Chapter 180: Onigashima!
The destructive power of that special handcuff explosion was truly significant!
The blast wave had cleared a small crater in the frozen earth of Ringo, sending plumes of snow and dust spiraling into the gray sky.
A ringing silence followed the roar, broken only by the crackling of debris landing softly on the white ground.
"Whoa..."
Suzaku whistled, the sound sharp and clear in the quiet aftermath. He stared at the smoking crater where Yamato had been standing just moments before, his face showing a mixture of genuine surprise and speechlessness.
"It was actually real! The yield on those explosives wasn't a joke. I thought your dad was just trying to scare you into submission."
The expressions of all the Suzaku Pirates members became incredibly complex as they processed what they had just witnessed.
They looked at the shattered remains of the heavy iron shackles that now lay twisted on the snow, realizing the grim reality of the situation.
"This... this is just too much!"
Nami covered her mouth with both hands, her beautiful brown eyes filled with shock and a lingering fear. She stepped back instinctively, as if the violence of the act had physically repulsed her.
"How could a father be like that? Those were lethal explosives! He actually tried to blow up his own daughter just for leaving the island?"
To Nami, who cherished the memory of Bellemere—a mother who gave her life for her children—the concept of a parent casually booby-trapping their child was alien and monstrous.
"Rem also thinks... it is too much. It is unforgivable."
Even the usually gentle Rem, who maintained a polite and subservient demeanor, couldn't help but clench her small fists. Her blue eyes narrowed, her face showing utter disgust at the situation. The maid outfit she wore fluttered in the cold wind, but her aura was burning with indignation.
Although the rest of the crew didn't speak, their gazes towards Yamato involuntarily carried a hint of deep pity. To be raised by a monster like Kaido was a tragedy they could scarcely imagine.
However, the protagonist of the incident once again displayed her extraordinary nerves.
"This is great...!!!"
Yamato ignored the smoking crater. She ignored the brush with death. She excitedly raised her hands toward the sky, feeling an unprecedented sense of ease and freedom.
For twenty years, those shackles had weighed her down, both physically and spiritually. They were the symbol of Kaido's domination. Now, they were gone.
"Hahahaha!"
She laughed, a wild, uninhibited sound. She rotated her wrists, feeling the cold air of Wano touch her skin for the first time in decades without the barrier of cold iron. The blood circulation returned, and along with it, her Haki began to flow without obstruction.
With the shackles removed, the power that had been suppressed for so long was cheering excitedly within her body. The blood of the Oni boiled with anticipation.
"Now that the troublesome things are gone! I feel lighter than a feather!"
Yamato turned to Suzaku, her eyes shining with a fierce determination that burned brighter than the explosion.
"Let's set off right now! We go to Onigashima, and we send that bastard Kaido flying! I have twenty years of beatings to return to him!"
Seeing Yamato completely unbothered by her near-death experience, Suzaku couldn't help but smile faintly.
He watched her joyous celebration. He didn't know if the tall, horned girl in front of him was truly so carefree by nature, or if she had long been accustomed to using this carefree facade to hide the deep, scarred wounds within her heart. Perhaps, under Kaido's rule, showing fear was a weakness she couldn't afford.
But, it didn't matter.
Being interesting was enough. Her spirit was unbroken, and that was what counted.
"Suzaku-sama."
At this moment, Albedo, standing nearby in her pure white dress, bowed slightly. Her golden eyes swept over the wailing Beast Pirate guards on the ground—the ones who had been watching Yamato and were now incapacitated by the earlier skirmish.
"How should these individuals be dealt with? And this territory... if we leave, Kaido will simply retake it."
Suzaku didn't even look at the groaning guards. To him, they were ants. He simply waved his hand casually.
"We don't need to leave guards. We have something better."
Under his feet, an imperceptible darkness began to spread out like a tide of black ink. It defied the laws of light, stretching across the snowy ground of Ringo, swallowing the white purity with a deep, abyssal gloom.
"Arise."
Suzaku whispered the command.
Immediately after, the shadows began to boil.
Figures rose silently from the two-dimensional darkness, transforming into three-dimensional nightmares. They were the Shadow Soldiers from the world of Solo Leveling. Clad in pitch-black armor that seemed to be forged from the night itself, holding spears, swords, and shields, they stood in perfect formation. Their eyes flickered with a spectral, icy blue light that pierced through the mist.
"Waaah! What are these? So cool!!!"
