Chapter 6: The Celestial Dragon’s Severed Arm

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“Trust me, Uncle Gatt! Fire the cannons first—force its entire body above the surface. It’s been thrashing up and down like this; I can’t aim properly.”
Shano sensed Gatt’s hesitation and added in a low voice.
Ignoring the response, Shano turned his gaze back to the sea, fixing his eyes on the sea king’s heavily scarred abdomen.
Just a few minutes earlier,
Upon realizing what this creature, resembling the nearshore king, was doing, a bold idea surfaced in his mind.
The reason for its madness was ultimately unbearable pain in its belly. What if they could remove the source of that pain?
Sea kings were intelligent beings, possessing considerable intellect.
Helping it in such a great way might not earn him rewards, but at least they wouldn’t be treated as mere prey anymore, right?
With his current strength, defeating this sea king head-on was pure fantasy. Avoiding becoming its meal left only this one path.
No matter the odds of success, when facing life and death, how could he not try?
“...Alright, we’ll do it your way.” Gatt sheathed his saber and finally made his decision.
“Captain...” an experienced sailor hesitated to speak.
“Enough! Do we have any other options?”
Gatt cut him off decisively and then became resolute. “Right-side gunners, load the cannons immediately! Await my command!”
“Ready?” He looked at Shano.
“Yeah.”
The youth’s eyes remained fixed on the sea, nodding slightly.
“Good.” Gatt took a deep breath, suddenly waved his hand, and gave the order, “Aim at the sea king’s belly. Three, two, one, fire!”
Boom!!!
Eight cannons on the starboard side roared in unison, the orange-red flames from their muzzles illuminating the tensed muscles of Shano’s legs.
His pupils reflected the trajectory of the shells tearing through the night sky. After a brief silence, the sea king’s abdomen exploded in a fiery blast.
A piercing roar shook the entire sea. The shadow beneath the surface churned violently, making everyone’s hearts nearly stop.
In the next moment, its iron-gray scaled body surged out of the waves. Its ferocious head whipped up towering waves. As it bent down, its snake-like vertical pupils glared menacingly at the sailors on the deck.
Now!
Shano tensed every muscle, pushing off the deck with the arch of his foot. Using the momentum, he leapt over the railing. At that instant, the sea king’s abdomen, curled in pain, formed a sloping fold.
Snap!

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The youth’s foot landed firmly on that fold. His right fist, already charged with all his strength, struck rapidly from below upwards at the bulging spot!
Huh?
The sea king was stunned, unable to lower its head to see what had happened. Its throat membranes trembled violently, and it retched, spitting out some dark green viscous fluid that trailed like a web in the air.
At the same time,
Shano’s left fist followed the esophageal fold deeply, the shock from his strikes causing the throat scales to burst open like pine cones. Through a layer of abdominal skin, the foreign object shifted upward several meters.
The effect was excellent!
A flicker of joy flashed in Shano’s eyes, quickly replaced by fierce determination. One last punch remained!
Using the waist and abdomen’s rotational force, he delivered a final hook punch. Years of practicing spinning power techniques in the orange groves honed this strike, sending a shockwave through the intestines straight to the brain!
“Ugh—!!!”
The overwhelming nausea peaked. Large clumps of mucus mixed with mud and seaweed were expelled, dropping with a plop onto the deck. Some splattered, corroding the wood and emitting blue smoke almost instantly.
The rest poured down onto the sea surface like a torrential rain.
Thrown aside by the sea king’s violent thrashing, Shano immediately swam desperately toward it. After some frantic searching, his gaze suddenly fixed on something.
Floating there was an arm.
A human arm.
Just as he thought!
Shano grabbed the severed limb, eyes shining with delight.
His guess was right!
This sea king was indeed the nearshore king.
And this severed arm was the culprit causing it unbearable pain—the very thing it had been desperately trying to dislodge by pressing and scraping its belly!
How long had it been there?
Shano didn’t know. He only knew that on that day, the bandit king Sig, who had slain fifty-six of the Four Emperors, had succumbed to the corrosive stomach acid and bile of the nearshore king, long since turned to waste.
Only this arm remained undigested and couldn’t be vomited out by the creature itself, stuck stubbornly inside the stomach.
Looking up, he confirmed that his position was shielded by the hull; no one on the upper deck could see him. Without hesitation, he activated the sacrifice.
In an instant, the severed arm vanished into thin air, and the system chimed the success of the sacrifice.
[Offering: Shanks’ Severed Arm]
[Quality: Legendary]
[Value: 10,000 points]

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[Appraisal: The severed arm of Shanks Saint, son of the Supreme Commander of the Divine Knights and a Celestial Dragon, swallowed by the nearshore king while saving Straw Hat Luffy. This event caused a drastic shift in the world line. Although the future Sea Emperor discarded this arm in the East Blue, he firmly believed it was a gamble on the new era.]
Legendary quality!
Ten thousand points!
Shano’s eyes widened, confirming the four zeros. An uncontrollable surge of joy flooded his heart all at once.
Under the ink-black night, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Before acting, he had worried whether he would succeed, feared being swallowed by the nearshore king before even reaching it, and even doubted whether this item could be sacrificed when he found the arm.
Now that the sacrifice was successful and he had gained an unprecedented huge number of points,
All his doubts and fears vanished like smoke, leaving him feeling utterly exhilarated, as if he were not adrift on the sea but wandering among the clouds.
“Hey! Are you okay, Shano?”
Gatt’s urgent shout from above snapped him back to reality. Seeing no sign of the youth, he grew anxious.
“I’m fine, Uncle! Please lower the rope ladder!”
He called out with a smile.
As the rope ladder was lowered along the hull and Shano climbed halfway up, he suddenly felt a huge wave surge behind him, the strong salty scent flooding his nose.
“Hissss—!!!”
It was the nearshore king’s voice, dangerously close.
From this new hiss—so different from before—Shano sensed relief and joy. He looked up and locked eyes with the nearshore king’s crimson pupils.
“Well, big guy!”
Shano grinned boldly, showing no fear. “How’s the digestive surgery I gave you? Not too bad, huh?”
The nearshore king squinted at Shano, drool dripping between its sharp teeth, silent for a long moment.
Gatt and the others watching above held their breath in tension.
After more than ten seconds,
The nearshore king suddenly extended its tongue and gently licked Shano’s back. Then it raised its head and let out a roar that tore through the night.
Finally, it flipped backward with a splash, disappearing silently beneath the waves.