Crack!
In the sky, Qilingom's head exploded once more.
A sinister black mist gushed forth, and in the next instant, his flesh and blood regenerated anew.
"Gah!"
Qilingom grimaced in pain. Though this bodily resurrection was a God-given power that cost him no stamina, the excruciating agony in that split second was undeniably real.
At first, it hadn't mattered. With Haki and the robust physique granted by his Mythical Zoan, he could withstand most of it. But as the repetitions piled up, the pain became increasingly impossible to ignore.
And it was at this moment.
He heard Kuma's voice with crystal clarity:
"791."
Qilingom froze, instinctively looking up. "What?"
Boom!
His head burst apart again.
As the black mist churned, a new head rapidly regenerated. Staggering backward, Qilingom clutched his skull, a flicker of fear finally flashing in his eyes. "You madman! Madman! What the hell are you counting?!"
"792."
Kuma's voice was low. "Eight hundred in total. Eight remain. That's the number of days Ginny was tortured by you Celestial Dragons. Every day, every night—I remember all the suffering vividly."
"Today, I'll return every bit of it to you on Ginny's behalf."
"793."
Another devastating punch landed, and Qilingom's entire torso was blasted apart by the Shockwave. As the black mist spewed forth, he collapsed to his knees in agony.
"794... 795... 796..."
With each number uttered, Kuma unleashed another Shockwave, his attacks growing faster, the intervals between them shorter.
Qilingom's body repeatedly shattered and reformed, his piercing screams echoing across the battlefield.
"Stop this at once, you lowborn scum!"
Gunko raced to the rescue atop her arrows, shouting, "If you want a fight, then fight properly! What's this about Ginny or torture or death? I've never even heard of it! What does any of that have to do with us?!"
Kuma turned his head to look at her.
"Why are you glaring at me?"
Gunko frowned, utterly baffled. "Did I say something wrong?"
Kuma remained silent.
His face was calm. His eyes were calm. Yet for some reason, Gunko felt a chill shoot up her spine and explode at the crown of her head.
In the next instant, Kuma vanished from her sight.
Danger!
Gunko's pupils contracted. With a forceful swing of her right arm, the arrows coiled around it like bandages detached and shot backward in rapid succession.
But it was already too late.
Whoosh!
The sound of tearing wind came from behind. In a flash, a massive hand clamped onto the top of her skull.
"797."
A cold voice whispered in her ear.
Crack!
Gunko's head exploded instantly, black mist gushing forth. Before her body could fully regenerate, Kuma's other hand had already gathered a terrifying Shockwave, which he mercilessly slammed into her chest!
"798."
BOOM!!!
Gunko's upper body disintegrated, the black mist roiling wildly. But Kuma's assault didn't stop there.
"799."
Another Shockwave reduced her lower half to nothingness.
"800."
As the black mist began forming a new body, Kuma's fist descended once more!
Each count was accompanied by a devastating Shockwave. Gunko's body repeatedly exploded and reassembled, her screams growing hoarse until they dissolved into broken, whimpering sobs.
"Madman! You're completely insane!!"
Qilingom's eyes bulged as he trembled and roared at the scene, "You lowly scum, how long do you intend to torture her?!"
Despite his furious shouts, he remained rooted in place, making no move to approach.
"Eight hundred means eight hundred."
Kuma spread his hands, allowing Gunko—who had just regenerated—to collapse weakly downward as he spoke in a low voice, "This ends now."
Hum!
Two massive transparent Bear Paws suddenly materialized in midair and slammed downward, pinning both opponents face-first into the ground, utterly immobilized in the crater.
Under normal circumstances, as members of the God Riders, they might have broken free relatively quickly.
But after this prolonged battle—or rather, prolonged beating—their stamina was nearly depleted. Coupled with their bodies repeatedly exploding and the waves of excruciating pain radiating through every inch of their flesh...
At this moment.
Even maintaining consciousness through basic breathing had become a struggle, leaving no strength for resistance.
"It's over."
Kuma slowly retracted his palms, calmly observing the two trapped figures:
"Your Undying Bodies are indeed troublesome, but not unsolvable. Once you're completely subdued, the Captain will handle the rest after finishing his battle."
"You... you filthy commoner!"
Gunko lifted her head with difficulty, eyes brimming with venom:
"Don't think this counts as victory! Saint Shamrock's power is beyond anything you lowlifes can imagine! Just wait—once he's free, you'll all die!"
"?"
Kuma tilted his head slightly, giving her a puzzled look.
Then, as if sensing something, he suddenly looked up.
