The plaza fell into a heavy silence. No one moved right away, and the tension around the execution ground kept tightening with every passing second.
The expected immediate battle did not happen.
It was a strange standoff.
On one side were the newly arrived "invaders," only two of them.
On the other side stood Kaido of the Beasts, who had just taken control of Wano Country, and Kurozumi Orochi, the Wano shogun who used Kaido's power to act tough.
Kaido did not attack immediately.
Kaido, who was usually reckless and willing to smash through most problems head-on, showed caution for once.
The wounds left by Oden a few days ago were not fully healed. Although they were closing, every pull of pain reminded him that he was not at his peak.
More importantly, the young Marine in front of him felt dangerous in a way Kaido could not ignore.
That danger did not just come from Shusui, Ryuma's Black Blade, in Aiden's hand, but also from the record of battles that had made him famous.
From killing Golden Lion at the start.
To killing a Celestial Dragon.
Suppressing two Marine Headquarters Admiral candidates.
And the disappearance of King a while ago.
These achievements made Kaido choose not to rush into close combat right away, especially while his own body was still carrying wounds from Oden.
Since that was the case...
Kaido smiled with a mix of cruelty and amusement.
Then he would let Orochi's men test Aiden first. Anyway, to him, subordinates and allies were useful only as long as they served a purpose, and throwing them forward cost him nothing.
"Hey, Orochi."
Kaido did not even turn his head. He only glanced at Kurozumi Orochi, who was shivering behind the ruins. His contempt was obvious:
"What are you shaking for? This is your country, right?"
"Someone broke in, and you plan to just watch me do the work for you?"
Kurozumi Orochi was already shivering. Hearing Kaido's cold voice, his face stiffened.
He knew Kaido's temper too well. If he showed no value now, Kaido might crush him with one club strike before that Marine even moved.
This was not a question. This was clearly forcing him to be cannon fodder first!
"Yes... yes!!"
Orochi jumped out. Although his legs were still shaking, under Kaido's stare, he could only force himself to step up.
He took out a flare gun from his coat and pulled the trigger repeatedly at the sky.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three purple flares shot into the sky with sharp whistles, cutting through the smoke above the plaza before exploding into the giant crest of the "Orochi" family.
This was Orochi's highest alarm signal, the kind only used when the shogun himself was in danger!
The purple light shone on Orochi's twisted face. For the Oniwabanshu and Mimawarigumi under Orochi, this was an absolute order to drop everything and rush back to protect the shogun. And for the Beasts Pirates stationed in Wano, raising this signal meant someone dared to attack their territory. It was an unforgivable invasion!
Following the flares, the Beasts Pirates members and samurai troops who were hunting the Nine Red Scabbards stopped their pursuit and started rushing back toward the execution ground.
In the distance, the dense sound of footsteps, clashing armor, and scraping weapons grew louder, spreading through the streets around the plaza from several directions at once.
Watching the dust rise in the distance, sweat ran down Moria's forehead.
"Hey... Aiden."
Moria listened to the noise coming from all directions. Sweat gathered on his forehead, and he finally couldn't help but urge:
"They are gathering an army! Listening to this noise, there are at least a few thousand people!"
"This is our best chance! Shouldn't we go straight up and kill Kaido and Orochi before they finish gathering everyone and surround us completely?"
Although he had confidence in Aiden's strength, it all came from Aiden's past battle records. He had never actually seen Aiden fight with his own eyes. Right now, if they were trapped by an army of thousands, plus someone like Kaido standing above them, even an Admiral would be worn down, right?
Aiden just waved his hand, signaling Moria to calm down. Seeing this, he even sheathed Shusui again, still looking relaxed.
"What's the rush?"
Aiden said calmly:
"Let them come."
"Wano is huge and the terrain is complex. If we let these rats scatter and hide, I would have to go look for them one by one. It's too much trouble."
"I hate trouble the most, and I really hate working overtime."
"But..." Moria opened his mouth, wanting to say something else, but looking at Aiden's expression, he could only swallow the rest of his words.
On the high platform.
Kaido watched Aiden act so arrogantly. A cruel grin appeared on his face.
"Arrogant brat..."
"You will pay the price for your arrogance."
...
At the same time.
In Kuri, inside a dense forest leading north.
"Huff... huff..."
Heavy panting echoed through the woods.
Two figures were running for their lives through bushes full of thorns.
It was Kin'emon and Denjiro.
The two looked terrible right now. Their samurai clothes were already torn to shreds by the branches. Through the ragged cloth strips, many sword wounds and blood stains from their earlier breakout could still be seen.
But they did not dare to stop.
