"If I had known you were this weak, I should have..."
Before Kurozumi Orochi could finish his sentence, the corners of Ryuma's mouth curled upward into a chilling, cruel smirk. Shaking his head, he cut him off cold. "Save the bragging for someone who cares."
In that moment, the dark shadows summoned by Ryuma's Shadow-Shadow Fruit swarmed outward, surrounding the Yamata-no-Orochi from every single angle!
"You're nothing but trash," Ryuma mocked. "Plucking a single scale off you earlier was just a preview. What happens if I strip every scale off your body?"
As the last word left his mouth, Ryuma poured his energy into Shusui. A dense layer of dark, shimmering energy shrouded both his sword and his shadows.
It was none other than Armament Haki!
Though Ryuma had yet to formally re-learn Armament Haki in this life, his muscle memory and memories from his past life remained intact, allowing him to instinctively channel and master the technique!
"Bwahaha! Naive!" Orochi mocked. "You think coating your attacks in Armament Haki and Devil Fruit powers gives you the strength to overthrow me?! Let me tell you, you're miles away! No matter how many clones you split into, you only have one true body!"
Ryuma scoffed inwardly. Keep laughing—you'll be crying soon enough.
With a single movement, Ryuma lunged forward, and the army of shadow clones charged right alongside him in a frantic wave!
Watching the overwhelming tide of shadows rush toward him, Orochi felt a sudden jolt of alarm!
This is bad!
His heart skipped a beat as he snapped all eight serpent heads forward to intercept the assault!
In an instant, several shadow clones were caught in the maws of the eight heads and shredded to pieces.
Yet, to Ryuma, losing a few shadow constructs meant absolutely nothing.
"Hahaha, hilarious!" Ryuma laughed aloud. "Today, your ancestor is going to show you what real pain feels like!"
Chronologically speaking, calling himself Orochi's ancestor was an understatement.
Ryuma's chest burned with anger. Back in his time, the Kurozumi Clan was relatively obedient and couldn't stir up major trouble. But Orochi conspiring with Kaidou to ruin Wano was an unforgivable sin that deserved death a thousand times over!
Legend had it that for scaled creatures like snakes or fish, having a scale ripped off was equivalent to a human having a fingernail ripped out.
In a flash, countless shadows holding dark replicas of Shusui descended onto the Yamata-no-Orochi, systematically tearing off every single scale across his body!
Orochi froze in sheer horror!
This bastard...
To use the Shadow-Shadow Fruit for such a twisted, painful tactic!
Ryuma marveled at the fruit's lethal potential. In Gecko Moria's hands, the ability was nothing more than a flashy display, wasted by someone incapable of tapping into its true power.
Unable to maintain his composure, Orochi collapsed onto the ground in his hydra form, his scale-stripped body trembling violently in agony.
"You... Ryuma... You're a native of Wano Country!" Orochi whimpered, tears of pain welling in his eyes. "How could you be so heartless?! Besides... I am the grand Shogun of Wano!"
"Oh? You're the grand Shogun of Wano, are you?"
Ryuma spoke coldly, coating Shusui with heavy Armament Haki as he swung the blade directly toward the serpent heads!
A paralyzing wave of terror washed over Orochi.
As he was struck down, writhing on the ground in blood, he shivered uncontrollably. "Ryuma... as long as you spare my life, I'll hand over the title of Shogun to you! What do you say?!"
Ryuma didn't bother answering. He simply glared down at him with a cold, mocking smirk.
He knew that true revenge meant breaking a person's spirit. Sometimes, staying alive while stripped of all hope was far more painful than dying—a living hell.
He wanted Orochi to taste absolute despair!
Suddenly, three massive figures burst through the ruined doorway of the chamber!
It was Queen, Jack, and King!
Spotting the three All-Stars of the Beast Pirates, Orochi felt a surge of ecstatic hope!
"Bwahaha! Gentlemen, you've finally arrived!" Orochi cried out in relief. "Quick, kill this bastard for me!"
However, Orochi quickly realized that none of the three made a move to attack. Instead, they stood alongside Ryuma, staring down at him with cold, expressionless eyes.
Unease crept back into Orochi's mind.
"What... what are you doing?!" Orochi screamed in panic. "Lord Jack, Lord Queen, Lord King, save me!"
Jack pulled down his metal mask, revealing his jagged, razor-sharp teeth with a cold snort. "Boss, how should we handle him? Want me to finish him off?"
Orochi's heart sank into a pit of ice!
This can't be happening!
These three... have defected!
Ryuma waved a hand casually. "Finishing him off isn't your job. Leave him to me."
Brushing the dust off his kimono, Ryuma stepped forward with calm confidence.
His expression said it all.
Stopping right in front of Orochi, Ryuma raised Shusui and brought it down in one clean, decisive arc, ending the tyrant's life once and for all.
"My apologies..." Ryuma whispered, taking a slow breath.
Ding! Congratulations to the host for acquiring the S-Rank Mythical Zoan Fruit: Yamata-no-Orochi Fruit!
Hearing the system prompt, Ryuma blinked in surprise.
An S-Rank fruit?
That doesn't seem quite right...
While the Yamata-no-Orochi Fruit granted impressive offensive and defensive boosts, its practical combat application felt somewhat niche.
On second thought, he realized its high rank was likely due to its extreme rarity as a Mythical Zoan.
He had no intention of consuming the fruit himself; instead, he planned to fuse it!
He already had the Icefield Wolf Fruit in his inventory—fusing the two might produce an intriguing result.
Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission. You have received three gacha draws!
The system prompt sounded once more.
Ryuma's smile widened from ear to ear. Now this is what I call hitting the jackpot!
Who knew what amazing skills or items he might pull from three consecutive gacha draws?
Standing nearby, the three Lead Performers exchanged bewildered looks as they watched Ryuma grin like a madman, completely utterly confused by his sudden display of joy.
"Boss," King spoke up, taking a deep breath. "Should we head toward Kaidou now? If we delay any longer, I'm worried things might get complicated."
Ryuma nodded slowly. "You're right, but there's no rush just yet. Let me get familiar with the Shogun's palace first. You three step outside for now, and make sure no one escapes or leaks the news."
"Understood," Jack replied.
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