"But."
He stared at Shano, puffed out the last cloud of smoke, and laughed unrestrainedly:
"Hey hey hey, a guy like you exists in the new generation? The more I think about it, the more exaggerated it seems—the future of this sea looks like it's about to become interesting. Those old fogies used to sitting high and mighty in the New World, if you ask me, won't have good days for much longer!"
Shano raised an eyebrow and grinned:
"Thanks for the recognition."
Click, Crocodile's head twisted to the side, and his already weakened body completely lost its vitality.
...
After confirming the Sand Crocodile's death.
Shano dusted his hands and leisurely stood up.
As the yellow sand gradually dissipated, the crew, who had been holding their breath for a while, also began to jump off the ship and gather around.
"Brother, are you okay?"
Nami rushed forward like an arrow, frantically rummaging through the medical box Nojiko was carrying for bandages and antiseptic alcohol.
But when she looked up to treat the wounds, she suddenly froze—
The bloody and mangled wounds on Shano's body had all healed completely, not even leaving a scar under the moonlight.
"Strange." Nami scratched her head puzzled, "Did I just hallucinate and see wrong..."
"No, it wasn't a hallucination."
Smoker, with a cigar between his teeth, walked forward, gazing at Shano's intact upper body, and remarked, "It's Life Return, the captain's Life Return, has definitely been cultivated to its peak; among everyone I've seen, it's unparalleled... even several Navy Grand Admirals can't compare."
Shano rubbed Nojiko and Nami's little heads, smiling silently.
In his heart, he rolled his eyes at the White Hunter disguising himself as the Navy's know-it-all.
What nonsense.
The Navy Grand Admiral's Life Return couldn't achieve this level.
Because damn it, this is the effect of "Regeneration Skill"!
"Even a Navy Grand Admiral can't compare?"
Nami, however, took it seriously and exclaimed, "Brother, just how strong are you now? You took down this Seven Warlord of the Sea without any fight back; could you really compare with a Navy Grand Admiral?"
"What are you thinking?"
Shano chuckled, flicking Nami's forehead, "Do you really think your brother is omnipotent? Far from it yet."
When first setting out to sea leaving home, he had little sense of it.
But after experiencing battles with Onigumo and Sand Crocodile in succession, he has gotten a fairly concrete idea of his current strength.
If compared horizontally among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, he would definitely belong to the upper echelon; most Navy Headquarters Vice Admirals aren't his match.
But he's significantly weaker than those top Vice Emperors in the Royal Team in the New World, each endowed with special skills.
Compared to the Grand Admirals and Four Emperors, he's more than just a tier below; take Teacher Kai for instance, being thrown against Wano Country, it's hard to say how many hits he could withstand.
There's still a long journey to go and overcome to reach the realm of those top-notch monsters.
...
The Endgame officially anchored.
The Bounty Hunters hiding nearby still didn't dare to approach the port.
Instead, as the battle unfolded, they had already fled farther and are now virtually hiding behind that massive Cactus Mountain.
Very sensible, Shano didn't intend to bother them proactively either.
Having neither side disturb the other makes for peace.
On the sandy ground near the port, a bonfire was set up, and everyone sat around the warming flames for a brief summary meeting.
"Crocodile usually operates in the Alabasta Kingdom, it's a bit far from here."
Shano, holding a hot coffee, analyzed, "Which means, at least a week ago, he received a request from Navy Headquarters to assist in hunting us, the timing is very close to the incident in Log Town. It seems Navy Headquarters takes us quite seriously, wanting to mobilize every force to extinguish us as soon as possible in the first half of Paradise."
"But the captain's strength ultimately exceeded their expectations."
Zeff brought dishes one after another from the kitchen, placing them before everyone, sat cross-legged and chimed in with a smile, "When the news of Crocodile's death goes back, it'll give them a big scare."
"Ha! Just imagining their shocked faces makes me think it's amusing. Navy Vice Admirals fail, Seven Warlords of the Sea fail, if you ask me, they're pushed to their limit, might as well send out a Navy Grand Admiral to hunt us down directly!"
Smoker lifted his plate, shaking his head slightly at the words, "That's not necessarily true, Mr. Zeff."
"Navy Grand Admirals, being the highest combat power of Headquarters, are quite busy, they have to constantly monitor movements from the New World and keep one stationed at Headquarters year-round, so typically, unless they can precisely lock onto a target, they won't spend a lot of time leading a chase for Paradise pirates."
"Sounds like when we get to those bustling places with many eyes, we'll have to stay cautious and low-key?"
Zeff pinched his chin and said, "Tsk, otherwise, when news gets to a Navy Grand Admiral, they'll come knocking, while we're still wandering in town."
"At those times, be indeed more vigilant. But that kind of thing is still early; our next stop, Little Garden, is a deserted, remote place, there's no need to worry excessively."
Shano chuckled, turning to Nami, "How's the Log Pose doing, about how long till it's fully charged with Magnetic Force?"
"Report, big brother, it's already one-fifth full, it's going pretty fast!"
Nami quickly swallowed the food in her mouth and reported, "At this rate, we can rest and reorganize for a night, and by noon tomorrow, we should be ready to set sail!"