Behind them, the sounds of killing and footsteps kept closing in through the trees. The elite pursuers from the Beasts Pirates and the ninjas from the Oniwabanshu were right behind them, giving them no time to breathe.
"Hurry!! Don't stop!!"
Kin'emon gritted his teeth. Sweat and tears rolled down his face, stinging the cuts on his skin:
"We can't let our Lord die for nothing!! We have to live!!"
"As long as we're alive... as long as we're alive, there is hope!!"
However, just as they thought they were about to be caught and were even ready to draw their swords to fight to the death.
"Wait!"
Denjiro, who was running behind, suddenly stopped and turned sharply toward the dense forest behind them.
"What's wrong?! Denjiro! Let's go!" Kin'emon shouted anxiously.
"The sound... is gone."
Denjiro's hand holding the sword trembled. Disbelief spread across his face as he listened to the forest behind them:
"The pursuers' sounds... are gone."
"What?"
Kin'emon froze and listened closely.
Sure enough.
The deafening shouts from just a moment ago were gone.
The whole forest was quiet. Only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the leaves remained.
"They... retreated?"
Kin'emon froze, completely unable to understand the situation in front of him or why the enemies would pull back at this exact moment.
This was a massive hunt to kill them all! They were just about to catch them, so why would they suddenly retreat?
Denjiro closed his eyes, trying hard to use his still-immature Observation Haki to sense the presence in the distance.
A moment later, he opened them sharply. Tears instantly ran down his face.
"They... went back toward the Flower Capital..."
"That many people turning back at once... and in such a hurry... it could not be a normal retreat."
Denjiro's voice caught. He gripped the front of his clothes tightly:
"Someone must have caused a huge scene in the Flower Capital, forcing Orochi to call all his troops back to defend!"
"Could it be... the other retainers?"
"Or... is it the citizens of the capital?"
Kin'emon stopped breathing for a moment. The man who had boiled in oil for an hour and died to protect them came to his mind.
He thought back to the end of the execution, when some citizens wept with regret after learning what Lord Oden had done.
"It must be the citizens!!"
Kin'emon fell to his knees on the ground. He bowed deeply toward the Flower Capital and cried out:
"To cover for us... to buy us time to escape... they actually started a riot and attacked Orochi's army!!"
"They bought us this chance with blood!!"
"Lord Oden! Did you see it?! The soul of Wano is still here!!"
The two hardened samurai cried in the forest right now, unable to hold back after everything they had seen at the execution ground.
They thought this was their allies and citizens risking their lives to cover their rear, a tragic sacrifice.
Little did they know.
It was just because Aiden found it annoying and thought killing them one by one was too much effort, so he pulled all the enemies away to wipe them out together.
"Let's go!!"
Denjiro pulled Kin'emon up and wiped the tears from his face. His eyes became more determined than ever:
"We cannot let their sacrifice go to waste!!"
"We have to live! Even if we have to crawl through mud, we must live!!"
"Wait until the person the world has waited eight hundred years for appears..."
The two took one last look toward the Flower Capital. Then they turned around and plunged into the deeper, dark forest.
...
Flower Capital, half an hour later.
The once-empty plaza was now packed with soldiers, pirates, samurai, and ninjas who had rushed back after Orochi's signal.
More than five thousand fully armed pirates and samurai surrounded Aiden and Moria in the center, blocking the roads, rooftops, and alleys until there were almost no gaps left.
At the very front of the group.
Queen the Plague, tall and wearing sunglasses with a cigar in his mouth, adjusted his mechanical arm with a loud metallic click. He looked mockingly at the two people in the circle.
As one of Kaido's All-Stars, second only to Kaido among the people here, Queen was not someone ordinary fighters could face, especially with his body already modified by his own weapons.
Behind him was a group of Headliners in different forms.
At this point, there were no SMILE users yet, so these Headliners were all real Zoan fruit users, and every single one was a threat.
And on the other side.
It was the Oniwabanshu ninja unit led by Fukurokuju. They had taken all the high points around them.
"Guhehehehe!!"
Seeing the encirclement, Kurozumi Orochi finally regained his confidence as the shogun.
He swaggered out and stood on a tall rock. Pointing his folding fan at Aiden below, he grinned with arrogant triumph:
"Stupid! Absolutely stupid!!"
"Reaper Aiden! Aren't you acting a little too full of yourself? Do you think you alone can beat all of us?"
"Is this what a strong Marine looks like? I think you're just a brainless idiot!!"
Up high, Kaido watched this scene without stopping Orochi.
He did not stop Orochi's yelling. He wanted to see if Aiden's strength really matched his fame.
