The sound of chaotic hoofbeats echoed through the forest.
The entire Head Mountain Bandit Gang had been surrounded by a pack of fierce, towering beasts — each one glaring at them like hungry predators.
"Damn it…"
The bandit chief Shutenmaru scowled.
These weren't ordinary animals. Every single one was a Zoan-type user, their auras sharp and cruel.
One-on-one, Shutenmaru wasn't afraid of any of them.
But dozens at once?
Even he knew he wouldn't be leaving here alive.
"…Looks like my life really ends here today."
Shutenmaru wasn't afraid of death — he simply didn't want to die without knowing whose blade took his life.
He straightened his back and roared:
"Whoever's commanding these beasts—get out here!
I at least want to know whose hands I die in!"
The beasts suddenly parted, forming a straight path.
Then, as if commanded silently, the massive creatures all lowered themselves to the ground, losing all their earlier ferocity.
Shutenmaru's pupils shrank sharply.
Someone who could make this many Zoan users kneel—
Aside from Kaido himself…
There was only one person.
A tall, imposing figure stepped into view. His presence was calm, yet unbearably heavy.
Shutenmaru grit his teeth:
"…So it really is you.
Roxing, the 'Beastly Son-in-Law.'"
Roxing idly spun the longsword in his hand, voice flat:
"You recognize me.
Then you should've understood, the day you watched Orochi's execution…
You had one chance to submit."
Shutenmaru coldly spat:
"Submit to you monsters? You think I'm like those cowards you fooled?!
You and your entire Beast Pirates are nothing but demons!"
"Watch your mouth."
Queen's face twisted with anger.
"Running it won't save your life."
Shutenmaru's aura flared, not backing down an inch.
"Ever since Oden-sama died… I've had no wish to keep living anyway!"
His voice was steady — the same fearless brute he had once been.
Queen roared, but Roxing merely spoke calmly as he lifted the sword:
"Do you know whose blade this is?"
Shutenmaru blinked, caught off guard.
"…Whose?"
"Denjiro's.
Your old comrade among the Nine Red Scabbards."
The color drained from Shutenmaru's face.
"What?! What did you do to Denjiro?!"
"I let him go down to reunite with Oden.
Don't worry — you'll be joining them soon."
Crack.
Roxing pinched the sword lightly between two fingers — and snapped it cleanly in half.
Queen received the signal and laughed viciously.
"Boys—kill every last one of these Kozuki stragglers!"
ROAR!!
The "beasts" exploded back into motion, transforming and charging with killing intent.
Every one of them now possessed power comparable to the former Flying Six.
Queen also shifted into his massive Brachiosaurus form, stomping and crushing bandits beneath him.
Screams rose and were silenced.
Blood splattered across the forest floor.
Shutenmaru watched his men fall one by one, despair and fury burning in his eyes.
Even with his strength, he could only struggle weakly against the inevitable.
Within minutes—
Every bandit was slaughtered.
Shutenmaru lay dying in a pool of blood.
He forced his head up, glaring at Roxing through fading vision.
"The spirit… of the samurai… will never die…
Someone… will avenge us…
You will pay…"
Roxing approached slowly, looking down on him.
"A price?
You mean that 'twenty-year prophecy'?
Or the Minks on Zou?"
Shutenmaru's eyes widened in disbelief.
He knows… he knows everything?!
Roxing smiled gently — but the warmth in it was chilling.
"Relax.
Prophecy or mink tribe…
I will crush them all before they even begin."
Shutenmaru's chest convulsed.
A final spray of blood burst from his mouth — mixed with fragments of organs.
He died with his eyes wide open, pupils frozen in terror.
"…Burn the bodies."
Roxing ordered calmly.
Then a thought flashed through his mind.
Kozuki Hiyori.
He hadn't visited that "golden songbird" since imprisoning her.
Flower Capital — Hiyori's Room
Hiyori (still known publicly as Komurasaki) sat alone in a lavish chamber.
Her normally serene expression was scattered — fear, pain, and confusion flickering through her eyes.
Her identity had been exposed.
Her secret role ended.
Denjiro was dead.
Could she still avenge her father?
No — Orochi was already dead, killed by that man.
Every day, servants entered her room and delivered outside information.
She knew the truth:
The Land of Wano now belonged to that man and the woman he married — Yamato.
Hiyori had pieced together his schemes.
The manipulation, the orchestrated chaos, the momentum, the timing.
It was terrifying.
In his hands…
there was nowhere for her to run.
She had contemplated suicide more than once.
But then her mother's prophecy resurfaced in her mind:
"Twenty years from now…
the Dawn shall arrive."
Hiyori clung to that single thread of hope — and lived on.
Her heart pounded suddenly.
Knock, knock.
Her blood ran cold.
She knew who it was.
The door opened without waiting for a reply.
A tall figure stepped in, voice gentle:
"Have you been getting used to the place these past few days?"
Stop pretending…
Hiyori glared at him, hatred burning in her eyes.
Roxing smiled lightly, studying that hatred with interest.
"You should be thanking me.
If I'd exposed your identity, you wouldn't be breathing right now."
"Just kill me."
Her voice was icy, icy enough to freeze a winter lake.
Roxing approached without slowing, the pressure of his presence filling the room like a tightening net.
"I told you already…
People enjoy keeping beautiful things where they can admire them slowly."
"You—what are you planning…?!"
Hiyori backed away instinctively.
But in her panic, her ankle twisted—
and she fell.
Roxing stepped forward quickly, catching her by the waist before she hit the ground.
His voice remained calm, almost casual:
"You must have hurt it.
Come — lie down.
I'll help you massage the joint so it doesn't swell."
The gesture wasn't gentle — it was controlling, possessive, and unyielding.
And Hiyori's heart pounded wildly—
not from affection,
but from fear.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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