"Pssh!"
Blood suddenly erupted from Kozumi Masao's body, like a fountain switched on by electricity, spraying more than two meters into the air.
"Ah—!"
Ikumi let out a sharp scream, making Yujin frown repeatedly.
With a dull thud, Kozumi Masao collapsed face-first onto the ground, clearly having lost all combat capability.
"That's enough. Stop pretending."
Yujin's first words from midair sent a chill through the supposedly "dead" Kozumi Masao.
"People who follow Toguro's enhancement path have vitality as troublesome as cockroaches that refuse to die. I've seen it before. I've killed them before. That slash just now was nowhere near enough to finish you."
Tanaka Jūsuke looked down at Kozumi Masao.
Sure enough, when Masao stood back up, the bloody wound on his chest had already healed almost completely under the influence of the Toguro bloodline.
"You want to borrow my hand to get rid of this guy?" Yujin asked bluntly.
Hearing this, Kozumi Masao suddenly dropped to his knees.
"Please! If someone like him exists in the East Sea Team, we won't survive for long!"
Yujin smiled faintly.
"Then what about the cooperation between the East Sea Team and Central Continent team?"
"Of course it continues!" Masao replied immediately, casting a vicious glance at Tanaka Jūsuke.
"I'll testify for you! I'll say he launched a sneak attack, and that's why you had no choice but to kill him!"
"Haha. Just your word alone—do you think that'll work?"
Kozumi Masao suddenly turned toward Ikumi.
"Ikumi! This is our last chance! If we want the East Sea Team to keep going in this terrifying reincarnation world, we must eliminate him! He even said earlier that he'd have Miyata Kuraki create an artificial human just like you, so there'd be no need to save you anymore!"
Ikumi's face was filled with rage.
Even without her saying a word, Yujin already understood what she meant.
"Hahahaha!"
Tanaka Jūsuke suddenly burst into wild laughter.
"You idiots… do you really think this guy can defeat me?"
He charged forward, kicked Kozumi Masao back onto the ground, then ripped the blade stuck in Masao's shoulder free and clenched it between his teeth.
At the same time, his other two hands each grabbed a sword.
He looked up at the sky.
"Come on! Let me cut you down!"
"Alright."
Yujin flew onto the rooftop and plucked a feather.
Under Ikumi's terrified gaze, he viciously stabbed it several times into her legs.
"Sorry. Just a necessary precaution… to make sure you don't run away."
"Y‑Yes, I understand. Please… please make sure you get rid of that guy."
He patted his chest proudly.
"Leave it to me~ I'll just treat it as repaying your guidance."
As Yujin finished speaking, under Ikumi's astonished gaze, a black shadow suddenly flashed behind him.
A gleaming blade slashed straight toward his neck.
Clang!
The moment the blade struck, Tanaka Jūsuke's hand went numb, his tiger's mouth aching violently.
He stared blankly at the target's pitch‑black neck and shouted in shock, "Ar‑Armament Haki?! Iron Body?!"
Yujin mechanically twisted his head and forced out a smile at him.
"And Observation Haki. The Sharingan. Ninjutsu. Kagune."
"Oh, right. I almost forgot to tell you."
"I've unlocked the second stage of the Gene Lock."
The moment he finished speaking, Yujin swung his fist in a full arc and smashed it into Tanaka Jūsuke's face.
Tanaka Jūsuke hurriedly raised his blade to block.
Bang!
At the instant he was hit, Tanaka Jūsuke was sent flying like a cannonball.
Kozumi Masao and Ikumi both widened their eyes, looking as if they had just seen a ghost.
Seeing their expressions, Yujin suddenly slapped his thigh.
"Crap. With how fast I'm improving, I might already be able to fight the East Sea Team captain head‑on now. How hard is the next cycle going to be?!"
Before Yujin could think any further, Tanaka Jūsuke yelled and charged at him again.
At that instant, Yujin felt as if he saw Zoro's shadow overlapping Tanaka Jūsuke's body.
Tanaka Jūsuke roared, "Three‑Sword Style — Tiger Hunt!"
Yujin shouted back just as enthusiastically, while plucking a feather from himself.
"Armored Lightning Feather!"
Facing the thunder‑charged feather, Tanaka Jūsuke revealed a triumphant grin.
His Three‑Sword Style: Tiger Hunt had once killed a Predator.
As for that feather—
As long as he dodged it, that was enough.
Thinking this, Tanaka Jūsuke tilted his head to the side and swung his blades at Yujin.
The next second—
Ikumi and Kozumi Masao, who were watching the entire battle, felt their hearts skip a beat.
They only saw Tanaka Jūsuke rushing toward the direction where the feather had been fired.
The posture looked no different from using his forehead to block a ball.
When the feather entered Tanaka Jūsuke's head, it encountered almost no resistance and pierced straight through.
Plop.
The corpse collapsed onto the ground.
The red glow in Yujin's eyes faded, returning to normal white sclera.
He walked forward, picked up Tanaka Jūsuke's three swords one by one, then turned around and asked casually,
"These count as spoils of war, right? I can take them with me?"
The two men immediately nodded like pounding garlic, afraid that if they were even a second too slow, Yujin would find some excuse to kill them as well.
"Oh, right."
Yujin suddenly remembered something and tossed the communicator to Ikumi.
"Explain it properly. Don't let there be a misunderstanding later."
Ikumi suddenly shouted out, her voice trembling.
She was afraid that if she explained even a moment too late, she would die on the spot.
Yujin squatted by the roadside, casually playing with the three long katanas in his hands, silently waiting.
When all three of them heard the Lord God's teleportation countdown at the same time, they finally let out a breath of relief.
However, the two members of the East Sea Team still looked at Yujin with deep wariness.
"Alright, stop looking at me like that. I already gained way too many benefits in this cycle."
"I'm worried that in the next one, the Lord God will directly throw me into Shushan Subdues Evil."
After hearing his explanation, Ikumi and Inu Makoto finally relaxed a little.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
A flash of white light swept past.
Yujin opened his eyes.
What greeted him was the familiar Lord God Space.
The massive glowing sphere floated above, and all the Central Continent team members were present—everyone except Hao Shuang.
After a long time, Yujin stretched lazily.
So then—
It was finally time for upgrades.
****
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