Orochi grinned with twisted pleasure:
"So what if you're a Marine? So what if you killed a Celestial Dragon?!"
"Here! I am the shogun!!"
"Open fire!! Turn him to mush!!"
Following Orochi's order.
"Click—"
The sound of thousands of rifles loading at the same time spread through the plaza, sharp and heavy enough to make the weaker samurai flinch.
Immediately after.
"Bang bang bang bang bang!!!!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!"
Muzzle flashes lit up the plaza, and smoke filled the air.
Thousands of rifles and dozens of heavy cannons that were already set up fired at the same time in that instant!
Dense bullets and cannonballs rushed toward the two in the center of the ruins from every direction, leaving almost no open space to dodge.
That much firepower could tear a steel warship to pieces!
"Tch!!"
Moria clicked his tongue.
Although his strength was not weak, facing this scale of focused fire, he did not dare to block it with his real body.
He prepared to use Black Box, trying to wrap both of them inside for defense.
But just as he raised his hand, his movement froze.
Because in the next second.
Just as the first wave of bullets was about to touch the two of them.
Everything around Aiden seemed to slow down.
There was no sound of impact.
There was no sound of explosions.
The bullets and whistling cannonballs, the moment they entered a ten-meter range in front of Aiden, were caught by an invisible magnetic field that wrapped around the space in front of him.
Their paths, which had been too fast to follow, became clearly visible.
Then it slowed down.
Slowed down more.
Finally...
It completely stopped.
"Buzzz—"
A low buzzing sound came through the air as thousands of bullets vibrated in place, unable to move forward an inch.
The later bullets hit the earlier bullets and did not bounce off. Instead, they were also caught by that invisible magnetic field, stacking one by one, layer by layer, until the air itself looked blocked by metal.
The gunfire did not stop.
Those pirates were still pulling the triggers madly. Their gun barrels had turned red hot.
But they slowly noticed something was wrong.
Because there was no sound of impact, and not even dust rose around the target.
Gradually, the gunfire thinned out.
The pirates stopped in terror one by one. Their mouths hung open, and their guns slipped from their shaking hands and fell to the ground with dull clatters.
Everyone stared ahead in fear.
They saw right in front of that young Marine.
A thick mass of metal bullets was floating quietly in mid-air.
They stacked together, forming a giant metal wall in the air.
"What... what kind of dark magic is this?!"
Orochi was so scared he fell backward. His folding fan dropped into a ditch.
Moria froze in shock.
As a strong fighter, he wouldn't be killed by these bullets either, but he would still have to put in some effort and use his shadows seriously to block everything.
But...
To stop thousands of bullets so easily and leave them hovering in the air like toys, without even drawing his sword...
This level of control over power was frightening!
"What? Out of bullets?"
Aiden looked at the giant "bullet wall" in front of him and found it a bit boring.
He slowly reached out a hand and snapped his fingers sharply.
"Snap."
The sound was not loud, but it could be heard clearly across the silent plaza.
Right after.
"Zzzzt..."
A visible blue electric current instantly spread from Aiden's fingertip, connecting to every floating bullet.
The electromagnetic vibration heated the metal at once, turning Aiden's control over lightning into direct heat across every piece of metal.
One second.
All the bullets turned red.
Two seconds.
All the cannonball shells lit up, turning bright orange.
Three seconds.
"Hssss—"
Under the intense heat, those metal bullets completely melted into boiling red-hot molten iron.
"Splash—" White smoke rose from the ground.
"Gulp..."
No one knew who swallowed first.
Fear spread through the hearts of the thousands of pirates and samurai, moving faster than any order Orochi could shout.
What kind of power was this?
Was this still a power humans could have?
"Too boring."
Aiden slowly took two steps forward and took a deep breath, as if feeling the fear spreading through the plaza and confirming that the test had already lost all meaning.
When he moved again.
Blue lightning crackled around him, bright enough to drown out the darkness around his face:
"Let's just skip this boring testing phase."
Before he even finished speaking.
Boom!!!!
A dark red wave of Conqueror's Haki burst outward from Aiden in a ring!
"Ugh..."
"Ah..."
Wherever the wave swept past, whether it was the pirates holding guns, the samurai in armor, or even the ninjas hiding on the roofs, their bodies lost strength at once and they collapsed unconscious with foam at their mouths.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Thousands of elites fell across the plaza, one group after another, their weapons hitting the ground almost at the same time.
Besides Aiden and Moria, the only ones still standing were Orochi and Queen on the platform, and... Kaido, who finally stood up.
"This... this is Conqueror's Haki?!"
