Chapter 842: Dragon Hunter! (Six-Thousand-Word Chapter)
In the distant sky, a massive black shadow came staggering and wobbling as it flew. What was particularly strange, however, was that as this huge shadow flew, its rear end twisted and wriggled! Just from its flight posture, one could tell something was wrong.
Uranus had never felt such agony before. The foreign object and intense pain coming from its back passage made it struggle desperately to expel the thing while flying.
But unfortunately, it had completely underestimated how terrifying a scientist could be when they were ruthless. Dr. Vegapunk had long ago designed a... barb for the cooling device to prevent it from accidentally falling out! When Ace shoved the cooling device in and activated it, the barb popped out, firmly lodging itself in Uranus's intestines. The more it tried to force it out, the tighter the cooling device became stuck!
When they saw this massive black shadow, Whitebeard and Shanks knew that Uranus had indeed been driven to the East Blue by Ian. With a single command, all the ships immediately scattered.
Ian hadn't done much fighting along the way. He had a mental connection with Little Ian and could roughly sense where Little Ian was located. So he only attacked when Uranus deviated from its course, forcing it to choose a flight direction according to his wishes. Now, when he saw the ships below from high in the distance, Ian understood that Uranus had fallen into the ambush.
Clearly, Uranus also saw the ships on the sea below. But it didn't know that the people on those ships were waiting specifically for it. Desperately wanting to land, Uranus didn't even give them a second glance as it tried to fly over the ships.
The Straw Hat Pirates' ship was being towed forward by a huge Sea King using a cable. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to keep up with Uranus's flight speed. This Sea King was, of course, summoned by Princess Shirahoshi. When Luffy and the others spotted the fleet ahead, Nami excitedly hugged Chopper's soft body and said enthusiastically, "Look, look! It's starting!"
The photographer from the Buggy Pirates also quickly aimed the Den Den Mushi at the scene ahead...
Uranus flapped its wings, bringing with it a massive air current. Just as it was about to pass over the fleet, suddenly, an enormous pulling force enveloped its entire body. Its already massive size came with tremendous weight, but now that weight seemed to have multiplied several times over. For no apparent reason, Uranus began to plummet downward.
The first to act was Uncle Fujitora. The gravity field generated by his Gravity Fruit covered the area above the fleet, waiting for Uranus to fly over...
Although Uranus couldn't understand why its body had suddenly become so heavy, since the sea was right below, its survival instinct made it flap its wings frantically, trying to counteract the gravity and rise again. It had to be said that its body was indeed extremely powerful. Struggling desperately, it managed to halt its downward trend.
But that was all it could do. Although it wasn't falling anymore, it couldn't gain altitude either! Uncle Fujitora's gravity had now reached a balance with the lift generated by Uranus's flapping wings, leaving Uranus hovering in the low air.
By now, Uranus had figured it out. This crushing pressure seemed to be coming from the ships of those little insects below. Enraged, it let out a roar and twisted its head, intending to spew flames at the ships below.
However, at that moment, several figures suddenly flew into the air and arrived beside Uranus.
"Up close, it really is enormous! And this temperature is astonishingly high! I wonder if our battle suits can withstand it?"
The ones who could fly now were naturally the combatants of the Vinsmoke Family. After flying up using the buoyancy of their jet boots, the red-haired Ichiji looked at Uranus and sighed in amazement.
Gaji, holding a sharp long spear in his hand, glanced at the Straw Hat Pirates' ship approaching from a distance and said, "Let's move. Even if we can't withstand it, we have to. Don't forget, that idiot brother of yours is watching you right now!"
"Hmph, that Sanji guy..." Yonji also looked in the direction of the Thousand Sunny and said nothing more. Together with Ichiji and Niji, he let out a roar and charged at Uranus.
Their jet boots and jet gloves provided immense power boosts to their punches and kicks. However, these powerful attacks, capable of knocking out an ordinary Sea King with a single blow, had no noticeable effect on Uranus when they landed!?
