Jack, who had finally managed to pull his ivory out from the steel giant gate, let out another wretched cry as he was perfectly embedded into it again.
With Jack serving as a cushion, Shano managed to halt his body just in time.
Holding onto the ivory with one hand and wiping away the blood at the corner of his mouth with the other, he staggered to his feet, twisting his neck and rubbing his forehead. His eyes, which had been a bit dazed, quickly regained clarity.
"Is that all?"
Shano couldn't help but burst into laughter, lifting his head once more to look at Kaido.
Facing the same strike, his performance far surpassed that of Nika during the time of the Five Emperors, but that was to be expected.
Step by step, to now, even someone as strong as the Four Emperors couldn't possibly kill him instantly!
"Urorororo!!! *Hic~!"
Kaido, still somewhat inebriated, laughed loudly too, placing his left hand on his chest where the skin was sunken, though no blood flowed out.
"There's a slight pain at the heart, kid! So you've already mastered the technique of Internal Destruction, huh? Looks like this battle is going to be more exhilarating than I anticipated!"
He gripped the Wolf Fang Club again, resting it on his shoulder, with battle intent blazing in his eyes, a grin spreading across his face:
"Recovered yet, kid? You better brace yourself for my second strike!"
— But Shano raised his right hand, signaling to pause:
"Not fighting anymore."
"Huh?"
Kaido frowned, "Scared?"
"How could that be, hahaha!"
Shano laughed heartily.
Stop here?
This is just the beginning!
This Thundering Hakken, much like Garp's "Fist Bone Impact," allowed him to catch a subtle glimpse of the essence of Supreme King Entanglement.
He had to keep going, couldn't stop!
He just started to feel it, hoping to gain more understanding from it!
Getting hit by a club wasn't pleasant.
But…
Kaido, I am desperate to improve!!!
…
"Then what do you mean by that?" Kaido asked, displeased.
"Let's change places, Kaido."
Shano grinned.
Standing between the two gigantic iron doors, he looked down, taking in most of the cityscape of Water Capital.
The nearby streets and water routes had already shown signs of collapsing, as citizens fled in panic towards the outskirts.
The mere aftershock of that one punch had such power.
If the fight continued, it wouldn't just be the No. 1 dock of the Carrera Company that turned into ruins, but the entire city.
Kaido noticed Shano's gaze, glanced in that direction, and immediately guessed his thoughts.
"Why worry about insignificant people, kid?"
Kaido snorted coldly, somewhat impatiently, "Why care about ants? It's natural for the weak to suffer when the strong fight, isn't it?"
"You don't care, but I'll be holding back."
Shano pointed at himself, "If I can't unleash my full strength, the fight won't be satisfying. In that case, even if you knock me down in a few hits, it won't be exciting, right?"
"Nonsense!"
Kaido scoffed disdainfully, slamming the Wolf Fang Club heavily on the ground, causing the entire island to tremble.
"Urorororo… However, since I've finally found you and I'm in a good mood today, I'll accommodate your wish and fight in another place!"
He took a wine gourd from his waist, took a swig, his eyes menacingly sharp:
"Say it, kid, where do you want to go? Don't waste too much time; I won't go too far!"
"Don't worry, it's close."
Shano pointed to the outskirts of Water Capital below:
"See that station over there? Following the direction of the tracks, the sea train can reach Judicial Island in a few hours, and with your flying ability, you'll get there even faster. Fighting on the turf of the World Government, isn't that more interesting than tearing down civilian houses?"
"Judicial Island?"
Kaido looked over with interest, in the moonlight, the outline of the sea track extending to the horizon was indeed clearly visible.
"Urorororo!!"
Kaido laughed wildly, "Kid, you've chosen quite the place!"
"You should have said so earlier; it's just what I want! The World Government is still dreaming, hoping to use me to eliminate you, but I will not do as they wish!"
"What do you mean by that?" Shano raised an eyebrow, having a hunch.
"What do you think! Foolish kid!"
Kaido snorted, "Paradise is not like the New World; it's within the complete control of the Navy! You think under normal circumstances, that group would allow a Sea Emperor to mess around in the first half?! They'd be terrified, hastily dispatching a Grand Admiral to intercept!"
"But this time? I've been in Paradise for so many days and there's no one bothering me! Surveillance, tracking, military mobilization… nothing at all! It's never been this smooth, clearly, the World Government wants to kill two birds with one stone!"
No.
Kaido hiccuped again, shaking his head.
Smooth?
Hmph, not quite.
It's just that the Navy didn't foolishly come to make trouble this time.
He had put in a lot of effort this time.
The ocean is vast and boundless; even if he can transform into a Cyan Dragon and fly, finding a stranger whose presence is unfamiliar is like finding a needle in a haystack.
He could only use the process of elimination, flying over each island one by one in the vicinity of Alabasta, checking them out.
Every time he flew over an island, he'd pause briefly to sense if there were any strong presences on it.
If there was, he'd check it out.
If not? He'd continue flying!
Overall, this journey of stopping and starting was full of twists and turns!