Chapter 54: Kirin

"Teach, you are the only one I will never forgive."

When Whitebeard saw Blackbeard, his face lit up in anger, but his remaining rationality prevented him from leaving the battlefield.

After all, he served as the main force against the Navy's three Admirals.

If he departed, his children would be overwhelmed by the Navy's assault.

As long as he remained here, those people wouldn't dare attack unrestrainedly.

"Pops, your era has passed."

"The current age belongs to me!"

But at this moment, Blackbeard no longer displayed the weakness he'd once shown before Whitebeard.

His face blazed with arrogance as he laughed loudly.

He recognized that Whitebeard couldn't deal with him at this time, so he dared to provoke the old man.

Otherwise, he wouldn't risk taunting such a formidable opponent.

"Look over here, Whitebeard."

Sakazuki returned to the battlefield once more.

With scorching magma, he struck at Whitebeard's back with a devastating punch.

However, Marco used his phoenix form to resist the burning attack with considerable difficulty.

Whitebeard could no longer afford the distractions and had no choice but to continue fighting Sakazuki.

"Whitebeard still maintains his composure admirably."

"But in this situation, it feels somewhat inappropriate to clean up a few things without taking action."

On Yami's side, he wasn't particularly surprised to see that Whitebeard hadn't immediately attacked Blackbeard.

However, he wasn't prepared to waste this opportunity.

The most challenging aspect of his mission was destroying all ten targets.

At this time, except for the massive Sanjuan Wolf, who hadn't been brought over, everyone else was trapped in the bay.

Yami was prepared to replicate the navy’s previous operation.

They surrounded them, closed the doors around, and then proceeded to wipe them up.

The Susanoo's skeletal arm gripped a long sword and swept it around, directly clearing the surrounding pirates.

Yami leaped directly onto the iron wall, then stepped on the barrier and climbed to its summit with ease.

However, most attention on the battlefield focused on the main conflicts, leaving little time for anyone to notice Yami's movements.

Only Doflamingo, who was supposed to be causing trouble during this war, remained relatively silent this time, casually fighting a few small-time pirates while focusing more intently on what Yami was doing.

Standing atop the iron wall, Yami raised his right hand, and a bolt of lightning shot skyward from his arm.

It crashed into the dark clouds above.

These storm clouds had formed from the massive accumulation created when Sakazuki used [Meteor Volcano] to attack the Whitebeard Pirates from the bay while simultaneously attempting to melt Aokiji's ice, leaving the pirates with nowhere to stand.

"What is that guy doing?"

Doflamingo wondered.

Kirin required preparation time and wasn't instantaneous, so Doflamingo couldn't immediately understand Yami's actions.

"Boom, boom!"

But suddenly, thunder roared through the clouds overhead.

However, this thunder still couldn't compare to the dense sounds of artillery shells below.

Many assumed it was simply the result of nearby bombardments, and several people rolled around, attempting to avoid the blast impacts.

"Zzzzt!"

But soon the noise grew too big.

Immediately, everyone was stunned.

They raised their heads toward the clouds and saw a blue-white giant beast composed entirely of electrical arcs writhing within the storm.

This spectacle captured far too many people's attention.

"What is that thing?"

Blackbeard felt genuine frustration.

Unplanned developments kept occurring, making him extremely uneasy.

These unexpected events were fraying his nerves.

"[Thunder Release: Kirin]"

Yami's expression remained cold.

Lightning flashed continuously, illuminating his features.

Electricity condensed in his hand while he waved his right arm forward to control the direction of Kirin's attack.

In a thousandth of a second, the enormous thunder beast descended from the skies.

"BOOM!"

The attack's target wasn't Blackbeard, but several of his subordinates.

Laffitte, Van Augur, Jesus Burgess, and Doc Q, four people total.

The quartet hadn't gathered with Blackbeard, instead hiding beneath fragments of broken wooden decking with only their heads exposed for breathing.

However, they couldn't escape Yami's Sharingan, which captured their locations before releasing Kirin to strike them.

"Why?!"

As a sniper, Van Augur possessed the fastest reflexes.

He was the only one among Blackbeard's original crew who demonstrated tactical intelligence.

But at this moment, he couldn't dodge at all.

Moreover, Kirin's attack range was too vast, and its descent speed exceeded what someone like him, who wasn't skilled in close combat, could evade.

The thunder beast instantly covered that section of sea, with electrical arcs conducted through the water. Avoiding the attack would be impossible without flight capability. Additionally, the lightning nature transformation spread the effect across a wider area.

Nearly all seawater in the bay conducted the electrical current, though this also significantly weakened Kirin's concentrated power.

[2/10]!

‘Only two died?’

Yami felt somewhat surprised upon seeing the system task prompt.

[Thunder Release: Kirin] was an S-rank ninjutsu with tremendous power.

At this moment, Yami could only acknowledge that people in this world possessed remarkably strong physical constitutions.

Luffy's crew had been electrocuted by Enel on Sky Island but survived.

This could only be attributed to their physical resilience.

‘Then let's try a second shot.’

Yami raised his hand again.

The first electrical arc released into the clouds caused atmospheric changes, and rain began falling across the battlefield.

Simultaneously, Yami's chakra spread throughout the storm system, facilitating his control.

Most importantly, the clouds created by Sakazuki's molten magma were genuinely massive, eliminating any need for Yami to use fire techniques to generate hot air for atmospheric manipulation.

Moreover, this technique consumed minimal chakra, and Yami could recover almost instantly, allowing unlimited usage.

Then the second Kirin struck, and shortly after it was followed by a third.

Many people on the battlefield had grown numb to the sky's changes, with the primary fighting concentrated within the square and virtually no one remaining in the bay.

Only Buggy the Clown, accompanied by a group of prison escapees, stood precariously on fragments of the crowded Moby Dick, pressed against the iron wall's edge, having luckily survived.

"That bastard, why is he attacking my people?"

Blackbeard seethed with rage.

The subordinates he recruited naturally appealed to him and possessed sufficient ambition and potential.

Each was considered a unique asset.

But now, being attacked indiscriminately by that man, all his investments were being destroyed.

[4/10]!

‘It required three attempts to eliminate those four. This mission is proving more challenging than expected.’

Yami examined the system prompts and abandoned further Kirin usage.

During the attacks, the few remaining hidden individuals had gathered around Blackbeard.

Kirin hadn't targeted those, and they possessed enough strength to withstand the technique's dispersed effects, so they fled to Blackbeard's side and were saved by his electrical absorption.

Using Kirin against Blackbeard directly would prove relatively ineffective.

Most critically, Kirin inflicted area damage with insufficient concentrated power.

Blackbeard could completely utilize his Dark Fruit ability to absorb incoming electrical attacks.

As long as Blackbeard's absorption capacity couldn't be exceeded in a single burst, he could continue drawing in the energy.

Kirin obviously couldn't overwhelm his defensive capabilities.