As the tide turned, Kaido, in his Drunken Dragon Bagua state, gradually found himself at a disadvantage, yet his fighting spirit soared even higher.
He was like a candle at the end of its life, burning itself out recklessly.
Since the God Valley War decades ago, Kaido had never encountered an enemy as powerful and despair-inducing as Chu Yang!
As the two continued their clash, the constant collision of Haoshoku covered the sky in dark clouds, creating an oppressive atmosphere that left people speechless.
A torrential downpour suddenly fell over the Flower Capital.
It was Dragon using his ability.
Queen had been pushed to the brink, and the battle was about to reach its conclusion.
Kaido glanced up at the banquet hall, knowing that if he lost, the Beasts Pirates would be annihilated.
If King were here, the battle wouldn't be so drawn out.
At least he wouldn't have to worry about the banquet hall.
The enemy had calculated everything from the start, including the time King left Wano Country.
"How did you get this information? Not even the World Government knows what's happening in Wano Country..."
This question had been lingering in Kaido's mind since Chu Yang appeared; if he was going to die, he had to know the answer.
Chu Yang smiled and said, "We don't know what happened in Wano Country, nor do we care. We just want to find a new base for the Revolutionary Army, and this place is excellent, with a superior geographical location and abundant resources."
Kaido hadn't expected the enemy's reason for the surprise attack to be so simple; he had even thought they were here to save this country.
Dragon had said from the beginning that he was here to liberate the place...
"You're different from those people. They fight for ideals, but you, you're just for ambition."
Kaido suddenly realized that Chu Yang's motivations were not the same as Tiger's.
Chu Yang did not deny it, nodding, "That's right. Strictly speaking, I'm the only 'bad guy' among this group."
Kaido took a deep breath, "In that case, we can cooperate. I can give you anything you want!"
Chu Yang scrutinized Kaido for a moment, then shook his head with a smile, "Ambition and ideals can only go the distance when they support each other. But when ambition meets ambition, it only leads to conflict and destroys everything."
Seeing that persuasion was futile, Kaido's expression turned grim, having already prepared for a desperate, final strike.
"Let's end all of this, Kaido!"
"Great Flame Drum: Thunder Bagua!"
As Chu Yang's last words fell, Kaido unleashed his strongest technique, his remaining Haoshoku completely erupting.
On the two wooden swords, the sunlight and moonlight no longer alternated but erupted simultaneously, forming a colossal millstone that engulfed Kaido.
Source Breathing, Second Form: Sun and Moon Alignment.
The millstone slowly rotated, grinding everything under its radiant light. Blood-red smoke billowed from Kaido's body, his vitality rapidly evaporating.
His Hassaikai shattered in mid-air before it could even strike, turning into ashes and dissipating.
The blue scales of his Hybrid form were crushed to pieces, and before long, Kaido's entire body was a bloody mess.
He suddenly collapsed to his knees, his body trembling violently, unable to stand.
Kaido finally looked up at Chu Yang one last time.
Unwillingness!
And... relief!
As the sunlight and moonlight reached their zenith, the ruins on the street were utterly obliterated.
Only an empty abyss remained.
"Boss Kaido?!"
Queen, already pushed to despair, could no longer see Kaido's figure. He deflated like a balloon, collapsing limply to the ground.
Dragon didn't continue his attack; instead, he had his subordinates shackle Queen with Sea Stone handcuffs that were already prepared.
He walked out of the banquet hall, gazing at the empty chasm left by the great battle, filled with dread.
What kind of destructive power was that?
Could anyone in the world truly withstand that attack?
With Kaido's defeat, the remaining members of the Beasts Pirates, even if they put up a desperate fight, wouldn't last much longer.
The next step was to deal with Orochi and seize actual control of Wano Country.
Momonosuke wouldn't appear for another decade or so, and most of the regional Daimyo capable of inheriting control had been persecuted by Kaido. As long as the Revolutionary Army didn't continue to oppress the common people of Wano Country, no one would jump out to resist the Revolutionary Army for a while.
The Revolutionary Army's role itself wasn't to be rulers; they just needed strongholds and some armories.
As saviors of the country, such a small request was nothing.
If those samurai weren't willing to cooperate gracefully, Chu Yang would help them be graceful, though the process might be a little violent.
During the suppression of the Beasts Pirates, Dragon discovered that they had already contacted King, who had traveled to Dressrosa, and informed him of everything that had happened here.
He believed King would soon return with reinforcements.
But it was too late.
However, the call revealed not only that King would return but also that there seemed to be reinforcements. As for who, Chu Yang guessed it was likely the Donquixote Family led by Doflamingo.
In just half a day, the banquet hall, painstakingly arranged by Orochi, became the temporary meeting hall for Chu Yang and the others.
The tables were cleared, leaving only two maps: a rough world map and a detailed map of Wano Country.
"After taking Wano Country, I found its geographical location to be much better than I expected."
Dragon pointed to an empty sea area on the world map and said, "This is Wano Country's location. There are no other countries around it, and even the World Government knows nothing about it. Plus, the distance between them is very far..."
