"Watch yourself, Admiral Borsalino. Those machines are starting to attack."
Under the moonlight, the tall and statuesque Momousagi wore a grave expression. She drew the legendary sword Kibana and readied herself.
For a non-Devil Fruit user like her, facing such a massive swarm of Ruin Hunters was genuinely troublesome.
It wasn't a question of being unable to defeat them. In terms of raw strength, taking them down one slash at a time was well within her capability.
But it was like playing as Eula—sure, your damage could hit tens of thousands per hit, with ultimates reaching millions, but if the enemy never entered your attack range, all that firepower was useless.
Speaking of which, one couldn't help but mention the ice character from Mondstadt who dances beautifully and is expected to return in version 3.5 during the Windblume Festival.
A Mondstadt festival!
An ice character!
Who dances!
Eula: That's right, it's—
Ayaka: That's right, it's me!
The sky was black with Ruin Hunters. Slicing through them one by one would probably give you hand cramps before long. Forget Momousagi—even a fishmonger who'd spent a decade at Runfa would throw in the towel.
"A swarm of Ruin Hunters this size probably has destructive power on par with a Buster Call. Inazuma really is terrifying~" Kizaru drawled with his usual crooked grin.
"Lady Gion, why don't you step back a bit? Let me shoot all these things down."
Kizaru crossed his arms before his chest, each hand forming an elegant orchid-finger pose.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
In the dead of night, countless golden light bullets shot from his hands. The dense barrage struck hundreds of Ruin Hunters in the sky simultaneously!
The once pitch-black swarm of machines was instantly cleared away by a swath of golden light.
At the end of the day, these machines weren't much use against truly powerful fighters. Even Shiki the Golden Lion had dispatched hundreds of Ruin Guards in the blink of an eye back in the day.
That guy had done it even more effortlessly—a mere flick of the wrist.
Momousagi watched Kizaru's casual demeanor and understood more clearly than ever just how wide the gap was between herself and a true Admiral.
"Don't let your guard down—the real beast is still coming!"
"What?" Momousagi snapped back to attention. Her Observation Haki sent a sharp spike of pain through her nerves.
In her perception, a colossal figure was already hurtling through the darkness toward them!
Though it was just one person, the presence bore down like an army!
"Source Flow: Rhino Horn Pierce!"
The monster's deep voice boomed out. In the next instant, Momousagi saw a massive spinning shadow bore toward them like a drill!
The cyclone generated by its rotating horn felt as though it were slicing at her very face!
Who was this guy?
The Ashura Demon, Shutendouji!
A great pirate with a bounty exceeding 1.7 billion berries—Inazuma's former Harbinger, the Captain!
Gion was stunned by Shutendouji's beast-like assault, momentarily forgetting to counterattack. After all, she was still just an ordinary Vice Admiral—she couldn't yet be called an Admiral candidate.
Fortunately, Kizaru was still on the field.
"Ame no Habakiri!"
Kizaru condensed a blade of light in his hand and slashed down at the horn atop Shutendouji's head!
His hand-to-hand combat was relatively weak, but only by Garp and Sengoku's standards. In reality, Kizaru's swordsmanship was nothing to scoff at, and a single strike was enough to block Shutendouji's attack.
The two clashed and separated in an instant. After being repelled, Shutendouji's body spun several times in midair before he finally halted his momentum and crashed heavily to the ground.
"Ame no Habakiri? With that glowing toy of yours, you dare call it Ame no Habakiri?" Shutendouji sneered.
He had witnessed Ren's true Ame no Habakiri under the Eight-Headed Serpent form—a power so vast it seemed like demonic energy. The Hell Dragon Break it unleashed could flatten several mountains in an instant.
"The Ashura Demon, Shutendouji. Quite the piece of work~ But we do have legitimate entry permits. Being attacked like this—even Inazuma owes us an explanation, wouldn't you say?" Kizaru remained utterly nonchalant, even turning the accusation around.
To him, Shutendouji was merely a stubborn opponent, not a genuine threat. Even if their hand-to-hand skills were roughly matched, the Glint-Glint Fruit's power meant he was virtually unbeatable in most scenarios.
It was like Ren decades ago—regardless of whether Shiki, Garp, or whoever could beat him, slipping away whenever he wanted was never an issue.
Only against the Raiden Shogun would he feel actual trouble. After all, the speed of lightning and the speed of light weren't all that different.
Now that the Raiden Shogun wasn't around, what was there to fear?
"Hmph, Marine Admiral. You should be staying put in Hakumai. What business do you have in Kuri?" Shutendouji rested one hand on his sword hilt and spoke in a cold voice. "Kuri is not a place you can waltz in and out of as you please!"
"Oh my, so this isn't Hakumai? Looks like we accidentally got lost—just a misunderstanding!" Kizaru raised both hands in a mocking salute. "In that case, Lady Gion, perhaps we should head back."
Gion nodded and bowed to Shutendouji. "We're terribly sorry for the intrusion."
But Shutendouji wasn't about to let them leave so easily. He had already learned of Kizaru and Gion's plan through Inazuma's intelligence network, but that didn't dampen his mood for a fight tonight.
The Marines wanted to use this as cover for others to infiltrate and gather intelligence. In that case, he might as well take the opportunity to cross blades with this Admiral.
And the surplus Ruin Series machines sitting in storage? He could use them up as expendable ammo here, then bill the World Government for damages afterward. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
In truth, this had been Ren's plan from the very beginning—to make the World Government pay for Inazuma's stockpiled "arsenal."
Years ago, Inazuma had produced a large number of Autonomous Machines. After the market became saturated, a significant portion remained in Inazuma. The Revolutionary Army had recently bought a batch at a steep discount, but the Revolutionaries were strapped for cash and couldn't pay much.
Now was the perfect opportunity to let the World Government foot the bill.
Ren (screaming): War machines aren't selling—help us out!
And they wouldn't just pay—they'd only get a pile of mangled scrap metal in return.
Otherwise, why would he go along so willingly with the Marines' plan? Even knowing the Marines wouldn't obtain any useful intelligence, there was no need to spend money just to put on a show for them.
"Halt!"
"Who gave you permission to leave?"
Hearing this, Kizaru and Gion stopped in their tracks.
"Mr. Shutendouji, as we've already explained, this is just a misunderstanding. The Marines have no desire for conflict with Inazuma."
"I don't care if it's a misunderstanding or not. You can explain yourselves to the Shogun—in prison!"
[
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