Roar!
Seeing the Great Shaman struck down, Degal let out a wild roar. He bent his legs, pushed off the ground, and shot into the air, his extended claws aiming for Mina.
"Your opponent right now is me!"
A cold voice, laden with intense killing intent, rang out behind Degal.
Gin appeared behind Degal like a ghost. His slightly dark, bluish face was cold and emotionless, like a living demon, and the weighted baton in his hand whistled down onto Degal's back.
Whoosh~
Bang!
Before Degal could react, a sharp, searing pain erupted from his back, as if he had been struck by an iron sledgehammer. He immediately plummeted downward like a cannonball.
Rumble…
The ground collapsed, dust billowed, and Degal forcefully created a massive crater several meters in diameter. Spider-web cracks radiated outward for more than ten meters.
Thud.
Gin landed from the air, his weighted baton resting on his shoulder. With a cold, unfeeling expression, he stared silently at Degal in the crater.
"Cough, cough…"
Degal half-knelt on the ground, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood. Only then did he raise his head and look at Gin outside the pit. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he slowly said, "You ambushed me. You will pay the price for this!"
Woooo~ Woooo~
Gin took a cold step forward, spinning the baton in his hand, preparing to crush Degal's head.
"You damned outsider! ROAR!"
Degal let out a fierce howl, using his four limbs to push himself up and charge out.
At this point, the true battle between Gin and Degal finally began.
Meanwhile, Mina was facing off against the Wild Mountain Tribe's Shaman, Apuli.
"Strike!"
Shaman Apuli tore off a ferocious beast claw ornament from his wooden staff and viciously flung it toward Mina in the air.
Mina flapped her bat wings, moving horizontally to the side and easily dodging it.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
However, three more beast claws quickly followed, flying in a triangular formation, blocking Mina's escape path.
"Blood Wing!"
Mina remained unfazed. Her right bat wing, glowing with blood-red light, shot forward and fanned outward.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With three consecutive metallic collision sounds, the blood-glowing wing batted the three incoming beast claws away.
Immediately, Mina's figure plunged downward, leaving trails of afterimages. Her blood-red jade hand stabbed out like a sharp blade, nearly cleaving the air.
Ziiing…
The jet-black wooden staff, hardened with Armament Haki, struck out violently. The two collided instantly, producing a metallic resonance. A powerful surge of air burst forth, forming a visible shockwave that swept across the surrounding area for dozens of meters.
The ground beneath Apuli's feet could not withstand the force. It immediately fractured into a large patch of spider-web cracks and then collapsed inward, forming a crater several meters in diameter. For a moment, dust flew everywhere, and smoke billowed.
"HAAAAAAH—"
A sudden roar.
Shhrrrt!
Apuli abruptly straightened his body. The linen cloth covering his upper body was shredded by an invisible surge of internal energy, turning into countless fragments that burst outward. Every single piece of shrapnel was coated in Haki.
"Tearing off your clothes at the slightest disagreement… is that a custom of your tribe?" Mina smoothly shifted backward, avoiding the flying scraps of cloth, and mocked him without reservation.
With his upper linen garment shredded, Apuli stood bare-chested, revealing blocks of solid, powerful muscle, like an elderly man who enjoyed bodybuilding. On his right pectoral muscle was a tattoo of a skull wearing a crown.
"That's… the Homans Pirates mark!" Mina immediately recognized the tattoo on Apuli's chest.
Throughout history, the seas have been teeming with pirates, adventurers, and treasure hunters. Great figures with renowned reputations in every era are not few, and the various legends and the treasures they left behind are countless.
The treasure of Captain Homans that Mina was searching for is one of the most famous and persistent treasure legends on the sea.
The Homans Pirates Mina referred to were an exceptionally powerful pirate crew from 120 years ago. Their captain, Hyster Homans, was the user of the Paramecia-type Bone-Bone Fruit, possessing the ability to control bones, and was known as the 'Skeleton King'!
A hundred and twenty years ago, this 'Skeleton King' Hyster Homans held a position among pirates that was no less than that of the current Yonko. His pirate flag was a perfectly regular human skull wearing a crown.
Unfortunately, this 'Skeleton King' decided to attack the World Government's Holy Land, Mariejois. He launched the attack with great fanfare, leading a massive pirate fleet of no fewer than three hundred pirate ships, planning to first capture the Navy's G-1 Fortress at the entrance to the New World as a foothold, and then strike straight through, invading Mariejois.
Skeleton King Homans' operation gathered many powerful pirate crews.
Faced with such a critical situation, the World Government mobilized all the combined strength of the Navy, garrisoning the G-1 Fortress with heavy troops, ready for a fierce confrontation.
The battle that followed was incredibly tragic. The participating personnel from the Navy and the World Government suffered over fifty percent casualties. Among those who died instantly were one Navy Admiral, three Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals, and five Branch Vice Admirals; the rest were all wounded.
The result was that the Homans pirate grand fleet was completely crushed. Over seventy pirate ships sank into the sea, and 'Skeleton King' Hyster Homans himself suffered severe injuries and fled.
During this battle, Homans sustained hidden injuries that were difficult to recover from, greatly diminishing his strength. After this clash, the Homans Pirates were severely weakened and were constantly besieged by the Navy and challenged by other pirates.
Later, World Government agents infiltrated the Homans Pirates, leading to a sudden rebellion one night.
The enormous pirate crew instantly collapsed. When the rebellious pirates, eager to claim Skeleton King Homans' treasure, broke into the palace where Homans resided, they were shocked to find that the legendary figure had vanished.
The rebellious pirates and the secretly hidden World Government agents searched the entire palace but couldn't find any rooms or basements filled with treasure. They only found a piece of parchment in a secret room off Homans' study, covered with various lines and text.
The pirates speculated that Homans had already moved his treasure. This treasure consisted of countless gold and silver jewels, as well as famous swords, famous blades, and even Devil Fruits, which the Homans Pirates had collected over decades. The contents of that parchment were believed to be the location of Homans' treasure.
Once this speculation spread, it immediately sparked bloody chaos. Countless pirates fiercely fought over the treasure map, and even the hidden World Government agents exposed their identities in the struggle.
In the end, the treasure map was torn into five pieces, seized by five individuals. After changing hands repeatedly, it eventually faded completely into a mere sea legend.