"Momonosuke—" Kozuki Oden clenched the handle of his sword, his veins standing out on his pale hands.
"Quite fortunate." The Shogun smirked, his tone devoid of any real humour, "On my way here, I just happened to see the ninja escaping with the kid!"
"Lucky that my intelligence network is still pretty solid, or else I would have completely missed this little brat!"
"Raizo, what happened to them?" Oden asked, each word heavy with concern.
"Raizo?" The Shogun appeared briefly confused before understanding, "You mean that ninja? A truly loyal retainer."
There was a hint of regret in the Shogun's voice, "Even after I cut him in two, he still managed to grab my foot and begged me to let the kid go. Well done, Kozuki Oden! You can be comforted that the subordinates you trusted did not disappoint you! That makes me somewhat envious. Even I would like to have a few such dependable subordinates."
"Well, never mind. Even if they are trustworthy, I don't like to depend on others."
Oden bowed his head, then noticed a fresh red handprint on the Shogun's dark trousers.
"Is that so? Did they lose their lives protecting Momonosuke?"
Oden murmured, "Raizo, Kin'emon, Kanjuro, are they all dead?"
"Did they all lose their lives just to protect Momonosuke? And those who were with them, did they too fearlessly give up their most precious lives?"
"Yes, Kozuki Oden, two samurai and a ninja, all executed by my hand. But, they were all quite honourable. It's quite a pity," the Shogun laughed, "But you must be angry, right? Kozuki Oden, after all, they failed to protect your son. That's negligence, isn't it? In my view, such guys deserve to die twenty times over!"
"Breath—"
"What exactly is life to you, Shogun? You have succeeded."
Kozuki Oden said, "You have indeed succeeded."
"You've successfully angered me!!!!!!"
"That's right," although a mask covered the Shogun's face, it was easy to see that he must be smiling, a wild and unrestrained grin, "Perfect, isn't it!"
"Come on, Kozuki Oden!"
"Do you want to save your son? Do you want to avenge your subordinates?"
"Then—"
"Come and try!!!!!!!"
The duel of the samurai had just begun.
…
"We should be good here," said Flare D. Nagato, hovering in the air. He was now far from the residential area of Wano, surrounded by a desolate mountainous region—perfect for a battle.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!!!!!!"
Continuous explosions came from afar, with dust clouds rising into the sky, obscuring everything. The dust swept over mountains, causing them to collapse and rivers to dry up like a savage giant beast devouring everything.
"Aren't you running anymore!!!!!!"
With a roar, the fierce wind blew through Flare D. Nagato's hair.
"Kid!!!!"
"It should be good here, but also," Nagato grinned, "I'm quite keen to see just how strong Kaido is!"
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha."
Kaido laughed manically, but his figure did not stop moving. His huge leg, as sturdy as a pillar, slammed into the ground, breaking it apart like a meteor struck it. In the blink of an eye, a huge crater formed.
"Whoosh!!!!!!"
The enormous figure soared into the sky, and Kaido clenched his right fist.
"Then take a good look at your life, kid!!!!!!"
"Here it comes!!!!!!"
Flare D. Nagato flapped his wings sharply, the dragon-like form disappearing instantly, turning into a red comet that hurtled directly towards Kaido, moving three times faster than Kaido himself.
"Zhu Rong!!!!!!"
Nagato shouted, the brief clash having already made him realise the gap in strength between his normal form and Kaido. Not enjoying being overpowered, he decided it was best to go all out from the start. A Yonko is not someone he could afford to hold back against.
"Bear!!!!!!"
The red comet was enveloped in white-gold flames, the tremendous heat spreading rapidly through the area.
"Utterly boring!!!" Kaido roared, his body instantly covered in Armament Haki. Despite having a monstrous physique, it didn't mean Kaido enjoyed pain. Such temperatures could make anyone feel like they were burning up, even from a distance, let alone direct contact—which would be intensely painful.
