"Quick! Find someone to block it! Kyoshiro! Fukurokuju! Get up there!"
Orochi screamed in panic.
He did possess the rare Mythical Zoan, the Yamata no Orochi Devil Fruit.
But that was merely a means he normally used to intimidate people. Expecting it to stop the overwhelming attack crashing down before him was nothing short of wishful thinking.
Kyoshiro’s face was equally grim. Staring directly at the incoming assault, he tightened his grip on his katana and shouted in a low voice:
"Fukurokuju! Take the Oniwabanshu and move!"
Fukurokuju and the other members of the Oniwabanshu froze.
Faced with such overwhelming power, their first instinct was naturally to run.
However, Orochi and Kyoshiro had already given their orders.
They could only bite the bullet and advance.
"Move!"
With a grim expression, Fukurokuju leaped forward and positioned himself in front of Orochi.
Seeing this, the remaining members of the Oniwabanshu could only force themselves forward as well.
Orochi’s face lit up with delight.
He immediately turned around and ran for his life.
However, the instant he turned around, he froze completely. His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Kyoshiro, who had been shouting about charging forward just moments ago, was carrying Kozuki Hiyori—and running even faster than Orochi.
His speed was astonishing, covering dozens of meters in a single breath.
In the blink of an eye, Kyoshiro had already fled several hundred meters away.
Orochi was not the only one dumbfounded.
Even Fukurokuju and the others were left staring in disbelief.
"Kyoshiro! How dare you betray me! I will never forgive you!"
Orochi roared furiously.
Kyoshiro glanced back, but his feet never stopped.
"Lord Orochi, I’m sorry. I am Denjirō of the Nine Red Scabbards. Matters involving risking one’s life are best left to you."
"You’re one of the Nine Red Scabbards?!"
Orochi was completely stunned.
Unfortunately, before he could even process what he had heard, Fukurokuju suddenly roared:
"Lord Orochi! It’s here!"
BOOM!
The massive impact crashed toward the castle tower, accompanied by a succession of deafening sonic booms.
Fukurokuju and the other members of the Oniwabanshu had no time to think. Their only hope was that this terrifying shockwave was all spectacle and that they could somehow block it.
They hurriedly raised their weapons in front of themselves and braced for impact.
BANG!
In an instant, tremendous force erupted.
Every member of the Oniwabanshu felt as though a mountain had slammed directly into them.
Bones shattered throughout their bodies as blood burst from their mouths.
Seven or eight figures were sent flying like cannonballs.
Orochi, standing more than a dozen meters behind them, watched the scene unfold.
His scalp went numb.
But before he could even turn around and run, the overwhelming wave of Conqueror’s Haki came crashing down.
In an instant, Orochi felt the bones throughout his body snap.
BOOM!
The rolling impact crashed forward like a tsunami striking the shore.
The earth itself shook violently.
As dust and sand billowed into the sky, the entire scene took on the appearance of an apocalyptic wasteland, as though the heavens themselves had been obscured.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Eventually, the dust slowly settled.
The terrifying shockwave dissipated.
Only then did those who had fled collapse weakly onto the ground.
When they looked toward the entrance to the Flower Capital, they were completely dumbfounded.
The entire stretch of land spanning several thousand meters had been transformed.
There was no trace of the castle gate or its surrounding structures.
Looking across the devastation, if Lucas had not still been standing there leisurely sipping his liquor, they truly would not have believed that the entire castle gate had just been erased in a single attack.
Seeing the figures lying scattered throughout the ruins, those who had received Nekomamushi and Inuarashi’s warning beforehand felt chills run down their spines.
Thinking back on what had just happened, they felt especially fortunate that the physical shockwave had not been aimed at them.
Otherwise, even if they had given everything they had and run with all their might, they probably could not have outrun that terrifying impact.
Especially when they saw the members of the Oniwabanshu and Orochi lying unconscious amid the ruins, covered in blood with their eyes rolled back, everyone’s hearts tightened once more.
An utterly absurd thought emerged in their minds.
Had they just opened Wano with a single devastating strike?
At least, from what they could see, Orochi’s greatest sources of support—the Oniwabanshu and his samurai forces—had been completely annihilated by that single attack.
Whether they still retained any fighting strength no longer mattered.
Looking at the horrifying scene before them, who would still dare to step forward and make trouble?
For a moment, the enormous ruins fell completely silent.
Everyone stared at Lucas, who was still standing there leisurely sipping his shōchū.
Their faces were filled with disbelief.
For decades, they had longed for Wano to be opened.
They had been prepared to risk their very lives for it, yet they had never been able to accomplish it.
So how had something they considered nearly impossible become so simple in Lucas’s hands?
Was this what true strength looked like?
"Uncle Kyoshiro... am I dreaming?"
Kozuki Hiyori’s legs felt weak. With a thud, she dropped to her knees and stared at Lucas amid the ruins.
"I was just prepared to risk my life for the opening of Wano..."
"I finally understand why he said my father was a complete fool."
"What we considered the opening of Wano wasn’t even worth mentioning in their eyes. If Father had truly sought the help of Whitebeard and the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, perhaps Wano would never have fallen into decades of suffering."
"My father was the one who failed Wano..."
Kyoshiro was equally dazed.
At that moment, it felt as though his very faith had collapsed.
As one of the Nine Red Scabbards, he had indeed been unable to refute Lucas when Lucas had belittled Kozuki Oden.
Even so, he had remained somewhat unconvinced deep down.
But now, he was completely convinced.
"All right. The rest is up to you."
Lucas lifted his sake gourd and glanced at Orochi lying among the ruins.
"Stop pretending to be dead. The Mythical Zoan, the Yamata no Orochi Devil Fruit, has been completely wasted in your hands."
"You... you know my secret?"
Orochi suddenly opened his eyes and roared in fury.
"I’m a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user! I’m also the shogun of Wano! As long as you don’t kill me, I’ll agree to anything you want!"
His voice thundered across the ruins.
Orochi, who had been lying there moments ago, suddenly rose as though he had never been injured.
By the end, his words had transformed into something resembling the howl of a wild beast.
His previously short body instantly transformed into the form of the Yamata no Orochi.
However, before Orochi could say another word, his ferocious form suddenly froze.
All seven heads stiffened in midair, completely devoid of movement.
The next moment, under everyone’s horrified gaze, they slammed heavily into the ground.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Clouds of dust erupted into the air.
All seven heads crashed into the ground.
Orochi stared in utter disbelief.
An absurd thought rapidly emerged in his mind.
Did that single attack just take seven of my lives?
Otherwise, how could his Yamata no Orochi form have been killed seven times in an instant?
At this rate, he was practically performing a one-man show.
If he had not witnessed it with his own eyes, Orochi would never have believed that the trump card he had always relied upon could be so utterly powerless.
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