"Hiss… that hurts a bit!"
King climbed up from the ground, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb.
Such powerful Haki!
This person's Armament Haki was superior to his own!
His hasty Armament Haki defense was completely useless, like paper, easily pierced through.
"You said your name is Kuzo? Twelve Earthly Branches… Could it be that there are eleven more experts like you?"
Silence was Kuzo's only reply to King.
Kuzo stared at the other party coldly.
"Not talking? No need to be so serious; these people can't escape, so a little warm-up with me shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Lord Father and Kaido are in an alliance."
Kuzo thought carefully for a moment and came to his conclusion: "You are an ally; I cannot kill you. You are too annoying."
For him, the mission came first; everything else was irrelevant.
"Just a spar!"
As the word "just" sounded, King's figure had already vanished from his original spot.
The next second, the two of them erupted into battle.
Boom!
The loud noise brought the ten people nearby back to their senses.
"Take this opportunity, let's run first!" Kin'emon immediately shouted, "Shinobu, go!"
"Yes!"
Shinobu was momentarily dazed, then immediately followed suit.
She was still confused in her heart, why was she targeted?
At the same time.
Kuzo raised his arm, once again blocking King's slash.
Two streams of Armament Haki collided, and with a boom, the ground beneath them suddenly collapsed a layer.
"You are indeed very annoying…"
With a flick of his single arm, Kuzo sent King flying, then glanced at the direction Shinobu was fleeing, and immediately flashed to approach her.
"Leaving your back to an opponent isn't a good habit."
King flapped his wings, came behind Kuzo, gripped his katana with both hands, and slashed down without hesitation.
Kuzo was enraged; relying on his status as an ally, he had interfered with his mission again and again.
Immediately, his figure moved, dodging the slash.
"So fast…!" King was suddenly startled, his Observation Haki quickly capturing the opponent's trajectory, and he looked back.
At this moment, the flow of time seemed to slow down. Xiao
The corner of his eye caught sight of a fist. Shuo
"Annoying!" Kuzo snorted coldly, landing a punch on King's back. Qun
Boom!! San
With one punch, his back took a heavy blow, King violently spat out a mouthful of blood, and his entire body was sent crashing into the ground. Qi
A crater formed within a hundred-meter radius. Yi
The next second, Kuzo's wings opened behind him, and his pitch-black wings flapped, rapidly flying towards the fleeing Shinobu. Qi
"Cough… cough cough… Was that Armament Haki not even his limit? I was careless!" Er
Inside the giant crater, King coughed violently twice, then he looked up at the direction Kuzo had left, and was instantly stunned. Jiu
"Black wings?" King's expression was blank, and his pupils reflected an expression of disbelief. Yi
Black wings just like his! Yi
Suddenly. Jiu
"Ah!"
Shinobu screamed, grabbed from behind, and was instantly flown into the sky.
After Kuzo's dive, he easily caught his target, then disappeared into the night.
"Shinobu!"
Kin'emon and the others shouted in shock, looking up at the sky.
He can fly!?
There was no time to mourn Shinobu's capture; King immediately appeared before them.
King flew in mid-air, holding a long sword, coldly looking down at the Akazaya Nine below.
"Warm-up's over, now it's your turn."
Ashura Doji's face was grim, and he gritted his teeth and shouted, "You guys run first!"
"I will stay with you!" Kawamatsu quickly stood in front of everyone.
"Kin'emon!" Denjiro took a deep breath, also drawing his sword to face the enemy, "You take the others and go first; it's impossible for everyone to escape!"
"I understand… You cannot die!"
Kin'emon's face was filled with pain, and he immediately led the remaining few to continue their escape.
King wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth again, his tone disdainful:
"Just three people, can you buy ten minutes?"
An hour later, the forest was scarred everywhere.
The three men lay in a pool of blood, while King stood by, panting heavily.
He would never admit that he had been held back by three samurai.
Ashura Doji, in particular, possessed exceptional combat prowess.
It was all thanks to that Oden Clone 1; that punch he took left him with serious injuries.
To hit an ally so hard, how uncivilized!
"Hoo…"
Calming his heavy breathing, King took out a Smart Snail.
This was a communication device from Wano, but because the small Smart Snail's thought waves were weak, it could only be used for communication within Wano.
He dialed a number.
"Lord Kaido, Ashura Doji, Denjiro, and the Fishman Kawamatsu, the three samurai, have been apprehended."
"Hmm."
"I just encountered the daytime Oni Mask; he captured a female ninja."
"Oh?"
"He claims to be one of the Twelve Earthly Branches, named Kuzo, which should be a codename."
King pondered for a moment, then reported: "His strength is formidable, superior to mine, and… he might be a Lunarian survivor, just like me!"
Flower Capital, General's Residence.
Kaido listened to the information from King, a surprised expression on his face.
Lunarian?
There were still Lunarian survivors in the world?
Just confirming their whereabouts and reporting them to the World Government could earn a high bounty of 100 million Berries!
