On the deck, Carina's usually cunning and lively eyes bulged wide open, her jaw practically hitting the floor!
Her gaze snapped back and forth between the dark long rifle in Zaraki's hands and the distant giant ship with its massive charred crater, a strange, choked gurgle escaping her throat.
Beside her, Zoro stood stiff as a board, his fingers digging deep into his crossed arms just to prove to himself he wasn't trapped in some crazy illusion.
"Is this what you meant by clearing out the small fry?" Zoro's voice cracked, his eyes locked onto the strange weapon in Zaraki's hands with heavy uncertainty.
"What the hell is that thing? Some kind of Devil Fruit power, or is there a whole cannon hidden inside that iron pipe?"
For a swordsman to pull off a hit like that, it would require a flying slash from a true Great Swordsman, yet this guy had caused all that destruction just by moving a single finger!
"Don't act like you've never seen anything before." Zaraki didn't even bother looking back at his crew's dumbfounded faces, just shaking out his slightly numb wrist before pressing the still-warm gunstock right back against his shoulder.
A vicious smirk curled the corner of his mouth. "That was just a quick greeting to calibrate the sights, so get ready, because the main course is up next!"
"There's... more?" Carina shrank back, staring at the pitch-black rifle with pure reverence.
Zaraki gave no answer, his breathing rhythm shifting as his usual lazy stance locked into something solid and terrifying.
With a quick thought, a faint blue System interface flickered at the edge of his vision.
[Detected host actively increasing stamina output.]
[Warning: Current energy level is approaching the gun body's material tolerance limit. Recommend swift resolution.]
The moment Zaraki pulled the trigger, the modified rifle gave off a deep, compressed hum.
The matte-black body only trembled once in his hands as the weapon greedily drew on his stamina and compressed that force into a single terrifying shot.
A faint heat spread across the barrel. The air in front of the muzzle caved inward for an instant—
Then the second shot burst out.
Only a twisted vacuum trail ripping straight across the sea showed where it had passed.
The ocean surface split open under the pressure alone, kicking up two towering walls of white mist in its wake.
"Hey, Zaraki! That gun is sucking you dry!" Zoro yelled, noticing how pale Zaraki's face had turned in a flash.
"It's just charging a little interest."
Zaraki gritted his teeth, cold sweat breaking out across his temples.
This modified monstrosity acted like a bottomless pit, greedily devouring both his stamina and his willpower!
Through the eight-power scope, the System locked a bright red cursor right onto Don Krieg.
Staring through the lens, the Pirate Admiral who had been roaring his head off moments ago finally sensed the impending doom, throwing his head up as all the color drained from his face!
Even across miles of ocean, Krieg felt the chilling gaze of a Shinigami bearing down on his soul.
"Dodge... dodge right now!" Krieg let out a distorted, panicked scream, throwing away every ounce of his dignity as the East Blue's overlord to scramble over the ship's railing and dive straight for the water.
The exact second Krieg's boots left the deck, Zaraki fired.
The shot crossed the distance in an instant.
BOOM—!!
The impact landed a heartbeat later.
The Dreadnaught Sabre jolted violently as though an invisible giant hammer had smashed into its core.
The second shot punched through the damaged section of the flagship, tore through the main structure beneath the mast, and unleashed all of its compressed force inside the hull.
The entire ship did not merely catch fire.
It blew apart from within!
Burning planks, shattered steel plates, and broken mast fragments were hurled skyward in a violent mushrooming blast.
The escort ships around it were slammed by the shockwave and towering waves, two of them capsizing on the spot as terrified pirates were thrown screaming into the sea.
As for Krieg, who had just managed to leap into the water...
Zaraki lowered the rifle slightly and pushed himself more firmly against the rail, spitting out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva.
His shoulder wasn't wrecked by recoil, but the insane stamina drain left his muscles aching and his right arm tingling down to the fingertips.
Pushing his Kenbunshoku Haki out over the water, he sensed a panicked presence desperately diving deeper beneath the surface, fleeing as if a single second of hesitation would get him devoured by the monster above.
"You got away fast enough," Zaraki scoffed.
A heavy silence blanketed the ship until the blast's shockwave finally swept over them, carrying a wave of warm, humid air that snapped everyone back to reality.
A loud gulp echoed clearly in the quiet.
Zoro stared down at the three swords resting on his hip before looking out at the apocalyptic scene in the distance, his eyes looking a bit hollow.
"I swing my swords two thousand times a day..." the green-haired swordsman muttered, his hand rubbing the hilt of the Wado Ichimonji like a reflex.
"And it can't even compare to pulling the trigger on an iron tube just once?"
Crouching in the corner, Carina remained completely stunned.
She stared at the discarded rifle with blazing, feverish eyes.
'This... this is the weapon he got for me?'
With firepower like that in her hands, her old days of surviving through petty theft and deception felt like an absolute joke!
Leaning against the cabin wall, Zaraki felt the heavy drain on his stamina and the deep ache burning in his muscles.
He eyed the modified Kar98k with a serious look, knowing its power easily blew past his expectations, but the physical cost was just as extreme.
His Kenpachi instincts screamed a clear warning: relying on flashy external tools would only dull his own blade!
That brief moment of weakness after firing could get him killed against a true powerhouse, because even half a second of stiffness meant death on the battlefield.
For a guy like him, his own body remained the ultimate weapon.
"Take it." Zaraki flicked his wrist and tossed the heavy rifle right at her.
"Whoa!" Carina scrambled to catch the gun, stumbling under its heavy weight and nearly dropping the stock right onto her foot.
She could still feel the residual heat baking off the barrel—a raw, thrilling sensation of pure destruction.
"This... is really for me?" The girl's eyes went wide as she stared up at Zaraki, fully expecting a battle-crazy guy like him to hoard such a devastating weapon for himself.
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