Yamato's curiosity was instantly ignited. The warrior's instinct in her vanished, replaced by the wonder of a child who had lived in isolation.
"Are they ninjas? Are they spirits?"
Like a child who had discovered a new toy, she circled the Shadow Soldiers, examining their vaporous forms. She even reached out a finger, wanting to poke the chest plate of a Shadow Knight to see if it was solid. The Shadow Knight stood stoically, not moving a muscle, serving only its master.
"Suzaku... you really are full of surprises!" Yamato beamed.
Suzaku left fifty Shadow Soldiers, giving the mental command to take over and guard Ringo.
"Secure the perimeter. Let no one from the Beast Pirates enter or leave."
Fifty immortal Shadow Soldiers—beings that could regenerate endlessly and felt no pain—were more than enough to guard the quarry and the prisoners.
As for how to manage this territory long-term, that was something to consider after completely defeating Kaido!
The appearance of the Shadow Legion once again refreshed Yamato's understanding of this group. She looked from the summoning shadows to the relaxed crew members.
Amidst cries of astonishment like, "Wow, so amazing!" and "Who exactly are you guys?! Are you magic users from the sea?"
And the strange atmosphere created by the crew's calm expressions suggesting, "Just get used to it, don't make a fuss, the Captain does impossible things before breakfast," the group set off on their journey once more.
With a noisy "Filial Son" added to the team, the atmosphere became instantly livelier!
...
On the route from Ringo to Onigashima.
The sea was rough, the waves dark and foreboding, typical of the waters surrounding Wano. However, the vessel cutting through them paid no heed to the turbulence.
The massive steel warship "Odin"—summoned from the world of Azur Lane—cut through the waves steadily and swiftly. It was like a silent deep-sea leviathan, its metallic hull gleaming coldly. Unlike the creaking wooden ships of this world, the Odin moved with a hum of advanced machinery, its radar arrays spinning and its massive gun batteries pointed toward the horizon.
The sea breeze carried a hint of saltiness and coolness, fluttering the clothes of the people on deck.
"Suzaku-sama..."
Nami walked over to where Suzaku stood at the railing. She leaned closer to him, her voice dropping to a whisper. She secretly glanced at Yamato, who was excitedly gazing into the distance at the bow of the ship, her white hair flowing in the wind as she shouted challenges to the ocean.
"Is that person... really trustworthy?"
Nami asked, a trace of lingering worry on her face.
It was understandable why she was worried. Sympathizing with Yamato's plight and the exploding handcuffs was one thing, but trust was another entirely.
"She calls herself Kozuki Oden, but her blood is Kaido's," Nami reasoned. "She is the Oni Princess. This identity itself is like an invisible thorn."
Nami clutched her Clima-Tact. Her past betrayals made her cautious.
"Who knew if she would suddenly betray us at a crucial moment? Blood is thicker than water, isn't it? What if she hesitates when she sees her father falling? Or perhaps, this whole thing—the cuffs, the imprisonment—was a scheme set up by the father and daughter to lure enemies into a trap?"
Hearing this, Suzaku merely smiled faintly. He didn't answer directly right away. He looked at the vast ocean, feeling the spray of salt water.
He knew Nami's concerns were reasonable for a normal pirate. Caution was what kept a navigator alive. After all, Nami didn't have the foreknowledge he possessed. She didn't know that Yamato was perhaps the biggest "fanboy" of Oden in existence, whose obsession bordered on madness but whose loyalty to her ideals was absolute. Yamato genuinely wanted to defeat Kaido for the sake of Wano Country.
Furthermore, Nami's worries were meaningless for another reason.
Suzaku glanced at his companions beside him.
Uchiha Madara was leaning against a turret, arms crossed, looking bored.
Hashirama Senju was laughing at a seagull.
Esdeath was sharpening her rapier.
Ulquiorra was staring into the void.
In the face of absolutely overwhelming power, any conspiracy or trickery was nothing more than a joke. It was like a toddler trying to stab a giant with a spoon. Even if Yamato betrayed them, what could she do?
"Don't worry, Nami," Suzaku said softly, patting her head. "Power dictates reality. And we have enough power to rewrite any script Kaido tries to play."
To them, Yamato's addition was merely an inoffensive side show, an interesting flavor added to this war that was destined for victory from the start.
...
Meanwhile, inside the massive skull-shaped structure on Onigashima.
The atmosphere here was the polar opposite of the calm confidence aboard the Odin. It was a cauldron of chaotic energy, violence, and debauchery.
