On the other side, Sasuke faced the giant fish-man Sebastian, while Konohamaru confronted Gairam.
"Fish-Man Karate: Great Arrow Military Shark!"
Under Sebastian's control, the water flow gained power surpassing cannonballs, forming a triangular formation to surround Sasuke's potential escape routes.
However, he had underestimated the young-looking guy before him… though that was understandable, since he couldn't see anything after all.
Facing the incoming water attacks, Sasuke didn't even bother to move. A mass of blue-green flames transformed into a coiling serpent, directly swallowing the water spheres whole.
"This feeling... Fire?"
"You... you intend to use fire against water?"
Sebastian seemed somewhat puzzled by Sasuke's actions, but Sasuke only replied indifferently,
"Never seen flames that can burn even the ocean?"
"...Nothing but big talk."
Sebastian remained defiant verbally, but his Observation Haki clearly perceived that the high-density water he had thrown was indeed being completely incinerated by those strange flames.
'If that's the case-'
His feet abruptly exerted force, and Sebastian appeared in front of Sasuke as if teleporting, throwing a powerful punch straight at him.
As a hybrid of fish-man and giant, Sebastian inherited the advantages of both races.
His arm strength surpassed that of fish-men, while his lifespan was as long as a giant's.
His companions were all advanced in age, yet Sebastian was still in his prime. His physical abilities hadn't declined, in fact, they had improved through years of rigorous training.
However, the speed he considered quite fast was as slow as a crawling turtle in Sasuke's eyes.
Without even activating his Sharingan, Sasuke's gaze had already scanned various vital points on Sebastian's body in the brief moment of contact.
Throat, heart, armpit, lower abdomen... If he wished, Sebastian would already be a dead fish.
After all, compared to Redfield, Sebastian's speed was child's play.
Slightly tilting his head to dodge the punch, Sasuke turned his body and delivered a kick to Sebastian's abdomen.
Before the fish-man could say anything, the terrifying force instantly transmitted as a shockwave to his internal organs.
"Ugh..."
Sebastian instantly fell to his knees, clutching his throat as if he needed to vomit something.
Naruto, watching the battle from the deck in the distance, clicked his tongue.
Sasuke really was a genius.
He had completely mastered the Hasshoken. Perhaps only an old-timer like Chinjao could rival him in the principles of Hasshoken now.
If they dropped Sasuke in Kano Country now, he could easily become the 'leader' of the Happo Navy.
"Should I teach him something else?"
Naruto counted on his fingers, listing the combat techniques he mastered, then looked towards Byrnndi World, who had stood up at some point.
"What? Going to stop them?"
However, Byrnndi World remained silent, just watching quietly as his companions fought desperately to 'retrieve' him.
Seeing this, Naruto said no more and continued counting on his fingers.
Elsewhere-
"Cubooster!"
Gairam simply tapped the ground casually with his square hammer, and the ground automatically cracked into block-like pieces, then shot forward at high speed.
But Konohamaru hadn't been idle during his time with Bullet.
"Try this!"
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
He threw a handful of shuriken, each coated with Armament Haki. Then, as he formed hand seals, the shuriken doubled, then quadrupled in mid-air, quickly becoming a dense swarm.
Gairam's cubes exploded upon contact with the shuriken, being split directly down the middle.
Some of the shuriken lost momentum and fell to the ground, while others simply dissipated into puffs of smoke.
"Not bad, kid. How about this?"
"Air Cube!"
Gairam held his hands apart as if embracing something, then the invisible air was rapidly compressed by the Kyubu Kyubu no Mi into a transparent cube visible to the naked eye. (T/N: Cube-Cube Fruit.)
He hurled this transparent cube straight at Konohamaru.
Faced with an attack of this speed, Konohamaru could easily dodge it.
But before he could move, the cube exploded just before reaching him.
The massive shockwave of air instantly hit Konohamaru, sending him flying.
"How about that! Seen my power now!"
Gairam leaned on his hammer triumphantly, laughing heartily.
"Idiot! Watch your back!"
Byojack, positioned high up, saw the full picture of the battlefield and immediately shouted a warning.
But his body was too weak, and just shouting once seemed to drain all his strength.
Bang-
The knocked-back Konohamaru turned into a puff of smoke, dissipating in mid-air.
Seeing this, Gairam also reacted, reaching behind him.
Sure enough, another Konohamaru had appeared behind him.
"Useless, kid!"
The moment his hand touched the body, that Konohamaru turned into a 'human-shaped cube' under everyone's gaze.
But before Gairam could say more, a square block of earth nearby suddenly turned into smoke, and another Konohamaru emerged from it.
Shadow clones… the key usage of this ability was to confuse and mislead, not to win through sheer numbers.
Admittedly, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique could achieve that, but the consumption was significant.
Except for an outlier like Naruto, others using it would only shorten their own combat duration.
If it could guarantee a one-hit kill, it might be worth a try… otherwise, it was best not to use it lightly.
This was the tactical thinking Bullet had taught Konohamaru.
"Bullet Punch!"
Haki condensed, covering his arms and legs.
Konohamaru's speed increased abruptly, and his fist slammed heavily towards Gairam.
At the last moment, Gairam only had time to block with his hammer.
But faced with Konohamaru's fist, cracks quickly appeared on the metal hammer.
Crack-
The hammerhead shattered. Konohamaru's fist, its momentum unchecked, struck Gairam directly, sending him flying.
After landing, Konohamaru's elbow was already swollen and bent abnormally.
Bullet Punch was another attack method Bullet had taught him.
It was a combat style that abandoned defense, pouring Haki entirely into the attack, aiming for a single decisive blow.
Of course, for Konohamaru, who had learned Medical Ninjutsu, this was less critical.
As green light glowed on Konohamaru's palm, his arm began to heal at an extremely fast rate.
"Still not going to intervene? Your crewmates don't seem willing to give up."
Under Byrnndi World's silent gaze, the three who had been defeated actually stood up again.
Nightin, before being fully bewitched by the Garuda's illusory sound, had swallowed a specially prepared, extremely bitter medicine, using the bitterness to withstand the mental attack.
Gairam, meanwhile, manipulated tiny cubes to lift himself up. Although his hammer was destroyed in the previous fight, he could still use his ability through touch.
As for Sebastian… he simply tanked it, no technique was involved.
With the dual buffs of fish-man and giant, this guy's physical resilience was frighteningly strong.
"There's no need to keep fighting. Your captain is unwilling to leave with you on his own."
Feeling somewhat guilty about beating up elderly people, Karin spoke with some reluctance.
"It will be the same no matter how many times you try."
In contrast, Sasuke's words were much colder.
"Who cares what you say! We're taking our captain today!"
Listening to Sebastian's roar, Naruto shrugged helplessly at Byrnndi World.
"See? Why does it feel like we're the villains here? They were the ones who started attacking immediately."
However, Byrnndi World didn't respond, his thoughts drifting constantly to the past.