This guy!
His aura is completely different from before?
"Famine" Arno was filled with doubt and alarm, and before he could figure out what was happening, the black-haired young man below him clenched his free right hand into a fist and fiercely slammed it into his chest.
Boom!
A tremendous force, like a mountain flood bursting, surged toward him in an instant. Caught off guard, a large dent appeared in Arno's chest, and his body was sent flying back, crashing hard onto the open ground dozens of meters away!
Pfft!
He spat out a large mouthful of green blood. When he looked up again, his gaze at Nao was filled with horror.
—How could this guy's power be so terrifying, like he's a completely different person from just a moment ago!
On the other side, "Plague" Sena's pupils narrowed slightly at the sight, but her movements didn't hesitate in the slightest. With a roar, both her thick hind legs rose at once, slamming down toward Nao below!
A massive black shadow loomed over him, pressure bearing down like a mountain. The air itself trembled and cracked under the force, buzzing with a splitting hum!
"Perfect timing!"
Nao's gaze went cold. He neither dodged nor flinched. Instead, he stomped the ground hard and leapt upward, his fists—hardened to the extreme with Armament Haki, black as oil—meeting the crushing shadow head-on.
Boom! Boom!
Amidst the deafening roars, the two figures briefly clashed in mid-air, then both retreated violently, plowing deep grooves over a hundred meters long in the ground.
"Hey, that guy…"
"How is that possible!"
Some Beasts Pirates members who happened to be nearby were dumbfounded when they saw the clash, their faces filled with disbelief.
Captain "Plague" Sena, a Triceratops Devil Fruit user, was, in terms of sheer physical strength, the undisputed number one in their crew, second only to Kaido-sama!
But that Marine Vice Admiral named Nao...
With a purely human body, he was a match for a ancient Zoan-type dinosaur body in a head-on fist fight, and he wasn't at a disadvantage in the slightest!
"You damn brat…"
"Plague" Sena landed with a crash, struggling to steady her enormous body. Frustrated and disheveled, she turned her head and roared at the giant mantis,
"Did you get knocked stupid, you idiot?! Get over here and help!"
"Easy for you to say. The injuries that Akainu left on me haven't healed yet…"
The giant mantis was panting heavily, wiping the green blood from the corner of its mouth. It struggled to its feet, its emerald green eyes filled with a chilling coldness. "But you're right. I don't know what happened to this guy…"
"But if we don't work together, we might not be able to beat him..."
In the pouring rain, the two looked at each other and quickly reached a silent understanding. The giant mantis let out a low growl and mustered all his remaining strength, his body suddenly expanding in the wind!
Five meters, eight meters, ten meters… twenty meters!
In just two or three seconds, Arno, whose body was already much larger than a normal person's, had now grown to a size similar to the Triceratops.
Then, the two Calamities let out a low growl and stepped out of the deep crater at the same time. One waved its emerald green mantis arm, while the other's triangular horns flashed with a cold light. They both charged at Nao!
Nao simply stood where he was, looking up at the two giant monsters with a cold smile. The inky black Armament Haki silently covered his entire body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The disproportionate physical collision erupted again. The marble ground beneath Nao's feet exploded, cracking into countless spiderweb-like fissures that spread out in all directions.
But his body remained as steady as a mountain!
How is that possible?!!
The two Calamities' pupils shrank simultaneously. They gritted their teeth, ready to put more power into their attacks, when Nao below them suddenly vanished without a trace.
Before they could react, his voice rumbled down from above:
"You two… what are you looking at?"
When—?!
Their faces changed. They looked skyward and saw Nao, who had just been beneath their feet, now a hundred meters in the air—delivering a brutal kick straight down!
The speed was so fast that it was impossible to see a blur. He instantly broke the sound barrier, causing the air along his path to let out a buzzing roar!
This guy's not just strong—his speed's this insane too?!
The eyes of the nearby Beasts Pirates members were wide with shock. They were so stunned that they even forgot they were on a battlefield when they saw their two great captains being kicked back again and again, unable to fight back.
As a result, two or three unlucky ones were caught off guard and defeated by the clashing Marine officers, who pierced their hearts…
On the other side.
