Wano Country: Shadow Blade's Night Raid

Hachinosu, Intelligence Room. Late at night.

Ginny was asleep, drooling on the ledger, wetting the words "Fire Demon". Kuma stood behind her, draping his coat over her shoulders, his movements as light as if he were defusing a bomb.

The Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.

Ginny jerked her head up, drool still at the corner of her mouth, her eyes glazed. "... Who?"

"Ginny, someone else has emerged from the direction of Wano Country." King's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, deep and calm. "One person, a small boat. Very fast, twice as fast as the Fire Demon."

Ginny wiped her mouth, made a circle with her fingers, and her eyes gleamed with a purple light. Her gaze pierced through the night, swept across the sea, and locked onto a small black boat. A person stood on the boat, dressed in a black bodysuit, wearing a mask that revealed only their eyes. A short knife was tucked at their waist, its scabbard jet black and without any reflection.

"Shadow Blade." Ginny's voice turned serious. "What's he doing here?"

"Whatever he's here for, he's already here." Lin Yuan's voice came from the doorway. He was already dressed and holding a glass of water. "Jin, keep an eye on him. Don't let him onto the island."

What if he forces his way in?

"Then let's fight."

On the sea, Shadow Blade's small boat, like a black arrow, sliced through the waves and sped towards Hachinosu. There were no lights, no sound, not even oars on the boat—he slapped the water with his palms, using the Haki in his palms to propel himself forward at an absurd speed.

Jin leaped from the masttop, flames trailing a golden arc through the air behind him as he swooped down toward Shadow Blade. He landed two hundred meters in front of Shadow Blade, his feet illuminating the surrounding sea with his own flames.

The Shadow Blade's small boat came to a stop. The two faced off across the sea, a hundred meters apart.

"Lunarian," Shadow Blade spoke, his voice muffled as it passed through his mask, "Get out of the way."

"No." Jhin, hands tucked into his sleeves, flames dancing in the sea breeze behind him, said, "What are you doing on Hachinosu?"

"Kill."

"Who to kill?"

Shadow Blade didn't answer. He drew a short sword from his waist; the blade was so black it didn't even reflect moonlight. He stepped off the small boat, his feet touching the sea, and charged towards Ember. He was so fast that Ember's Observation Haki only caught a fleeting afterimage.

Jin didn't retreat. He dodged the first strike by sidestepping, and then hurled a ball of flame at Shadow Blade's face. Shadow Blade flipped in the air, avoiding the flame, and thrust the short sword at Jin's nape from behind. Jin's Armament Haki Hardening, and the tip of the sword struck the back of his neck with a "clang," leaving only a white mark.

Shadow Blade landed, glancing down at the short sword. "Your Armament Haki is harder than the intelligence indicated."

"Your blade is duller than the intelligence report."

The two clashed again. Blades flashed and flames mingled, blasting the sea surface into sprays. Shadow Blade was incredibly fast, each strike aimed at Jin's vitals, but Jin's Armament Haki was too strong; the blades only left white marks. Jin's flames were also extremely hot, but Shadow Blade always managed to dodge before they reached him.

They played for five minutes, and neither side could gain the upper hand.

Shadow Blade suddenly sheathed his blade and retreated more than ten meters.

"That's enough. I didn't come here to fight you to the death." He sheathed his dagger. "I just came to see how many people are actually on Hachinosu."

Have you seen enough?

"I've seen enough." Shadow Blade turned and walked towards the small boat. "Go back and tell Orochi that Hachinosu won't be easy to conquer."

He took a few steps, then stopped without looking back.

"Oh, right. After Fire Demon went back, Orochi locked him up, saying he was a traitor."

Jhin's eyes narrowed. "What did the Fire Demon say?"

"He didn't say anything. Orochi asked him if he had defected to Hachinosu, and he said no. Orochi didn't believe him and locked him in the dungeon." Shadow Blade paused, "But Orochi didn't kill him. Because Orochi still needed the Fire Demon's flames."

Why are you telling us this?

Shadow Blade did not answer. He jumped onto the small boat, slapped the water with his palm, and the boat shot off into the distance like an arrow.

When Jin returned to Hachinosu, Lin Yuan was standing on the beach, holding that cup of water in his hand.

"He's gone?"

"They're gone." Ember landed beside him. "He said the Fire Demon was imprisoned by the Orochi."

"Locked up?" Ginny walked up from behind, holding a ledger, her eyes gleaming purple—she had already scanned the area with her Glint-Glint Fruit. "I saw it. Fire Demon is indeed locked up in the Flower Capital's dungeon. Orochi didn't kill him, but he's chained with Seastone chains."

"Why is Shadow Blade helping us?" Lin Yuan asked.

Ginny was silent for a moment. "Shadow Blade has no family, no friends; Orochi controls him with money and women. But the poison on his blade is extracted from a plant called 'Fragrantless Herb.' Only Yuriko knows how to grow that herb."

Lin Yuan glanced at her. "Yuriko?"

"Hyakumen's wife," Ginny flipped through a page of the ledger, "Yuriko used to grow this herb for medicinal purposes. After she died, it disappeared. The Shadow Blade's poison was made with a formula given by Yuriko; he's been searching for a substitute but hasn't found one."

So he also owes Hyakumen a favor?

"It's not that I owe Hyakumen. It's that I owe Yuriko."

Lin Yuan nodded. "Write that down. Shadow Blade might also be able to be turned."

Ginny wrote a line in the ledger, "Shadow Blade, the poison originated from Yuriko, I owe her a favor. Potential for defection: Medium. Further contact is needed."

Late at night, in the Castle hall.

Everyone was woken up. Kaido rubbed his eyes, his hair sticking up like a bird's nest, muttering, "In the middle of the night, they won't let anyone sleep..."

"The Fire Demon has been imprisoned by the Orochi," Lin Yuan said.

Kaido was taken aback. "That one who uses fire? Didn't he surrender?"

"He didn't surrender. He just didn't want to fight us. And he didn't betray us after he went back," Lin Yuan said, leaning back in his chair. "But the Orochi doesn't trust him anymore."

"What will happen to the guards in the West District when we attack the Flower Capital?"

"Fire Demon is imprisoned, but the guards in the West Wing won't leave," Ginny, flipping through a map. "But Hyakumen can disguise himself as the Orochi and rescue Fire Demon from the dungeon. We'll see what he does then."

Bullet frowned. "Too complicated. Can't we just attack directly?"

"A direct attack is possible, but the casualties will be higher." Ginny pointed to the western district on the map. "The western district is the weakest point in the Flower Capital's defenses. Breaking through here will save us five hundred enemies."

Bullet was silent for a moment. "... That's it?"

Kaido yawned. "So when are we going to make our move?"

"Twenty days from now," Lin Yuan stood up, "For these twenty days, everyone must train like crazy."

The next morning, at the Training Ground.

Kaido slammed his fist into the Seastone, splitting the stone in two, clearly demonstrating a significant increase in power.

Bullet compressed his Armament Haki into his fingertips, and his black nails could maintain their color for three minutes.

A blue flame condensed in Jin's palm, its temperature nearly 20% higher than last week.

The Kuma stood on the beach, slapping the coconuts one paw at a time. It could hit nine out of ten coconuts 800 meters away.

Moria's Shadow Armor could withstand seven punches from Kaido.

The Inazuma finger swept across the steel plate a centimeter in front of it, and the plate silently split in two.

Zephyr stood at the edge of the Training Ground, watching them, and took a sip of water.

"Not bad," he said. "Let's do it again."

(End of Chapter 78)