Once the Chaotic Core was removed from the Ruin Guard, it immediately began heating up rapidly, releasing intense energy. This was the prelude to self-destruction—a failsafe Ren had designed to prevent the machines from being analyzed.
As long as the Chaotic Core left the Ruin Guard's body, it would trigger a destruction sequence. This was why John and the World Government had only collected Ruin Guard wreckage in the undersea cavern back then, rather than directly extracting the Chaotic Cores inside.
"Throw it away, that thing's going to blow!"
Deer shouted from behind him.
But he didn't need the reminder—Tiger already knew that. Instead of panicking, he grabbed the core and leapt toward the sky.
'There are fifteen seconds between removing the Chaotic Core and the explosion!'
He counted the time in his head. Then his body abruptly changed direction mid-air with a sharp crack, folding at a right angle and rocketing toward another Ruin Guard!
Tiger repeated the same technique, instantly ripping out the core of a second Ruin Guard.
'Ten seconds...'
A third one...
'Six seconds...'
A fourth one...
'Three seconds!'
He stopped his assault and bundled the four overheating Chaotic Cores together. Then he hurled them with all his might toward the quarry's main gate!
'Two...'
"One!" he shouted, but his voice was swallowed by the deafening explosion!
The intense firelight and shockwave made the ground around the quarry shake as if an earthquake had struck!
Although the four cores had different countdown timers, the blast from the first detonation instantly ignited the other three.
This was equivalent to the energy of four Ruin Guards being released all at once, creating a massive shockwave that blew the quarry gate sky-high!
This also served as the signal to attack!
The warriors hidden in the bushes rose to their feet, drawing their swords and charging forward.
"Charge!"
Kozuki Oden and Hyogoro led the way, followed closely by Oden's retainers and Uzuki.
There was no need for cunning strategies in their plan—none at all. With Kaido absent and Orochi holed up in the Flower Capital, the guards at Udon weren't much of a threat.
Kozuki Oden alone could cut through the entire quarry, given enough time.
The explosion wasn't just a battle signal—it also threw the once-quiet quarry into chaos. The guards jolted awake, and many rushed to the battlefield still confused about what was happening!
"What's going on?!"
"Someone's breaking out the prisoners! Grab your weapons and fight back!"
"Follow Warden Dicapro!"
The leather-clad members of the Beasts Pirates shouted as they rallied. Most of them weren't Devil Fruit users—in this era, there weren't that many failed Artificial Devil Fruits to go around.
The prison wardens, however, were genuine Devil Fruit users. The moment the alarm sounded, they grabbed their weapons and charged.
Of course, this was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Their fate was obvious.
Ten Ruin Guards had been taken out in an instant—four by Tiger alone—and the other Kijin Corps members hadn't held back either. The Kijin codenamed Deer looked like a combination of Chopper's Jump Point and Arm Point.
His arms became incredibly thick, and his hands could freely shift between human hands and deer hooves. His face remained human, though with some animal features. Most notably, the twin antlers on his head were magnificent, spreading outward like the branches of a tree!
"Cross: Carved Hoof: Giant Cannon!"
His massive arms struck out with impact force greater than a cannonball, slamming into a Ruin Guard and punching straight through its body in an instant!
The wreckage of the nearly ten-meter-tall Ruin Guard was sent skyward by his blow, sailing over the quarry's high walls and crashing down in the inner plaza.
Almost simultaneously, the Ape and the tardy Bear destroyed two more Ruin Guards. Only three remained.
Kozuki Oden charged ahead, sweeping Enma from his waist in a horizontal slash. The malevolent energy released from the blade rippled outward like a wave, bisecting the last two Ruin Guards at the waist!
Then the man raised Enma high in one hand and shouted: "Charge! Slay every Beast, and rescue our comrades!"
This guy had learned quite a bit during his years among the pirates. Now he carried himself exactly like a ship's captain.
For a moment, Oden felt nostalgic. Years ago, Roger had launched an attack on a nation's army just like this—with only a few dozen men, obliterating an entire country's military in an instant!
The explosions ringing in his ears pulled him back to reality. The Beasts Pirates had far better equipment. Flintlock muskets might not be overwhelmingly powerful, but they could still kill you if you weren't careful.
Not everyone in this world had a monstrous physique. Even those who were as strong as monsters rarely ignored such attacks entirely.
Most would still use Haki to defend themselves.
The samurai of Wano, however, weren't particularly skilled with Observation Haki. On a chaotic battlefield, bullets fired from unknown directions would occasionally wound someone.
They knew some Ryuo too, but they couldn't exactly coat their entire bodies in Armament Haki, could they?
Doing that would be foolish.
Kozuki Oden swiftly sliced through the dense hail of bullets and dashed forward, plunging into the ranks of the Beasts Pirates. The four prison wardens of the Beasts Pirates were also fierce warriors, charging straight toward Oden.
All four were Devil Fruit users—a Rhinoceros, a Crocodile, a Boar, and a Hyena!
These four never appeared in the Beasts Pirates of the future. Unsurprisingly, even without this prison break, they would most likely have died within the next few decades.
Come to think of it, although Kaido was extremely fond of Zoan types, in the future his subordinates didn't actually include that many proper Zoan Devil Fruit users.
Ancient Zoan types were actually more numerous.
"Out of my way!" Oden swung his wrists, dual blades clashing against the wardens, and for a moment couldn't drive all of them back.
"Lord Oden, leave these men to us!" Kin'emon shouted, raising his blazing sword and slashing down. "Foxfire Style: Flaming Slash!"
His blade struck the Crocodile Fruit user's scaled armor but didn't deal much damage. Instead, the hard skin sent a numbing shock through both his arms.
At the same time, Izou, Kikunojo, and Denjiro also rushed over to help.
[
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