Lying in the ruins, Gion finally woke up. After looking down at her own body, she immediately realized what had happened.
Switched back…
That idiot womanizer—is he still alive?
She struggled to her feet, her eyes anxiously searching. Soon, through the rain in the northeast, she saw the three figures fighting in a completely mismatched battle.
Her heart loosened, a weight lifted.
How long have they been fighting?
Gion had no way of knowing, but she could clearly see that Nao, facing the combined attacks of the two Calamities, was still at ease with his physical strength alone, and was even gaining the upper hand.
…Is the gap this big?
Gion's eyes were filled with confusion and wonder. She could only barely hold her own against one Calamity before, but now, Nao, who had regained control of his own body, could actually fight two at once?
Though, she had to consider that "Famine" had been seriously injured by Akainu, and "Plague" wasn't at her full strength either.
But…
Wasn't Nao in the same state? And as a swordsman, he hadn't even used a sword yet!
Wait… a sword?
As if she had just remembered something, she ignored the excruciating pain all over her body and frantically searched around. After a few minutes, she finally found Nao's two swords stuck in the cracks of the shattered ground tiles.
A look of joy appeared on her face. Just as Gion pulled the swords out, she looked up and happened to see the giant mantis, which had been repelled by Nao, had completely vanished into the rain.
In the next instant, it reappeared silently behind Nao, its terrifyingly sharp mandibles lunging straight for the back of his head.
Nao!
It all happened in a flash of lightning. Gion's heart was pounding, but before she could shout, she watched the mantis's mouthparts stab into the back of Nao's head.
The Noa only seemed to notice it just then, turning his head slightly to look over.
It's too late!
The back of a head without Armament Haki protection is as fragile as a meal on a plate!
Arno's eyes were cruel and violent, as if he could already see Nao's head exploding and his brains splattering everywhere.
Do you think my title of "Famine" came from nowhere?
It's because countless times, when I was starving, I used these mandibles, which are harder than steel, to devour countless people!
But then—
Crack!
Even with the heavy rain pouring down, everyone around them still heard the sound of steel cracking.
"…"
Dark green blood flowed endlessly from its mouth. Arno, whose mandibles were shattered, stared blankly at the unharmed back of Nao's head, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"This level of sneak attack…"
Nao showed no signs of surprise. His eyes were cold as he suddenly turned and slammed a punch into Arno's face. "…don't embarrass yourself with it!"
BOOM!
The giant mantis's body fell from the sky, crashing hard into the ground.
And Nao, taking advantage of the Triceratops's stunned moment, suddenly retreated and landed on a large rock in the ruins. He laughed loudly at a surprised Gion, who was covering her mouth:
"Rear Admiral, my swords!"
This guy…
Gion looked into his inky black eyes, pursed her lips, and smiled silently. She flicked her wrist and threw both swords at the same time.
"Catch!"
Clank. The swords landed in his hands with perfect precision. Nao gently caressed the hilts, closing his eyes slightly. The familiar feeling was back...
Buzz!
Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings entered his ears. Nao slowly opened his eyes and looked up.
It was the giant mantis with shattered mandibles and a constant flow of blood. Two pairs of almost transparent wings suddenly grew from its back, and its two middle and two hind legs also turned into sharp mantis blades with a swoosh!
"No one… no one has ever made me this angry before…"
The giant mantis spoke word for word, its face as ferocious as a demon. In its state of utter rage, it was now activating its strongest trump card at the cost of its life!
"Die, brat!"
Three Hundred and Sixty Blades: Hell's Mantis Slash!
Shhh! Shhh!
The giant, dark green mantis arms carried a terrifying, suffocating gale. Their momentum was shocking. Everywhere they passed, it was as if everything was being cut from its roots and ground into powder.
If a pirate who had just entered the Grand Line, even with a bounty of nearly 100 million Berries, tried to withstand an attack of this level, they would most likely be instantly killed.
Unfortunately.
At this moment, standing in front of him was Nao, who had regained his swords and whose stamina was gradually returning to its peak.
