"BOOM!!"
"BOOM!!"
"BOOM!!"
Terrifying explosions continued relentlessly from Mary Geoise's eastern district, making the Five Elders frown deeply.
"How does this Blood-Eyed Ninja still have stamina after fighting for so long?" Saint Warcury frowned while observing the distant battlefield. "Is he some kind of monster too?!"
The uprising had begun around eight or nine o'clock last night, yet the battle persisted until the next afternoon...
Was his Undying Body truly this difficult to break?
"Surviving this long without being killed—calling him a monster isn't far off," Saint Saturn remarked.
"We can't let this continue," Saint Nusjuro interjected. "Let's intervene!"
"That won't be necessary."
"How is it unnecessary?" Saint Nusjuro argued. "If we delay any further, more than just the eastern district might be destroyed!"
The devastation of the eastern district was already a massive loss. He couldn't bear the thought of other areas suffering the same fate.
After all... that was money!
As the Elder overseeing finances, he knew exactly how much rebuilding Mary Geoise would cost—an astronomical sum.
"I understand your concern, but overwhelming numbers won't defeat the Blood-Eyed Ninja," Saint Saturn countered. "The key is exhausting his stamina."
"With those fighters outside, it's more than enough."
"I agree with Saint Saturn," Saint Shepherd nodded.
Given their strength, those fighters could sufficiently drain the Blood-Eyed Ninja's energy. There was no need to reveal the Five Elders' combat capabilities.
Saint Nusjuro fell silent for a moment before nodding reluctantly.
"Fine. At least we have the Celestial Gold."
With that thought, his expression eased.
Just then, Saint Mars spoke up. "Patience. The Blood-Eyed Ninja is showing signs of weakening."
"Oh?"
"How so?"
"Can't you see the difference?" Saint Mars pointed toward the distant battlefield. "His energy is far more erratic than before."
"Moreover... his revival intervals are getting longer!"
Hearing this, the other four Elders' eyes gleamed.
Prolonged revival times meant... the Blood-Eyed Ninja was nearing his limit!
Saint Saturn smiled. "It seems the outcome won't be long now."
Once the Blood-Eyed Ninja's stamina was depleted, he would personally capture the man.
And when that time came... it would be the Blood-Eyed Ninja's doom!
He would extract every ounce of value from that damned ninja to compensate for their losses!
The five Elders then turned their expectant gazes toward the battlefield, eager to see how much longer the Blood-Eyed Ninja could last.
"Huff... Huff..."
Standing on a piece of rubble, Meiser gasped heavily, his face drenched in sweat, looking utterly exhausted. After a moment, he muttered, "Taking on so many strong opponents at once is still too much..."
He glanced at the enemies eyeing him fiercely and frowned.
"You look exhausted, Blood-Eyed Ninja," Saint Sommers said, gripping his thorny weapon as he stared intently at Meiser's eyes. "Reaching your limit, are you~?"
"Most likely."
Saint Rimoshifu, holding a trident, narrowed his eyes and added, "Otherwise, his revival time wouldn't have gotten this long."
Not only had his revival time extended to nearly a minute, but his energy was also in complete disarray—clear signs of his deteriorating condition!
This man had undoubtedly hit his limit!
"Is this bastard finally done for?!" Gunko spat, her eyes burning with fury.
How dare this wretch seal her inside that damned lowly body... She would never forgive him!!
Saint Sommers shot Gunko a sidelong glance, thinking to himself, This woman is truly terrifying...
Recalling the scene when he had rescued her, his lips twitched involuntarily.
After he killed the guard, the woman had broken free from that so-called Sealing Technique and reformed her body on the ground.
Then, she just stood there blankly, muttering something under her breath.
Just as he was about to ask what was going on, she suddenly let out a maddened roar, stepped onto an arrowhead, and soared into the sky, charging straight toward the battlefield where the Blood-Eyed Ninja was.
Along the way, she unleashed a barrage of arrowhead attacks, slaughtering everyone in her path.
That sight had left both him and Saint Rimoshifu utterly stunned.
