At that moment, Sirius truly thought the little girl looked rather cool.
But Yamato had no idea what Sirius was thinking. After showing off, she pouted unhappily. "These samurai are completely different from Oden!"
"They actually attacked a child like Sirius! They're the worst kind of adults!"
What did she mean, a child like me? Had she forgotten she was a child herself?
Sirius's lips twitched.
At that moment, Sirius spotted several samurai behind Yamato, swinging their blades down at her.
There were surely samurai of noble character, but they had to be few in number. Most samurai were ordinary people, capable of both kindness and evil.
No one should expect them to distinguish whether something in front of them ought to be cut down when they had gone bloodthirsty on the battlefield.
"Yamato, duck!"
Sirius shouted.
Although she had no idea what Sirius intended, Yamato did not hesitate for even a moment and immediately crouched down.
At that very instant, blazing flames erupted from Sirius's mouth, swallowing those samurai whole.
The flames carrying the samurai surged forward like a giant dragon and exploded not far away, catching quite a few others in the blast.
Once the flames faded, Yamato stood up with a grin. "This time, Sirius protected me."
Sirius grinned back. The fear from earlier had completely vanished. Once he had taken the first step, there was nothing left to fear.
"Now isn't the time for small talk."
Because of the flames earlier, Sirius and Yamato had naturally drawn the attention of more samurai. They were gradually closing in.
Sirius leaned forward and instantly transformed into a huge Black Wolf. "Yamato, get on my back."
At the same time, flames poured from his mouth, forming a wall of fire that cut off the samurai.
Yamato cheerfully leaped up and landed directly on Sirius's back.
"Let's work together properly from here on out, Yamato!"
Sirius laughed as he leaped out through the flames.
The battlefield was chaotic, but there was one place that was definitely safe.
That was Kaido's side.
Oden was already dead, and Wano Country could no longer find anyone capable of facing Uncle Kaido. Going to his side meant they would no longer face threats from the samurai.
"Leave it to me!"
Sitting on Sirius's back and gripping the fur on his back, Yamato waved her Spiked Club and said with a grin, "Leave Sirius's back to me!"
"Then here we go!"
Sirius moved all four legs, racing across the battlefield with incredible speed, like a streak of black lightning.
"Get out of the way!! This move is called Flash Flame Charge!!"
Flames burst from Sirius's mouth and nose, then spread backward to form a shell that enveloped him.
Trailing a long tail of fire, Sirius transformed into a massive fireball and charged forward. Whether samurai or pirates, everyone in his path hurriedly scattered.
Although they were enemies in terms of their current positions, Sirius had promised Yamato earlier that he would not take the initiative to attack the samurai. A move like this was perfect.
"Oh! That's so cool, Sirius!"
Yamato looked around excitedly. Everything around her was shrouded in flames, and the sensation amazed her.
However, the flames did not completely force the samurai back. If anything, Sirius had become even more conspicuous.
Quite a few samurai risked being set ablaze as they charged in, intending to take Sirius down.
Sirius's reflexes were no joke. While running, he casually swiped twice with his front paws, sending the samurai flying with broken bones and blood spilling from their mouths.
But that only worked against enemies attacking from the front. Sirius had no way to deal with samurai lunging at him from the sides or directly from behind.
However, Sirius was not alone.
Yamato was on Sirius's back!
The little girl leaped into the air, displaying astonishing agility as she darted and twisted across Sirius's fairly broad back. The iron club in her hands ruthlessly struck every incoming samurai.
"Thunder Bagua!"
"Thunder Bagua!"
"Thunder Bagua!"
Yamato had indeed inherited Kaido's bloodline. Though she was only eight years old, her strength completely overwhelmed the samurai. One blow from her club could shatter both their swords and bones.
The samurai who charged in through the flames were immediately sent flying again by Yamato's iron club.
Sirius and Yamato worked together with flawless coordination, easily weaving through the battlefield.
Yamato sent another samurai flying with a swing of her club, then shouted in dissatisfaction, "Stop coming after us! We don't want to hurt you!"
Sirius's mouth twitched. Was she pouring oil on the fire?
Sure enough, upon hearing Yamato's words, the surrounding samurai immediately felt insulted and swarmed toward them.
"These guys are so stubborn!" Yamato looked utterly baffled. "How annoying!"
Sirius truly had no idea what to say. He could only keep breathing fire, swat away several samurai with his paws, and then speed up.
And so, Sirius swatted while Yamato smashed, the two of them advancing in perfect coordination. The samurai around them quickly grew fewer, until eventually there were none left in sight.
It was not because Sirius and Yamato had left the battlefield.
It was because they had entered a monster's hunting ground.
A blade wrapped in powerful Haki slammed heavily into Kaido's chest. The blade pointed straight downward, yet it could not pierce Kaido's skin at all.
Shimotsuki Ushimaru, battered and bleeding, was already incredibly weak. Despair could not help but show in his eyes.
"The descendant of the dragon-slaying samurai only has this much skill?"
Kaido tilted his head, looking deeply disappointed. Beside him, the other three daimyo lay on the ground with their limbs twisted at unnatural angles. Only the last one remained—perhaps the strongest of them all, Shimotsuki Ushimaru.
"As expected, Wano Country only had one Kozuki Oden."
"Don't look down on samurai!"
Shimotsuki Ushimaru roared, leaping into the air and bringing his blade down with all his strength.
"I'm already tired of your tricks."
Kaido casually raised a hand and directly grabbed the man's body. With a hard squeeze, Shimotsuki Ushimaru's body instantly made a creaking sound under the unbearable pressure, as though every bone in his body were about to be crushed.
Yet even so, the man did not let out a single scream. He only glared fixedly at Kaido, even as blood began flowing from his seven orifices.
"Wororororo! I like that look in your eyes! You've earned yourself a chance to live!"
Kaido burst into laughter and violently slammed the man in his hand into the ground.
The ground was instantly smashed into a crater. After coughing up one final mouthful of blood, Shimotsuki Ushimaru fainted.
Kaido looked down at Shimotsuki Ushimaru and said somewhat regretfully, "Submit to me, samurai! Otherwise, death will be your only path."
The moment Sirius arrived with Yamato and saw this scene, he knew Uncle Kaido's habit of collecting talented people had flared up again.
But—
Sirius looked at the unconscious Shimotsuki Ushimaru lying in the crater.
He looked far too similar.
Did this guy really have no blood relation to that Moss Head?
They looked like they had been cast from the same mold!
But that no longer mattered.
This war had reached its end.
Before you continue