THE STRONGEST CREATURE OF THE BEAST PIRATES

Afterwards, Alastor's presence remained imposing as ever. With the terrified eyes of the dozen thieves fixed on him, he continued forward with unyielding confidence. In an instant, he unleashed a devastating attack, engulfing them in a flash of blinding lightning.

"Ah, it's thunder! It's thunder!"

"It's burning! It's so hot, I'm going to melt!"

"How can this happen?! I'm not ready to die...!"

The shrill screams of the thieves filled the air, but it was all in vain. Just like the burly man before them, the dozen thieves were reduced to nothing but ash, their bodies disintegrated by the searing thunder, leaving no trace behind.

Alastor nodded to himself. "This is a small technique I learned from a certain sister... It works well."

"Are you satisfied with this appetizer?" Alastor mused, glancing at Shutenmaru, who had been roused by the screams.

Shutenmaru appeared just in time to witness his underlings being burned to ashes by the dazzling thunder beam. His eyes widened in disbelief. Then, a murderous aura filled the air, more terrifying than anything he had ever felt. His eyes turned scarlet as his face twisted in rage. With great effort, he drew his katana, coating it with a layer of armed haki.

"You've killed Wa Meng, and now you dare step onto my territory and kill my subordinates? How much do you look down on me, brat?" Shutenmaru's anger was so overwhelming that it felt as though it could tear the skies apart.

His voice was filled with bloodlust as he declared, "Are you ready to die, boy? There's no Drought Jack to save you now!"

With the sword fully drawn, Shutenmaru released a wave of liquid-like haki, a form of advanced ryou—a higher intensity of the already powerful technique. It was the embodiment of his full strength.

He was eager for revenge, thirsting to kill Alastor and avenge his fallen comrades.

Despite Shutenmaru's rage, Alastor remained unfazed, his response laced with mockery. "Boy Asura, do you know who your tone of voice resembles right now?"

"What?" Shutenmaru snarled, his grip tightening around his sword.

"It's almost like Wameng, who swore to kill me but ended up having his head crushed under my boot. It's quite similar to Denjiro, too. I don't know if you've heard of him, but he was one of the Nine Red Scabbards. I killed him too," Alastor continued coolly.

At the mention of Denjiro's name, Shutenmaru's body trembled, his face contorting in rage.

Alastor casually added, "I once casually commented that Kozuki Oden was an idiot, and Denjiro went completely mad. Tsk... What a loyal dog."

"Shut up! Shut your mouth!" Shutenmaru's rage boiled over, and with a roar, he charged at Alastor, swinging his katana toward his neck.

"Go to hell!" he shouted, determined to end this.

Alastor sneered, tilting his head as Shutenmaru's sword approached. "You're so impulsive and brainless. Just like your master, Kozuki Oden. People like you, no matter how strong you are, will always be fools."

With a swift movement, Alastor shifted, allowing Shutenmaru's blade to graze off his shoulder, but not without consequences. As Shutenmaru's sword passed, Alastor jabbed his finger forward, releasing a powerful surge of lightning.

"Lightning Finger Gun!"

The electric current infused within Alastor's finger shot through Shutenmaru, creating a bloody hole in his chest. Even with his haki defenses, the attack pierced through, leaving Shutenmaru gasping in shock.

Shutenmaru staggered back, his face filled with disbelief. "What... how did your body become so tough? How did your attack break through my armor?"

Alastor looked at him with a smug expression. "You should feel strange. After all, unlike you, I don't just sit around waiting for a prophecy to come true. I keep improving."

Shutenmaru, still shocked, couldn't help but reflect on his decision to wait twenty years in anticipation of some foretold event. A regret gnawed at him. Had he acted sooner, perhaps things would have been different. This was something only Alastor, with his constant growth, could understand.

Shutenmaru growled, "Do you think I'm willing to wait?" His eyes were filled with venom. "I've been living like this for far too long!"

With that, he leapt into the air, swinging his katana down with terrifying speed. His fat may have made him appear sluggish, but his movements were deceptively fast.

Alastor smirked. "This is how it looks."

In an instant, the cursed sword (the sword Alastor wielded) was unsheathed. His cells generated electricity, wrapping the blade in a storm of power, transforming it into a Thunder Sword.

Alastor's blade clashed with Shutenmaru's katana with an explosion of electricity. The air itself seemed to shudder with the force of their strikes. Sparks flew, and the surrounding area was swept away by violent gusts.

Shutenmaru's eyes widened in disbelief. His katana—designed to be one of the strongest in the land—was being cut into by Alastor's blade.

"Thunder sword... the thunder greatly enhances the sharpness of the blade! No ordinary sword can compete with this!" Alastor taunted, his blade cutting deeper into Shutenmaru's weapon, the sound of metal scraping against metal ringing out.

