This was just how Ray was—matters unrelated to him, would never captured his attention.
He came to Wano Country for one purpose only: to kill Kaido.
As for the suffering endured by Wano's people? That was their problem to solve.
If they refused to accept being bullied, they should rebel.
Since this was known as the "Land of Samurai," they ought to demonstrate the spirit of warriors instead of waiting for a savior.
Ray walked to the base of a large tree by the shore, preparing to rest for a moment.
CRASH!
But just then, a massive, six-meter-tall white bear covered in blood burst out of the forest, appearing within everyone's sight.
Chasing closely behind the bear was a terrifying creature resembling a Spinosaurus.
"Help! Someone save Komachiyo!"
From atop the white bear came another desperate cry for help.
Ray's gaze involuntarily shifted toward the source of the voice.
After all, now that it had charged right before his eyes, it was no longer "unrelated" to him.
After a moment's recollection, Ray recognized the little girl riding on the bear's back.
'That girl who can tame animals with dango... Tama, wasn't it?'
Ray still remembered Tama's story from his knowledge of the original timeline.
He held rather favorable impressions of this little girl.
As for that Spinosaurus chasing them?
'What an insignificant ant,' Ray thought.
He couldn't even recall its name.
Now that he'd established differing levels of favorability, Ray decided to resolve this conflict.
...
Aboard the White Horse.
All members of the Beautiful Pirates and Frieda remained motionless for now.
They were all perceptive individuals—how dare they move when their terrifying Boss hadn't acted?
Nevertheless, most of them wanted to save the little girl.
Though they were pirates, they still possessed humanity.
Some members had been parents themselves, but in these turbulent times, children rarely survived to adulthood.
Especially when they witnessed the Spinosaurus catching up to the white bear, its massive fanged jaws snapping just inches from the girl on the bear's back.
Two middle-aged pirates finally couldn't remain seated.
They decided to defy Ray's will, solely because their own daughters had been devoured by wild beasts in similar circumstances.
That was a scene they never wanted to witness again.
But just as they prepared to jump off the ship, a silver figure vanished from the tree line.
BOOM!
Ray instantly materialized in mid-air, right in front of the beast-formed Page One.
Before Page One could react or even blink, Ray delivered a powerful, casual punch directly to his beastly snout.
Page One, the user of the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Zoan: Spinosaurus Model, had no time to comprehend what was happening.
Excruciating pain exploded in his head, accompanied by the sickening sound of his skull cracking.
There was no possibility of a response.
In the blink of an eye, his massive dinosaur body went flying hundreds of meters backward.
He stared blankly up at the sky as he soared through the air.
CRASH!
After crashing through a large swath of forest, he embedded himself directly into the side of a mountain two kilometers away.
Meanwhile, on the beach, the white bear went into shock and lost consciousness due to excessive blood loss.
"Waaah!"
Tama, who had been sitting on the bear's back, was thrown off when the bear collapsed.
Given her small height, falling from the back of a giant bear would have resulted in serious injuries at the very least.
But just as Tama was about to hit the ground, Ray's "scarf" elongated once again.
Flump.
His fluffy tail caught Tama gently.
Since it was soft and warm, it not only prevented injuries but was also quite comfortable.
...
A few minutes later.
With comfort from Frieda and the two middle-aged pirates, Tama began to recount what had happened between sobs.
An hour ago, two dinosaurs led a group of pirates to attack their village.
One of the dinosaurs was the very same one Ray had just punched away.
Everyone in the village had died.
She was the only one who managed to escape.
Even her grandfather, Tenguyama Hitetsu, had disappeared, likely failing to evade the pirates' pursuit.
Judging by the attire of the pirates, they were all Kaido's subordinates.
Their reason for attacking the village was simply because Kaido had been in a bad mood lately and wanted to capture people for biological experiments.
When biological experiments were mentioned, Ray first thought of the artificial Zoan Devil Fruit—SMILE.