Tiger understood, "The longer the front line, the longer the supply line. Once fighting breaks out, it will consume a lot of resources. The World Government should find it very difficult to decide to annihilate us, because that would require deploying a considerably large army."
Dragon smiled, "After all, eliminating a force that defeated a Four Emperors is not something a Buster Call can solve."
Ivankov suddenly appeared, holding a small grunt from the Beasts Pirates, and threw him in front of everyone. "This is the guy who tipped off King, but he doesn't seem to know our identities."
The banquet hall was very noisy at the time, and not many people heard Kaido's words. This informant crew member was on guard duty outside the banquet hall.
Before the battle officially began, he had already been knocked out and only woke up after Kaido's defeat, hastily contacting King via a Den Den Mushi.
"It's better if he doesn't know. That way, we can catch a few more big fish."
Chu Yang smiled.
Dealing with Kaido and then Doflamingo in one go meant taking out both of their black market operations.
Chu Yang still had the complete Bloodline Factor technology in his mind. If he got Doflamingo's factory, he could try to improve the cultivation technology for artificial Devil Fruits, eliminate their drawbacks, and allow the Revolutionary Army's soldiers to use them.
Zoan Devil Fruits possess consciousness and directly affect the user's personality, so Chu Yang wouldn't consider them. The difficulty of manufacturing Logia Devil Fruits should be the greatest of the three types, requiring careful consideration.
Therefore, Chu Yang would first attempt to manufacture Paramecia Devil Fruits.
"Brother Tiger, I found this guy in the warehouse!"
Jinbe walked in from outside, carrying a person, in the exact same posture as Ivankov earlier.
And the person in his hands was Orochi.
Orochi's face was ashen.
He was the user of the Mythical Zoan, Yamata no Orochi Devil Fruit, possessing eight heads, each with its own consciousness, representing a life.
Orochi had originally intended to deceive Jinbe through feigned death, but he hadn't expected Jinbe to seemingly know his ability already, beating him half to death and bringing him back to the banquet hall.
Jinbe threw Orochi in front of Chu Yang and laughed, "If you hadn't reminded me, he might have really fooled me. This guy isn't very capable, but he's got a lot of tricks."
Orochi suddenly looked up and stared at Chu Yang, realizing that he was the one sending him to hell.
"Mercy!"
"I can hand over the entire Wano Country to you all, please spare me!"
Looking around, Orochi saw that most of the people present were looking at Chu Yang, so he immediately prostrated himself on the ground, crawling towards Chu Yang's feet.
However, as soon as he got close, Chu Yang kicked him away.
"Take him to the large plaza outside, where Kozuki Oden was executed. Hang him up and hand him over to the common people of Wano Country. I hear many people want to drink his blood and eat his flesh."
Orochi trembled violently, then his body convulsed. He knew that there were indeed many people waiting outside to vent their hatred using his body.
Given his identity as a Yamata no Orochi Devil Fruit user, if he were truly dismembered and eaten by people, the process would likely be exceptionally long, causing unimaginable and immense pain.
"Please, no, don't do this! I can give you anything you want! I can even apologize to those commoners! I will apologize sincerely!"
"Or just kill me directly! Please, just kill me directly!"
Orochi let out a desperate wail, trying to get closer to Chu Yang, but he was immediately restrained by soldiers.
Dragon nodded slightly, signaling the soldiers to comply. So, Orochi was handcuffed with Sea Stone shackles and escorted to the Flower Capital's plaza, where a horrifying punishment awaited him.
Dragon also wanted to know how deep the anger and resentment accumulated by the people here truly were.
Publicly executing Orochi was the best way for the Revolutionary Army to win the hearts of the people.
After dealing with Orochi, everyone returned to the meeting table. Chu Yang pointed to the edge of the Wano Country map, the waterfall area where they had landed.
"Everyone came up from this place, so you should understand its importance. I hope the Sun Pirates will be responsible for its defense."
Fishmen's ability to communicate with and control fish made them ideal for guarding the waterfall area of the front mountain. As long as the enemy couldn't land in large numbers, they would be invincible.
For the few elite battles, if one came, Chu Yang would deal with him.
Tiger agreed with Chu Yang's suggestion. He had thought about this issue during the landing process; Fishmen were indeed very suitable for this task.
Furthermore, most of the common people in Wano Country were still very wary of them, especially the Fishmen whose appearances were clearly different from humans.
The common people of Wano Country had never seen Fishmen, so there was no existing discrimination. However, out of their survival instinct to protect themselves, they would certainly treat them with hostility. This was an objective fact.
If both sides stayed together for a short period, significant conflicts would likely erupt. The Fishmen also had radical elements like Arlong, which would certainly escalate tensions.
The Sun Pirates temporarily staying in the waterfall and coastal areas would help both sides alleviate tension.
He believed that soon, once everyone realized that the Fishmen were there to help them, Tiger and the others would receive equal treatment from humans for the first time here.
"How many of the weapon factories within Wano Country should be kept?"
"If not handled well, it could become a source of conflict between us and the residents of Wano Country."