Though they didn't care about the lives of those people, even they weren't that ruthless!
At that moment, Saint Shamrock spoke up, "Stay sharp. Don't let him slip underground and escape."
If he hadn't attacked in time earlier, this guy would've already fled Mary Geoise!
"Relax, he won't get away!" Saint Sommers grinned, baring his teeth.
He had scattered countless transparent thorns across the area, ready to strike the Blood-Eyed Ninja at any moment. There was no way he'd let him use any earth-based escape technique!
"Hah, you really think you've got me cornered?" Meiser sneered.
"Quite obviously, yes," Saint Rimoshifu replied.
Borsalino glanced at the members of God's Knights, then at Meiser, whose face was slick with sweat, and sighed inwardly.
This kid's fate is sealed...
Fine. He'd give him a quick end.
With that thought, Borsalino flashed beside Meiser in an instant and swung the Heavenly Cloud Sword down!
"Thud!"
The blade cleaved Meiser's body cleanly in half.
Staring at the fallen corpse, Saint Rimoshifu remarked, "Seems he really was at his limit."
Before, when attacked, the man would summon that pale golden armor to defend himself.
But since noon today, he hadn't called upon it even once.
"So...he must have reached his limit this time!"
"Let's see how long it takes for this guy to revive again," Saint Sommers said mockingly.
As he spoke, he took out a pocket watch and began timing.
Finally, after a minute and a half, Meiser's corpse began to twist before disappearing completely.
Seeing this, Saint Sommers laughed: "Hahaha, one and a half minutes!"
This time it took half a minute longer than before. How much longer would the next revival require?
He was genuinely curious~
Glancing at Meiser, who had reappeared in the distance, Saint Sommers laughed even more heartily.
"Tch, what a bunch of despicable bastards," Meiser spat.
"Despicable?"
Saint Rimoshifu shook his head. "Against someone like you, these methods can hardly be called despicable."
If they hadn't joined forces, defeating the Blood-Eyed Ninja to this extent wouldn't have been easy.
At that moment, Saint Shamrock spoke up: "Now, will you consider my earlier proposal?"
"Proposal—"
Recalling what the other had said a day earlier, Meiser frowned.
"Exactly!" Saint Shamrock nodded. "As long as you surrender willingly, I can guarantee your life!!"
Noticing the sweat on Meiser's face, Saint Shamrock continued:
"You must be at your limit now, so you'd better think carefully before answering."
"Hah, as if you're giving me a choice," Meiser sneered, shaking his head. "In the end, you just want to use me as a lab rat."
He knew exactly what they were after.
"So what?!" Saint Rimoshifu retorted bluntly. "Bowing before the Celestial Dragons is an honor for you!"
"Others don't even get this opportunity!"
Countless people longed to serve the Celestial Dragons, but few were deemed worthy.
So...they were practically doing him a favor by offering this chance!
"Hahahaha!"
"He's right. Kneel obediently before the Celestial Dragons—that's your only chance to live!" Saint Sommers added.
"Keh keh keh...
"HAHAHAHA!"
Meiser suddenly clutched his forehead with one hand and burst into laughter. "Truly...how arrogant."
To think that kneeling before them as a slave was considered an honor... Was this what the Celestial Dragons of this world were like?
How utterly...disgusting!!!
"BOOM!!"
The next instant, an overwhelming aura erupted from Meiser's body, surging outward in all directions!
"Con...Conqueror's Haki?!"
Gunko and the others paled as they sensed the pressure radiating from Meiser.
This man had awakened Conqueror's Haki at a time like this?!
Feeling the surge of power within himself, Meiser murmured, "So this is Conqueror's Haki..."
He never expected to awaken this so-called "king's disposition."
"Kill him! Now!" Saint Shamrock ordered decisively.
For someone to awaken Conqueror's Haki at this moment was far from good news. Therefore...he had to die!
Upon receiving the order, Gunko immediately summoned several arrowheads and infused them with Armament Haki, intending to pierce Meiser to death with this attack.
Seeing this, Meiser decisively pulled out a smoke bomb.
