Whoosh!
Driven by Loa's monstrous strength and its own momentum, the Thunder Stone hurtled through the wind like a Meteorite and slammed into the still-open wound in Hook's head.
It moved so fast that even Shanks couldn't follow the Thunder Stone's path. Only a brilliant streak lingered on his retinas, telling him where the Stone had gone.
But he didn't care about that now. All he knew was that Loa was trying to activate the Thunder Stone by smashing it into Hook, killing him in the process.
Which raised a question...
Didn't this thing explode when it touched a Titan?
Shanks stroked his chin in thought. Then he realized he was flying backward, as though someone had grabbed him by the collar and was dragging him away.
That was exactly what had happened.
"Huh? Benn Beckman, what are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" Shanks's question nearly made Benn Beckman let go. But to spare a certain image-conscious Yonko the indignity of being blown away, he resisted the urge.
"Running, Captain! Did you forget what happened to Stomach Island?"
Despite being the fattest of them all, Lucky Roux was the fastest. He tossed out an explanation without slowing his sprint.
"Oh, right! The Thunder Stone explodes when it touches a Titan! And it's even more powerful than Bomb Rock!"
Shanks smacked his fist into his palm as realization dawned.
"Then run on your own!" Benn Beckman roared through clenched teeth and flung Shanks away.
While Shanks and the others ran for their lives, far from Town, at the ruins of the Bibi family's Castle...
"Out of the way. Let me handle this!"
With that, Momonga stepped forward under the speechless gazes of the soldiers.
If he hadn't been worried about his beloved sword, he would have acted long ago.
But