing him excruciating pain as he frantically tried to clench and scrape at his abdomen!
How much time had passed?
Shano didn't know. He only knew that on that day, not even the bandit king Sig, who had killed fifty-six Yonko, could withstand the corrosive effects of the stomach acid and bile of the Near Sea King, and had long since been excreted in his feces.
Only this arm remained undigested, unable to be vomited up on its own, and had become lodged in his stomach.
Looking upwards to ensure his position was concealed by the ship's hull and that the people on the upper deck couldn't see him, he hesitated no longer and immediately began the sacrifice.
The next instant, the amputated arm vanished from his hand, and the system notified him that the sacrifice had been successful.
[Sacrifice: Shanks's Severed Arm]
[Quality: Legendary]
[Value: 10,000 Points]
[Evaluation Comments: The severed arm of Shanks, son of the Supreme Commander of the Knights of God and a Celestial Dragon. It was swallowed by the Lord of the Coast to save Straw Hat Luffy. The timeline changed drastically from that moment on. The future King of the Sea, despite having discarded this arm in the East Blue, firmly believed he was betting on a new era.]
Legendary Quality!
10,000 points!
Shano's eyes widened. After confirming that he hadn't made a mistake counting four zeros, an overwhelming feeling of ecstasy washed over him.
In the darkness of the night, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. Before acting, he worried about his success, fearing he would be swallowed by the Lord of the Coast even before reaching him, and even doubting whether the arm truly deserved the sacrifice.
The sacrifice was a success, and he had earned an unprecedented number of points.
In an instant, all his worries and doubts vanished, leaving Shano feeling incredibly refreshed, as if he weren't floating on the sea, but floating among the clouds.
"Hey! Are you okay, Shano?"
A sudden, urgent shout from above brought him back to reality, but he couldn't see the boy and began to worry.
"I'm fine, dude! Please lower the rope ladder!"
He laughed and shouted back.
As the rope ladder descended the ship and climbed halfway up, Shano suddenly felt a tidal surge behind him, followed by a strong smell of salt that filled his nostrils.
"Whistle...!" It was the voice of the Near Sea King, so close.
In this completely different roar, Shano sensed a feeling of euphoria and joy. He looked up and his gaze met the Sea King's crimson pupils.
"Good, big guy!"
Shano smiled, observing the creature without fear. "The digestive tract surgery I performed on you went quite well, didn't it?"
The Sea King also looked at Shano with narrowed eyes, saliva dripping from between his fangs, remaining motionless for a long time.
Gart and the others watching from above felt a knot in their hearts instantly.
Ten seconds later.
Suddenly, the Sea King extended his tongue and gently licked Shano's back, then raised his head and let out a roar capable of shattering the night.
Finally, with a backflip, it plunged into the sea with a deafening splash, gradually disappearing without a trace.
(End of chapter)