https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-180-Where-s-the-Peaceful-Life-We-Were-Promised-/13536146/
Chapter 179: Enhanced Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering Version
Chapter 179: Enhanced Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering Version
These three were all too familiar.
Bak Arlo had often thought of them while he was locked away in prison.
If it hadn't been for them, he would have already returned to 'Paradise' to live a life of leisure.
Kuro exhaled a mouthful of smoke, casting a sidelong glance at the man in prison garb. "Who's this guy?"
"Looks vaguely familiar."
Lida licked her fingers clean, then casually wiped them on Kuro's coat.
Klah pushed his glasses up with his palm and said, "Mr. Kuro, this is Bak Arlo. Remember? We met him back in East Blue before Admiral Lucius Kroadmiral discovered us. He surrendered voluntarily."
"Buggy Arlo?"
Kuro's eyes narrowed as realization dawned. His expression darkened with fury as he spat, "So it was you! You're the one who made me get promoted!"
The memory hit him - it was this damn bastard who forced him to join this dangerous war!
"Shit, I'm transforming!"
As Bak Arlo started to change form, Lida suddenly reached out and pressed her hand down on him.
In an instant, his body went limp and drained of all strength.
"Oh right, he can transform into rare animals."
Lida held him down as she spoke, "What a lucky bastard! He survived my Kuro's Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering slash and came out completely unscathed. I wonder how he did it."
Kuro drew Autumn Water, its blade encased in Haki Encasement, sending a wave of pressure outward. "Let's see if you can come back from this one!"
"Wait! Wait!"
Seeing Kuro approach with his blade, Bak Arlo stuttered, "I have information! I—"
Hiss!
Kuro's blade severed Bak Arlo's head in one clean stroke. Without pausing, his blade slashed through the air again, sending a wispy slash that reduced the head to dust.
So fast was the strike that no blood had even begun to spill from his neck yet.
Hiss!
Just as blood started to spray from the decapitated neck, Kuro struck again, splitting the body in half vertically before unleashing two more slashes that turned it into ashes.
"Wow, that was brutal."
Lida withdrew her hand, shrinking her size as she curiously stared at the spot where Bak Arlo once stood. "Hey, do you think he'll come back this time?"
Kuro fixed his gaze on the empty space that still bore the faintest imprint of a human shape. "Last time I turned him to dust and he still ran away. His ability must have some kind of substitute body function. The real one should still be nearby. Even though I cut off his head this time, I can't be too careful."
Buzzzzz!
A thread of golden lightning crackled along Autumn Water's blade.
"You two, stand back", Kuro warned.
He didn't need to say it twice. The moment Lida saw the electric sparks flare up, she had already retreated far away.
"Is that Haki?"
Klah swallowed hard. "Can Haki really reach this level?"
"The highest manifestation of Armament Haki. In Wano Country of the New World, they call it 'Ryuo'. It can destroy objects from the inside out."
Lida pondered for a moment. "Back when we were in East Blue, Kuro used this move to slice islands apart, though back then he couldn't materialize it yet. What a monster, now he's advanced to the point where his Haki can be seen with the naked eye."
"Who told you that?"
Kuro shot Lida a glance. "Don't just repeat what others say. 'Ryuo' is just the local term for Armored Haki in Wano Country. They're just so skilled in Armament Haki that for a while, people used 'Ryuo' instead of 'Haki'. Like how Skypiea calls Observation Haki 'Shingan'. They're particularly adept at using Observation Haki."
As one cultivates Armament Haki further, its applications improve accordingly - hardening, encasement, external projection, and internal destruction. When fully integrated, it becomes the highest level of manifestation, like Kaido's full-body Haki or the encasement currently surrounding Kuro's blade.
But even for Kuro, this technique carried a heavy burden.
Still, better safe than sorry.
"Single Sword Style!"
His blade slashed downward, cleaving into the faint human-shaped imprint on the ground.
Boom!!!
The ground shattered beneath the strike, turning into fine dust that floated into the air.
