Outside the town.
The crowd looked with worry at the distant church. When they saw the clash of two Conqueror's Haki, they were all startled.
They never expected that within the World Government, there would be another possessor of Conqueror's Haki.
But after a moment's thought, it wasn't surprising. The Celestial Dragons, as a race, were the supreme beings of this world. If any race in this world was most likely to possess Conqueror's Haki, it would undoubtedly be the Celestial Dragons.
Because they were born kings, standing at the apex of the world from birth.
Later, the clash of Sora and Cartheis's Conqueror's Haki truly tore the sky, allowing sunlight to pierce through the dim island and enabling them to see the figures battling in the distance.
Of course, it also allowed Robin to see a figure she would never forget in her life. As Robin retreated, her voice trembled slightly, "Aokiji, Admiral of the Marines, Aokiji Kuzan."
"Robin-chan, what's wrong?"
A Tao exhaled a puff of smoke, squinted at Kuzan, and then turned to Robin, saying, "It's just an Admiral, isn't it? We've fought them before. There's no need to be so scared."
"En!"
Composing herself and regaining her senses, she said, "Right! I'm not alone anymore. I'm a member of the Silver Hair Adventure Group, no longer the little girl who used to hide and run."
After the Skypiea incident, she had come to genuinely love this team and believed that Sora would always protect her, and the team would protect her.
With this thought, Robin straightened her body, raised her hand to block the raging hurricane that swept towards her, and looked at Kuzan again, her gaze devoid of fear, replaced by calm and confidence.
Just then, an explosion echoed from the distant highlands, followed by an incredibly strong shockwave and violent shaking of the ground. Everyone squinted and bent their waists to prevent being blown over by the impact.
When the shock passed, the crowd's vision was once again obscured by smoke, making it impossible to see the details of the distant battle.
Behind them, Kurot and the others, who had been lurking in the background and whose whereabouts were unknown, had, at some point, blocked their escape route.
They rapidly charged towards the crowd, braving the hurricane stirred up by the shockwave.
"En?"
Alo was the first to notice. He quickly turned, drew the Meihou from his waist, his eyes glowing red. Armament Haki enveloped the Meihou as he unhesitatingly pulled the trigger behind him.
*Bang—!*
A translucent bullet, with a black sheen, pierced the air and shot directly towards Kurot at the forefront.
"Haki?"
As if sensing something, a bone-chilling cold struck his brow. Kurot hurriedly stopped, a hint of red light flashing in his eyes as he swiftly turned his head to the left.
*Puff—!*
The bullet grazed his head, leaving a trail of black light in the air as it shot past him.
His strength was formidable, so of course, he could dodge it.
However, a CP0 member behind him was not so fortunate. They had no idea beforehand that A Hua and the other two had already surpassed their previous selves.
Especially Alo.
Alo's Haki might not be very strong yet, but under this surprise attack, and with the CP0's carelessness, the translucent bullet, shimmering with black light, pierced through the hastily erected Armament Haki on the head of the CP0 member behind Kurot.
It shot directly into his brain.
In fact, with his level of Haki, if he had defended with full power, Alo's bullet, despite its strong penetrating power, would not have been easy to pierce through.
If there had been even a moment's pause, he would have been able to dodge it.
But as mentioned before, there are no "ifs" in this world.
From the moment they met, Sora could have dealt with these CP0 members. So why did Sora allow them to approach?
It was precisely because A Hua and the other two, even if they couldn't win, could at least engage in a skirmish. Wasn't that also a form of training?
Furthermore, regarding the intelligence of A Hua and the other two, the CP0 had no idea. With the element of surprise, it was easy to reduce the CP0's numbers.
And just like that...
The CP0 member behind Kurot froze in his charge, his eyeballs bulging, exuding an aura of extreme terror.
He felt a fire in his head, a fire that kept expanding, on the verge of exploding.
"Urgh!"
He opened his mouth to call out, but the fire gave him no such opportunity. What emerged from his throat was not a sound, but fire.
As the fire appeared, blood and flames also began to pour from his eye sockets and nose.
*Boom—!*
His skull expanded to its limit, then, with a burst of flame and smoke, his head instantly exploded. The ensuing inferno, like molten lava, cascantly poured downwards, engulfing his entire body.
The shockwave generated by the explosion offset the impact from the front, causing the three CP0 members following Kurot to involuntarily stop. They then looked ahead with horrified eyes, at the man with red glowing eyes, wearing a denim jacket on his upper body, leather pants on his lower body, and a flamboyant hairstyle.
If they remembered correctly, wasn't this "Lotteus," the lookout of the Silver Hair Pirate Group?
How long had it been since then?
Not only had he become a true sniper, but he had also learned to use Haki with both hands. Most importantly, there was the gun in his hand.
Staring at Alo's Meihou, the CP0 members felt their entire bodies tingle.
The sensation of being pointed at by a deadly weapon made them extremely uncomfortable.
"What kind of monsters are these guys?"
Were all the members of the Silver Hair Pirate Group monsters?
If they weren't monsters, how could they explain it? In just a few months, what power had allowed these guys to reach this level?
As far as they knew, the oldest among them was only just over seventeen years old.
Thinking about their own ages, they couldn't help but feel a sense of regret, as if they had wasted all their years.
Alo's swift action also jolted the others into action.
A Tao flicked away his cigarette, and as he exhaled smoke, his entire body rapidly expanded, quickly transforming into a giant cat-faced monster nearly 4 meters tall.
Meanwhile, A Hua tore off his tie, twisted his neck with a series of cracking sounds, adjusted his glasses, and his body also rapidly expanded, transforming into a giant white rabbit, about the same height as A Tao.
Looking at the two colossal figures on his left and right, and feeling the fierce aura emanating from them, a hint of surprise flashed in Kurot's calm eyes.
"Devil Fruits."
But what of it, even if they had eaten Devil Fruits? He was not comparable to the ordinary CP0 members behind him; he was the head of CP0.
Even within the Marines, he would be at least a candidate for Admiral.
With fierce killing intent in his eyes, he bent his legs, pushed off the ground with his right foot, and charged towards Alo like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"Deal with the sniper first, then the others."
Staring at Alo, intense killing intent surged in Kurot's pupils.
In battle, the most terrifying foe is not the enemy fighting you directly, but the snipers who attack from afar. They are like venomous snakes lurking in the darkness, ready to strike the moment you let your guard down.
Then, poisoned by them, you meet a tragic end on the battlefield.