Queen looked at the terrifying scene in front of him. His legs weakened, and his mechanical arm shook out of control:
"What level of Conqueror's Haki is this?! Even Kaido..."
"Shut up!!"
Kaido's furious shout interrupted Queen's fear.
Up on the platform.
Kaido, who had been watching from above, finally stood up.
Although he was injured, he was still one of the strongest men on this sea.
The reason he didn't act before and let Orochi move the army to surround them was, on one hand, because he really wasn't at his peak and did not mind using numbers to wear Aiden down. On the other hand, he also wanted to see the strength of Reaper Aiden, who dared to pull a sword on a Celestial Dragon and leave a great name on the sea.
But now, the test was over.
Seeing his subordinates get instantly wiped out.
On top of that, Aiden had admitted to killing King earlier. Now he had wiped out Kaido's men in front of him. That was enough to make Kaido stop holding back.
"Marine brat!!!"
"Boom!"
Kaido jumped down hard from the high platform. His club, "Hassaikai," wrapped in black-red Haki lightning, used the force of the fall and smashed straight down at Aiden's head!
The force behind this strike was heavy enough to crush everything around the impact point.
Aiden raised his head slightly, watching the club rapidly coming down toward him. A mocking smile appeared on his face.
"Clang—"
Aiden drew Shusui again.
"Clang!!!!!!!"
A huge metallic crash rang out.
The ground under Aiden's feet shattered instantly, caving in to form a crater several meters deep.
But he himself did not move at all.
The black blade firmly blocked the club.
Two bursts of Conqueror's Haki clashed wildly in the air, scattering the dark clouds above the Flower Capital.
"What?!"
Kaido froze for a split second.
He could feel the power coming from Aiden's sword. It was far heavier than expected, and that lightning ran through his arm along the club, making his already weakened body go numb for a moment.
"Is this all the Strongest Creature has?"
Aiden looked at Kaido right in front of him, clearly disappointed:
"It is too disappointing."
"Is it because the wound left by that samurai hasn't healed yet?"
Aiden looked at the wound Oden had left on Kaido's chest.
"If it hurts, then go back and lie down!"
"Hah!!"
Aiden suddenly pushed hard, flicking his wrist. Using a burst of force from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he swung his sword hard!
"What?!"
Kaido felt a heavy force crash through his club.
"Bang!!"
Under the shocked looks of Moria, Queen, and Orochi.
Kaido of the Beasts was actually blasted away by the force of this strike, even with Hassaikai still in his hands!
His huge body flew backward, smashed through the platform behind him, crashed through several buildings, and finally slammed hard into the houses in the distance, kicking dust high into the air.
One strike!
Kaido had been knocked away!
"Phew..."
Aiden looked away and did not chase after Kaido.
Instead, he turned around and looked at the only two other people standing on the field.
Queen.
And Kurozumi Orochi.
"Alright, the big guy is out of the way for now."
Aiden carried the black blade and walked step by step toward Kurozumi Orochi, who was already paralyzed on the ground in fear. The contrast between his slow steps and the ruined plaza made his tone sound almost gentle:
"Alright."
"Kaido has stepped away for now."
"Now, it's time to clean up the trash."
"No... don't come over!!"
Kurozumi Orochi looked at Aiden getting closer step by step and panicked.
He turned to run, but his legs were too soft to stand up.
"Fukurokuju! Oniwabanshu!! Stop him!!!"
Orochi screamed until his voice cracked.
A few Oniwabanshu ninjas who had barely endured the wave of Haki gritted their teeth, holding kunai as they rushed out from the shadows to try and stop Aiden before he reached Orochi.
"Get lost."
Aiden didn't even look at them. He just waved his hand.
"Zzzzt—"
Several blue bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere, hitting the ninjas one after another. They did not even have time to scream before falling to the ground.
"Queen!! Save me!!"
Orochi could only pin his hopes on the Lead Performer beside him.
"You... you..."
Queen watched Aiden getting closer. The cigar dropped from his mouth to the ground, forgotten before it even finished burning.
Although he liked singing and dancing, and although he acted silly, Queen was not stupid.
The man in front of him was absolutely not someone he could handle!
But he had no choice right now. Queen's face twisted, and he forced himself to move. His body swelled up, instantly turning into a giant Brachiosaurus.
In his Brachiosaurus form, Queen opened his huge mouth. A dark gun barrel poked out from deep in his throat. The mechanical parts on his neck and tail also started moving wildly, trying to crush the human in front of him with his massive body and firepower:
"I don't know how you sent Kaido flying, but my science..."
"Science?"
Aiden glanced at the giant beast charging up to shoot a laser. A mocking smile appeared on his face:
"Playing with machines in front of me? Were you asleep just now?"
