"How is this possible? Earthworm is far more powerful underground than on the surface—how could he have been killed so easily?!"
Sickdog stared at Earthworm's impaled corpse in disbelief.
The reason the Yin Beasts hadn't launched an attack earlier was because they were waiting for Earthworm, who had burrowed underground, to create the perfect opening for them.
But now, the one they had counted on for a surprise attack was skewered like a roast and suspended in mid-air.
As the elite enforcers of the Ten Dons, the Yin Beasts were no weaklings. Each had at least the strength of a high-level second-tier Nen user.
Earthworm was no exception. In fact, when underground, his power increased significantly.
In the original timeline, even Uvogin struggled to break free from Earthworm's grip and had to resort to his Big Bang Impact to escape.
"This useless bastard made us wait for nothing. Forget him! Let's wipe them out!" Croaker, the kappa-like Yin Beast, roared in fury. Though shocked, he quickly turned his rage into murderous intent and charged toward Ethan and his group.
"Kill them!" Sickdog and Porcupine shouted, launching their attacks in sync.
Ghostbat flapped his wings and shot into the air like a blur.
Sickdog sprinted forward with lightning speed, flanking from the side.
Porcupine followed Croaker directly, rushing toward Ethan's group head-on.
"So that was their plan—the Yin Beasts were waiting for someone underground!"
"There weren't just four of them... there were five!" Mia exclaimed, realization dawning as she processed the earlier hesitation.
As the Yin Beasts finally made their move, Mia and Lisa exchanged a quick glance, silently coordinating.
Zzt!
Perched on the roof of the off-road vehicle, Lisa's gaze locked onto the charging Croaker. In an instant, her Weapon Manifestation ability activated, and her arms transformed into twin Gatling guns.
Da-da-da-da...
Flames erupted from the barrels.
With the continued development of her Devil Fruit power, Lisa's Gatling guns had become far more advanced.
Their rate of fire had jumped from 1,000 rounds per minute to over 3,000, creating a metal storm of bullets that blazed a terrifying path straight at Croaker.
"RAAAHHH!!"
Croaker bellowed defiantly. Whether it was due to arrogance or confidence in his defenses, he activated Ken—his enhanced Nen—coating his entire body in a dense layer of aura. Then, he charged headlong into the hail of bullets.
The storm of bullets slammed into his Nen-coated body with a thunderous impact, causing his entire frame to stagger and falter under the relentless barrage.
Though the bullets were standard rounds, the sheer rate of fire and concentrated impact caused ripples of destabilization in his aura, like violent waves crashing over still water.
"Stubborn, but about what I expected," Ethan muttered, observing the kappa-like man stumble.
In the original story, Croaker made a bold entrance, bragging that the Phantom Troupe members were weaklings. He ignored warnings and rushed in headlong...
Only to be promptly turned into a corpse.
A perfect demonstration of arrogance meeting reality.
And now? History was repeating itself.
Ethan could tell that Croaker wasn't incapable of dodging—he simply overestimated himself, believing he could brute-force his way through the firestorm.
But the result? He was being thoroughly overwhelmed.
This wasn't a show of Lisa being overconfident either—it was pure strategy.
Using standard rounds allowed her to conserve Nen while gauging the enemy's defense and stamina.
Once Croaker was pinned down and weakened, Lisa quickly swapped her Gatling feed from standard bullets to fully charged Nen-imbued rounds.
Da-da-da...
The sound of her upgraded firepower became deafening.
Each bullet now packed devastating force. As they tore into Croaker, the aura shielding his body cracked and wavered violently under the onslaught.
The more powerful the attack, the greater the drain on the target's Nen.
Croaker's expression twisted with panic as he was forced to expend massive amounts of Nen to maintain his defense.
And yet, there was no escape—he was locked down under the unrelenting storm.
"AAARGHH!!!"
In just a few moments, Croaker's Nen barrier collapsed entirely. The remaining bullets ripped into his body, and in a blood-curdling scream, he was shredded into a bloody husk.
He died almost instantly, his body left riddled with holes.
From the moment Lisa had fired her first shot to Croaker's death, barely seconds had passed.
Porcupine, who had charged in alongside Croaker, hadn't even reached melee range yet.
As Croaker's lifeless body hit the ground, Lisa turned her Gatling guns toward Porcupine and let loose another storm of deadly bullets.
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 advance chapter in PATREON
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