As a last-ditch effort, Shutenmaru forced all his will into his Armament Haki, coating his samurai sword with a thick, pitch-black layer of haki, turning it into a far more formidable weapon.

The battle raged on as the two warriors clashed, their swords ringing out with each strike, sparks flying.

The air was filled with the sound of their blades grinding against each other. Blood stained both of their bodies as they continued to exchange blows.

Alastor, already accustomed to such wounds, didn't seem bothered by the injuries. To him, they were but minor inconveniences.

However, Shutenmaru grew more desperate with every passing second. His confidence was rapidly waning, as he realized that Alastor's strength far surpassed his expectations.

"It's like fighting Drought Jack... no, he's even more difficult than Jack!" Shutenmaru thought, his mind racing. He knew that Alastor hadn't even shown his full power yet.

The truth was that Alastor had an ace up his sleeve—his body was capable of storing up to 200 million volts of electricity. If he unleashed it all, he could enter a mode akin to Enel's Thunder God form. But the power was not sustainable, and would need to be replenished before he could use it again.

Boom!

Another clash sent shockwaves through the ground, sending Shutenmaru skidding back several meters. He took a moment to recover, now fully aware of the situation. He had been a mere plaything for Alastor, who was using him as a training tool.

The thunder-based abilities Alastor wielded had only grown more refined, and Shutenmaru realized that, like a Logia fruit power, Alastor's control of lightning was near-perfect. Shutenmaru didn't want to be the fool who helped his enemy master their abilities.

He scowled, glaring at Alastor. "Brat, show me your true power. I don't want to waste any more time with you. This next move will determine whether you die or I do."

With those words, Shutenmaru drew his second sword, adopting a stance that was eerily familiar to Alastor.

Alastor raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Oh? You're going to use the Mitian Two Swords Style on me? That's interesting."

The technique Shutenmaru was about to use had been made famous by Kozuki Oden. Denjiro had once attempted to use it to kill Alastor, but the result had been far from successful.

Although Shutenmaru's power was greater than Denjiro's, Alastor knew he wasn't the same person he had been that night.

Alastor's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Let's see how this plays out."

Shutenmaru took a deep breath, unleashing all of his Ryou (flowing shadow) haki over both his swords. He charged forward, both blades raised, their ferocity unmatched.

"Oden Two Sword Style!" he bellowed, the two blades striking with the force of a natural disaster.

This was the technique that had left an indelible mark on Kaido. Though it hadn't been enough to defeat the Beast Pirate captain, its power was undeniable.

Alastor's eyes gleamed with an idea. He glanced down at his cursed sword, which crackled with lightning, and thought, It's not a mace, but it'll do. The cutting power of this blade might even surpass the force of a blunt weapon.

He grinned widely, a playful spark in his eye, as he mimicked the stance of Yamato, who had used this move in the past.

"Thunder... Bagua!" Alastor shouted.

Though Alastor called it Thunder Bagua, the technique was closer to Thunder Bagua than anything else. After all, a sword wasn't a mace, and it couldn't fully replicate the true might of the thunderous style.

Shutenmaru's face twisted in disbelief. "Are you mocking me, kid? This is a fight to the death, not a joke!"

Furious, he poured even more haki into his blades, intensifying his attack.

The Oden Two Sword Style was a technique known only to the Nine Red Scabbards, representing their loyalty to Kozuki Oden. It was their strongest swordsmanship, meant to protect their lord's legacy. Though it had failed against Kaido, it was still a devastating move.

The ground trembled as Shutenmaru swung his blades, the pink cherry blossom petals swirling around him like a storm. The sword energy tore through the earth like a tornado, scattering everything in its path.

The shockwave from the clash shook the ground, sending debris flying into the air.

When the dust settled, two figures flashed past each other.

One of them, Alastor, stood with a gaping wound across his chest, blood spurting from the deep cut.

The other, Shutenmaru, had a deep gash across his abdomen, a chunk of flesh missing.

Despite the injury, Shutenmaru grinned through the pain. "You're wounded, Alastor. You may have survived, but you're in no condition to keep fighting. Your head is mine now."

Alastor glanced down at the wound across his chest. It was deep, and the bone was exposed. But something strange was happening. As he stared at the wound, electric arcs surged through it, increasing the activity of his cells and halting the flow of blood.

"You're too eager, Asura." Alastor's voice was calm. "That injury might kill someone else, but not me."

He chuckled softly. "In fact, injuries like this only make me stronger."

Alastor's eyes gleamed with power as he began to release the 200 million volts of stored electricity in his body. His muscles expanded as the electricity surged through him, his hair standing on end and his eyes glowing with purple lightning. The sheer intensity of his aura was enough to blind anyone looking directly at him.

"I'll let you experience it before you die," Alastor said with a cold smile. "This is the true power of Thunder—Thor's power!"

Boom!

The sky above them rumbled, thunder crashing as the surrounding clouds were drawn toward Alastor. The storm was his to command.

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