Chinjao spun in midair and leaped. The cone-shaped protrusion on his head was now covered in the most highly condensed Armament Haki, gleaming with a metallic sheen.
"Hyah—!!!"
Chinjao roared, his whole body like a cannonball blasted from a heavy artillery piece.
With his drill-like head at the forefront, he charged at Luo Tian with the force to raze cities and split mountains!
This strike contained everything he had learned in his life: the essence of Hasshoken, the pinnacle of Armament Haki, and the sharpness of his drill, tempered through a thousand trials.
"Hasshoken Secret Technique: Drill Dragon: Drill Nail—!!!!"
At last, Chinjao had unleashed his ultimate trump card!
The supreme secret technique of Hasshoken—and the strongest attack of his life.
This strike could pierce city walls and shatter mountains!
The air in the hall froze.
The Happo Navy members stared wide-eyed, holding their breath as they hoped their leader's earth-shaking attack could turn the tide.
Chinjao's son clenched his fists.
Father... you have to win!
But—
"You won't give up until you're staring death in the face."
Luo Tian merely snorted.
Dark-red Haki flared over his fist like blazing flames.
Even more terrifying, a nearly invisible, translucent field of Repulsion was compressing and condensing furiously just above the Haki's surface!
Then, facing the drill that could pierce anything, he threw a punch!
"Shinra Tensei: Extreme!"
He compressed the repulsive force of Shinra Tensei to its absolute limit, concentrating it at a single point on his fist to create "absolute repulsion" that surpassed the limits of physics!
Fist met drill in midair.
Time seemed to freeze.
Everyone saw a bizarre sight: Chinjao's drill stopped just three inches from Luo Tian's fist.
It hadn't been blocked. It had been "rejected."
The space before the drill seemed to have turned into an invisible wall that could never be crossed.
Then—
Whoosh—BOOM!!!
A violent shockwave erupted from the two men, expanding wildly in every direction like a sphere!
The hall's floor shattered inch by inch, its beams snapped, and its walls collapsed. The entire palace began to fall apart like a house of cards!
The shockwave hurled everything nearby—tables, chairs, decorations, unconscious guards, even the Happo Navy members—away in every direction like fallen leaves.
At the center of the impact—
Chinjao flew backward like a kite with its string cut, tumbling and spinning through the air as a trail of blood arced behind him. He slammed into the floor at the hall's entrance.
BOOM—!!!
The floor caved in, leaving a crater more than ten meters across. Shattered stone flew everywhere as dust filled the air.
At the bottom of the crater, Chinjao lay on his back, covered in blood.
Even more astonishing was the cone on his head, the source of his pride—
The once spear-sharp drill was now dented and deformed!
Chinjao's breath was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind. His injuries were so severe that he was on the verge of death.
That punch had not only shattered his attack, it had driven the terrifying repulsive force straight into his body.
If not for his formidable physique and Armament Haki protecting him, he would already have been dead.
Luo Tian flickered and appeared beside the fallen Chinjao.
He looked down at the West Blue's overlord without a trace of pity.
The Supreme Grade Blade Black Dragon slid from its sheath, its edge resting lightly against Chinjao's neck.
Luo Tian said coldly, "Take me to the Glacier Treasure."
"Never—!!!"
Chinjao summoned the last of his strength and roared, defiance burning in his eyes.
It was the accumulated wealth of eleven generations of his family, his means of one day dominating the seas, and the obsession of his entire life!
He would rather die than yield!
As his roar faded, Chinjao's eyes rolled back, and he passed out completely.
Luo Tian slowly raised his blade, ready to bring it down.
With one swing, Chinjao, the West Blue's overlord known as "The Drill," would become history.
"Wait—! Lord Luo Tian, please spare my father!"
Chinjao's son cried out urgently. His voice trembled with fear, but his resolve was clear.
"I... I can take you to the Glacier Treasure!"
He couldn't hesitate any longer.
If he didn't speak now, his father would truly be decapitated.
And if the Happo Navy lost Chinjao, they would lose their foothold in the West Blue for good.
"Oh?"
Luo Tian slowly lowered his blade and turned his gaze to the young man, who looked remarkably like Chinjao.
"Then lead the way. I hope you're not lying to me.
You know what will happen otherwise. Your Happo Navy has a huge operation in Flower Country. You can run, but you can't hide your home."
"I understand!"
Chinjao's son nodded solemnly, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
He immediately shouted to his subordinates:
"Get my father medical treatment! Quickly!"
The Happo Navy members rushed to carry the gravely wounded Chinjao out of the hall, not daring to delay for a moment.
Only Luo Tian and the king, slumped on the floor with a deathly pale face, remained in the hall.
Luo Tian glanced at the king, ignored him, and turned to walk outside.
The Ice Continent.
A vast region covered by eternal glaciers, located along the northern border of Flower Country.
It was freezing all year round, with temperatures as low as minus fifty degrees. Ordinary creatures couldn't survive there.
But now, this ice field, silent for millions of years, had received an unwelcome visitor.
A massive pirate ship slowly descended from the sky and landed firmly on the thick ice.
Luo Tian stood at the bow, his black coat open at the chest and flapping in the cold wind.
Even Luo Tian, who had seen more than his share of wealth, couldn't help but be dazzled by the sight before him.
Several hundred meters ahead, beneath a transparent layer of ice dozens of meters thick, lay a space the size of a pond.
And inside that space...
There was a dazzling heap of treasures!
Jade, gemstones, gold and silver ornaments, and piles of coins stacked like little hills.
There was everything one could imagine, glittering brilliantly.
A conservative estimate put the total value of these treasures at... well over a hundred billion Beli.
"Wow! That's so much treasure!"
"I wonder if our ship can even carry it all!"
The pirates shouted excitedly, their eyes full of greed and fervor.
Some had even started calculating how much they might get.
Of course, most of it would go to Luo Tian, the officers, and Captain Rocks. But even a tiny share would be enough to keep them in luxury for the rest of their lives.
Luo Tian ignored the commotion behind him.
He walked over to the ice, crouched down, and tapped its surface with his knuckles.
Thud. Thud.
The dull sound spoke to the ice's astonishing thickness and hardness.
Luo Tian estimated that the ice was at least thirty meters thick. Years of freezing temperatures had made it as dense as steel.
No wonder only Chinjao among the Happo Navy could break through it.
His drill, tempered through a thousand trials, combined with the penetrating force of Hasshoken, was indeed the perfect tool for carving through ice like this.
But for Luo Tian, it was no trouble.
He slowly rose and set his right foot on the ice.
A translucent halo of vibration began to gather beneath his sole.
Then he stomped down hard!
Crack! Crack—!!!
Centered on Luo Tian's right foot, countless huge, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the ice with a snap!
They raced outward, covering the entire surface in an instant and reaching dozens of meters deep!
The next moment—
Rumble—!!!
The ice covering the entire cavern shattered and collapsed!
Countless chunks of ice fell into the treasure pool below.
Once the ice had collapsed, the treasure pool beneath it was fully exposed.
The gold gleamed like the sun.
Before you continue