Chapter 149: Shukaku vs. Lao G

"Are you alright, Sister?"

Shu Mingyuan broke the silence and asked as if no one else was around. The latter shook her head with a pale expression.

"Go to Granny Nyon first. Leave this... to me," Shu Mingyuan said with a nod, his tone carrying an unquestionable firmness.

For some inexplicable reason, Marguerite nodded mechanically. This man was clearly much weaker than her, but at this moment, he seemed like a completely different person.

Shu Mingyuan turned around, his expression indifferent as he gazed at Lao G. Ever since the great battle at Impel Down, where his arrogance had almost cost him his life, his mindset had undergone a quiet transformation during this rebirth.

In front of family and friends, he could be playful and carefree, but facing enemies, he could equally well adopt a chilling detachment. At the very least, it was no longer his former distant and frigid demeanor that kept everyone at arm's length.

"Lao G, an officer of the Donquixote Family, subordinate to the Warlord of the Sea, Donquixote Doflamingo. By coming to Amazon Lily to cause trouble so blatantly, are you trying to provoke a war between two Warlords of the Sea?"

Shu Mingyuan spoke with cold aggressiveness, instantly exposing Lao G's true identity. Granny Nyon was immediately startled; she had no idea this man was an officer of the Donquixote Family, which explained why he had been trying so hard to conceal his identity.

Lao G's expression shifted, clearly caught off guard by how easily his identity had been seen through.

A blade of wind slashed through the air, cutting apart the shifting sands that bound Lao G. Breaking free, he stared at Shu Mingyuan with a cruel, sinister grin.

"Where did this little yellow-haired brat come from? Since you've figured out my identity, I'll just have to kill all of you."

This declaration turned Granny Nyon's face pale with shock. Right now, not a single person in Amazon Lily was a match for Lao G. As he had said, out of consideration for the Empress's prestige, he hadn't gone for the kill earlier. But now that his identity had been exposed, he clearly wouldn't let a single living soul escape.

Otherwise, the exposure of his identity might genuinely trigger a conflict between two Warlords of the Sea.

If all these warrior women fell in battle, it would undoubtedly be a devastating loss for Amazon Lily.

Shu Mingyuan chuckled. "You should worry about yourself first. Xiao Jiu, go play nicely with these two. Well, actually, just beat him to death—your big brother will take the responsibility."

"Yay! Big Brother Mingyuan, watch Xiao Jiu beat him to a pulp!"

Pats on the shoulder of the adorable creature were followed by Shu Mingyuan breaking into a light jog toward Marguerite's direction.

Realizing he was being so casually ignored, Lao G flared up with unreasoning fury, throwing a savage punch directly at Shu Mingyuan's back.

Countless streams of shifting sand surged forth, effortlessly intercepting and blocking the ferocious punch.

" brat, once I slaughter this little beast, I'll deal with you slowly."

The sands rolled forward, carrying the warrior women who had been knocked down by Lao G and depositing them safely beside Granny Nyon, leaving a sufficiently vast battlefield for the two combatants and the beast.

Granny Nyon looked toward the warrior Marguerite and couldn't help asking, "Daisy, who is this?"

Marguerite gazed at Shu Mingyuan's delicate face, which was even more refined than a girl's, paused for a moment, and replied, "This is my distant younger sister. She came to visit me, but I never expected something like this to happen."

"Oh, a younger sister. Very brave, just like you," Granny Nyon said with a smile, turning her gaze to Shu Mingyuan. "I haven't asked for this brave warrior's name yet."

"I wouldn't dare claim to be a brave warrior. Granny Nyon can just call me Shu Mingyue. When one's kin are in danger, one must naturally step forward." Shu Mingyuan was neither humble nor arrogant, a warm smile gracing his face that made everyone feel as comfortable as a spring breeze.

"Good, good, good."

Although Shu Mingyuan looked entirely unfamiliar, Granny Nyon currently felt quite pleased with this exceptionally pretty girl.

"Marguerite, how come I've never heard you mention having a younger sister, and one even prettier than you?" Several warrior women struggled to their feet, expressing their gratitude to Shu Mingyuan.

Marguerite's face darkened: "..."

She knew all too well in her heart that the person standing right before her was the very man explicitly banned by her country. Who could have imagined that when he put on women's clothing, he would actually look more gorgeous than an actual woman?

Shu Mingyuan kept a calm smile, watching the battle between Shukaku and Lao G without uttering a word.

"Earth-Old-Man Fist!"

Lao G roared furiously, striking an extraordinarily bizarre pose. His martial art stemmed from the joint pain of old age, a technique that converted physical pain into sheer strength. The older he grew and the more intense the pain, the exponentially greater his power would become.

Under this burst of power, a formidable aura surged ten zhang into the air, causing the atmosphere around him to detonate and create a visually staggering shockwave of airflow.

This was the ultimate product of his fully integrated martial arts and striking techniques.

Both arms were hardened with Armament Haki, and with a single punch unleashed, his fighting spirit boiled!

"Sand Waterfall Spear!"

Shukaku's soft, cute voice rang out as countless grains of sand rapidly converged to form a ten-zhang-long spear of sand, emanating an astonishing and terrifying might.

The two collided violently. The sand spear shattered, but Lao G's fist was torn open; despite the defense of his Armament Haki, he still could not withstand the lethal sharpness of the sand.

A shockwave rippled outward, and the ground beneath the man and the beast cracked open into a massive fissure.

The onlookers stared in absolute dumbfounded silence, never expecting that such an adorably cute creature could unleash such terrifying power.

So many warrior women had proven no match for him, yet Shukaku was actually managing to hold the upper hand in its battle against Lao G.

Blood dripped from Lao G's fist, and under the stimulation of the pain, his aura grew even stronger.

"Lumbago Style: Ice-Breaking Form!"

Stamping his foot down, he erupted with astonishing speed that surpassed normal human dynamic visual processing. Ordinary people simply could not track Lao G's movement trajectory. His body spun at high speed as he delivered a powerful kicking technique toward Shukaku.

Shu Mingyuan quietly activated his Sharingan, finally allowing him to clearly catch Lao G's movements.

"Xiao Jiu is running into a bit of trouble." Yet, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, showing no sign of worry.

The shifting sand automatically moved to protect its master, yet it always seemed just a fraction too slow to keep up with Lao G's terrifying speed.

"Sand Shield!"

Lao G threw out a punch and a palm strike simultaneously. The surrounding shifting sand closed in around them like an eggshell, completely enclosing Shukaku within. The sand shield possessed immense defensive power; Lao G's consecutive punches and palms only managed to scatter a tiny fraction of the sand. This eggshell was far sturdier than he had anticipated.

Suddenly, the sand softened, and Lao G's fists sank straight into it, before instantly hardening. At the same time, all across the beach, the sand began to surge frantically like violent tidal waves, trapping Lao G's legs entirely within the sand.

"Quicksand Waterfall Flow!"

The shifting sand naturally rose dozens of meters into the air, resembling a colossal tsunami. Under Lao G's horrified gaze, it came crashing down heavily, landing squarely upon him. An aura of seemingly endless pressure descended, and Lao G's body was swept along with the current, burying him firmly two hundred meters beneath the earth.