During the fierce clash between the two, the Beasts Pirates naturally didn't just stand there watching.
Before long, King had already rallied his men to encircle the mother and her children.
Meanwhile, Yamato struggled violently, trying to break free and run to Orin.
Queen also made his appearance.
Clenching a cigar in his mouth, he watched Orin battle fiercely against Kaido. His chubby face was filled with indignation.
Damn Black Emperor, he even beat Queen-sama's ass to the point of leaking!
But then again…
To ask him now to pick up a sword and fight Orin? He absolutely wouldn't dare. Which meant… there was only one option…
"Hey!!! Kozuki remnants! Don't think you can escape your fate just because the Black Emperor is backing you!
Hahahahahahaha! Queen-sama does NOT approve!!!"
King held Yamato in one arm, and in the other, he brandished a flaming longsword as he too closed in on the last few remaining members of the Kozuki family.
Two of the All-Stars were closing in together—Kozuki Toki fell into despair.
"In that case, I'll have to send you to the future…"
Her face was filled with sorrow.
In her hand, a mysterious power began to manifest. That conceptual force gave Orin a faint illusion—
If one didn't resist it, perhaps it really could carry someone through time.
Countless arrows were aimed at them, their flaming heads scorching the air—deadly enough to kill an ordinary person with ease.
They were ready to fire, though they likely wouldn't land before the time-travel took place.
After all, this technique was said to be rather fast.
Orin swept his blade across the ground.
A massive slash tore open the earth, sweeping toward Queen and King.
Its range was wide, though not especially powerful. After all, Yamato was still in King's arms—Orin didn't want to slice him into six pieces.
King's expression turned grim as he swung with full force to block the incoming slash.
Queen turned pale with fright, his cigar falling to the ground, his body trembling as his fat quivered uncontrollably.
Only when he saw King successfully block the slash did he finally exhale and wipe the cold sweat from his face.
Witnessing this, Kozuki Toki's actions paused for a brief moment.
But that single, sudden slash had forced everyone back. Even the Beasts Pirates' underlings were momentarily thrown into chaos.
Amid the confusion, one of the Beasts Pirates' lackeys, who had his bow fully drawn, suddenly got startled—his hand jerked unintentionally.
The arrow shot upward into the sky.
And because of Kozuki Toki's momentary delay, Momonosuke hadn't fully passed through time yet.
He suddenly felt a strange sensation below his waist a warm flush, followed immediately by searing pain.
But no one could hear it anymore.
Because Momonosuke had already gone.
He had run to the Era of the Worst Generation, twenty years into the future.
"Phew… That was close…"
Orin let out a sigh, though it was unclear what exactly he was sighing about.
Kozuki Toki, still standing in place, heard those words and simply thought Orin was expressing relief—relief that he had managed to stop the Beasts Pirates' villains in time.
She had no idea that she now had two daughters.
"Truly… I'm endlessly grateful, Orin-kun."
She shifted from calling him "Taro" to a respectful honorific. Holding the young Hiyori in her arms, Kozuki Toki bowed deeply to Orin.
"It was nothing. Just a small effort."
Orin smiled.
When he saw Hiyori looking up at him with sparkling eyes, he didn't feel much of anything.
Though she was cute, Kozuki Hiyori didn't earn Orin's favor.
At her core, she was still a selfish and reckless person.
She'd run off from Kawamatsu, who had been protecting her, nearly driving him to commit seppuku out of guilt.
Then she spent over a decade in prison, living off rotten fish and dirty water claiming she didn't want Kawamatsu to starve, but in truth, not bothering to eat less herself or try harder to find food.
Without even knowing if Kyoshiro was around, she went off alone to work in a brothel.
And even when living in relative comfort, she chose to swindle lecherous men out of their fortunes with her beauty.
After hiding at Orochi's side for twenty years, she accomplished absolutely nothing—her contribution didn't even measure up to what Robin could do in a single day of infiltration.
She had a brief encounter with Zoro and immediately slept with him.
All in all, she was a woman who naturally gravitated toward life as a courtesan.
Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that, but for someone burdened with a nation's vendetta, Orin couldn't agree with her choices.
The following events were quite cliché.
Some samurai who hadn't been sent forward in time escorted the mother and daughter away.
Orin didn't stop them—he simply crossed his arms and watched.
The Beasts Pirates, meanwhile, looked nervously toward the lone figure standing tall and unmoving.
The giant slash scar on the ground remained, and no one dared to make a move.
Even King only tightened his grip on Yamato, clearly apprehensive and hesitant to act rashly.
After watching them leave, Orin had no reason to stay—he didn't even bother with Kaido, who wanted to resume their battle.
He took a light step.
Boom—
Just as Kaido's club came crashing down, his figure vanished.
Only flames and smoke remained, leaving Kaido and the rest of the Beasts Pirates behind.
The battlefield fell silent.
A furious Kaido, speechless underlings, and Yamato still shouting that she wanted to find Orin.
...
"Again, I offer you my deepest thanks, Orin-kun."
At a temporary hideout, a rundown wooden shack, a pair of green-haired women—one big, one small—dressed in patched-up kimonos bowed once more to the man sitting across from them, sipping tea.
Among them were Denjiro, Kawamatsu, and others who had stayed behind. They, too, knelt before Orin, who sat calmly sipping his tea.
Though he was not their lord, his act of saving them felt like a divine gift.
Fwoo~
Orin took a sip of hot tea.
Looking at the crowd bowing their heads in unison, his face showed no particular expression.
He always acted according to his heart.
Not like those who recklessly followed their hearts at the expense of those who mattered.
Orin's heart followed only one principle—he had no regrets.
"There's no need for this, everyone. After all, Kaido and I already had bad blood overseas."
Though that's what Orin said, he didn't move an inch—he calmly accepted their kneeling and gratitude.
After all, he had saved their lives.
Well…
Even if it meant they'd lost their young lord.
To be honest, Orin had originally considered Wano.
It produced Seastone in abundance, and it was a relatively large nation.
Absorbing it into the underworld would've been a good move.
But upon arriving, he found that deep down, he didn't actually like this country very much.
To take everything from the Kozuki family—truth be told, it wasn't much different from what Kaido had done.
The only real distinction was that Orin's fists were bigger.
And there would be a pile of troubles waiting afterward.
Maybe it was Orin's power that gave these desperate samurai hope—one of them tentatively spoke up:
"Orin-sama, please… lend us your aid—"
"Please stop."
Before Orin could say anything, it was Kozuki Toki who spoke up, cutting off the samurai.
Because she saw it clearly—Orin had no intention of stepping forward as a savior.
From the beginning, his relationship with the Kozuki family aboard Roger's ship had been lukewarm.
Later on, he never fought Kaido to the death and had a good relationship with Kaido's daughter…
All of it clearly showed where Orin stood.
Orin… was not the savior of Wano!
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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