A mere 0.2-second interval, such a fleeting moment, practically instantaneous. To seize this sliver of time required a realm of power beyond comprehension.
Yet these five snipers were confident they could achieve it. As marksmen, the moment they began aiming, time seemed to slow down.
The wind slowed, time itself slowed, and even their enemies' movements seemed to drag in their perception.
Only by mastering this realm of temporal distortion could one truly grasp the formidable power of a sniper and reach the pinnacle of their craft.
"Prepare."
The low command echoed in their ears.
Their breathing stilled, and their bodies entered an eerie calm, as if in hibernation, yet simultaneously coiling with immense power ready to erupt in an instant.
The wind whispered softly, yet to the five warriors, it roared past like a gale. Every sound, every movement, was amplified a thousandfold in their perception.
This stood in stark contrast to Trens' perception, where everything seemed to fade into muted stillness.
Suddenly, one of the five warriors slammed his right hand down.
"Now!"
Bang!
A muffled roar erupted as the bullet roared from the barrel, spinning wildly through the air and carving a vortex of compressed air in its wake, aiming directly for Trens' forehead.
In that instant, within the pitch-black void of Trens' perception, a brilliant pinpoint of light appeared, hurtling forward in a spinning trajectory.
"First one!"
Grip tightening on the Black Gun, Trens' mind coiled taut as a spring.
Though the bullet was hurtling toward him, Trens remained motionless.
Two-tenths of a second later, another gunshot rang out.
A second point of light blazed to life in Trens' mind.
"Second one!"
His closed eyes trembled as his right index finger pressed down on the trigger.
Bang! Bang!
Time flashed by in the blink of an eye. A third and fourth gunshot echoed through the air.
"One more!"
In his mind, the four glowing lights surged forward like streaks of light, the first one now less than fifty meters away.
Trens' eyes began to tremble violently, a bead of sweat the size of a bean forming on his forehead.
Bang!
Suddenly, a fifth shot rang out.
"All targets acquired!"
In an instant, Trens snapped his eyes open. Without looking anywhere, he took a swift step to his right at a 45-degree angle.
Simultaneously, the Black Gun in his right hand traced an arc through the air as his index finger slammed down on the trigger.
Bang!
A sixth shot echoed as the bullet, long primed within the Black Gun, erupted from the barrel.
The glowing lights in Trens' mind remained visible. He clearly saw a sixth light ignite beyond the original five, surging fiercely toward the first, most aggressive of the approaching lights.
Like a lone wolf facing a pack of ravenous beasts, the sixth paths light showed no fear, charging forward relentlessly.
'When narrow paths meet, the brave prevail!'
In an instant, he encountered his first target.
Click!
The two collided. The first target flickered briefly before extinguishing.
Simultaneously, the force of the violent impact slightly altered the trajectory of the sixth target, sending it hurtling toward the opposite side.
That direction led directly to the second target.
Click!
Another soft click echoed in his mind as the second target went dark.
The impact redirected the sixth target again, propelling it toward the third target.
Through this series of collisions, the sixth target unleashed from Trens' hand seemed to possess boundless power. Using his own momentum as a fulcrum, the force of each impact as a catalyst, and the altered trajectories as guidance, he annihilated three targets in a single, breathtaking sequence.
At that very instant, the five snipers concealed in the shadows widened their eyes in disbelief.
'This... how is this possible?!'
Yes, how could this be possible? This was utterly impossible! How could that young kid execute such a mind-blowing shot, a feat bordering on divine skill?
"Kā kā!"
Two shots rang out in quick succession. The sixth glowing point destroyed the fourth, then slammed into the fifth. By this point, its power seemed completely exhausted, managing only to slightly alter the fifth point's trajectory.
Pfft!
The bullet pierced Trens' body, eliciting a muffled groan.
Blood gushed from Trens' shoulder in an instant, yet his face remained wreathed in a triumphant smile.
Sweat drenched his cheeks as Trens let out a long, booming laugh.
"I won the bet!"
"You're the ones who will die!"'
His right hand abruptly squeezed the trigger, unleashing a jet of pitch-black fury. In a mere instant, the bullet reached one of the snipers, tearing through his forehead before the man's incredulous eyes.
Bang!
The remaining snipers reacted swiftly, opening fire.
But Trens' feet danced across the ground, effortlessly evading the hail of bullets. Once he pinpointed their positions, evading their shots became child's play.
With a flick of his wrist, he fired another shot.
Ugh!
Another sniper crumpled to the ground, his eyes wide in death.
Within three seconds, Trens fired five shots. Five highly skilled snipers, whose realms far surpassed ordinary humans, all fell beneath his bullets.
Hū hū hū!
After unleashing this silent roar of gunfire, Trens finally began to gasp for breath.
The brief confrontation had cost him nearly seventy percent of his stamina.
Meanwhile, Crocodile had already pressed his hand to the ground beside him.
Before him stood a Sandwall, blocking all incoming attacks.
"Change into sand!"
A low, rumbling voice echoed as the five-hundred-meter stretch of terrain before him violently trembled, softened, dried, and split apart, transforming into swirling sand particles.
"Sand Burial!"
With another thunderous shout, Crocodile slammed his hands down.
Hōng lóng!
The sand on the ground surged upward in a frenzied torrent, soaring into the air to blot out the sky. In an instant, it obscured the vision of the entire land force, filling them with terror.
"What is this?!"
"That man... he's a Devil Fruit User!"
"Speed, call for backup! He's beyond our capabilities!"
In the blink of an eye, the several-thousand-strong army unit erupted into chaos.
"Infantry, hold the rear! Everyone else, retreat!"
Amidst the chaos, the Commodore roared, attempting to regain control of the situation.
But the next moment, his eyes widened in shock as the sand particles that had been scattered into the air came crashing down like boulders, each carrying the force of ten thousand tons, burying countless soldiers beneath the dense deluge.
"Damn it!"
The Commodore clenched his fist, his expression dark with rage.
"Just who are these people?"
Behind him, shadows flickered, revealing a six-man squad. They, too, were fixed on Jason and his group.
"This year's Supernova are all monsters with bounties approaching 200 million berries, you know," one of the squad members chuckled.
"200 million?"
The Commodore paused, his face hardening.
"Then let's see the power of these so-called great pirates for ourselves!"
(End Of This Chapter)
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