Chapter 21: A Heaven-Defying Change
The next day, Kaizen Reiya woke to find it was already noon. The sun shone brightly, filling the room with light. Makino had been awake for some time, leaning on his strong arm, her face the picture of happiness and sweetness.
Though it had been an impulse born of drink, it represented the life they had missed in his past life and their reunion in this one. It was, ultimately, a good thing.
Beneath them, a bright red plum blossom bloomed proudly, a testament to the union that defied their previous fate.
In his past life, they had been filled with regret. In this life, he had reversed their destinies, and they had finally come together.
They lingered together, greedily enjoying each other's warmth...
And then again...
...
While Kaizen and Makino were lost in each other, a group of men riding blue wolves and radiating murderous intent arrived at the ruins of the Higuma stronghold.
Embroidered on the left chest of their tunics was a vicious, lifelike wolf, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, as if ready to pounce and devour its prey at any moment.
This was the symbol of the Savage Wolf Gang, one of the most vicious of the seven major bandit groups within a hundred-mile radius.
They had heard the news and rushed over from a neighboring mountain, originally intending to see the "clowns" from Windmill Village that Higuma's men had spoken of.
They also planned to congratulate Higuma and, along the way, help finish off Windmill Village.
However, the moment they entered the stronghold, they were stunned by the scene before them.
"What... how is this possible? This must be an illusion?"
"What happened here? Is... is the entire stronghold dead?"
"My God, what am I seeing? Is that Higuma's body? I recognize that scar; Marine gave it to him when we robbed a ship at sea in our younger days."
"How could he end up like this? What horrible torture did he suffer?"
"He was a Level 20 bandit! Where's his second uncle, Haig? He was a Level 30-plus Devil Fruit user! Is he dead too? Just how strong was their enemy?"
"This... this can't be real... can it?"
The stronghold reeked of death. Countless bandits lay strewn about, and the buildings were in ruins, as if a terrible catastrophe had struck.
The members of the Savage Wolf Gang looked at the corpses scattered everywhere, their faces horrified, their legs turning to jelly.
Especially when they saw the gruesome remains of Higuma and his commanders, even under the bright midday sun, they felt nothing but sheer terror.
They still couldn't believe that a force of 30,000, backed by a Level 30-plus Devil Fruit user like Haig, could have been wiped out so utterly.
"Boss Wolf, what do we do now?"
Everyone's eyes turned to a burly man with a thick neck and a scarred face.
He was the Third Commander of the Savage Wolf Gang, Wolf Fang, slightly weaker than Higuma, a Level 19 bandit.
"No wonder the Den Den Mushi calls last night and today went unanswered..."
Wolf Fang watched with a grim expression. Even for a bandit leader like him, who had killed countless times, the vicious, slaughterhouse-like scene before him sent a chill of panic down his spine.
Judging by the state of the corpses, this had happened a while ago—before dawn.
That meant the entire stronghold had been slaughtered in just a few hours. This was a powerful bandit force of 30,000, and Higuma was a Level 20 bandit.
This meant the group that had killed Higuma possessed power so immense it seemed almost superhuman.
Wolf Fang racked his brain but couldn't think of anyone within a thousand-mile radius who had the power to slaughter 30,000 men in Higuma's stronghold in just a few hours. It was baffling.
Was the initial news fake?
Wolf Fang refused to believe that an outsider player, leading a rabble of just over 600 from Windmill Village, could have annihilated Higuma's 30,000 bandits in such a short time.
He knew a thing or two about these "players" from other worlds.
"Who in the world did this? The wounds look like bullet holes, but no bullets were found. There are clear blast marks from cannon fire, but no shrapnel... Is there really a devil in this world that man can't resist?"
Taking a deep breath, Wolf Fang forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart.
"Back to the Savage Wolf Gang's main altar! Double the guards!"
"A terrible disaster is coming... This land is about to undergo a drastic change..."
At that moment, Wolf Fang didn't dare to stay a second longer.
The Savage Wolf Gang members behind him were stunned, then mounted their blue wolves and fled the Higuma stronghold.
Not long after Wolf Fang and his men left, a piece of shocking news began to spread like wildfire.
Within a thousand-mile radius, one of the seven most ferocious bandit groups—the Higuma Bandits—had been wiped out as if by the hand of a god.