"It's about time to end this…"
Facing the six mantis blades slashing at him at the same time, a coldness gathered in Nao's eyes. He gripped the hilts of his swords tighter and tighter, then, with a clear sound of unsheathing swords, he suddenly shot out.
"Twin Blade Slash: Lunar Flare!"
Along with Nao's low voice, countless sword slashes shot out like a torrential downpour. Each sword slash erupted with a brilliant light that was as dazzling as the moonlight rising from the sea on a full moon night!
Buzz!
The surroundings were illuminated as if it were daytime. An endless and overwhelming pressure burst forth from the dense, intersecting sword slashes, creating a terrifying current of air that shook the soul.
Pfft! Pfft!
The giant mantis, which had been charging with a sinister grin, was suddenly stopped by the brilliant light.
Its face was almost contorted. It let out a painful hiss and was sent flying high, tracing a tragic arc in the sky before crashing heavily onto the ground dozens of meters away.
Swoosh!
The moment its body hit the ground, Nao's figure flickered and disappeared from his spot. He continuously unleashed majestic sword slashes from the air, heading straight for the giant mantis's softest part, its abdomen.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
More than ten visible, thick cracks suddenly appeared on the surface of its abdomen at the same time, then quickly spread in all directions, forming countless dense fissures in an instant.
Bang!
The next second, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out. The giant mantis, which had been lying on the ground, barely clinging to life, suddenly burst open from the inside out, spewing dark green blood all over the sky!
Large chunks of flesh and various internal organs were sent flying high before scattering on the ground.
Some piled up into a small mountain, while others soaked the surrounding broken stone and brick, staining them black and green.
Half of an insect's face landed perfectly at Nao's feet.
Its emerald-green compound eyes faced the sky, and in its unfocused pupils, one could still vaguely see the complex expression of intertwined fear and indignation from its final moments.
"Famine" Arno, a Zoan-type Mythical Beast Giant Mantis with a bounty of 1 billion Berries, had met his end!
Plop.
The rain was still pouring. Nao floated down from the air and landed on the wet ground. He tilted his wrist, letting the remaining bloodstains on his swords be washed away by the rain.
"So, now."
He turned his head and looked at the giant Triceratops, whose expression was stunned and shocked. His handsome face had a mocking expression, and his tone was as cold as ice:
"Tell me again, do you still think I'm just a name without substance?"
...
Almost at the exact moment the giant mantis exploded.
The entire battlefield noticed the shocking commotion and turned to look in that direction.
Then, whether they were ordinary pirates and Marines or the clashing officers and executives, their minds were shaken, and they were left in a state of shock.
Even the giant blue dragon, who had been fighting in a frenzy, had his pupils constrict. He and the Golden Buddha both subconsciously stopped fighting for a moment, their eyes filled with disbelief.
"Did Arno-sama... just die?"
"And while he was teamed up with Sena-sama..."
A few of the "Tobi Roppo" level Beasts Pirates officers were unable to accept the reality in front of them, especially Arno's direct subordinates. They felt as if they had been struck by lightning, their vision going black, and they couldn't come back to their senses for a long time.
On the other hand, after the initial shock, the Marines erupted in a cheer, and their morale instantly soared!
After all.
That was the second-in-command of the Beasts Pirates, the leader of the Three Calamities. His importance to Kaido was even greater than the G-1 Branch Commander Akainu's importance to the Marines.
Now, within a few hours of the war breaking out, his death on the battlefield was undoubtedly a fatal blow to the Beasts Pirates' top fighters and a heavy hit to their morale!
"Ara-ra, looks like they've swapped back."
Aokiji narrowed his eyes, withdrew his gaze, and chuckled. "Did he get completely enraged? He made such a big commotion right from the get-go. Looks like I should step up my game too…"
Thump!
Kaido swung his roaring dragon tail and knocked the Golden Buddha, who had slammed a punch at him, back a certain distance. His face was extremely grim. He turned to Big Mom in the distance and roared angrily:
"Hey, Linlin! Didn't you come here to get revenge on that brat?! What are you doing now?! You've been held up by a little magma brat for so long! Are you not embarrassed enough after what happened on your own turf?!"