Thousands of Beast Pirates were gathered in the Performance Floor. Giants, ancient giants, gifters, and headliners drank and feasted. The air reeked of cheap sake, roasted meat, and unwashed bodies.
"Uo ro ro ro ro...!"
Upon the massive throne at the back of the hall, Kaido was pouring an entire gourd of strong liquor down his throat. Liquor spilled down his massive chest, soaking his scales.
He slammed the gourd down, shattering it.
"Uo ro ro ro ro! Today is a good day for a massacre!"
He looked down at his two commanders standing before him.
"King! Queen! Have the men been fully gathered? If so, set out! Don't let them land! Let those reckless outsiders know our power before they even touch the soil of Onigashima!"
"Pestilence" Queen twisted his round, corpulent body in a strange dance. He held a cigar in his mouth, his mechanical arm whirring.
"Kaido-dono, don't worry! Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!"
Queen struck a pose, looking ridiculous yet terrifying.
"The men have been gathered, and we are ready to depart. The ships are prepped! We'll let them witness the terror of the Beasts Pirates! I'll turn them into mummy-corpses with my plagues!"
Beside him, the silent "Inferno" King stood tall. Flames burned on his back, a testament to his Lunarian heritage. He was covered in black leather, only his eyes visible.
He slowly drew the long sword from his waist. The blade flashed with a bloodthirsty cold light, reflecting the firelight of the cave.
"I will handle the cleanup," King said, his voice muffled but calm. "I will bring back their heads for you to use as drinking cups, Kaido-san."
"Uo ro ro ro ro! Very good!" Kaido laughed again, the sound shaking the rafters. His Haki flared, causing weaker pirates to foam at the mouth.
"Go! Let everyone know the consequence of daring to challenge me! Let the world know why this is an impregnable fortress!"
The three calamities and the Tobi Roppo prepared to march out. They were an unstoppable force, a calamity in their own right.
However.
Just as the elites of the Beasts Pirates were roused to fury, clamoring to tear the invaders limb from limb...
"BOOM! RUMBLE!!!"
A massive shockwave hit the island.
A series of explosions so violent that the entirety of the giant Skull Dome on Onigashima trembled violently came without warning from the direction of the harbor!
The sound was dull, deep, and horrifying, like the roar of a celestial god striking the earth. The ground lurched sideways.
Gravel "shushua" fell from the ceiling of the skull dome. The massive chandeliers swung dangerously. Cups, plates, and weapons rattled loudly from the tremor, spilling alcohol everywhere.
"Wh-what's going on?"
"Is that an earthquake?"
"Is that thunder? No! That sound came from outside! From the port!"
Confusion spread instantly. Before King and Queen could react to the sudden disturbance, the heavy doors of the Performance Floor burst open.
A Gifter responsible for guarding the harbor rushed in. He was stumbling, crawling on all fours, covered in soot and blood.
His face was etched with terror and disbelief, his eyes wide as saucers.
"G-Governor Kaido! King-sama! Queen-sama! Th-this is bad! It's a disaster!"
The man dropped to his knees with a "thud," sliding across the floor. His voice trembled so hard he could barely form words.
"The harbor... the harbor fleet...!"
"Spit it out!" King snapped.
"It was... it was entirely sunk! Destroyed instantly! By one enemy ship!!!"
"What?!"
The atmosphere in the hall froze.
The anger on Queen's plump face instantly replaced his usual leisure and funkiness. His cigar fell from his mouth.
"Huh? Which bastard dares to cause trouble on our territory? Sunk the fleet? Instantly?"
Queen's mechanical arm clicked menacingly.
"Is it those outsiders from before? We were just about to look for them, and they actually dared to deliver themselves right to our doorstep? They struck first?!"
King's eyes instantly turned cold as knives. The flames on his back flared up, burning hotter and brighter. Without a word, he immediately unfurled the massive black Pteranodon wings on his back, creating a gust of wind.
"Reckless fools who don't know death! They completely disregard the Beasts Pirates! They think they can bomb us?"
The two Great Lead Performers exchanged a glance. Their understanding was already established.
They didn't view this as a threat at all. To them, this was an insult. It was the ultimate provocation against the Beasts Pirates, the rulers of the New World.
"Minions! Follow me!" Queen roared, transforming into his Brachiosaurus hybrid form.
"Let those bastards know what true despair is after messing with us!"
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