This was the situation the Lunarian faced.
Over the long course of history, this race was nearly extinct.
King himself had once been captured by the World Government.
"Oh lol lol, interesting! Edie's subordinates have such a person?" Kaido laughed twice: "Congratulations, King, you've found a compatriot."
On the other end of the phone.
King's expression was not very good.
He hadn't hidden his wings, and Oden Clone 1 had definitely recognized him as a Lunarian, yet he still struck so heavily, completely disregarding their kinship.
"I interfered with his mission and was beaten by him…"
"Is there anything special about that female ninja?"
"I don't know; her strength is very weak, but her appearance is decent."
King recalled for a moment, only able to come to this conclusion.
She was captured in one encounter, so weak it was ridiculous.
"I understand; continue to pursue the others."
Hanging up the phone, Kaido fell into deep thought.
He was a bit confused about what Edie was doing; he had captured Kozuki Oden's wife before, and now he was capturing another female ninja.
Was he fond of these two women?
Indulging in women was not good.
Thinking of this, Kaido immediately called Queen and instructed:
"Tomorrow, you go to the Research Institute and tell Edie that if he wants women, once he completes the research on artificial Devil Fruit, I'll give him as many as he wants; don't delay the important work!"
"Eh?"
Queen looked bewildered.
…
The next day.
Scientific Research Reputation reached 100%, rewarding one scientific research simulation attempt.
When Edie woke up, he saw the good news.
He happily got up, washed up, and went downstairs.
The loyal Oden Clone 1 was already waiting in the living room, with Shinobu tightly bound by chains beside him.
"Lord Father, Kurozumi Semimaru was not found."
"Lock her up first."
"Also… I think my wings have been exposed."
"Hmm? Never mind, the wings don't matter."
Edie nodded, temporarily ignoring Shinobu and her shouts, walking to the cabinet to start grinding coffee.
Before he transmigrated, he often stayed up late in the laboratory; all-nighters were commonplace, and drinking coffee to stay awake was a habit he developed then.
Wano did not produce coffee and was also a closed country.
It was not easy to get coffee.
While hand-grinding coffee beans, he opened the system.
scientific research simulation system
Remaining simulation attempts: 1
Current simulation project: "Research on Eliminating the Weaknesses of Devil Fruit Users"
After setting the research goal, Edie immediately started the simulation.
Environment detected…
Necessary condition for this research: Lineage Factor theory
Necessary conditions met
Simulation started
Year 1, you went to Sky Island, the Land of God, and with Oden Clone 1's assistance, you stole over 1,000 tons of gold. Your research funds are abundant, more than you can spend.
Year 20, you tried various methods but couldn't find the answer.
Year 40, you still haven't given up.
Year 60, you are persisting.
Year 63, your lifespan reached its end; you died at the age of 87.
You died.
Research failed
…
Such a simple simulation process left Edie speechless for a long time.
"So I can live to 87. What does it feel like to know your remaining lifespan in advance?"
His expression was subtle, and he felt strange.
But this research…
"63 years, and I still haven't found the answer."
"Is this problem unsolvable?"
"Or, if I gain eternal life, can I just accumulate time to find an answer? If a year isn't enough, then a thousand years, it's a simulation anyway…"
Eternal life exists.
There are immortal beings in this world.
But gaining eternal life is not easy; it requires a Paramecia Devil Fruit called the Ope-Ope no Mi.
The World Government is also very interested in this Fruit.
As a transmigrator, Edie naturally knew this.
This Fruit would briefly appear in North Blue 7 years later, in the year 1509.
"At that time, I'll snatch this Fruit, have a clone eat it, and then order him to perform the 'Eternal Life Surgery' on me."
Thus, eternal life could be achieved.
Of course, there was still one problem.
Eternal Life Surgery, after all, is a surgery and requires extremely professional medical knowledge.
"Perhaps, I can cultivate a doctor early on."
Edie poured the ground coffee into a cup and brewed it with hot water.
As a mental worker, he greatly needed sugar, so he kept adding white sugar to the cup.
"The matter of cultivating a doctor can be put on the agenda, but for now, let's set it aside…"
Edie looked at the system panel again.
Remaining simulation attempts: 1
Yes, failure does not consume attempts.
But continuing would also be meaningless.
The previous simulation had already given him the answer.
Either this problem is truly unsolvable…
Or, he lacks some crucial knowledge…
Simulating again wouldn't yield much different results.
"Hmm? No, the approach is wrong!"
Suddenly, it was as if a bolt of lightning struck Edie's brain.
He suddenly thought of Oden Clone 1.
Oden Clone 1 is not an Ability User, but he can use "Green Blood" to activate abilities that mimic Devil Fruit.
"I can switch tracks! Deeply research Green Blood… maybe I can find the answer in a roundabout way!"
Edie's eyes brightened; his intuition told him this path was feasible.
Immediately, without another word, he began the second simulation.