Chapter 183

A powerful aura surged from him, crushing down on the shoulders of everyone on the ship, making their already pale faces turn even whiter, while cracks spread across the hull, as if it were about to break apart.

Amid the pale faces of Kuyna and the others, Jin's aura continued to rise, and his body underwent a massive transformation, shifting from human form into a toothless pterosaur ten meters long, with wings spanning nearly thirty meters, its entire body engulfed in roaring flames, as if it had come straight from hell.

He hovered above the floating ship with wings spread, the surrounding air thickening and scorching hot.

"Jin's going all out now—this ship is finished."

Krieger, who had seen this through his telescope from below, spoke up.

"Please don't let Nico Robin die, or I won't be able to face Mom."

Jin, now in the form of the toothless pterosaur, spread his wings, circled once through the sky wrapped in flames, then, before the horrified eyes of Robin, Bonney, Konis, and the others, dove straight down toward the floating ship.

"W-what do we do?!"

Bonney cried out in panic, "Has the captain not returned yet?!"

Robin could not answer her.

What she was thinking in her heart was the same image—the figure of that person.

As long as that person was there, just gazing at his back gave them boundless peace; no matter what crisis they faced, they felt they could face it and overcome it.

But… that back was not here now.

"We have to fight with everything we've got!"

Konis, pale-faced, staggered to her feet; her beautiful golden hair turned black in an instant. She raised her left hand, gripped her left wrist with her right, and countless streams of black steel, like flowing mercury, gathered from within and without the ship, from all directions, converging before her left hand. The steel reformed and shifted, finally becoming a colossal iron spear, its tip aimed straight at the descending Jin.

"Huuuh…"

Kuyna also drew a deep breath, placing one hand on the hilt of her sheathed Wado Ichimonji, gathering power in her feet, golden lightning crackling around her body.

The toothless pterosaur that was Jin stared at them, his eyes cold and merciless, and spoke in a human voice:

"Foolish."

He made no attempt to dodge, instead charging straight toward the colossal iron spear and the impending slash, moving even faster as he plunged toward the floating ship below.

"Thunder Flash!"

"Iron Colossal Spear!"

Konis and Kuyna unleashed their strongest attacks simultaneously.

The next instant.

The toothless pterosaur, wreathed in flames, smashed through Kuyna and Konis's strongest attacks with unstoppable force, and continued hurtling toward the floating ship, as they watched in despair.

Kuyna stared at Jin hurtling toward them, gritted her silver teeth, her eyes filled with unwillingness.

"Is it… already over?"

"We couldn't protect this ship after all."

"Why am I so weak…?"

Robin closed her eyes, a faint smile touching her lips.

"What an unforgettable journey—even if it ends now, I have no regrets."

"It's just… I wish I could see that person one more time."

"There are so many things I still haven't said to him… I don't want it to end like this…"

Konis, utterly drained of strength, was swept away like a willow fluff by the powerful wind pressure of Jin's downward plunge.

"Konis!"

Bonney lunged forward desperately and grabbed her hand just before she was blown off the ship and into the abyss below.

She lay weeping on the deck's edge, clutching Konis, whose body hung over the ship's side, while above them, Jin fell like a meteor, the immense wind pressure pinning her flat against the deck.

They were at the brink of annihilation.

At that very moment!

Far on the horizon, a streak of black light flashed—and vanished.

The cloud sea ten thousand meters above was split cleanly in two.

Before the horrified eyes of Krieger and those on the ship,

a black slash hundreds of miles long descended from the horizon, radiating an aura as if it would cleave sky and sea in half, striking directly onto the toothless pterosaur that was Jin, and at the very instant before he could smash the floating ship, veered him sideways, hurling him from ten thousand meters up toward the ocean!

Before Kuyna, Robin, Bonney, and the others could recover from their despair, a furious, murderous roar echoed from the distant horizon:

"Jin!"

"You're dead!!"

162, Furious Luo En, Beating the Flame Disaster!

As the toothless pterosaur that was Jin was being shoved by the slash, moments before impact with the sea, he twisted his body violently, ignoring the agony of his skin being torn away by the razor-sharp cut, and forcibly broke free from the slash.

The hundreds-of-miles-long black slash plunged diagonally into the ocean.

A massive crack, hundreds of miles long and a hundred meters deep, instantly appeared on the sea surface.

Krieger stared at the enormous fissure ahead on the sea, his eyes bulging.

"No… no way?!"

Massive waves swept their ship toward the narrow, canyon-like fissure; everyone aboard turned pale with terror.

"Quick, quick, escape!"

"Don't fall in! If you fall in, you're done!"

Jin, shaken, spread his wings and hovered in midair, gazing toward the horizon, his expression grim.

"Could it be…?!"

From within the cloud sea split by the slash, a black dot shot toward them at incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, arrived above the Traveler's号, which was already nearly sixty percent destroyed.

"Captain!"

Bonney, tear-streaked and lying on the deck, gazed at the black-clad boy holding a black blade, and finally cried out that name.

Her voice was thick with sobs.

Kuina—Luo Bin saw that he too had finally lost control of his emotions, tears bursting from his eyes.

Eyes closed, black blade in hand, standing on the shattered deck, Luo En's expression had never been so dark; fury was swelling, killing intent was boiling over.

"I'm back, it's all right now. Leave everything to me from here. You all rest first."

After Luo En tossed out those words, his figure flashed and vanished on the spot.

And Kuina and the others instantly felt at ease.

Luo Bin came to Bonney's side and hauled the unconscious Conis up.

Kuina also dropped straight down onto her backside, gasping for air—she didn't have a shred of strength left.

……

In the sky, dark clouds hung low.

The sea churned, monstrous waves surging skyward.

Heaven and earth sank into gloom.

The ship Cracker was aboard tumbled and tossed like a single leaf amid it all.

In the sharply contracting pupils of King, who had transformed into a toothless wyvern—

A black-clad youth gripping a black blade descended step by step from the sky, expressionless, black hair streaming, his whole body radiating a terrifying murderous aura that had nearly solidified into substance, as if blood-red rivers of baleful qi coiled around him.

The youth's ice-cold, merciless voice rang out across the sea.

"Kaido sent you?"

"Besides Lord Kaido, is there anyone else on this sea who can command me?"

King stared at him and said.

His full aura burst forth as well, the flames on his body surging ever fiercer.

Luo En, eyes still closed, nodded. "I see. Looks like I'll have to make a trip to Wano Country after this."

His figure flashed and he vanished from the air in an instant.

King stared at Luo En, who had suddenly appeared right before him—his pupils contracted sharply!

So fast!

Before he could even defend, Luo En, his whole body radiating blood-red steam, had already kicked out; the air was blasted apart on contact.

That kick slammed heavily into the massive body of King, who had become a toothless wyvern.

His skin—hard as iron and hardened with Armament Haki—caved in directly. Terrifying force and Haki exploded inside King's body, snapping the bones beneath his skin in an instant. His enormous body tilted like a cannonball and smashed into the sea, skipping across the surface, flying out over a dozen miles in the blink of an eye.

Luo En's figure flashed again, appearing on the stretch of sea where King was about to crash down, and kicked upward once more.

"Don't get cocky!"