Chapter 94 94 Massive Treasure
Soaring at high speeds, Baby 5 immediately intercepted the incoming artillery fire.
"Weapon: Cannon Punch!"
Her arms morphed into heavy cannons, and each punch delivered a thunderous artillery blast.
Amidst the violent explosions and roaring flames, Baby 5's superior firepower easily shredded the incoming shells.
Concentrated jets of fire continued to spray from her feet, providing a powerful surge of propulsion.
Having obliterated the incoming fire, Baby 5 didn't stop, tearing through the air toward the shoreline.
"Weapon: Battleship Blade!"
She locked onto her target: an elder from the Happo Navy who had been launching the shells.
Diving down, Baby 5's right leg turned into a massive, razor-sharp blade. Carrying the full momentum of her descent, she swung it down in a vicious arc.
"Eight Impacts Fist: Cyclone Slash!"
Facing Baby 5's leg blade, the Happo Navy elder didn't back down. Instead, his aura grew even more ferocious.
He pressed his fingers together into a hand-blade and struck out with the shockwave-infused Eight Impacts Fist passed down through the Happo Navy for generations.
Boom!!!
The leg blade and the hand-blade collided with a massive explosion.
Though Baby 5 had the momentum of her dive on her side, she was actually pushed back during the collision, vibrating from the force of the elder's strike.
Fortunately, since her leg was transformed into a blade, she possessed the defense of steel and didn't take much damage despite being knocked back.
Flames erupted from her left foot.
Reacting quickly, Baby 5 stabilized herself in mid-air.
"Weapon: Barrett Sniper!"
Without a moment's hesitation, the moment she regained her balance, Baby 5 brought her arms together, transforming them into a menacing heavy sniper rifle.
Bang!
With a thunderous crack, a spinning bullet tore from the barrel, streaking toward the Happo Navy elder at nearly three times the speed of sound.
'Danger!'
The elder, who had been about to pursue her, felt a jolt of alarm. His Observation Haki flared, warning him to dodge immediately.
However, the muzzle velocity of the Barrett was clearly beyond his expectations.
Even though he had sensed it with his Haki and moved to dodge at the first possible second, the bullet still grazed his right arm.
Boom!!
His right arm was instantly blown apart.
The bullet struck the ice behind him, leaving a crater the size of a human head in the incredibly hard surface.
"Aaargh!!!"
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The agonizing pain of the severed limb made the elder scream as the force of the bullet's impact knocked him to the ground.
Rat-tat-tat-tat...
She didn't give her enemy a single breath to recover.
A terrifying hail of fire arrived in the very next second.
"Weapon: Naval Machine Cannon!"
The machine cannons that her arms had become unleashed a horrific metal storm, swallowing the screaming elder whole.
Ice shards flew into the air.
Flesh and blood splattered everywhere.
The shrill screams were cut short. Nothing remained of the elder but a pile of shredded remains.
"Cien Fleur: Wing!"
Baby 5 had already entered the thick of the battle.
Nico Robin was not far behind.
Over a hundred arms sprouted from her back, forming two massive wings.
Taking to the sky, she quickly joined the battle on the coast.
"Charge!!!"
The landing of Baby 5 and Nico Robin was just the beginning.
As the warship docked, the combatants of the Hunting Team refused to be left out.
Whether it was Wyper and his group or the newly joined members like Bones, they all charged onto the shore like a pack of wolves, wiping out the remaining enemies.
*
*
*
"Who am I? Come and find out! Whether it's me or the treasure you want, come to the Jewel Ice Sheet!"
With a boisterous laugh, Zane hung up the Transponder Snail.
He didn't care how Chinjao reacted on the other end.
He knew full well that facing the loss of the treasure passed down through generations of the Happo Navy, the man would never abandon it.
The battle between the Hunting Team and the guards at the Jewel Ice Sheet hadn't lasted long.
Even without Zane personally stepping in, the Hunting Team had successfully occupied the Jewel Ice Sheet with minimal casualties, thanks to the overwhelming firepower of the New Riding the Wind and Waves and the ferocity of the combatants.
Most of the enemies had been killed or wounded, and the survivors were now prisoners.
And so it went.
After an interrogation by Nico Robin, Zane successfully contacted Chinjao, who was currently away on an expedition.
He simply informed him of the situation at the Jewel Ice Sheet, and the Transponder Snail vividly mimicked Chinjao's explosive, raging reaction.
"Boss, we've found the Happo Navy's treasure."
Just as Zane finished his call with Chinjao, Manlong hurried back at the head of a search squad.
Since his injuries hadn't fully healed, he hadn't participated in the frontline combat. Unwilling to remain idle after the battle, he had volunteered for the search mission.
His goal was twofold: to prevent any Happo Navy remnants from hiding, and to locate the treasure.
"Oh? Let's go take a look then!"
Zane's interest was piqued by Manlong's words, and he immediately had him lead the way.
Soon, while the main force remained to guard the coast, the core members—Zane, Manlong, Baby 5, and Nico Robin—headed toward the site of the treasure.
True to its name, the Jewel Ice Sheet was filled with towering, steep mountains of ice.
But in the very center lay a plain of ice as smooth as a mirror.
"Hiss!"
The sound of sharp intakes of breath echoed one after another.
Upon reaching the ice plain and looking through the nearly transparent layers, Zane and the others could clearly see the treasure that almost entirely paved the ground beneath them.
To say nothing of the new members.
Even the veteran members who had seen the Golden City were struck with amazement at the sheer scale of the treasure beneath the ice.
"This is insane. Just how many people did the Happo Navy have to pillage to accumulate such a massive treasure?"
"Based on the intelligence we have, the Happo Navy has at least a century of history. Seeing this staggering wealth, it's clear they were exceptionally active as pirates."
"We've struck it rich again, Captain. If we take this treasure, our wealth will surpass that of many Allied Nations."
""
Hearing the wonder in Nico Robin's voice and feeling Baby 5 happily wrapping her arms around his neck, Zane smiled and pulled Baby 5's slender waist close.
"The Happo Navy really suffered a double loss this time. Once we take down Chinjao, this pirate army will be severely weakened for good."
The Happo Navy, who often disguised themselves as pirates to pillage, were certainly not good people.
Zane felt absolutely no pressure about hunting Chinjao or seizing his treasure.
Thump, thump!
Manlong crouched down and hammered the ice with his fist like it was a mallet.
"Boss, the ice here seems even harder than the ice on the coast. We might need your help if we want to get the treasure out." Manlong turned to look at Zane.
""
"Let me try!"
Hearing this, Baby 5 immediately grew interested. She pulled away from Zane's embrace and took to the air, fire spraying from her feet.
Rat-tat-tat-tat...
Her arms transformed into machine cannons as she began strafing the ice below her from above.
The metal storm slammed into the ice, causing the entire sheet to vibrate.
Shards flew everywhere.
After strafing for a good while, Baby 5 stopped. To her surprise, she had only managed to shave off a single layer. There was still a long way to go before reaching the treasure.
"It's this hard?"
Not just Baby 5, but Nico Robin and the others were also shocked by the result of the machine gun fire.
They all knew exactly how powerful Baby 5's naval machine cannons were.
Never mind a person—even a block of solid steel would be ground to dust.
Yet, despite that power, she had only caused this much damage to the ice.