"Just trust me on this, Uncle Galt! Fire the cannons first! Force that thing's body completely out of the water—it's thrashing around so much I can't even aim properly!"
Shano noticed Galt's hesitation and added firmly, voice low and steady.
Without waiting for a reply, Shano turned his head back toward the sea king's scarred and battered belly.
It all started a few minutes ago.
When he realized what this creature—so much like the Lord of the Coast—was doing, a bold idea popped into his mind.
The reason this sea king was thrashing in madness… ultimately, it was the pain in its stomach. So—what if he could remove the source of that pain?
Sea kings were intelligent beings. Highly intelligent, in fact.
Doing such a huge favor—not that he expected anything in return—but at least it might stop treating them like food on a plate, right?
With his current strength, there was no way he could defeat a sea king head-on. If he didn't want to end up as fish food, this was the only shot he had.
No matter how slim the chance… when your life's on the line, how could you not take it?
"...Fine. We'll do it your way."
Galt sheathed his blade, finally making the call.
"Captain..." One of the veteran sailors tried to speak up.
"Enough! What other choice do we have?!"
Galt cut him off sharply. Now that the decision was made, he acted with decisive resolve. "Right battery, load the cannons immediately—await my signal!"
"You ready?" he looked to Shano.
"Yeah."
The boy's eyes never left the water, and he gave a small nod.
"Alright."
Galt took a deep breath, then swung his hand down.
"Aim for the sea king's belly—three, two, one—light it up! Fire!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Eight cannons thundered from the starboard side, their orange-red flames lighting up the taut muscles of Shano's legs.
His pupils mirrored the arcs of the cannonballs ripping through the night sky.
Then, just a heartbeat of silence—before a blaze exploded across the sea king's belly.
ROAAAAAR!!
A chilling, piercing howl shook the whole sea. The water below churned wildly as shadows flailed beneath the surface—every sailor's heart froze in their chest.
And then it burst from the waves.
Steel-gray scales split the sea as a monstrous head erupted skyward, flinging towering waves. It loomed low over the deck, those vertical pupils like vipers locking onto the crew.
Now!
Shano's whole body tensed. He pushed off the deck with explosive force, leaping over the railing. In that moment, the sea king's pain had caused its stomach muscles to bunch into a slope-like fold.
Smack!
He landed firmly on the fold, right foot braced. Then—his fully-charged right fist drove upward, targeting a bulge below the surface!
Huh?
The sea king was stunned, unable to look down in time. A gurgle burst from its throat—followed by a spray of greenish-black mucus, shooting through the air like a web.
At the same time—
Shano's left fist plunged in along the fold of the esophagus. The shock of the blow made the monster's throat scales explode outward like pinecones. The object trapped beneath its stomach lining shifted upward several meters!
It's working!
A glint of excitement flashed through Shano's eyes—then turned fierce. One more punch to go!
Twisting his waist, he threw a brutal uppercut. The spiraling technique he'd honed in the orange groves day and night channeled the force up through the sea king's insides—straight to its brain!
"BLAAARGH—!!"
The violent urge to vomit finally hit the tipping point. Gobs of mucus mixed with seaweed and sludge sprayed out in waves.
Splat! Splat!
Some of it landed on the deck—and instantly burned through the wood with a hiss, rising smoke in its wake.
The rest poured like a thunderstorm into the sea.
Shano, flung away by the sea king's flailing, swam frantically toward the mess. He dug through the muck—and then suddenly froze, eyes locking on something.
Floating there—
Was an arm.
A human arm.
Just as I thought!
Shano snatched it up, eyes blazing with joy.
He had been right!
This sea king—was the Lord of the Coast!
And this severed arm was what had caused it all that pain. The very thing it'd been trying to squeeze out by smashing and thrashing!
How long had it been?
Shano didn't know. He only knew that even Sig, the Mountain Bandit King who'd killed 56 of the Four Emperors' men, had been melted away by the sea king's stomach acids.
Only this arm—this single arm—refused to be digested. The creature couldn't pass it, couldn't vomit it out—it had been stuck there the whole time.
Shano glanced up to make sure the ship's deck was blocking the view from above—no one could see him now.
Without hesitation, he activated Sacrifice.
In a flash, the arm vanished from his hand—and the system chimed in:
[Sacrifice Item: Shanks' Severed Arm]
[Rarity: Legendary]
[Value: 10,000 Points]
[Appraisal: The arm of Shanks the Saint, Celestial Dragon and Supreme Commander of the God Knights. Devoured by the Lord of the Coast while saving Straw Hat Luffy. The worldline shifted dramatically from that moment on. Though this arm was lost in the East Blue, the future Pirate King believed it was a bet on the new era.]
Legendary tier!
Ten thousand points!!
Shano's eyes widened—he counted the zeros twice.
One. Two. Three. Four.
He didn't miscount.
A wave of uncontainable ecstasy crashed over him.
Before the strike, he'd been scared—terrified, even. Worried he'd be eaten before he could do anything.
Even when he found the arm, he'd feared it wouldn't work for sacrifice.
But now—it had worked.
The biggest haul of points he'd ever seen was his.
All the fear, the doubt—it vanished.
Shano felt more alive than ever—like he wasn't floating on the ocean, but flying through the clouds.
"Hey! You alright, Shano?!"
Galt's urgent voice called from above, snapping him back to reality. The man was getting worried—Shano hadn't resurfaced.
"I'm fine, Uncle! Mind lowering the rope ladder?"
He laughed as he shouted back.
As the ladder dropped and he began climbing up—
A sudden surge of water roared behind him, bringing with it the heavy stench of salt and blood.
"HSSHHHAA—!!"
The Lord of the Coast.
It was right behind him.
But Shano heard something in that cry—something different this time. Not anger. Not pain.
Relief. Joy.
He looked up—and locked eyes with the beast's blood-red pupils.
"How's that, big guy?"
Shano grinned, no trace of fear on his face.
"That digestive tract surgery I gave you—worked out pretty well, huh?"
The sea king narrowed its eyes at him, drool dripping between its fangs—then stilled.
Galt and the crew above held their breath, hearts clenching at the tense sight.
Ten full seconds passed.
Then, the sea king slowly stuck out its tongue—and gently licked Shano's back.
It threw back its head and let out a roar so loud it ripped through the night sky—
And with a great splash, it flipped backward, diving into the sea—disappearing without a trace.