Aiden raised a hand and grabbed at the empty air.
"Creak— Creak—"
A teeth-grinding sound of twisting metal rang out.
"Wh-what is going on?!"
Queen was horrified to find that his proud mechanical modifications inside and outside his body were twisting and bending on their own, completely out of control no matter how hard he tried to force them back.
The gun barrel in his mouth instantly bent and blocked up. The metal support on his neck shrank hard, cutting into his flesh. The mechanical bones inside him folded backward, forcefully twisting his huge dinosaur body.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Along with a scream, Queen's long neck was forcefully twisted back by magnetic force, tightening around his own body. His limbs were also twisted together by the bending metal.
Boom!
The huge Brachiosaurus crashed to the ground. The metal in his own body twisted around him, trapping him in place and leaving him rolling in pain on the ground, unable to properly move his limbs.
"Too weak."
Aiden shook his head and pointed a finger.
A bolt of lightning pierced through Queen's massive body and knocked him still.
After dealing with Queen, Aiden finally stood in front of Kurozumi Orochi.
This shogun, who would have brought endless suffering to this country, was now paralyzed on the ground. The front of his robes was wet, and he could only stare up at Aiden in terror.
Looking at Aiden walking over, Orochi cried and crawled backward desperately, dragging himself across the broken ground:
"Don't... don't kill me!!"
"I am the shogun! I have backing from the World Government! You will get into big trouble if you kill me!!"
"Kaido!! Where are you, Kaido?! Come save me!!"
Aiden walked up to Orochi and looked down at him.
"Kaido?"
Aiden pointed at the smoking ruins in the distance:
"He has no time for you right now."
"As for the World Government?"
Aiden gave him a mocking smile:
"I already killed a Celestial Dragon. Do you think I'd mind killing someone hiding behind them?"
"Ahhhh!!"
In despair, Orochi burst out with his final will to survive, pushing his Devil Fruit power out with everything he had left.
He used his Mythical Zoan power. His body rapidly swelled up, turning into a hideous snake with eight heads. Eight big mouths opened at the same time, trying to make a final struggle.
That was the Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Type, Model: Yamata no Orochi!
"I have eight lives!! You can't kill me!!"
The eight snake heads opened their bloody mouths and roared at Aiden, trying to fight back one last time with whatever strength fear had left in him.
"Eight lives?"
Aiden sounded disgusted.
"Looking at you is already annoying."
Aiden slowly raised the black blade Shusui. Extremely hot lightning wrapped around the edge.
"Eight lives, so I kill you eight times? No..."
"That's too much trouble."
"Once is enough."
"Swish—!!!"
A web of bright lightning flashed through the air.
"Slash! Slash! Slash!..."
Eight heavy sounds of blade cutting flesh rang out almost at the same time.
The Yamata no Orochi's eight hideous heads were cut off at the base almost at the same time!
The cut necks were instantly sealed by the lightning's high heat before Orochi had any chance to recover.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
Eight heads rolled onto the ground. Every face still showed terror.
Kurozumi Orochi was completely finished, just on the eve of enjoying the fruits of his victory and fully taking Wano for himself.
Completely dead.
"Alright."
Aiden clapped his hands, like he had just done a tiny chore.
He turned around and looked at the ruins.
"Roar————!!!"
Just a second after Orochi died.
A furious dragon roar came from deep in the ruins and rolled across the Flower Capital.
"Boom!"
Countless boulders exploded.
"Bastard Marine!!!!"
With a furious roar, Kaido's Azure Dragon form broke through the smoke and dust, circling above the Flower Capital as the wind from his body swept through the ruined streets.
Kaido was back.
And he was furious.
He lowered his giant dragon head and looked at Aiden, then at the mess across the Flower Capital.
Kaido roared:
"You've completely pissed me off!!!"
Strong winds howled, lightning flashed, and thunder rolled over the Flower Capital.
Facing Kaido's rage, Aiden looked up and smiled.
"Pissed you off?"
Aiden looked up at the giant dragon in the sky, his voice full of mockery:
"Hey Kaido, did you break your brain with that hit just now?"
"At a time like this, you're still saying meaningless nonsense like 'pissed me off'..."
Aiden pointed Shusui straight at Kaido.
Lightning ran along the black blade under the stormy sky, making the edge shine against the dark clouds.
"Don't yell so loud, Kaido."
Aiden held the sword with one hand, pointing the tip at the dragon in the sky. Behind him, lightning gathered into the shape of a giant made of thunder and lightning, standing against the Azure Dragon.
"I didn't come to make you mad."
"I came to notify you..."
"Your era is over."