Elbaf Spear: Hakoku, Mastered!

Mid-June, 1520, Sea Circle Calendar.

Four figures stood on the cliffside of Little Garden, the primeval island: Bane, Zoro, Dorry, and Brogy.

Behind them, the volcano in the center of the island was erupting, yet, strangely enough, neither Dorry nor Brogy had any intention of fighting today.

"That beast appears every two or three months or so. Dorry and I originally planned to finish it off, but later we found its presence rather amusing, so we kept it around. If nothing goes wrong, it should be here today. Since you've mastered the Elbaf Spear: Hakoku, you might as well use it to test your skills." Brogy stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing out at the vast ocean in the distance.

Although Bane had never seen it with his own eyes, he knew exactly what they were talking about.

It was the Island-Eating Monster, a creature resembling a giant goldfish. This type of sea monster was extremely rare; they typically fed on islands, and the excrement they left behind was just as massive as the islands themselves, making them quite the curiosity.

Bane looked at the calm sea surface and asked curiously, "Are you sure it will appear today?"

"That fellow is surprisingly punctual. It's highly likely. If it doesn't come today, it will in a day or two. Nothing in these waters can harm it, so it has always been the overlord here, and it's always looking for a chance to eat us, hahahahaha!" Dorry laughed heartily.

Just as his voice trailed off, the previously calm sea in the distance suddenly began to churn. A massive shadow appeared beneath the surface and rose rapidly. In the span of just three or five breaths, a giant goldfish, larger than an ordinary island, appeared before their eyes.

"It's here!" A look of anticipation gleamed in Dorry's eyes. "Give it a try! Let's see if your Elbaf Spear: Hakoku has enough kick!"

Zoro was stunned. He had seen many Sea Beasts and even a few Sea Kings along his journey, but this was his first time seeing a monster of such magnitude. Was this truly a target a human could take down?

Bane said nothing. He gripped the hilt of the blade at his waist, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes. He began to build up his momentum, and faint waves of pressure gathered around him, growing increasingly dense before rippling outward.

Dorry and Brogy also tightened their grip on their weapons; if Bane failed to take down the Island-Eating Monster, the two of them would step in to handle the situation.

"Whether we get to eat this thing tonight depends on you!" Brogy encouraged.

At the same time, the Island-Eating Monster opened its massive mouth, gulping down vast quantities of seawater, and accelerated toward Little Garden, seemingly intent on swallowing the entire place.

The moment its mouth opened to its widest, a sharp light flashed in Bane's eyes, and his blade was drawn in a single, violent motion!

"Elbaf Spear: Hakoku!!!" Bane roared.

Zoro, standing beside him, felt as though all the momentum gathered on Bane had condensed onto his blade in an instant. As a swordsman, Zoro could perceive that there were very few elements of Sword Arts in this strike; it was the most fundamental of basics. The terrifying force behind it was the true core!

This force was not some special power like Haki, but purely physical strength. The essence of the Elbaf Spear was to concentrate one's entire body's power into a single point and unleash it as a shockwave. Therefore, only those with superhuman physical strength could employ such a technique!

As Bane swung his blade, the ground at the edge of the cliff shattered first. Then, a fierce force erupted like a shockwave, roaring forward. At first, it was only the size of a human, but as it traveled, the shockwave expanded rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it had grown to the size of a sea beast and continued to expand.

The shockwave carved through the sea, forcing the water aside and gouging out a deep trench before slamming violently into the Island-Eating Monster's mouth.

Pop. It sounded like a wine cork being pulled. There was no spray of blood; a hole had simply opened in the creature's black-hole-like maw, revealing the light on the other side.

The power of the Elbaf Spear: Hakoku had annihilated the flesh at the wound instantly, leaving nothing behind!

"Impressive!" Brogy's eyes lit up as he praised.

"Not bad at all!" Dorry nodded in satisfaction.

Zoro's eyes were filled with shock; this strike had truly exceeded his expectations!

But Bane was still a novice. While this Elbaf Spear: Hakoku was solid, its power was nowhere near as ferocious as those of Dorry and Brogy—especially since the Island-Eating Monster had originally been taken down by those two powerhouses working together.

Sure enough, the next second, the Island-Eating Monster let out a deafening wail. Bane had no idea how a giant goldfish could produce such a sound.

The sound waves rippled outward, whipping up massive swells across the surrounding sea.

Clearly, while this strike had heavily wounded the Island-Eating Monster, it wasn't enough to kill it outright.

Bane didn't hesitate. He still had plenty of strength left; who said the Elbaf Spear: Hakoku could only be used once? Why not fire it repeatedly?

He raised his blade without a second thought, but just as he prepared to exert force, the blade in his hand cracked and shattered into a pile of fragments.

The atmosphere turned awkward. Bane looked at the broken hilt remaining in his hand and his face twitched. "It broke after one hit?"

Dorry, standing nearby, looked a bit embarrassed. "Forgot to tell you. Our Elbaf combat techniques have very high requirements for weapons."

"Mainly because ordinary weapons can't withstand that kind of extreme, condensed power," Brogy added.

"You should have used Armament Haki to protect your blade; that way, it would have lasted a few more hits," Dorry continued.

Indeed, these two Pirate legends from the strongest nation were well-versed in the power of Haki. Bane had learned much of the essence of Haki from them during his time here, and the reason Zoro had come along today was that he, too, had been training in Haki with them.

"I just wanted to see how ferocious a pure Elbaf Spear: Hakoku could be. I had no intention of adding any other power to it," Bane explained.

As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward the swords hanging at Zoro's waist. His own blade was a common, ordinary piece of iron, but Zoro was different. The three swords he carried—Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Yubashiri—were all famous blades.

"What are you looking at?" Zoro covered the hilts of his three swords. "Don't even think about them. If you had mastered the Elbaf Spear: Hakoku, I might lend them to you, but in your current state, I suspect you'd destroy my swords!"

"Stingy. You forget who gave you the money to buy those swords?" Bane muttered, rolling his eyes.

It was then that Dorry and Brogy exchanged a look and said, "Enough, enough. It just so happens we can demonstrate the full glory of the Elbaf Spear: Hakoku for you!"

As the words left their lips, two powerful auras erupted from the two warriors, rapidly converging onto the battered weapons in their hands.

One long sword, one battle axe!

Just as Zoro had realized earlier, the core of this technique was not Sword Arts, so the type of weapon didn't matter; what mattered was that peerless, unstoppable power!!!

In the original story, their weapons shattered after they performed the Elbaf Spear: Hakoku, but now, the two of them coated their weapons in Armament Haki, providing a layer of protection while further enhancing the power of the strike.

In the blink of an eye, the combined Elbaf Spear: Hakoku tore through the air. Its momentum was at least four or five times stronger than the one Bane had unleashed alone!

With a massive boom, the Elbaf Spear: Hakoku slammed directly into the head of the Island-Eating Monster. When the shockwave dissipated, only the rear half of the giant monster remained; everything else was gone.

The creature's tail twitched a few times in the sea before falling still. Brogy and Dorry laughed, jumped off the cliff directly into the ocean, and soon began dragging the remains of the giant fish toward the shore.

Clearly, this was their meal for the day!