"Don't worry. We won't join forces to kill you."
Bullet felt the shift in Kaido's aura but understood immediately what the man was thinking. His words were blunt, his tone steady.
"Oh?"
Kaido raised a brow, surprised at the honesty. Then his eyes widened slightly in realization.
"That's right… I almost forgot. You already beat Oden to death."
He slapped his knee and laughed, his massive shoulders shaking as though the memory had just popped back into his head.
Rain, Mira, and Bullet all twitched at once, speechless.
This guy… is he actually stupid, or just pretending to be?
"Worororororo!"
Kaido's booming laugh shook the clearing. Then, with a grin splitting his face, he leaned forward.
"In that case...since there's no conflict between us, why don't you join me? I'll even give you the rank of deputy captain!"
Rain, Mira, and Bullet all froze.
Then, as Kaido's words sank in, their eyes sharpened dangerously.
Did this guy really just say that?
"…You want us to join your pirate crew? As your second-in-command? You sure about that?"
Rain's smile twisted, his gaze turning predatory.
Beside him, Mira's eyes glittered with the same dangerous amusement. "If the three of us joined forces against you right now, we could beat you to death on the spot, couldn't we?"
Bullet folded his arms and added, voice serious, "So if you want to walk away from here in one piece, you owe us a favor."
"???"
Rain and Mira both snapped their heads toward Bullet, stunned.
You—big, broad, battle-obsessed Bullet—you're actually the most scheming one of us?!
"You… you're really shameless."
Kaido's jaw worked as he stared at the three of them, utterly exasperated. "I haven't done anything, and somehow I'm already in debt?!"
Even for him, this level of shamelessness was hard to stomach.
"How about it?"
Rain, Mira, and Bullet leaned forward at the same time, their eyes gleaming dangerously as they fixed on Kaido.
"You're not misreading the situation, are you? You do recognize who holds the advantage here, don't you?"
"How is it?" Rain's smile widened, as his hand went slowly to his blade. "Are you not willing to accept our kindness?"
Mira tilted her head, her eyes glimmering dangerously. "It'd be such a shame if you misunderstood and we had to remind you by force."
Bullet crossed his arms, his towering frame looming like a mountain. "Take the offer while it's still on the table. Otherwise…"
The three of them stared at Kaido in unison, their combined pressure made him sweat a little.
"…Fine. I owe you a favor."
In the end, Kaido nodded.
Practicality outweighed pride. Kozuki Oden had already been beaten to death by Bullet, saving him the effort.
The hatred of Wano's people wouldn't fall on Kaido himself. And with Oden gone, nothing stood in his way.
Sooner or later, Wano would belong to him anyway.
"Wororororororo!"
His booming laughter echoed across the ruins, but there was a new glint in his eyes... a recognition that these three were not foes to provoke lightly.
After finishing the last of the roasted boar, Rain and Mira wiped their hands clean.
"Let's go take a look around Wano," Rain said casually.
Mira nodded, her eyes bright with curiosity. "If we don't walk it now, we might not get the chance again."
She was right. Wano Country was on the cusp of change. Once Kaido sank his claws into it, the land would never be the same.
As for Kaido governing Wano? Rain snorted inwardly. That was laughable. Pirates didn't govern.
At best, Kaido wouldn't completely burn the land to ash but expecting him to manage it properly was impossible.
The Flower Capital
Once, this was the seat of the Kozuki shogunate. Even now, despite occupation, the clan's influence lingered in its streets.
Far from the ruined lands of Kuri, Kozuki Toki Oden's widow clutched her children close.
Under the protection of the two mink leaders, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, she had fled to the capital.
"Kozuki-sama," Nekomamushi said, his tail lashing as he bowed low. "We've prepared a ship. Tonight, under the cover of darkness, we'll leave Wano."
"Thank you, Cat Viper," Toki replied softly, exhaustion heavy in her voice.
"It's nothing. This is our duty," Nekomamushi said firmly, shaking his head. His tone was sharp, but his eyes were gentle.
Toki turned, glancing around nervously. "And Inuarashi? Has he returned? Any word of the others?"
"…Not yet."
Nekomamushi's ears twitched, his gaze faltering for the briefest moment. But he quickly straightened, forcing a grin.
"Don't worry, my lady. They'll be fine. Kin'emon and the others went with tens of thousands of warriors. Such a force won't fall easily."
"…I hope so."
Toki's voice cracked faintly. She pressed her children close, but no matter how hard she tried, the worry in her eyes couldn't be hidden.
Inuarashi followed the trail of footprints, scorch marks, and collapsed trees until he reached the battlefield.
And then he froze.
"…How can this be?"
His eyes widened in disbelief.
The land was split open, gouged by craters and cleaved by blades. The earth itself was dyed crimson. Corpses littered the broken ground as far as the eye could see—tens of thousands of bodies.
So many lives snuffed out in a single place.
"Kin'emon? Denjiro…?!"
Inuarashi stumbled forward, and what he saw crushed his heart. The familiar faces of his comrades lay among the fallen, lifeless eyes staring skyward.
His chest tightened, grief clawing at his throat. These were his friends. His brothers. In just a few hours, they had gone from fighting by his side to corpses on the ground.
"…What kind of monster could do this?"
His voice trembled as he looked across the ruined battlefield. "What kind of existence… could slaughter all of them?"
Inuarashi truly believed it had been some unfathomable enemy, a demon beyond imagination.
But the truth was far crueler and far simpler.
When Mira unleashed her Conqueror's Haki, only the unlucky few had actually died.
The rest nearly all of the samurai had merely collapsed, unconscious but alive. She had deliberately spared them.
They could have survived.
But fate was not kind.
As Douglas Bullet hunted for prey in the forest, he came across the battlefield. Tens of thousands of warriors lay strewn about, unconscious, but still breathing.
And then… they awoke.
The moment they saw him, their hatred boiled over. To them, he was another of Oden's killers. They didn't hesitate. They chose to fight.
And Bullet didn't hesitate either.
Unlike Mira, he had no interest in restraint. Against their suicidal charge, his answer was simple, direct, and absolute—he cut them down.
Tens of thousands fell before him. None could stand against his overwhelming strength.
And so, by the time Inuarashi arrived, the field was nothing but death.
𝘼/𝙉: 𝘼 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡! ⬇️ 𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙤: 𝙍𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙃𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙄𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙡
𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙋𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚... 𝙞𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩.