The Stopped Battle: A Call from the Five Elders

"What?"

The pirate jolted in shock and instantly turned to look at the motionless wreckage nearby.

He had abandoned defense to unleash Soaring Dragon's ultimate technique, successfully striking Shanks. But in exchange, Ron had exposed himself to the blade and taken the full brunt of the latter half of "Emperor's Descent."

The magnificent, tyrannical storm of sword energy swept across his body in an instant, raging wildly and piercing him full of holes as flesh and blood flew everywhere.

That slash capable of tearing apart the sea landed squarely on him. Without question, it tore through his protective Armament Haki and cleaved his entire body in two.

But...

Watching strands of flesh crawl out from the severed halves like living earthworms and connect them together, watching his severed body remain linked by threads of tissue, the pirate collapsed onto the ground in terror, his pants soaked through.

"Mon... monster!!"

Even his face could no longer be made out on his pulverized head. It was nothing but a heap of minced flesh. Yet he still had not died, and he was healing at an astonishing speed.

Gurgle, gurgle...

The shattered eyeball was rapidly pieced back together by the rotten flesh, spinning wildly atop that mass of bloody tissue like a pile of meat paste.

Shanks dared swear to the heavens that, even with only one eyeball, he could see Ron's mockery and disdain within it.

"Run!!"

With a furious roar, Shanks forced himself to his feet.

He knew perfectly well that such an attack was not enough to kill Ron. To this day, no one knew how to kill him, just like Kaido.

However, Ron's defense was inferior to Kaido's, and his attacks could hurt him. He absolutely could not let Ron finish healing before launching another assault.

Boom!

Shanks kicked