"Boring or not." Flare D. Nagato emerged from a blaze of white-gold flames, his voice echoing as if two Nagatos were speaking simultaneously, adding a fashionable flair. The gem-like stone on his forehead shone brightly.
Nagato clenched his right fist, his eyes and Observation Haki firmly locked on Kaido, his gaze filled with enthusiasm. "It's great to clash with someone like Kaido. The world is vast, but there aren't many monsters like him. To battle with one of the top forces in the world is just fantastic!"
"You'll only know after the fight!!!"
"Boom!!!!!!"
An earth-shattering explosion unfolded, emerging from nothing, resembling a mini sun—a giant fireball.
In Nagato's Zhu Rong mode, his body is enhanced with fire and Armament Haki, filled with explosive flames. A mere punch could unleash an explosion of this magnitude.
"Whoosh!!!" "KUAAAAAAA!!!!!!"
Kaido's massive body slammed into the ground, and the surrounding land blasted open like water, forming a huge crater instantly. Under the terrifying force, Kaido was propelled through the air by Nagato's punch!
"Look!" Nagato hovered quietly in the air, his tone devoid of pride, "Still somewhat useful!"
"Pfft!" Dirt flew everywhere as the monstrous figure leapt out of the pit, seemingly unharmed despite being launched through the air. Indeed, Kaido hadn't sustained even a minor injury.
"Quite hot, kid!" Kaido looked down at his slightly reddened fist. Even though it was covered in Haki, it was nearly scorched.
"Not too bad," Nagato chuckled. "For that level, it's just fine."
"Got some self-awareness, I see!" "Whoosh!"
In the blink of an eye, Nagato's vision was obscured by a vast shadow—Kaido was upon him.
"Hey, it's a bit—" Nagato sighed as he lightly flapped the two pairs of wings on his back, the violent wind sweeping around. His body vanished from in front of Kaido, his speed terrifying.
"What—?" Kaido's eyes widened in surprise, unprepared for Nagato's incredible velocity.
"Too slow!!!!!" "Dragon Fist: Great Annihilation!!!!!" "Boom!!!!!!"
Nagato appeared high in the sky, then suddenly dove towards Kaido. His sturdy right leg, wrapped in both Haki and flames, heavily struck Kaido, who was just reaching mid-air.
"Boom!!!!!!!" Much like when Kaido had previously launched Nagato, a terrible explosion occurred, and Kaido's massive body tumbled across the ground, finally crashing into a distant hill.
"Great power is pointless if it can't hit its target." Nagato smiled. "That's the idea, right?"
"Hua!!!!!" Gravel flew as Kaido's formidable form reappeared before Nagato. Behind him, unseen by Nagato, were clear burn marks—this strike had finally penetrated his defences. However, regrettably, the damaged area was healing astonishingly, soon looking as good as new.
"Pretty fast, huh!" Kaido remarked. "Fire Dragon Kid! That hurt quite a bit!"
Was it Nagato's imagination, or did Kaido seem a bit slimmer?
"Who are you kidding? That was hardly damaging at all. Besides," Nagato tilted his head, "Is that supposed to be fast?"
"Flame Thruster!" If his already incredible speed was boosted by jet-propelled flames, just how fast could he get?
"Shhh!!!!!!" Nagato closed his eyes; he couldn't see anything at such high speeds. Fortunately, his powerful Observation of Haki could fully replace his eyes.
Nagato had crossed the immense distance in just a breath, racing to Kaido's side.
"Boom!!!!!!" "What—"
A huge fist slammed into his face.
Nagato's mind went blank; he had never imagined such a thing could happen so suddenly!
"Whoosh!!!!!!" Nagato was sent flying back at equal speed, smashing heavily into a small mountain, which collapsed under tremendous force.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!" Kaido withdrew his fist, his face twisted into a savage grin, not at all surprised by his successful strike.
"Way too arrogant, kid!!!!!!" "What is this?"
Nagato lay amid the rubble, utterly shocked.
"Kaido, what kind of creature are you—???"