Just as everyone was being blocked, Kaido landed on the ground once more.
On the smoke-filled battlefield, Kaido's signature, maniacal laughter echoed among the ruins.
"Wororororo. I knew it. Bombs in this world are simply incapable of killing anyone," he said, resting his kanabo on his shoulder as he looked down upon the scene from his elevated position.
At the center of the blast, Kurozumi Orochi and Kurozumi Semimaru were perfectly protected by a translucent barrier, not a speck of dust on their clothes.
In stark contrast were the daimyo collapsed not far away—Shimotsuki Ushimaru, Shimotsuki Yasuke, and the others had protected themselves with Busoshoku Haki in time, but were still covered in wounds from the explosion. The worst off was Ugetsu Tempura, who lay on the ground barely clinging to life, blood steadily seeping from his injuries.
"Bastard, Kaido, what are you trying to do?!" Shimotsuki Ushimaru forced himself to stand, demanding angrily. His samurai garb was already in tatters, but the fire in his eyes hadn't diminished in the slightest.
Hearing this, Kaido laughed even more wildly. "Wororororo. What am I trying to do? Isn't it obvious? Wipe you all out, and then rule Wano Country directly." As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head and roared at Queen, who had appeared beside him at some point. "Hey, Queen! Even with that massive amount of explosives detonating at close range, they still have the strength to talk. You bastard, you didn't embezzle my operational funds to buy cheap goods, did you?!"
Queen's obese body trembled violently, and bean-sized sweat drops rolled down his forehead. "K-Kaido boss, how could I?! How could I possibly do such a thing?!" He waved his hands frantically, looking like a child caught red-handed.
Kaido narrowed his eyes. He had only been saying it casually, but now he was genuinely suspicious. Staring at Queen's guilty expression, this fat bastard might have dared to embezzle his money.
"Your plot will not succeed, Kaido," Shimotsuki Yasuke said with difficulty, clutching his injured arm. "The people of Wano Country will never accept rule by an outsider."
"Is that so?" Kaido suddenly revealed a ferocious grin, slamming his kanabo into the ground. "Then, does Kuri not count as part of Wano Country's land?" His words were like a sharp blade, stabbing directly at the daimyo's sore spot. In today's Kuri, Kaido's reputation was even more resounding than their own.
"Hey, hey, hey, Kaido. Even if you want to seize Wano Country, you don't need to turn on us, the Kurozumi family, do you?!" Kurozumi Orochi suddenly spoke up.
Orochi was starting to feel genuinely afraid of Kaido now. This guy had actually planted so many explosives inside the Shogun's palace without a sound.
"Wororororo. The head of the Kurozumi clan, Kurozumi Orochi, who had been hiding within the Shogun's palace, prepared to rebel once more. Unfortunately, Sukiyaki discovered it in advance and summoned all of Wano's daimyo to thoroughly resolve the Kurozumi issue. But tragically, the Kurozumi clan had planted a massive amount of explosives within the palace at an unknown time, directly killing all of Wano's daimyo except the Daimyo of Kuri. Ultimately, with the help of the Daimyo of Kuri, the Shogunate completely annihilated the Kurozumi clan. Orochi, how do you like my script?" Kaido said to Orochi.
"You... you... you..." Hearing this, Orochi looked at Kaido with even greater terror.
"Alright, King, Queen, move out. Finish this quickly," Kaido ordered directly.
"Yes, sir!" King unfurled his black wings and walked towards Orochi and Semimaru, who were protected by the Bari Bari no Mi's power. His long sword gleamed coldly in the dim light.
Queen, meanwhile, hefted his cleaver and advanced with a nasty grin towards the heavily wounded, fallen daimyo. "Leave them to me, Boss Kaido."
Shimotsuki Ushimaru and Kazuki Mitsuyoshi struggled to stand, shielding Shimotsuki Yasuke. Ushimaru said in a low voice, "Yasuke, we'll hold him off. You run. You must get Kaido's plot out there."
Mitsuyoshi also nodded firmly. "Go!"
