Rumble!
The Togen Totsuka came crashing down with tremendous force, striking the Susanoo head-on.
A violent shockwave swept outward like a hurricane.
The surrounding earth split apart as though it were made of paper.
The ground within a radius of several dozen meters rapidly shattered into pieces.
A hint of delight flashed through the depths of Ashura Dōji’s eyes.
He had painstakingly trained this technique for decades, yet had always lacked a suitable opponent with whom to practice.
Seeing the power unleashed by this strike naturally filled him with a pleasant surprise.
However, that brief sense of satisfaction had barely surfaced when he suddenly remembered the opponent he was facing this time.
This was someone so terrifying that even Nekomamushi and Inuarashi had immediately sold him out.
Ashura hurriedly raised his head to see just how much damage his attack had caused.
Yet the moment he looked, the strike he had regarded as a pleasant surprise was now resting against the enormous figure before him without producing even the slightest movement.
There wasn’t even a crack.
Such overwhelming defensive power caused Ashura Dōji’s face to turn pale.
Could this be the true powerhouse that Wano Country had been lacking?
But before that uncertain thought could fully form, the terrifying sequence of attacks that erupted in the sky instantly dispelled his doubts.
The chilling aura of death swept over him, and Ashura Dōji finally understood.
The man standing before him really was the true powerhouse Wano Country had been lacking.
"Ashura! We already gave you a chance to run! What are you still standing there like an idiot for?!"
Nekomamushi and Inuarashi’s expressions changed drastically as they shouted.
But seeing Ashura Dōji still standing there stupidly, the two exchanged a determined glance.
They immediately pushed their speed to the limit and shot forward like arrows.
After personally witnessing Lucas’s fighting style, they simply didn’t dare to gamble.
They couldn’t gamble on whether Lucas would really hold back.
If they lost that gamble, Ashura Dōji might never even have the chance to sell himself to the Marines.
He’d be dead before that happened.
Rumble!
The violent explosion instantly engulfed all three of them.
The resulting cloud of dust was so immense that it seemed to blot out the heavens.
It took a full three or four minutes before the dust gradually dispersed.
What appeared before them was an enormous crater a hundred meters in diameter.
Three bloodied figures were kneeling inside it, battered and disheveled as they gasped for breath, grateful to have survived.
Ashura Dōji was clearly surprised that Nekomamushi and Inuarashi, who had already chosen to flee, had suddenly turned back to save him.
But the pain radiating throughout his body made him grimace.
He gritted his teeth and said,
"Didn’t you two sell me out? Why did that bastard still attack so viciously? Doesn’t he care whether I can withstand it? I could’ve died!"
"Vicious?"
Nekomamushi and Inuarashi rolled their eyes.
They simply collapsed onto the ground and gasped for breath.
"Compared with the last time, he was being merciful."
"You know what the first thing everyone taught us after we came aboard was? Guess what it was."
"What?"
Ashura Dōji froze, clearly unable to understand what they meant.
"Was it that we should fight seriously and never run away?"
"Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?"
The moment he finished speaking, Ashura immediately saw Nekomamushi and Inuarashi looking at him as though he were an idiot.
"No. The first lesson was how to run as fast as possible!"
"When this Marine Admiral is in a hurry, he’s the kind of man who doesn’t even spare his own allies."
"So from now on, whenever we tell you to run, remember to run as fast as you can. We don’t want to gamble our lives again just to save you a second time."
"If he uses that technique from last time again, we wouldn’t even dare risk going back for you!"
Ashura Dōji was completely dumbfounded.
He had witnessed all kinds of fighting styles.
But starting a battle by taking responsibility for running away?
That was simply too far beyond his understanding.
More importantly, the attack he’d just experienced—the one that had made him feel as though the Grim Reaper himself had come calling—hadn’t even been the young man’s strongest technique.
If Nekomamushi and Inuarashi weren’t joking...
Just how powerful was this young man?
"All right. If you’re not dead, then hurry up and take care of the real business."
Lucas walked over to the three of them with his wine gourd and took a small sip of Strong liquor .
"Don’t forget, I’ve only given you two days."
"If you haven’t resolved everything by then, don’t blame me for leaving without you."
With that, Lucas slowly walked away.
Ashura was momentarily stunned by his cryptic words.
But before he could ask anything, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi spoke simultaneously.
"Don’t ask. If you ask, he’ll say it’s because he wants the samurai to go extinct!"
"Let’s bandage our wounds and get moving!"
"Most of the two days are already gone. Looks like we’ll have to head straight for Kuri."
"Along the way, Ashura, immediately have all your men split up and..."
Meanwhile, on the main road connecting the harbor to the Flower Capital.
Orochi was leading his entourage forward at high speed.
Thinking back to the humiliating exchanges with Kaidō and Queen earlier, his expression became extremely grim.
"Dammit! Those bastards! I’m the shogun of Wano Country! How dare they speak to me like that?! They’re simply asking to die!"
"I’ll settle these grudges someday!"
Orochi crushed the wine cup in his hand and roared furiously.
Yet faced with his angry declarations, everyone present very sensibly turned their heads away.
They had clearly grown accustomed to this behavior.
Only Kyoshiro gave a dry laugh.
"Lord Orochi, don’t let something like that get to you."
"If Wano Country actually had the strength to stand against that monster Kaidō, then that foolish Kozuki Oden wouldn’t have been killed in the first place."
"Now that we have Kaidō as our shield, we might as well enjoy the peace and live like kings here."
"After all, the sea outside isn’t exactly an easy place to deal with."
"Isn’t that right, Komurasaki?"
Kozuki Hiyori snapped out of her daze.
If anyone else had spoken so disparagingly about Kozuki Oden, she would have been filled with grief and indignation.
But remembering Kyoshiro’s true identity, she knew that every time such words came from his mouth, his heart was being cut like a knife.
Still, in order to maintain the act in front of Orochi, this was something they had to do.
Suppressing the resentment in her heart, Hiyori smiled sweetly.
"Hehe, Boss Kyoshiro, you’re absolutely right."
"With Kaidō’s help, Wano Country has practically become Lord Orochi’s possession."
"If anything, this is all thanks to Lord Orochi’s wisdom. He managed to turn the entire Beasts Pirates into his own chess pieces!"
"However, Lord Orochi, Komurasaki is still a little worried."
"Now that the Beasts Pirates have left, those surviving Wano samurai may emerge again."
"I wonder whether Kaidō has left behind any countermeasures to deal with them."
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