With a success rate of only 10%, those who failed would become "Pleasures," stripped of all expressions except laughter.
From an outsider's perspective, Kaido was definitely not a good person.
However, Ray felt rather indifferent about it.
As the saying goes, in a chaotic world, it's survival of the fittest.
If you don't want to be preyed upon, you either become stronger or find someone strong to rely on.
But when Ray looked at the girl named Tama before him, for some reason, a figure appeared in his memory.
It was a little girl whose village had been attacked by yokai and who was eventually caught and killed by a pack of wolves.
'Rin...'
Ray didn't quite understand why he had thought of Rin.
Perhaps it was because Rin and Tama shared a similar aura of innocence amidst tragedy?
Ray pondered for a few minutes but couldn't figure it out.
Rin was Sesshomaru's weakness.
Although Ray had inherited all of Sesshomaru's memories of Rin, he had already left the Inuyasha world long ago.
Why, then, did thinking of Rin evoke an uncontrollable sense of longing and an indescribable regret in his chest?
What was going on?
After the Sesshomaru template fusion rate reached 70%, Ray had an intuition he didn't want to admit.
He didn't reject Sesshomaru's memories at all.
As if... they were his own.
But it shouldn't be like that!
For uncertain matters, Ray wouldn't waste too much energy thinking about them.
After all, he would always be himself.
...
Twenty minutes later.
Tama temporarily emerged from her sorrow, wiping her tears.
"Big Brother, Big Sister... are you really pirates from outside?"
Though Tama was covered in dirt and dressed in rags, her lively, large eyes radiated an innocence and kindness that made it impossible for anyone to dislike her.
It awakened Frieda's maternal instincts prematurely.
She hugged Tama tightly while introducing everyone present.
But when she finally prepared to introduce Ray, who was watching the sea under a distant tree, she hesitated.
"Um... Tama, this... Lord..."
After spending so much time with Ray, Frieda's feelings toward him were complicated.
Admiration, respect, affection... and fear.
She felt them all.
Especially fear.
Having long navigated among the great pirates with ease as a reporter, she clearly understood the temperaments of these top-tier powerhouses.
They were volatile.
Moreover, during this voyage, she had personally witnessed Ray slaughtering a large number of people and Sea Kings who came to cause trouble for the Beautiful Pirates.
His killing was decisively ruthless.
He didn't even bat an eye.
And because they were in the New World, the White Horse frequently encountered extreme and harsh weather conditions.
Ray even tore apart storms with his blade to clear the path.
Thus, in Frieda's eyes, Ray was nothing less than a God of Slaughter.
Killing people, killing beasts, and even killing the heavens.
She felt that if she ever performed poorly or annoyed him, she might likely be killed by Ray too.
The other members of the Beautiful Pirates held a similar perception of Ray as Frieda. Both respectful and fearful.
But today, there was an exception.
Seeing Frieda stammering and afraid to introduce Ray, Tama blinked her small eyes.
She immediately jumped out of Frieda's embrace and trotted over to the scary man.
She reached her small hand into her clothes and pulled out a dirty lump of sushi.
"Big Brother, thank you for saving me! This is for you to eat."
At this moment, Frieda and the members of the Beautiful Pirates were extremely tense.
They stopped breathing.
'Oh my god! How dare she give such dirty rice to Lord Ray?!'
'Will he kill her?!'
'What should we do? She's so cute... should I jump in to save her?'
However, what happened next shattered their perceptions.
Ray actually extended his hand and accepted the small piece of sushi.
At the same time, he nodded to Tama.
"Go back and play with Frieda and the others."
At that moment, Frieda and the crew gaped, their faces full of disbelief.
'This didn't make any sense... The God of Slaughter accepted a dirty rice ball?'
Just as everyone's minds hadn't yet recovered from the shock, a familiar, arrogant voice gradually approached from afar.
"Boss! I've killed that Triceratops bastard!"
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