BOOM!!!
With an earth-shaking explosion, a figure came hurtling backward like a meteor, crashing violently beside the two prisoners and kicking up a cloud of dust.
As the dust settled, the battered form of Saint Shamrock was revealed.
Drenched in blood, his robes in tatters, his signature red hair disheveled, his chest still dissipating black mist from recent regeneration—he clutched his ribs while coughing violently, a far cry from his usual domineering arrogance.
"N-no... impossible!"
Gunko and Qilingom's eyes widened simultaneously, faces frozen in disbelief.
Saint Shamrock—second only to Commander Garin among the God Riders! How could this...?
"Nothing's impossible."
Xiano's figure descended from the sky, landing lightly beside Kuma.
Having fought Shamrock this long, he could now definitively assess the man's strength.
—Inferior to Sengoku.
Frankly, without that Cerberus of his, he barely ranked alongside Zephyr at the very bottom of Admiral/Yonko tier.
Even among legends, gaps exist.
As someone who'd fought Kaido—the so-called "Strongest Creature"—to a five-day standstill in pure melee combat, what did this spoiled greenhouse flower have to compare?
If not for Imu's gift of an Undying Body granting endless regeneration, he'd have snapped this pampered brat in half long ago!
"These two..."
Xiano glanced at the two battered God Riders, then at the silent Kuma, instantly understanding everything.
He said nothing, simply reaching out to pat Kuma on the back.
Kuma remained still, pressing his lips together, equally silent.
Some things needed no words.
Xiano then turned his gaze to Jack.
The man was still frozen in place, mouth agape, staring dumbly at Kuma. Xiano frowned. "What's wrong with you?"
Jack jolted back to reality.
"I'm fine, boss," Jack swallowed hard. "It's just... I've never seen Brother Kuma like this before. Kinda scared me..."
Eight hundred times.
He'd obliterated those two God Riders eight hundred times in total.
Eight. Hundred. Times.
How brutal. How savage!
On the ship, Kuma was always the gentle, fatherly figure—polite and restrained even during sparring, always stopping at the right moment.
After a few matches, Jack had mostly ended in draws, even winning once.
It had made him a little smug, thinking he'd improved enough to no longer be the weakest among the three top officers.
Now, he was thoroughly humbled.
As for the last of the three officers...
Jack instinctively turned his head northeast.
The battle between Kizaru and Big Sis Kuina was still raging.
The situation wasn't good.
Even though Kizaru didn't seem to be going all out like last time, Kuina was still completely overwhelmed.
As time passed, her position grew increasingly desperate—barely able to defend, let alone counterattack.
But that alone was incredible, wasn't it?
For Big Sis Kuina to hold off a Navy Admiral one-on-one for this long—that was the strength of the Curtain Closer's vice-captain!
How many of the other Sea Emperors' top officers could claim the same?
———
Northeast corner of the battlefield.
"How terrifying~"
Kizaru leisurely dodged Kuina's slashes, his tone exaggerated.
"Not even twenty, yet your swordsmanship has already reached this level? No wonder Gion spoke so highly of you after last time. Give you a few more years, and even an old man like me might get a headache~"
Kuina didn't respond—she couldn't.
Gritting her teeth, sweat beading on her forehead, she swung Wado Ichimonji relentlessly, unleashing sharp arcs of Sword Aura, all effortlessly evaded by Kizaru.
"But~"
Kizaru finally grew impatient, tilting his head at Kuina.
"We've fought long enough, don't you think?"
Before the words fully left his mouth, his figure vanished.
Kuina's pupils shrank—instinctively, she raised her sword to block.
CLANG!
A deafening metallic screech echoed as Kizaru's Light Speed Kick slammed into Wado Ichimonji. The overwhelming force blasted Kuina back over a hundred meters!
"Cough—!"
Blood sprayed from her mouth as she staggered, barely stopping herself from collapsing by driving her sword into the ground.
"Seems that kick wasn't strong enough, old man!"
Gasping for air, she glared up at Kizaru. Though her hands trembled, her lips curled into a grin, eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
"If that's all you've got, breaking through me is still a long way off!"
"At a time like this, you shouldn't imitate your Captain by saying such provocative words. What, do you intend to continue?"
Kizaru strolled forward leisurely with his hands in his pockets:
"This old man kindly suggests you'd better give up voluntarily, after all..."
His voice suddenly trailed off, his steps froze in place, and a drop of cold sweat trickled down his temple.
"After all what?"
A cold voice came from behind at that exact moment, "Go on, Borsalino."
(End of Chapter)