Bang!
Like a meteorite falling, Kozuki Oden crashed heavily into the sea, kicking up huge waves.
In the depths of this vast sea, a colossal Sea King, a giant serpent, suddenly widened its eyes and fixed its gaze upon the falling Kozuki Oden.
With the sea water buffering his descent, Kozuki Oden's falling speed had greatly reduced.
But even so, he sank nearly three hundred meters and endured immense water pressure.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!
Catching his breath, as he opened his mouth, seawater rushed in, nearly drowning Kozuki Oden.
He quickly closed his mouth and swam upwards.
However, not long after he swam out, a figure dashed towards him at high speed. Kozuki Oden's eyes widened.
His Conqueror's Haki was instantly released. He stepped on the water, held his sword, and slashed downwards.
Boom!
The sword energy flew out.
The giant serpent did not dodge. It slightly tilted its head, directly blocking the sword energy with its skull. Then, without reducing its speed, it continued to charge towards Kozuki Oden.
Seeing this, Kozuki Oden had countless expletives he wanted to utter.
Alas, he dared not open his mouth.
Using Observation Haki's ability to predict the future, he instantly burst forward over a short distance, successfully dodging the serpent's massive maw.
Bang!
However, the serpent was very long and extremely agile in the water.
As more than half of its body swam past, its tail swept over.
Kozuki Oden was directly struck by the immense force and shot upwards. In a moment, he had flown out of the water.
Pfft!
He instantly spat out the water in his stomach and Kozuki Oden breathed a great sigh of relief.
Just then.
A giant mouth flew out from the seabed and lunged towards Kozuki Oden.
How could Kozuki Oden let the giant serpent have its way? He attacked again.
This time, his sword, covered in Armament Haki, slashed down.
"Rasetsu, Ou-shou."
Two black sword energies, from near to far, rapidly magnified.
The great serpent, with its gaping maw, under the impact of the powerful force, blood bloomed. Its colossal body also plunged into the sea. In just a moment, red blood could be seen floating on the sea's surface.
With a single strike, Kozuki Oden also fell.
"That last move was quite strong. It would have been easy to kill Jack the Drought."
"Why did you fight so fiercely before?"
Benedict appeared at the opportune moment, grabbed Kozuki Oden's clothes, preventing him from falling further, and chuckled.
Hearing Benedict's voice, Kozuki Oden did not resist. He said indifferently, "I was upset and took it out on the Drought."
Benedict chuckled upon hearing this.
At that time, Kozuki Oden had been ridiculed by Kaido and completely ignored.
Because of this, Kaido had directly paid no attention to Kozuki Oden.
Therefore, Benedict could somewhat understand Kozuki Oden's feelings at that moment.
"Is there only one Sea King in this seabed?" Benedict asked curiously.
"No," Kozuki Oden gazed at the seabed and said, "There's also a giant snake-turtle."
"Based on their past conversations, they should be guarding the Ancient Weapon 'Pluto'."
Benedict raised an eyebrow and accelerated his descent.
Entering the water again.
A large mouth bit down.
Benedict released his Conqueror's Haki. The terrifying pressure instantly stunned the Sea King creature that was about to bite Benedict and Kozuki Oden, forcing it to stop.
"Scram!"
Benedict uttered a single word, scaring the other party into a rapid retreat.
It was a giant snake-turtle.
Benedict scanned his surroundings, finding no other Sea King life forms.
Kozuki Oden said nothing. Holding his breath, he patted Benedict's shoulder, then pointed to the bottom of the lake.
Benedict nodded, raised his hand, and punched upwards.
Instantly, the terrifying power ripped through the lake water.
Kozuki Oden's eyes widened. He could also part the sea with such a skill.
But to expend his stamina here…
"Not enough oxygen?"
"How about trying a punch?"
Benedict looked at Kozuki Oden and chuckled.
Upon hearing this, Kozuki Oden, though touched, still felt a sense of humiliation.
This was the benefit of being powerful.
However, this feeling of breathing was truly wonderful.
The two took this opportunity to descend rapidly.
Reaching the ground, Benedict stomped down heavily.
The immense power erupted in an instant, shattering the surrounding rocks.
The rocks rolled with the water current. Benedict then threw several punches, not excessively powerful, but enough to send these shattered rocks swirling into the air.
At the same time, the blurry outline of a massive warship was revealed.
"This is the Ancient Weapon 'Pluto'," Kozuki Oden said, after slashing his sword upwards to allow himself to breathe again.
Benedict floated up, did a quick scan, and made a judgment.
The scale of the Ancient Weapon 'Pluto' was comparable to a modern aircraft carrier, like a giant island.
Therefore, the legend of such a warship being able to destroy an island with a single shot was not impossible.
"What a pity. It has slept at the bottom of the sea for hundreds of years. I wonder if it can still be used," Benedict said regretfully, looking at the colossal warship.
"It's better if it can't be used," Kozuki Oden's thoughts differed from Benedict's. He said calmly, "Such a warship, if it can still be used, can provide terrifying destructive power, but it will also become a fuse, ultimately leading to a larger-scale conflict due to the struggle for the Ancient Weapon 'Pluto,' and who knows how many more people will die because of it."
"Your thinking…" Benedict was somewhat surprised by Kozuki Oden's thoughts, then said, "That's because you don't possess enough power to protect it and make it work for you."
"What if I do?" Kozuki Oden still did not wish for the Ancient Weapon 'Pluto' to see the light of day again. He said, "Perhaps I can guard it, but my child may not be able to."
Upon hearing this, Benedict said seriously, "You have self-awareness. Your son is not like you."
"How about I help you deal with him, and you can have another child."
Kozuki Oden's face darkened upon hearing this, and he prepared to draw his sword.
Benedict chuckled and then flew upwards.
"Take me with you!" Seeing Benedict leave without him, Kozuki Oden became anxious.
Being at the bottom of the sea, over three hundred meters deep, the strong water pressure and thin air were incredibly uncomfortable.
Benedict reached down, used Universal Pull, and easily grasped Kozuki Oden. They flew out of the seabed and quickly returned to Oden Castle.
As Kozuki Oden and Benedict departed, the voices of the giant serpent and snake-turtle guarding the Ancient Weapon 'Pluto' resounded.
"These two humans are extremely powerful."
"They have discovered the Ancient Weapon 'Pluto'."
"However, listening to their conversation, they don't seem to want to take it away."
The giant serpent Sea King said in a low voice.
"Perhaps they really think 'Pluto' cannot be used," the snake-turtle, still shaken by Benedict's Conqueror's Haki, said with a hint of trembling in its tone.
"This may not be a bad thing."