His objective had already been achieved, so there was no need to stay any longer.
The escape plan was now in motion!
With that, Meiser threw the smoke bomb onto the ground.
Boom!
The smoke bomb exploded upon impact, instantly shrouding the entire area around Meiser in thick smoke.
Gunko: ???
With all of them possessing Observation Haki... what was the point of this?
Just then, Gunko sensed a change within the smoke.
The next moment—
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Five pale golden arrows shot out from the smoke in rapid succession, each aimed at one of the five enemies present!
"Hmph."
Saint Shamrock snorted coldly and, with a backhanded slash of his Haki-infused longsword, sent the pale golden arrow flying away.
The others followed suit, deflecting the arrows with their own Haki-enhanced attacks.
"This kind of attack is useless against us. You—"
Before Saint Sommers could finish his sentence, he sensed the Blood-Eyed Ninja's presence rapidly retreating!
"Damn it, he's trying to escape!"
The group, now aware of Meiser's movement, immediately gave chase.
"Someone who's awakened Conqueror's Haki... is running away?" Saint Rimoshifu muttered in disbelief.
The others shot him an exasperated glance—even the Pirate King would prioritize escaping over staying in the Holy Land to fight them to the death. Otherwise, they'd be beaten to a pulp without question.
Realizing how foolish his words sounded, Saint Rimoshifu scratched his head awkwardly before changing the subject.
"Why isn't he using Earth Style Technique?"
Borsalino pondered for a moment before answering, "He must be running low on stamina."
"Then shouldn't he use Earth Release to escape?"
Recalling the intel on the Blood-Eyed Ninja, Saint Shamrock said, "He's probably conserving his energy for the sea."
"Once there, he can attack us with Water Release while using the ocean itself to escape."
According to the Marines, the Blood-Eyed Ninja could move swiftly through seawater, so... his assumption was likely correct.
"Then we can't let him reach the sea!" Gunko shouted.
With that, she stepped onto an arrowhead and shot forward at incredible speed, closing in on Meiser.
"Blood-Eyed Ninja, stop right there!" she roared.
As she spoke, she conjured a barrage of arrowheads and unleashed a torrential assault on Meiser!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
The Haki-infused arrows rained down around Meiser, blasting massive craters into the ground.
One of them, as if guided by eyes, streaked straight for Meiser's head!
Sensing the attack, Meiser swiftly drew a kunai tied with an Exploding Talisman and hurled it in retaliation.
BOOM!!
The arrow, blasted by the Exploding Talisman, paused briefly before regaining momentum and shooting toward Meiser.
"Tch, so the talisman's useless..." Meiser clicked his tongue.
As he spoke, Meiser turned and crossed his arms in front of his body, attempting to block the incoming attack.
The next moment—"Thud!"
The sharp arrowhead effortlessly pierced through Meiser, lifting him into the air.
Meiser had been killed—again.
"Another one down."
Saint Sommers remarked as he watched Gunko hoist Meiser's body midair. "I wonder how many revives he has left."
While speaking, Saint Sommers pulled out his pocket watch again to keep track of time.
Soon, two minutes passed, and Meiser's corpse began to twist once more—clearly preparing to revive again.
But unlike before, this time the distortion seemed far more strained.
Seeing this, the group grew even more certain that Meiser was nearing his limit.
"Keep killing him!"
Saint Shamrock glanced at Meiser, who was still fleeing into the distance, and commanded, "We can't let him escape alive!"
Having abandoned the idea of capturing Meiser alive, Saint Shamrock now saw no issue with outright killing him—after all, retrieving his corpse would serve the same purpose.
Gunko nodded at the order and immediately dashed after Meiser.
"Blood-Eyed Ninja, you won't escape!" Gunko shouted.
"Try catching me first, bitch!!" Meiser shot back.
As he spoke, Meiser surged forward, nearly reaching the edge of Mary Geoise.
Glancing back at his relentless pursuers, Meiser thought to himself: 'Once I break through here, I can reach the Calm Belt. And then...'
With a cold smirk, he pushed himself to move even faster.