This is the strike I've bet all my power on! Cut him down!"
The brilliant sword-light seemed to tear through space itself, reaching Kaido in an instant!
"I can't dodge!" Kaido's eyes widened. His body frantically tried to move, but in this moment, the world felt as if it had been paused. No matter how much he struggled, his body remained frozen. Eventually, he could only watch helplessly as the sword-light slammed into his massive draconic form.
Pfft!
Blood erupted. A wound so deep it nearly severed Kaido appeared across his chest. The excruciating pain sent Kaido into a fit of agonizing roars, blood gushing from his mouth and the gash like an unrestrained fountain!
With his mind consumed by pain, Kaido could no longer maintain flight. The Azure Dragon shriveled, reverting to his Human-Beast form, and crashed into the ground from the sky with a heavy thud.
The wound was horrific, stretching from his left shoulder to his right hip. Ribs were snapped clean, and his internal organs were visible through the gash. Kaido gasped for air, the agony reminding him that he had just narrowly escaped death.
Flame-clouds coiled around him as his Mythical Zoan vitality began the slow process of recovery. Even for him, an injury that almost split him in half was not something he could shrug off immediately.
"Hiss... Dammit! It hurts! How many years has it been since I was hurt this badly?! Hiss—hahaha! Hiss—" Kaido laughed, but each chuckle pulled at the wound, the tearing sensation forcing him to suck in cold air.
On the other side, Krillin, having unleashed his ultimate strike, was breathing his last. "So tired... Where is that bastard Law... I'm not gonna make it..."
"Room."
In the final moment before losing consciousness, the sound of a familiar voice brought Krillin a sense of peace.
Shortly after Law took Krillin away, a black-clad figure flew toward the scene in a panic, landing before Kaido. Looking at the heavily injured Emperor, King the Wildfire's brow furrowed in utter disbelief. "Who... who could possibly wound you like this?"
Kaido's head was ringing; he couldn't even hear what King was saying. The blood loss and organ damage would have killed anyone else instantly. A moment later, Queen the Plague arrived with advanced medical equipment, beginning emergency treatment. After basic suturing, they hurried Kaido back to the Flower Capital for formal surgery.
Meanwhile, on Ren's ship, the emergency room was in full swing. "Understood. I'll leave Krillin to you," Ren said into the Den Den Mushi, his expression grim.
Beside him, Bonney munched on snacks and muttered, "How about we just scrap the plan for now and go steamroll Kaido?"
"Is there going to be a fight? I'm not very good at fighting~" Olga said, resting her chin on her hand with a dainty air. Hina also looked at Ren, waiting for the word.
Rapid footsteps echoed outside, followed by Blu's frantic voice. "Captain! Krillin's Vivre Card...!"
Ren pushed the door open, signaling Blu to stay calm. He then turned to the gathered commoners they had been feeding and shouted: "Brothers! Do you want better food? Do you want real wine?!"
The people on the ground looked at Ren, their eyes filled with gluttony. They had enjoyed the meat these past few days, but they hadn't tasted a drop of alcohol. They remembered the stories of fine wine from the elders, and just the thought made them salivate.
"YES!" they roared, standing up and raising their hands.
Ren's lips curled into a smile. "Good! But food and wine aren't free! If you want them, you have to pay!"
The crowd looked confused. They were addicted to the feast; the thought of returning to eating scraps was unbearable. "What... what do we have to pay?" one asked. "As long as it's not my life, I'll do anything!"
Ren spoke coldly: "I don't need your lives. I just need you to pick up weapons and come with me to the Capital. We will handle Orochi and Kaido; you will handle the soldiers. Deal?"
Silence fell. The crowd hesitated. Fight soldiers? Us? Why can't you just do everything and let us enjoy the result? We're just handless commoners...
Seeing their hesitation, Bonney grew annoyed. She couldn't understand why they were so cowardly. But for Ren, this was expected. He had planned to take a month to build their courage, but Kaido's ambush had forced his hand.
Seeing no one step forward after several minutes, Ren turned and led his crew away. As for the fact that Krillin "started" the fight? Ren didn't care about being "fair." In this world, the biggest fist makes the rules.
As they marched toward the Flower Capital, a small figure followed them: Otama.
"Those guys are too cowardly!" Bonney grumbled. "They want change but won't do anything for it."
"Don't worry about it. That's how normal people think," Ren said, ruffling her hair. "If the 'god' plan failed, we'll just try something else. Besides, we have eternal life now. Being a god isn't that important."
"Exactly! We're just doing this to kill time," Olga added with her usual "grown-up" air.
They stopped as Otama caught up, panting. "Wait... wait for me!"
"Otama? Why are you here?" Bonney asked, holding her hand.
"I heard you're going to take down Orochi! I want to help! Leave the small fry to me, the kunoichi!" Otama punched the air, looking adorable. Hina smiled and took her under her wing.
They moved fast. Ren caught a giant wild boar to act as a mount for the group. In half a day, they crossed the country and reached the Flower Capital.
WHAM!
Grus punched two guards through a wall as they entered. Ren didn't even look at the others; a pulse of Conqueror's Haki sent the remaining samurai to the floor with white eyes. They marched straight for the Shogun's palace.
Because of Kaido's injury, the Beasts Pirates had concentrated their forces. The palace was surrounded by animal-kingdom ability users—hedgehog, fox, and snake-men—all staring with bloodthirsty eyes.
BOOM!
Blu kicked the massive palace gates open. "Which bastard hurt our crewmate? Come out and face your death!"
The courtyard was occupied by the Tobi Roppo. The high-ranking members stared at the intruders with murderous intent. Ulti, always the hothead, didn't wait for a word. She lunged at Blu, swinging her mace.
CLANG!
Blu's fist, coated in Armament Haki, met the mace head-on. Both were pushed back several steps. Ulti's eyes widened. How could a nameless brat repel me?!
Blu was equally surprised. Am I actually this strong now?
At that moment, the "big sister" of the group, Black Maria, spoke up coolly: "If I recall, you're 'The Deceiver,' right? Why are you here? Are you declaring war on the Beasts Pirates?"