Yasuke looked at his two companions, gritted his teeth, and said, "You... fine. Be careful!" With that, he immediately turned and rushed towards a secret passage in the rear.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't you look down on me!" Queen shouted, swinging his cleaver as he charged. The already severely wounded Ushimaru and Mitsuyoshi fought back with all their might, but were knocked back several steps by Queen's overwhelming strength in the first clash.
The two exchanged a glance and suddenly changed tactics, launching a ferocious assault with complete disregard for their own safety. This life-risking style of fighting caught Queen momentarily off guard, forcing him to adopt a defensive stance. In that brief opening, Shimotsuki Yasuke's figure had already disappeared into the depths of the passage.
"Looks like that fat bastard Queen still needs some serious training," Kaido remarked, standing with his arms crossed on higher ground, coldly observing the battle. He had no intention of intervening personally. After all, he had mobilized almost the entire elite force of the Beasts Pirates for this operation.
If a fight of this level still required his personal intervention, then this pirate crew truly had no reason to exist.
The currently attacking Queen suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as if something terrible was about to happen.
Shimotsuki Yasuke, relying on the help of Shimotsuki Ushimaru and Kazuki Mitsuyoshi, had rushed towards the outside of the palace. But before he could get far, a flash of blade light shot past, directly cutting down the desperately fleeing Yasuke.
Seeing that the enemy was dealt with, Morris wiped the blood from his treasured sword with a cloth, sheathed it, and continued watching to ensure no one else had a chance to escape.
Meanwhile, the already grievously wounded Shimotsuki Ushimaru and Kazuki Mitsuyoshi, upon seeing Yasuke killed, lost their focus. In that moment of distraction, they were both cut down by Queen.
On the other side, King slowly drew Enma. The blade gleamed with a cold, sharp light under the moonlight. He gripped it with both hands and brought it down upon the barrier with a mighty slash, his fierce stance as if intending to cleave the entire barrier in two. Inside the barrier, Orochi's face instantly turned deathly pale, and his legs began to tremble involuntarily.
Clang!
With a clear metallic ring, Enma was firmly blocked by the barrier. Seeing this, Kurozumi Semimaru immediately reassured him, "Please be at ease, Master. This barrier technique is unbreakable." Only then did Orochi's frantic breathing calm slightly, though fine beads of sweat still dotted his forehead.
"Old man, your barrier is indeed something," King said coldly, staring at Semimaru. "But no matter how strong an ability is, it depends on the user's strength." The moment the words left his mouth, Semimaru suddenly felt the blood in his body reverse its flow. Every muscle in his body instantly stiffened, and he could no longer maintain the barrier technique.
In the instant the barrier vanished, King's figure moved like a ghost. Enma traced a beautiful arc through the air. Semimaru's head flew from his shoulders, drawing a line of blood in the air before landing heavily on the ground.
"Se... Semimaru!" Orochi shrieked in terror, his voice filled with despair. But before he could even beg for mercy, Enma swung again. Orochi's body collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Just as King was about to sheathe his sword, Kaido's low voice came from behind him. "King, it's not over yet. This guy ate the Hebi Hebi no Mi, Model: Yamata no Orochi. He has eight lives." Hearing this, King immediately turned towards the "corpse" on the ground. Sure enough, he saw Kurozumi Orochi secretly wriggling.
Orochi, who had been playing dead, could no longer maintain the act upon hearing Kaido's words. He scrambled backward in a panic, using both hands and feet. But with his level of strength, how could he possibly escape King's pursuit? In the blink of an eye, Enma fell repeatedly, severing several snake heads. Each slash was accompanied by Orochi's wretched scream.
During this, Orochi tried to counterattack, but the moment he raised a weapon, King effortlessly lopped off two more heads. Finally, as the eighth slash descended, only boundless fear and despair remained in Orochi's eyes. With the fall of the final snake head, the battle finally came to an end.
After using Kenbunshoku Haki to inspect the scene and confirming that everyone present aside from his own men was dead, Kaido nodded in satisfaction.
"King, proceed to the next phase of the plan!" Kaido said to King.
"Yes, sir!" King nodded and immediately began making arrangements.
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!