When Gaji saw this, his eyes widened. Refusing to believe it, he gripped his electromagnetic spear and thrust it fiercely toward Uranus's softer ribs!
But the sharp electromagnetic spear only penetrated a dozen centimeters before stopping. He could barely pierce through Uranus's scales!
"Damn it! Just how strong is this dragon's defense!?" Gaji cursed angrily.
"That Ian guy... has he been fighting such a powerful opponent all along?" Yonji looked up at Ian in the sky in disbelief.
Just then, an immense sense of pressure came from below.
"Vinsmoke brats, get out of the way! I'm making my move!"
This crushing pressure came from Whitebeard Old Man standing on the Moby Dick! Whitebeard Edward Newgate's arms were now bulging with veins, twisted and protruding beneath the skin. His tightly tensed, powerful muscles signaled that Whitebeard Old Man was about to go all out!
Afraid of being caught in Whitebeard's attack, Gaji quickly led Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji to fly away and clear the space. Just as they left Uranus's side, Whitebeard Old Man punched fiercely toward Uranus in the sky!
The force of this punch caused the entire Moby Dick to shake violently. Old Man's fist struck the atmosphere ahead, and the next second, a sound like shattering glass rang out. The air above Old Man's head cracked with countless spiderweb-like distortions of light!
Whitebeard Edward Newgate's attacks came with their own special effects!
Boom!!! The power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit traveled through the atmosphere and struck Uranus. The massive creature, which had been struggling desperately under Uncle Fujitora's gravity field, suddenly stopped moving!
Then, Uranus's enormous body began to vibrate violently at high frequency!
Its round, bulging abdomen was punched directly inward by Old Man's fist, creating a huge dent. Everyone could see it, like a balloon being forcefully squeezed flat!
Owwww! Uranus let out a tremendous cry of pain. As it roared, everyone saw dark red fragments spew from its massive dragon mouth—countless blood clots and pieces of internal organs. Although Old Man's punch hadn't damaged Uranus's skin, the vibrating force had shredded many of its internal organs!
With just one blow, Old Man had dealt massive damage to Uranus...
Gaji and the others watched in stunned disbelief. Was this the true power of a Yonko-level fighter? They had used scientific equipment and couldn't even scratch Uranus, yet Uranus seemed so fragile before Whitebeard...
What they didn't know was that Uranus was already at the end of its rope from its earlier battle with Ian. The repeated use of Soul Extraction had greatly reduced its vitality. In such a state, even though Uranus had flown all the way here, its injuries hadn't healed much.
Now that the cooling device was embedded inside Uranus, Ian and the others no longer needed to hold back. What they had to do was give the cornered beast a thorough beating!
They wanted to brutally gang up on Uranus, the symbol of the Celestial Dragons, in front of the entire world. The more vicious, the better! Only then could they tear away the noble image of the Celestial Dragons that had hung over people's hearts for eight hundred years!
After taking Old Man's full-power punch, Uranus, in agony, forgot to flap its wings and naturally began to fall.
But as it fell, a massive sword slash flew in and struck Uranus's right ribs. Instantly, a wound hundreds of meters long appeared on Uranus's body. Blood gushed out like a fountain, splashing through the air and falling into the sea...
The one who delivered this slash was Yonko Red-Haired Shanks, standing on the bow of the Red Force with a cold, murderous expression!
Compared to the world's greatest swordsman, Hawk-Eye Mihawk's slashes, Shanks's sword energy was equally impressive...
Uranus's falling body was about to hit the sea when it suddenly stopped and floated instead.
Uncle Fujitora's gravity manipulation was nothing short of miraculous. For someone who could pull down meteorites, Uranus's weight was no burden. As long as he wanted, he could toy with Uranus at will!
The successive attacks from two Yonko officially kicked off the siege of Uranus. With such big shots involved, everyone else could attack freely and boldly. For a time, countless gunshots, bullets, and ship cannons rained down on the floating Uranus like a storm!
Even if these attacks couldn't really harm Uranus, the sheer spectacle was astonishing!
