PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

BOOM!

The already fractured Thousand-Hand Guanyin shattered like glass, erupting in a crimson explosion.

At last, the joint attack of Nekomamushi and Inuarashi broke through.

The aftermath surged forth like a tidal wave, screaming toward Luo Yu.

But in that moment, the two Minks—finally noticing—froze.

Luo Yu's eyes had completely changed.

That blood-red glow, those unfathomable swirling patterns, bloomed like a fleeting flower of death—terrifying and divine.

And then…

A surge of pressure so oppressive, so overwhelming, it couldn't be described by language.

Crimson energy—dense, furious—erupted like a dam burst from hell.

BOOOOM!!

Before they could react, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi were engulfed in the wave.

It felt like being struck head-on by Zunesha itself.

The full-force of their strongest attack, launched with absolute confidence, was instantly obliterated.

Their bodies were flung like ragdolls, smashing into a distant hundred-meter-tall plaza statue.

The statue shattered with a deafening crash.

Blood spurted from their mouths in unison.

The entire battlefield froze.

The once-excited and hopeful Mink Tribe fighters, including Pedro and Wanda, stood petrified, as if they had just witnessed a nightmare come alive.

They failed.

They actually failed.

The strongest move of their two kings—revered as an ultimate trump card, a technique that Pedro had just sworn could repel even an Admiral…

Had fallen flat.Completely.Utterly.

If they hadn't witnessed it themselves, no one would believe it.

Yet now, no one was speaking.

No one could.

Even the ones embedded in the debris—Nekomamushi and Inuarashi—were too shocked to move.

Everyone's eyes turned upward.

Where once stood the Thousand-Hand Guanyin, now stood something entirely different:

A towering, blood-red armored titan, nearly twenty meters tall.

A pair of blood-hued eyes glared down beneath a majestic demonic helmet, sending cold dread into the hearts of everyone who looked upon it.

It was the Susanoo.

The very first reward Luo Yu drew from the platinum treasure chest—one of the strongest ocular abilities from a distant, fiery world.

This was not just defense—it was also the embodiment of absolute attack.

What stood before them now was Susanoo's third form.

Though its legs were yet to fully materialize, the entire upper body—clad in tengu-like armor—was fully manifested, brimming with boundless force.

Its overwhelming aura poured outward like an endless sea.

Its massive frame loomed over the plaza, suffocating the very air.

Even Aramaki, normally the most flippant of them all, had lost every trace of his teasing grin.

Until now, he had always believed Luo Yu's slash in Sabaody had only succeeded because he himself hesitated.

That if they clashed again, he would come out on top.

But now…

Looking at that towering, crimson titan…

That confidence evaporated like mist.

"Heh… looks like little brother Luo Yu's gone and used something ridiculous again," Fujitora chuckled softly, tapping his cane-sword.

"I do wonder what exactly it is this time."

He turned slightly.

"Oh right, Aramaki, didn't you just say you wanted a rematch?"

"There's still time before clock-out—you could still make it if you act now."

"…Right now?" Aramaki stiffened, his jaw twitching.

He glanced toward the ten-meter greatsword looming in Susanoo's hand.

He swallowed hard.

"Fujitora-ossan… you're hilarious. I'm already back on the ship! Why would I bring that up again?"

"You see that big ol' sword? Yeah—definitely not messing around with that."

"Big ol' sword?" Fujitora's brow twitched. He activated his Observation Haki.

And in an instant—his expression changed.

The Susanoo let out a pulse.

Its right hand suddenly raised—

SHING!

A jet-black blade, ten meters long, blazed into existence, slicing the air with a high-pitched shriek.

Luo Yu, hidden within the titan's chest cavity, allowed his Dark Grimoire to unfurl beneath his cloak.

Pages fluttered wildly.

A surge of ancient dark magic gushed forth, joining the flow of Armament Haki and Susanoo's power.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

Explosions popped like firecrackers in the air.

Three terrifying forces intertwined—

And finally, settled.

Then…

Stillness.

The air froze.

The atmosphere ceased flowing.

A pressure, darker and deeper than the abyss, settled over everything.

A choking sense of death fell upon the plaza.

Every cell in their bodies screamed.

Do NOT take this strike.

Or you'll die.

Everyone instinctively looked toward Luo Yu.

Now, within Susanoo, he seemed like a black hole of pure destruction.

Even Nekomamushi and Inuarashi—who had barely risen from the rubble—couldn't move.

Their muscles locked.Their instincts screamed.

A single breath might be enough to provoke doom.

That massive form, and that blade—yearning to reap souls—were like harbingers of divine punishment.

And in that moment, they understood.

Luo Yu hadn't underestimated them.

He hadn't been careless.

They had merely stepped willingly into his trap.

This pressure—this deathly aura—was not something they could fight.

Not even with their Moon Lion forms.

"Alright… my turn."

Luo Yu's voice echoed from deep within the Susanoo, calm and cold.

He took a sip from his gourd of cheap liquor, then locked eyes with the two kings.

That glance alone made their fur stand on end.

A moment ago, they'd been proud of their Moon Lion coats.

Now it felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over them.

Their gaze slowly lifted—

To the massive sword raised by Susanoo.

It moved.

The air—once still—screamed as it twisted.

Space itself warped under the pressure.

Even Pedro and Wanda snapped out of their daze.

They stared in horror at the kings.

This was it.

Would their kings make a stand?

Could they survive?

And then—

The entire plaza was rocked by a sudden, desperate roar:

"RUN!!"

"RUN NOW!!"

"Don't try to take this head-on! We must live—to avenge Lord Oden!!"

The Moon Lion Kings—who moments ago were prepared to die for honor—

Now fled.

Because they finally understood:

This sword… wasn't meant to be blocked.It was meant to destroy.