"Trust me, Uncle Gattt! Fire first! Force this creature's body completely out of the water. It's been tossing and turning like that, and I can't aim."
Shanu added in a deep voice, noticing Gattt's hesitation.
Ignoring his reaction, Shanu turned back to the sea king's ravaged abdomen.
Minutes ago, upon realizing what this creature, resembling the king of the coastal seas, was doing, a bold idea had occurred to him.
The creature's madness was ultimately due to the unbearable pain in its abdomen. What if he could help eliminate the source of the pain?
Sea kings are intelligent beings, too, and quite intelligent.
He didn't expect anything in return for such a significant favor, but at least they wouldn't treat him like a mere meal.
With his current strength, defeating this sea king head-on was a pipe dream. This was his only way to avoid a fatal end.
Regardless of the likelihood of success, at this critical juncture, how could he not give it a try?
"...Okay, as you say." Gattt sheathed his sword, finally making a decision.
"Captain..." a senior sailor hesitated.
"Stop talking. What else can we do?"
Gattt interrupted directly. His stance clear, he became resolute. "Starboard gunners, reload immediately. Follow my instructions!"
"Ready?" He glanced at Shanu.
"Yes."
The young man, still staring at the sea, nodded slightly.
"Okay." Gattt took a deep breath, waved his hand sharply, and gave the order. "Aim at the sea king's belly. Three, two, one, fire, fire!"
Boom!!!
The eight guns on the right side roared simultaneously, the orange-red flames blazing from their muzzles, illuminating Shanu's tense leg muscles.
His pupils reflected the trajectory of the cannonballs tearing through the night sky. After a brief moment of silence, the sea king's belly suddenly exploded with flames.
Roar!!!
A piercing roar shook the entire sea, and the sudden, violent surge of shadows beneath the surface nearly made everyone's heart skip a beat.
The next moment, a scaly, iron-gray body broke through the waves, its ferocious head lashing out like a raging wave. As it leaned down, its slender, viper-like pupils fixed a fierce gaze on the sailors on deck.
Now is the time!
Shanu tensed his muscles, his arches slamming against the deck, using the momentum to leap over the railing. At that moment, the sea king's abdominal muscles, flexed in pain, formed a slope-like crease.
Snap!
The young man planted his foot firmly on the crease, and with his right fist, already brimming with strength, he aimed it at the lower part of the bulge and pounded it upwards with a swift, upward thrust!
Huh?
The sea king was stunned. Before he could even glance down to see what was happening, his throat drum vibrated violently. He retched, spewing a small amount of dark green mucus, which formed a spiderweb-like pattern in the air.
Meanwhile, Shanu's left fist penetrated the monster's esophagus with all its might, plunging along its folds. The vibrations from the impact caused the scales on its throat to explode like a pine cone, and the foreign object, trapped beneath a layer of skin, shifted several meters upward.
It was working! A flicker of joy crossed Shanu's eyes, then morphed into a fierce, last-ditch blow!
Using the momentum of his hips and abdomen, he delivered this final hook. The spinning technique, honed day after day and night after night in the orange grove, sent the shockwave of this punch careening through the intestines and into the sky.
"Ugh!!"
The intense urge to vomit finally reached its breaking point, and large globs of slime mixed with mud and seaweed erupted, pattering and falling. A small amount splashed onto the deck, corroding and penetrating the wood in an instant, sending a sizzling cloud of smoke billowing.
The rest, however, cascaded down onto the sea like a torrential rain.
Having been thrown aside by the struggling sea king, Shanu immediately swam over with all his might. After rummaging around for a while, he suddenly fixed his gaze on a certain spot.
Floating there was an arm.
A human arm.
As expected!
Shanu grabbed the severed arm, his eyes filled with surprise.
His guess was right!
This sea king was the King of the Sea!
And this severed arm was the culprit causing it excruciating pain, seeking ways to squeeze and scrape its abdomen!
How long had this been going on?
Shanu had no idea. He only knew that on that day, even the Bandit King Sig, who had killed fifty-six of the Four Emperors, had been unable to withstand the corrosive effects of the Sea King's stomach acid and bile, and had long since passed out as feces.
But this arm, however, proved indigestible, unable to be expelled on its own, remained stuck in his stomach.
He glanced up, confirming that his position was blocked by the hull and invisible to those on the deck above, and without hesitation, he initiated the sacrifice.
The next moment, the severed arm in his hand vanished, and the system signaled the successful sacrifice.
[Sacrifice: Shanks's Severed Arm]
[Quality: Legendary]
[Value: 10,000 Points]
[Appraisal: The severed arm of Shanks Saint, son of the Supreme Commander of the Knights of God and a Celestial Dragon, was swallowed by the Sea King while saving Straw Hat Luffy. The worldline has since undergone drastic changes. The future King of the Sea abandoned this arm in the East China Sea, yet he firmly believed he was betting on a new era.]
Legendary quality!
Ten thousand points!
Shanu's eyes widened, confirming he had counted correctly, and after counting the four zeros, an uncontrollable surge of ecstasy washed over him.
In the inky darkness of the night, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Before he made his move, he'd worried about whether he'd succeeded, fearing it would be swallowed before reaching the Sea King. Even the moment he found the arm, he doubted it was even worth sacrificing.
Now the sacrifice was a success, and he'd earned a massive amount of points he'd never experienced before.
Suddenly, all his worries and hesitations vanished, leaving Shanu feeling incredibly relaxed, as if he weren't floating on the sea, but rather soaring among the clouds.
"Hey! Are you all right, Shanu?"
Gattt's urgent call from above suddenly snapped him back to reality. However, the boy's presence was nowhere to be seen, and he grew anxious.
"I'm fine, uncle! Please lower the ladder!" he shouted, grinning.
As the ladder was lowered along the hull, halfway up, the boy suddenly felt the surge of a huge wave at the back of his head, followed by a strong, salty smell.
"Hiss!!"
It was the voice of the Sea King, so close.
Shanu sensed a sense of relief and joy in this distinctly different neighing. He raised his head, his gaze meeting the Sea King's crimson eyes.
"How's it going, big guy!"
Shanu grinned and stared at the guy, his face showing no fear. "The digestive tract surgery I performed on you was pretty good, wasn't it?"
The King of the Sea also narrowed his eyes and stared at Shanu, saliva dripping from between his fangs, and he didn't move for a long time.
Gattt and others who were watching this scene from above suddenly felt their hearts tighten.
After more than ten seconds.
The King of the Sea suddenly stretched out his tongue and gently licked Shanu's back. Then he raised his head and roared towards the sky, which was enough to tear through the night.
Finally, he rolled over, sank into the sea with a loud splash, and gradually disappeared without a trace.