Benn Beckman understood Red-Haired's strength very well, and precisely because of that, he knew that Shanks had held absolutely nothing back with that last move.
Perhaps that slash was just a regular attack, not his most powerful technique, but its power definitely wouldn't be much weaker.
And as for the result, the situation was now very clear.
He had to admit a question he had never even considered before: Shanks... was no match for the current Kyle!
This realization was somewhat hard for Benn Beckman to accept, but there was no helping it; this was the reality, and now wasn't the time for him to come to terms with it.
What they needed to think about now was how to defeat Kyle.
Since Red-Haired's strength alone wasn't enough, there was no choice; they would have to jump him!!
Thinking of this, Benn Beckman immediately shouted loudly:
"Everyone, attack together!!"
After he spoke, no one stepped forward to object.
Red-Haired was indeed the captain of the crew, but at many critical moments, Benn Beckman would step up to take charge. His strength wasn't that much weaker than Red-Haired's; otherwise, the Red-Haired Pirates wouldn't later be described as having a dual Yonko caliber crew.
But actually, just how strong Benn Beckman really was remained unknown; after all, his battle achievements weren't particularly numerous, making it hard to speculate.
And strength was only one aspect of Benn Beckman; he was also the undisputed brain trust of the Red-Haired Pirates, capable of making the most correct choice based on the battle situation at any given moment.
Since he now said for everyone to attack together, it meant that, in his judgment, this was no longer the time for a one-on-one duel between Red-Haired and Kyle.
If it were a normal duel where the stakes of losing weren't high, they could accept it.
But in the current situation, once Red-Haired was defeated, then all of them combined might not necessarily be a match for Kyle, and then they'd be done for.
They might really end up enjoying prison life in Impel Down, just like Kyle had said.
They were at an age for striving and exploring; they didn't want to go to prison.
Instantly, everyone looked at Kyle tensely, poised for battle, each assuming a fighting stance.
Watching the tense expressions of the many officers of the Red-Haired Pirates, Kyle still wore a faint smile on his lips.
"Ready to jump me?"
"You should have done this long ago. I'm not going to think you're ganging up on me unfairly!"
"Red-Haired had the advantage, and you let him fight me alone. Now that he's at a disadvantage, you all come at me together. Logically speaking, that's a bit shameful for you, but realistically speaking, this is the most correct move!"
"After all, when the weak gang up on the strong, this is precisely how it should be!"
"But—"
"Did you think you could defeat me just by ganging up on me?"
Kyle's voice gradually grew heavier. As the last syllable fell, he raised Purple Lightning, and terrifying, berserk violet thunderbolts shot out from it as he swung the blade in one fierce motion.
"Thunderbolt Serpentine Dragon!!"
The unleashed sword energy wasn't confined to a fixed form; instead, like living violet thunder dragons and electric serpents, they swiftly traveled along the ground or through the air, automatically tracking towards everyone.
!!
Seeing this, everyone's pupils contracted sharply. Dusty memories surged back into their minds; they recalled the feeling of being struck by this violet thunder four years ago.
And compared to four years ago, the violet thunder now exuded an even more berserk and terrifying aura. There was no need to think about it; its power was certainly much greater.
Without a moment's hesitation, everyone immediately went all out. This was definitely not the time to hold back.
The key point was, facing these attacks, they couldn't dodge either. Otherwise, this ship would be done for again, and they didn't want to experience abandoning ship and fleeing in panic once more.
Everyone attacked the incoming thunder serpents or thunder dragons, blasting them apart. They scattered into countless fragmented thunderbolts, and the ship rang continuously with crackling sounds.
Looking at his thunder dragons and serpents that had been blasted apart, Kyle showed little surprise in his eyes.
The Red-Haired Pirates' later nickname was the 'Iron Wall Pirates'; their combat power was much more balanced compared to other Yonko crews.
The officers on the ship were all incredibly powerful individually.
Even though they were still young now, each one's strength was above Vice Admiral level, and not the most ordinary kind of Vice Admiral at that.
Of course, as always, the disparity in strength within the Vice Admiral rank was just too vast.
To others, they might already be formidable, but facing him...
They were utterly out of their league!!
Kyle slowly raised his hand and softly uttered one word:
"Scatter!"
The instant his voice fell, the swiftly traveling thunder serpents on the ship suddenly exploded. In an instant, a sea of violet thunder engulfed the entire vessel.
Looking from the outside, not a trace of the ship could be seen; there was only a giant violet thunderball. The thunder dissipated into the sea, and all kinds of oddly shaped fish floated up from beneath the waves, their white bellies turning skyward.
After a short while, the thunderball gradually faded and dispersed. On the ship's deck inside, the rolling thunder also slowly dissipated, leaving only a few scattered remnants.
Looking up, no one on the deck had fallen, but several figures were completely scorched black, their bodies emitting a faint aroma of cooked meat. Their mouths were slightly open, and a wisp of black smoke puffed out.
These individuals couldn't help but stagger several times, but none of them collapsed.
"Oh! Not bad. Although this was just a casual strike of mine, the fact that you didn't lose consciousness already puts you ahead of the vast majority of people in the world!"
Kyle spoke softly.
Generally speaking, when he fought others, he didn't often show off, nor did he usually babble this much.
So why was it like this when facing the Red-Haired Pirates?
The most important reason was that this group from the Red-Haired Pirates were also very good at showing off; every time they appeared in the original story, they were full of swagger.
In that case, Kyle had to compete with them and see who could show off more!!
Below, Benn Beckman dispersed the Armament Haki covering his body and looked down at himself. He saw that some parts of his body were also scorched black, emitting faint black smoke.
The feeling of pain and numbness mixed together—quite a pleasant sensation!
This meant his Armament Haki was useful, but not very useful. It did provide some resistance against Kyle's thunder, but it couldn't fully defend against it completely.
And this was still the power after countless thunderbolts had scattered. If it had been concentrated in a single point...
Benn Beckman's brow furrowed deeply. He looked up at Kyle, and the solemnity in his eyes deepened severalfold.
He let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
"Looks like we're in for a tough battle this time!"
He turned his head to look at the others. They were also dispersing their Armament Haki, but several were still completely scorched black even after dispersing it. This meant their Armament Haki training wasn't up to par, and they had almost no defense at all.
And their aura at this moment was also more chaotic compared to the others.
Benn Beckman asked:
"Can you guys still hold on?!"
"No problem! We can still fight!!"
Those few immediately replied. Although their breathing was rapid, their tone was very firm.
"In that case, then let's fight!!"
Benn Beckman roared in a low voice and was the first to charge at Kyle. The rest also followed suit, all heading straight for Kyle...
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