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Chapter 92: Seastone
The world fell into a brief, dead silence. In an instant, dazzling white light filled everything. Then overwhelming shock waves spread out from the center of the explosion, reaching in all directions.
Countless trees were uprooted under the impact of this mighty blast. The huge Great Fireball covering the sky released astonishingly high temperatures. It formed a terrifying red flame tornado in the freezing air, enveloping the entire city. All the gravel, trees, and snow were burned.
A full second later, a roar that almost shattered eardrums came from afar. All the Marines on the coastline searched for cover almost without hesitation. They fell to the ground, looking at the huge fireball with unprecedented fear in their eyes and pale faces.
The North Blue fleet in the sky shook violently and bumped under the impact of the air waves. Even the surface and deck of the hull were torn, creating tiny cracks.
Kake, Gion, and the others clung to the railings and other fixed objects, their faces full of shock. Sengoku crossed his arms to block the scorching wind, his expression frozen in astonishment.
He finally understood why Darren dared to put such a huge cannon in the hands of Byrnndi Valdo.
Rumbling...
At this moment, the entire island shook violently as if a magnitude ten earthquake had occurred. Waves as high as tens of meters roared on the sea like dragons.
"Is this part of your plan too?" Borsolino asked. He stood in front of Darren, raised his hands parallel to the ground, and assumed a defensive posture. Through the release of Armament Haki, he helped Darren resist the aftermath of the explosion.
Darren's blood-stained black hair was a mess, and the blood at the corner of his mouth had dried.
He licked his chapped lips, grinned, and said, "He wants a heavy gun, and I'll give him a heavy gun."
Darren paused, his smile turning sly like a fox. "Of course, the gifts I gave him are not just that."
"Oh?" Borsolino was taken aback for a moment and then a strange smile appeared on his face.
The wind stopped, and the flames disappeared. Billowing black smoke lingered in the sky, tearing through the falling snow.
Everyone suppressed their emotions about the aftermath of the disaster and looked towards the center of the explosion. The land of the deserted island had completely changed.
It was desolate, charred, crumbling, and full of potholes. The land was burning with embers. All the snow, boulders, jungles, and vegetation within a radius of one thousand meters were destroyed by the explosion and completely burned to powder.
At the center of the explosion, the heavy gun released thick gunpowder smoke. The twisted barrel was blasted into a huge hole, and the molten metal turned into black-red molten iron flowing on the ground.
All the Marines gasped in horror because they saw someone. Byrnndi Waldo was barely recognizable. His flesh dripped like molten liquid, and blackened, rotten wounds covered almost every inch of his skin.
The injuries on his neck and chest were the most terrifying. Under the burned and festered flesh, the lines of muscles were clearly visible. His exposed throat and trachea were slightly squirming under the white fascia.
The position of the chest cavity and the skin on the chest were no longer intact. The surface layer of flesh and blood was missing. You could see the heart and lungs beating through the dense gaps between the ribs. Such horrific and bloody scenes made people's scalps numb.
"Damn... damn..."
Byrnndi Waldo raised his head with difficulty, blood dripping uncontrollably from his body. His horned helmet was gone, revealing a bloody, skeletal face with mucous-covered eyeballs protruding from their sockets. The exposed eyeballs turned around and finally stared at Darren, with bloodshot eyes filling the air.
"You... have already... planned... all of this..."
Darren stood up trembling from the rock wall, panting and laughing.
"Well, it's just that I didn't expect you could survive such a big explosion."
Byrnndi Waldo's eyes were tearing apart. He gritted his teeth, and his blood-stained gums were exposed under his festered cheeks.
"Impossible!! How could I... fall into the hands of you, a North Blue brat!!!"
His eyes shot out an astonishingly murderous intent, and he took a step forward. Even if he was about to die, he would drag this brat with him!
Seeing his movement, Sengoku and Borsolino, who had finally arrived, tensed up at the same time. But in the next second, Byrnndi Waldo staggered two steps, knelt on one knee with a plop, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"This... my body... how could..."
He panted frantically, his rotten hands tightly covering his mouth as blood oozed from between his fingers. His face was full of disbelief. An unprecedented sense of weakness gripped his body, making him weak all over.
"Sea... seastone... when..."
Byrnndi Waldo stared at the wounds on his thighs, abdomen, and arms. He clearly saw that deep in the exposed flesh and blood, there were black gravel inlaid!
"It's a cannonball." Darren's breathing gradually became steady. He raised his hand to wipe the blood on his face and said lightly:
"I filled the shells of that giant cannon with a certain amount of seastone. Originally, I wanted to fill more, but I searched all over North Blue and found just a little bit."
As soon as these words came out, not only was Byrnndi Waldo shocked, but even Sengoku suddenly turned his head and stared at Darren in astonishment. Borsolino looked at Darren with a smile.
"It's really insidious..."
"Each to each other, Borsolino."
Sengoku suddenly reacted and cursed angrily:
"You brat, what were you thinking!? What if this shell had hit the old man's warship?"
That is a super-large shell filled with seastone! If he gets hit, even with Haki's defense, he would probably end up no better than Byrnndi Waldo!
"Then I could only pray for you. After all, there are always mistakes in planning."
Darren's overly calm tone made Sengoku almost spit out a mouthful of blood. The bastard, the crazy brat!
"I am sure Borsolinol will be happy to fill your Admiral's vacancy," Darren added with a smile.
Sengoku's face darkened. Borsolino's smile froze. Darren shook his head with a smile and his eyes fell on Byrnndi Waldo again.
"Then, it's time to end this. Byrnndi Waldo, do you have any last words?"