As the live broadcast captured the scene, people all over the world saw Uranus being engulfed by endless gunfire, making their blood boil.
Uranus was stunned from the start. It never expected these little insects to dare insult it so brazenly. It roared in fury, but no one understood what its roars meant. Watching Uranus roar amid the countless explosions, viewers thought it was screaming in pain.
But despite its rage, Uranus soon realized that the exploding cannonballs couldn't hurt it. Only the flying sword slashes mixed in caused it pain, but it could still barely endure them. Since it was floating just above the sea, it felt like it could drink the water below if it lowered its head. Without thinking too much, it twisted its neck and stretched its head toward the sea, enduring the continuous attacks.
But... how could such a carefully planned ambush have a flaw? Before Uranus's head could reach the sea, several ferocious giant Sea Kings bared their fangs and teeth from beneath the surface, glaring at Uranus. If it dared to stretch its head over, these Sea Kings would bite it to death!
Uranus was truly being bullied badly this time. Old Man and Shanks launched two more attacks, severely wounding Uranus again. The immense pain and humiliation finally drove Uranus mad!
Its body was already radiating intense heat, and it shouldn't have continued using its Devil Fruit powers. But in its madness, it couldn't suppress its instincts anymore. It opened its mouth wide, intending to use its nuclear explosion attack again!
It planned to make all these annoying insects die!
However, Ian, who had been hovering above without attacking, was waiting for this move. The moment he saw light blooming in its mouth, Ian instantly accelerated, breaking the sound barrier with a sonic boom. Like a meteor crashing to earth, he stomped down on Uranus's dragon mouth with immense force!
Uranus's open mouth was slammed shut by Ian's stomp, and the light in its throat was forced back.
Then, something strange happened. Ian had expected the nuclear explosion to erupt inside Uranus's mouth, but instead, the light that Uranus had swallowed back flickered and vanished!
This caught Ian off guard. He wasn't sure if Uranus had dissipated the explosive power itself or...
But then, Ian noticed that Uranus itself seemed stunned for a moment. Its body stiffened, and its remaining single eye showed a look of shock.
Could it be... because of the cooling device?
This thought flashed through Ian's mind, and it seemed plausible. Vegapunk had said that once activated, the cooling device would forcibly lower Uranus's body temperature when it approached the critical point of explosion.
Based on Ian's estimate, Uranus had used more of its Devil Fruit powers during their fight than it had against Kaido. The more it used its powers, the faster its body's chain reaction accelerated, raising its temperature.
With this guess in mind, Ian actively flew away from Uranus's forehead to see if it would try the nuclear explosion again.
And to provoke it, Ian fired another electromagnetic cannon at Uranus. This shot pierced through Uranus's upper jaw, blowing a large hole in it.
This was a very risky move. Whitebeard and Shanks's ships were not far away. If Uranus unleashed a nuclear explosion at this position, many people might die...
But Ian felt he had at least a seventy percent chance of being right, so he had to take the risk when necessary.
Sure enough, when Ian flew up, he successfully drew Uranus's hatred again. Since he was the one who had hurt it the most, Uranus opened its mouth in fury to attack Ian.
But under Ian's watchful gaze, the light in Uranus's mouth flickered brightly at first, then, as if lacking power, flickered on and off before going out!
Just as I thought! Ian rejoiced. Uranus was truly nearing its critical point!
This time, not only Ian noticed, but Whitebeard and Shanks did too. Old Man, leaning on his naginata at the ship's bow, shouted to Ian, "Ian! Do it! Kill it!"
Old Man's shout made all the members of the three pirate crews realize that the chance to kill Uranus had come. They joined in shouting!
"Kill it!"
"Kill it!!"
"Kill it!!!"
The shouts quickly became rhythmic and unified. Thousands of people on this sea chanted in unison, their voices carried through the live broadcast.
And around the world, people watching the broadcast were infected by this atmosphere. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, even billions of people began chanting in unison before their screens!
"Kill! Kill!! Kill!!!"
