Gunshots echoed in the air...
The Shendu lightly slapped Blackbeard's face, akin to a lover's caress. However, the frigid touch of his claws sent a shiver through Blackbeard's heart.
Against Whitebeard, one could muster the courage to confront the challenge. Yet, facing these two monstrous entities, Blackbeard found himself paralyzed by fear—terrifying, cold, and malevolent. The auras emanating from Shendu and his progeny seemed demonic, as if intent on dragging the world into an unending abyss.
Shendu spoke calmly: "It seems you have forgotten who I am."
Blackbeard nodded, bewildered. They had never met before! Was there a case of mistaken identity?
In the next moment, the fierce monster transformed into an ordinary middle-aged man, the kind whose face fades from memory once seen. But Blackbeard was different. Upon recognizing the familiar face, his pupils contracted, and his body involuntarily slumped to the ground.
In an instant, the events of that fateful day flashed through Blackbeard's mind like fragmented memories. This monster was that man!
"Yeah...sorry."
"The person who kicked you is dead. He doesn't concern himself with my affairs. Please, let me go..."
Trembling, Blackbeard retreated, attempting to distance himself from the two monsters.
Simultaneously, Blackbeard sent silent apologies to Burgesss' family. Why did someone kick another when they were peacefully seated?
"It's too late."
"If you hadn't caused trouble for Boss first, none of this would have happened."
Shendu reverted to his original form, scarlet eyes flashing with unbridled murderous intent.
However, the ordeal was far from over.
Just as Blackbeard was on the verge of taking action, Drago positioned itself in front of him.
"Father, can you spare him?" pleaded Drago. "He seems so pitiful..."
Confounding Blackbeard and Shendu, the dragon extended a paw and slapped itself on the face. Apparently, the Heart Softening Spray was still within its expiration date, implying that anyone, no matter how pretentiously pitiful, could invoke sympathy from Drago.
Reacting swiftly, Blackbeard clung to the dragon's thigh, weeping profusely. "Let me go. Whatever you want me to do, as long as you grant me a chance to live, I'll agree..."
Drago, moved by Blackbeard's desperation, was about to intercede on his behalf.
However, fate had other plans.
Shendu swatted Drago aside and approached Blackbeard. Scarlet eyes blazed with intensity.
In the next moment, a powerful gravitational force pulled Shendu, slamming him against a massive tree.
Boom!
Shendu slumped to the ground. After a moment's contemplation, he burst into tears. "Silly son, I merely sought revenge. Can't you even grant me that satisfaction as a father?"
Hearing this, Drago glared at Blackbeard with murderous intent. "Father... I shall avenge you now."
Terrified, Blackbeard hastily embraced the dragon's thigh, feigning misery.
Shendu frowned, his voice rising a few decibels in frustration.
After a series of twists and turns, Drago stood motionless. Alarmed, Shendu rushed forward to assess the situation, disregarding Blackbeard in the process.
Yet, no matter how vigorously he shook the dragon, there was no response.
Only the scarlet eyes oscillated between pity and anger.
Suddenly, a purple teleportation magic circle materialized. Revealed within was the interior of a tavern.
Big Big Wolf emerged, apologetic: "I'm sorry, Brother Shendu. After observing the scene through Tohru's magic illusion, I realized that my son may have tampered with the softening spray—perhaps added something unpleasant to it."
"This antidote I just concocted in the tavern."
Offering an explanation, Big Big Wolf produced a reagent tube and applied it to Drago's face. Gradually, the dragon regained consciousness, looking around in bewilderment.
Without looking back, Big Big Wolf swiftly retreated into the magic circle, fearing retribution if the dragon discovered undesirable ingredients in the reagent.
"Son, you're alright, that's great!" Shendu embraced him, tears streaming down his face.
Simultaneously, a surge of intense resentment, laced with murderous intent, emanated from Drago.
"Old man, find the soft heart spray amusing?" he sneered.
Shendu, frozen in expression, reached for the softening spray, but it was too late.
Drago disdainfully shook off Shendu and Blackbeard, who clung to his lap, pointing to the sky.
In an instant, a thunderbolt as thick as an arm descended from the sky, crashing heavily onto Shendu.
Bang...
The deafening roar reverberated throughout paradise.
Drago wasted no time, causing the earth to split open and then close again. Shendu's body was firmly restrained on the ground, with only his head exposed, as dozens of thunderbolts descended.
Seizing the opportunity, Drago didn't relent.
Blackbeard was on the verge of picking up Ace and making a swift escape when he witnessed the wielder of Conqueror's Haki descending to the ground.
"Ray... Rayleigh!"
With a sinking heart, Blackbeard had no time to flee as, in the next moment, a gleaming sword light flashed before his eyes, prompting him to instinctively shut them.
Following the flash, Blackbeard's agonizing screams echoed through the park: "Ah!!!"
"It hurts... it hurts, Rayleigh, why aren't you dead yet..."
Amidst the intense battle between Shendu and Drago, they turned their heads to witness Blackbeard's right arm severed, Ace falling to the ground. Blackbeard writhed in pain, his remaining arm clutching the bleeding wound.
Shendu cried out, "Brother Rayleigh, help me kill this bastard! I owe you a favor. Let Ace live through today, that's all I ask."
Rayleigh nodded, sword in hand, and approached Blackbeard, replying, "No problem!"
Drago, his foot on Shendu's face, remarked, "Old man, you still care about whether you can survive today," recalling the scenes of crying with Shendu over the past two days. The idea of killing his so-called father crossed his mind.
Suddenly, a majestic, vast aura radiated from the edge of paradise. Shendu and his son, frozen in their battle, felt their hearts tremble. The pupils of Guysha and Liangbing high above in the sky shrank abruptly.
In this moment, time seemed to freeze, and all the Marine soldiers and officials in paradise were immobilized. The pressure from this terror surpassed even Conqueror's Haki, leaving the Marine officials feeling as if the person before them were a god.
With the brilliance of Kamui and the overwhelming coercion, the situation took a dramatic turn.