Before their eyes, a wisp-shaped chasm dozens of meters long and over ten meters wide had formed.
The shockwave from the strike caused Lida's white hair to whip around wildly.
"Yikes! My hair! You jerk, Kuro!"
Lida shrieked from the sidelines.
The dust cloud was sliced apart by Kuro's blade, scattering far away.
Sheathing his sword, Kuro stared at the massive trench while biting down on his cigar and exhaling a puff of smoke. "If you can still come back from this, then I'll admit defeat!"
This slash had pierced through the entire island, reaching all the way to the ocean floor.
If he could still come back from this, Kuro would truly concede. Then he'd find another chance to dunk him into seawater and mount him like a specimen in the sky.
"What are you doing, Kuro?"
Suddenly, Akainu's voice rang out from ahead.
He stood precisely at the far end of the massive trench, staring at Kuro with a serious expression.
"Oh, Admiral Sakazuki. I ran into a pirate and got a bit carried away."
Kuro sheathed his sword as he spoke to Akainu.
"A pirate?"
Akainu looked down at the seemingly bottomless trench, surprised. "This is Marineford. Damaging it this severely won't be easy to repair."
As he spoke, Akainu crouched down and placed his palm against the trench below. A massive eruption of lava surged forth, pouring into the chasm.
In an instant, the ground released a massive amount of heat.
"Hot hot hot!"
Lida pulled her feet back, feeling the ground beneath her feet growing uncomfortably warm, quickly retreating farther away.
The lava poured into the trench, gradually sealing the gap until it became a glowing path of molten rock.
After finishing this, Akainu stood back up. "Once the lava cools, this will become an obsidian road."
Wow
Klah wiped sweat from his brow. At this point, even if Bak Arlo hadn't died before, he certainly had now.
After being turned to dust by Kuro's Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering slash and then melted into lava by Akainu...
Caught between these two monsters, he couldn't decide if he was lucky or unfortunate.
Akainu turned to Kuro, a faint smile on his face. "Still, you did well. This is exactly how we should deal with pirates. This will make pirates afraid and eliminate all evil."
"That's not really what I meant... I just wanted to vent my anger."
Kuro opened his mouth to protest but found himself unable to voice his thoughts under Akainu's approving gaze.
"Did you deal with that Navy officer?" Akainu walked along the molten path to stand beside Kuro.
"Yeah. Convinced him to go back."
"Good. The old man doesn't want to kill a colleague unnecessarily if it can be avoided."
Akainu nodded. "I'll take my leave first. We've completed our mission to interfere with Shanks. Now it's time for the Encirclement Wall Plan."
The mission to distract Shanks, planned by Sengoku and carried out by Akainu, had been completed.
By playing on his hatred of One Piece Roger and Ace's identity as Roger's son, they'd managed to secure Shanks' guarantee, convincing the pirate to stand down.
"Once we activate the Encirclement Wall Plan, isn't Whitebeard finished?"
Lida approached, honestly a bit afraid of Akainu. That stern expression made her feel uneasy all over. Only after he left did she dare to get close.
As for Klah...
He'd run even farther away.
After all, he was once a pirate.
"If that old man really wanted to escape, no one could stop him. Still..."
Kuro glanced toward the harbor, a sigh escaping his lips.
Forty years ago, the Rocks crew was destroyed. Twenty years ago, One Piece died. This old pirate who survived two great eras and is now past his prime came here with a determination that could only mean one thing.
"He's already bet everything on the new era. Coming here means he's chosen the perfect place to exit the stage. There's no better place for a pirate to make their final stand than the Marine Headquarters."
"But turning Marineford into his grave and taking so many people with him? That's a bit too grandiose. Pirates will be pirates, each with bigger dreams than the last. My home is right here. I won't let you destroy it that easily."
Kuro placed his left hand on his sword hilt and strode toward the battlefield.
"Come on, let's go give that old man his final sendoff."
(End of Chapter)
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