After a long while, the violent purple thunder gradually dissipated, and the sea surface slowly returned to calm, with only occasional flashes of lightning and the scattered wreckage of ships floating on the water.
It was bad news for the Red Hair Pirates; their ship, which they had only used for a few years, was destroyed once again like this.
However, even worse news awaited them next.
"So, you're running into the sea again and not showing your heads, are you?"
Last time, he had no choice; without Garp having any real intention to fight, going up against the Red Hair Pirates alone would have certainly ended in defeat.
But things were different now. He had single-handedly reduced the Red Hair Pirates to this state. Could he possibly let them escape?
Kyle narrowed his eyes, releasing his Observation Haki, and combined it with his Rumble-Rumble Fruit abilities, spreading his perception across the sea area below.
It took only a moment for him to sense their location.
The result was just as he had anticipated; there were only two signs of conscious activity. Although the others weren't dead, they had all fallen unconscious.
If this were the Red Hair Pirates ten years in the future, Kyle believed those officers wouldn't be in such a sorry state even after taking his attack. But right now, they simply didn't have that level of strength!
Kyle slowly raised his hand, and rolling thunder echoed across the sky once more.
Since he knew the target's location, what needed to be done next was simple: precision bombardment!
With a wave of Kyle's hand, a massive bolt of purple thunder descended from the sky, striking a specific point on the sea surface.
Boom——
A tremendous roar accompanied by the blast of an exploding wave echoed out. The sea surface was blasted into a huge crater, and hundreds of meters below within that crater were the charred bodies of the Red Hair Pirates' crew.
Kyle waved his hand again, and several chains of lightning extended out, shooting towards the unconscious Red Hair Pirates officers.
Seeing Shanks about to strike and cut his lightning chains, Kyle simply stated calmly:
"If you want them dead, then go ahead and stop me!"
"My warship is nearby. If I capture them, I won't kill them; I'll just tie them up and take them to my ship!"
"Then, the two of you will fight me. If you lose, you'll end up in the same situation as them, obediently going back to sit in prison!"
"But if you win, I doubt Zephyr, the only one left on the warship, will be able to stop you from rescuing them, right?"
"However, if you continue to let these unconscious people remain in our battlefield, consider the consequences for yourself!"
As soon as Kyle said this, Shanks' movement immediately halted. After a long moment of silence, he ultimately did not stop Kyle, allowing him to pull the unconscious Lucky Roux and the others back with his lightning chains.
After pulling them back, Kyle, without a second thought, hurled them towards a certain location behind him.
A super-long three-pointer!!
A real man never looks back at a goal!
It was only because his opponent was Shanks that Kyle was willing to waste so many words with him.
Regarding Shanks as a person, Kyle actually admired him quite a bit. Putting aside everything else, his acting skills were top-notch!
After forming the Red Hair Pirates, Shanks had briefly stayed at Mary Geoise for a period.
'You simply can't understand what it feels like to waste twenty-four years of life. No wonder I always felt out of place, it's disgusting!'
These were words Shanks had once spoken to his beloved older brother, Figarland Shamrock.
It had to be said, his acting completely fooled his own father and brother.
Talking on and on about wanting to find the culprit who set fire to Mary Geoise and freed the slaves, but then why did he help Tiger cut those chains!
And when he and his good buddy Buggy were laughing like a couple of idiots, you couldn't really see him feeling out of place or disgusted then, could you!
On the day King Harald of the Giant Kingdom died, Shanks also arrived at Elbaf. While chatting with Jarul, he once mentioned that there were too many things he wanted to know.
Shanks grew up on the Roger Pirates from a young age and was profoundly influenced by Roger and the others. Roger and Jarul called him the 'Child of Destiny'!
He bears a heavy burden on his shoulders. Kyle isn't entirely clear on the specifics; he has some guesses, but nothing certain.
However, generally speaking, this guy's ultimate goal seems to align with his own.
The real reason Kyle wants to capture him isn't something trivial like the differing stances of Marine and Pirate. He wants to verify something.
And to verify this matter, capturing Shanks is the way to do it.
"Alright, let's continue our battle!"
Kyle stated calmly.
Purple lightning flashed in his hand as he fiercely swung his blade. A massive purple slashing wave shot forth, wrapped in an aura that could cut through anything.
Shanks and Beckman didn't hesitate for a moment. One slashed out a black-red slashing wave, while the other fired a black-red 'energy wave'.
The nature of that energy wave was formed around the Conqueror's Haki-infused bullet he shot.
The two attacks collided with Kyle's purple slashing wave.
In an instant, heaven and earth seemed to split apart. Thick bolts of black-red lightning crackled incessantly all around, and the sea surface below was directly blasted into a huge depression.
After a long moment, all three attacks dissipated.
Since neither Shanks nor Beckman were Devil Fruit users, falling into the sea wouldn't render them unable to fight, but it would certainly have some effect on them.
Therefore, the advantage was his!!
With that thought, Kyle raised his hand, and the violent purple thunder in the sky flashed once more...
——
Unknown how much time passed, Kyle carried two unconscious figures onto the warship.
When he arrived, the officers of the Red Hair Pirates had already woken up one by one, but each was tightly bound with thick iron chains wrapped firmly around them.
And when they saw Shanks and Benn Beckman dangling from Kyle's hands, helpless expressions appeared on each of their faces.
They knew it!!
Ever since they woke up and felt the continuous tremors of the distant battle, they knew their captain and first mate were most likely doomed.
Now that the result was out, it was just as they thought!
Theoretically, they should have confidence in their captain. In the past, whenever they fought other enemies who claimed Shanks was definitely no match for their captain, they would just smirk and say:
"We believe in our captain!!"
But that was when they knew the gap in strength between Shanks and his opponent wasn't huge, and there was a chance to win.
But this situation... they truly couldn't see any possibility of Shanks winning.
Especially fighting in the sea, with no stable footing. They couldn't win to begin with, and this added disadvantage made it even more impossible.
But losing is one thing, why couldn't the two of you even leave a single wound on the opponent's body?
Are you two that useless?!
Cough~ ptooey!!
Kyle didn't have a single scratch on him, completely unlike someone who had just been through a major battle.
However, on this point, Lucky Roux and the others were truly wronging Shanks and the other man.
Shanks' strength was roughly on par with Wang Zhi's. Even if Benn Beckman was slightly weaker, he still had the level of the weakest Admiral.
Facing these two simultaneously, and fighting on the sea where their abilities were hindered, made it relatively easier for Kyle.
If this had been on land, even if Kyle could eventually take them down, the difficulty would have been significantly higher.
And it wasn't that he hadn't been injured; it was just that his injuries had healed due to his Undying Body.
Kyle handed Shanks and the other man over to a few Marines, who immediately produced thick chains and gave Shanks and Beckman the same treatment as Lucky Roux and the others.
Thus, the members of the Red Hair Pirates were all present and accounted for!!!
...
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