At that moment, Ian seemed to hear the will of billions of people across the world. He took a deep breath and began to transform!
Giant black demon wings spread out with a whoosh, their edges burning with black flames. Amid the torrential black rain, these flames not only didn't extinguish but burned even more fiercely!
Ian was enveloped in a blazing black aura. On his forehead, the illusion of a third eye appeared, radiating an icy aura.
But that wasn't all. As Ian's aura surged further, something new appeared in his black flames—countless sparkling, crackling electric bolts! These bolts sizzled and crackled, emitting terrifying sounds in the air...
At the same time, Ian's entire body seemed to become ethereal, flickering like an illusion...
This illusory feeling naturally came from the power of the Great Serpent...
Ian's arm moved gently, leaving a trail of dreamlike afterimages in people's eyes, as if he had countless arms. When his arm stopped, the afterimages vanished, and in Ian's hand was a black longsword tens of meters long!
This was the weapon formed from the black cherry blossom petals of his Final Release Thousand Cherry Blossoms—a weapon with... no name!
Holding the black longsword, Ian's posture as he floated in midair was overwhelmingly majestic!
His powerful aura swept across the battlefield like a tsunami. Even without using Conqueror's Haki, countless pirates felt suffocated. They trembled and knelt on the decks, staring in terror at Ian, who looked like a demon lord.
Whitebeard, Shanks, Hawk-Eye Mihawk, and Gecko Moria all stared wide-eyed at Ian at this moment.
"Th-this aura... has it surpassed Yonko-level power!?"
On the Thousand Sunny, Zoro and the others stared blankly at Ian in the sky. The cigarette in Sanji's mouth even fell off...
Meanwhile, Boa Hancock, Reiju, Robin, and the others gazed at Ian's figure, already mesmerized...
It may sound slow, but it only took a moment. When the transformation was complete, Ian suddenly let out a roar in midair!
The powerful sound waves swept across the sea like a bomb, stirring up huge waves that churned and spread outward!
Ian, holding the massive black longsword, pointed it at Uranus, who was already trembling.
Although he roared, Ian's heart was incredibly calm at that moment. A familiar figure suddenly appeared in his mind—a man with a gentle smile!
"Teacher Koushirou... I wonder if you're watching this battle's broadcast? I still remember your teachings. Today, let me show you the progress of my swordsmanship..."
"You said that fundamentals... are the most important!"
Ian's hand, holding the longsword, gently and tenderly swung downward!
"Downward Slash!"
As he delivered this slash, the world seemed to darken with the strike. But the darkness came and went quickly, as if it were just a trick of the eye.
But... after Ian's slash, the wind on this sea seemed to freeze!
Also frozen was Uranus's massive body. Its entire form suddenly stopped moving. In its remaining single eye lingered a fading trace of immense terror.
Billions of people stared blankly at this scene. Before they could figure out what had happened, Uranus's enormous body suddenly split apart from the shoulder blade!
From the shoulder blade to the tail, Uranus was completely cut in two, slowly falling to either side!
A torrent of blood only gushed out as its two halves fell...
Behind Uranus, the sea was also split open into a massive trench, stretching far into the distance with no end in sight!
The clouds in the sky above the battlefield were also cleaved apart, leaving a slash mark across the blue sky!
The Ancient Weapon Uranus was killed by Ian with a single gentle downward slash. And the slash Ian left behind was deeply etched into the minds of everyone watching!
They might never forget this scene for the rest of their lives...
In the dead silence, Ian, having finished his slash, flew to Uranus's corpse. He rotated his longsword and cut into Uranus's neck!
He had deliberately killed Uranus from the shoulder blade to preserve its massive dragon head!
After severing the enormous dragon head, Ian reached out, pierced the head with his longsword, and raised the entire head on the blade.
Then, without looking back, Ian flew toward Loguetown, leaving the people on the battlefield staring blankly at the flag of the Dragon Hunter Pirates. On that flag, the pattern of a longsword piercing a skull of a dragon's head was now dazzlingly bright!
Exactly like Ian's action just now...