Ch 50: Thousand years of Death

Chapter 50: Thousand Years of Killing

Although the top officers of the Beasts Pirates escaped disaster, the remaining SMILE users, failed ancient giant experiments, ordinary officers, and soldiers weren't so lucky. The scalding tsunami hit with full force, wiping out the core ranks and most of the lower-level members in one fell swoop.

Screams, roars, and curses filled the air—then slowly faded into silence, leaving behind only the aroma of roasted flesh drifting over the sea.

Yet, all who smelled that scent wore twisted expressions. Even among pirates used to killing and chaos, the sheer tragedy of what had just occurred left them shaken.

Even Ayaan hadn't expected the results to be this devastating. Except for the highest-ranking commanders, the rest of the Beasts Pirates had been decimated by a single move.

By now, the mochi, syrup, and biscuit defenses dispersed, revealing the members of the Big Mom Pirates. Aside from Katakuri, the rest—Perospero, Cracker, and others—were pale and sweating, clearly exhausted.

Perospero's Pero Pero no Mi (Lick-Lick Fruit) syrup was vulnerable to high heat, and Cracker's Bisu Bisu no Mi (Biscuit-Biscuit Fruit) creations were weak to seawater. During the tsunami, they had to constantly recreate their defenses to survive, draining their stamina.

While most of their fighting ability was lost, the Big Mom Pirates were still in better shape than the Beasts Pirates—at least they hadn't lost any lives.

"That was insane, Ayaan. You almost destroyed a decade of Kaidō's forces in one shot. He's going to lose his mind," Marco said as he landed beside Ayaan, visibly impressed.

Ayaan scratched his head. "It really was just luck this time."

He wasn't being modest—he truly believed it. While the Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique was powerful in the ninja world, it wasn't especially lethal against the physically resilient pirates of this world.

A normal tsunami would've been survivable even for Devil Fruit users, as long as there were crew members to help rescue them. However, Charlotte Oven's timely activation of his Netsu Netsu no Mi (Heat-Heat Fruit) had turned the water boiling hot—turning Ayaan's jutsu into a death sentence.

It was, quite literally, a divine assist.

"You little bastard! DIE!!" roared King, diving from the sky in his pteranodon form. He released Jack, who instantly transformed into his mammoth form midair and hurtled toward Ayaan.

Despite his strength, Ayaan didn't dare take that kind of impact head-on. He flickered away with swift footwork.

"Tempura Udonn!!" King slashed downward with his flaming wings, even as Marco intercepted and knocked him back with a glowing kick.

"Don't ignore me, damn it," Marco said coldly. "Trying to strike my crew while I'm standing here? You think I'm dead or something?"

Marco, being the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Commander, stood equal to King in status. King bypassing him to attack Ayaan was an insult he wouldn't tolerate—and now, he was on the offensive.

Ayaan glanced around. All of Whitebeard's members had found their matchups. Yamato was holding back Katakuri, whose Mochi Mochi no Mi (Mochi-Mochi Fruit) was severely hampered by the icy chill of Yamato's Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Okuchi no Makami (Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Great Wolf Deity). Without his precognitive Observation Haki, Katakuri would've already lost.

Ace was battling Queen, whose tech and virus weapons were useless against Ace's Mera Mera no Mi. He could only rely on brute force Haki, and Ace was holding his own easily.

The rest of the Whitebeard Pirates were handling remaining Beasts Pirates officers. Even with the Big Mom Pirates acting as half-hearted allies, Kaidō's forces were clearly on the losing side.

As for Ayaan's own opponent—only Jack remained.

Breathing hard, eyes bloodshot, the massive mammoth faced him alone.

Ayaan grinned and curled his finger. "Come on, big elephant. Let me break those tusks off."

"DAMN YOU!!" Jack charged with a furious bellow. Ayaan nimbly dodged the first few attacks.

"Are you a monkey!? Quit jumping around!" Jack shouted.

Ayaan mocked him, "I'm just afraid if I punch you, I'll accidentally kill you. You know—1 billion berry bounty and 900 million of that's just for your tusks."

Jack roared and finally snapped, transforming into a mammoth and charging forward headfirst.

Ayaan didn't dodge.

Jack grinned, tusks glowing black with Armament Haki, thinking he had him dead to rights.

With a loud splash, Ayaan was impaled—but burst into water.

A Water Clone.

By the time Jack realized, he had charged to the edge of the ice field. He frantically tried to stop, cracking the ice beneath his massive feet.

Then came a calm voice from behind:

"Big dumb elephant—time for a bath. Thousand Years of Death!"

A sharp pain shot through Jack's rear, and with a howl of anguish, he plunged straight into the boiling sea.

---