The top floor of the castle tower was pitch-black, with no lights on. Only faint moonlight shone in through the hole Ian had smashed open.
So where were they?
Flames coiled around the halo behind Ian's head, instantly illuminating the dark room.
The spacious room was decorated very simply, with barely any furniture.
It was obvious that the Kozuki Family had truly been having a hard time these past few years. Though they were Daimyo ruling over a region, they were remarkably poor.
"Madman! Halt!"
Just then, angry shouts suddenly came from behind him.
Ian turned around.
Under the moonlight filtering in through the hole, two samurai entered with their swords drawn.
They seemed to be among the samurai under Shimotsuki Yasuie from earlier.
Hm?
Ian frowned slightly.
Their blades were pitch-black.
They could use Haki?
Shimotsuki Yasuie himself could not use it, yet his subordinates could?
That violated the basic rules of the Pirate World.
As everyone knew, in the Pirate World, the boss was always the strongest in any group.
Did Shimotsuki Yasuie think he was the great Buggy? How dare he turn the natural order upside down?
While Ian's thoughts wandered, the two samurai had already charged forward like the wind.
They coordinated perfectly, splitting apart and attacking Ian from both sides at once.
Then—
Ian merely shifted to the side casually, and the two samurai's blades swept past his chest and back with perfect timing.
The two samurai froze slightly. He was clearly just a child, yet he was this agile?
They had no time to think further. If one slash was not enough, then five, ten, a hundred!
In that instant, the two swords stirred up twin storms. Ian was caught between the violent gales like a petrel in a tempest, seemingly about to be torn apart at any moment.
Yet that moment, which seemed like it should arrive within a second, never came.
The petrel danced through the storm.
Ian danced amid the sword edges, casually stepping back, twisting, bending, and turning, evading every slash from the two samurai with flawless precision.
How was this possible?!
The two samurai's faces had gone as red as pig liver.
Ian was getting a little full of himself.
There was nothing he could do about being this outstanding.
What kind of monsters did they think he had been fighting all these years?
Compared to Teacher Kai's speed, which was practically no different from teleportation, these two were as slow as crawling turtles.
But really, there was no need to dodge at all.
Clang! Clang!
Two crisp sounds rang out in rapid succession, nearly blending into one.
"What?"
The two samurai's expressions changed at once. There was no excitement at finally hitting their opponent.
Ian raised his hand and casually caught their powerful sword blades.
With Haki at this level paired with such weak strength, how could they possibly hurt him?
He had fought Teacher Kai too many times. Without entering Ball Form, whenever he saw an attack, he instinctively wanted to dodge.
He glanced at the two pale-faced samurai.
They were far weaker than Hyogoro.
No, did they really dare chase after him with only this much ability?
They really had no idea of their own limits.
Boom!!
In the next instant, a brilliant pillar of golden fire shot into the sky from the top of the castle tower, blooming beneath the night sky like an erupting volcano.
Below, in the courtyard.
"..."
Shimotsuki Yasuie, covered in burns, clenched his teeth as he watched the flames erupt.
"Haha! Ian will never lose!"
Across from him, Yamato said with a grin, "Neither will I!"
The girl continued her attack.
"Ah, this is troublesome."
Ian scratched the back of his head, feeling a little regretful.
Though the two samurai had already been blasted who knew where by the flames shooting skyward, he had set the entire floor ablaze, and fire was spreading everywhere.
He had to find them quickly.
But he did not know where Kozuki Oden's two children were, so he headed down a corridor on one side.
"Mother,"
At that moment, a paper door beside him slid open, and a little boy with a chonmage hairstyle rubbed his eyes as he stepped out of the room. Apparently still half-asleep, he looked listless. "It's so hot. What happened?"
He looked around blankly, wanting to find his beloved mother.
But what he saw were flames spreading everywhere, and amid the flames, the Golden Armored Winged Man wreathed in blazing fire.
The boy's eyes widened at once. "Am I still dreaming?"
Oh?
Ian raised a brow. Kozuki Momonosuke.
What a stroke of luck.
He stepped toward the boy his own age.
Watching Ian approach, Momonosuke subconsciously raised a hand and pinched his own face. The sharp pain instantly woke him up. "This isn't a dream!!"
He was already eight years old. Though his parents had always protected him well, he still understood some things. He knew they were now facing the threat of an enemy!
Fear immediately appeared on Momonosuke's face, and he instinctively tried to run away.
But behind him was his room. There was nowhere to run, though how could he think that far right now?
Still, his speed was far too slow before Ian. Ian casually took one step forward and grabbed the brat by the collar, lifting him up.
Without using his ability, Ian was only a little taller than Momonosuke.
But in his beastman form, Ian was taller than two Momonosukes put together, nearly as tall as an adult. Lifting the brat was effortless.
"Kozuki Momonosuke?"
Ian felt that he was asking an obvious question, but one final confirmation could not hurt.
"So hot! It hurts!! Save me!! Father! Mother! Save me! I've been captured!"
He was extraordinarily cowardly. The moment Ian lifted him up, Kozuki Momonosuke began wailing in terror, while the heat radiating from Ian's body made him scream in pain.
Looks like he had the right person.
Ian nodded lightly. Kozuki Oden probably had no interest in arranging some body double for his son.
"Momonosuke!!"
A shriek-like cry came from behind him. Ian turned around just as a gentle woman with green hair slid open a paper door and rushed into the adjoining room.
"Mother!"
Hearing his mother's voice, Momonosuke, crying so hard his face was covered in tears and snot, twisted around desperately like a drowning man who had spotted a straw. "Hurry and save me!"
Toki bit her lip.
She had rushed upstairs as fast as she could, but she was still too late.
Momonosuke had been captured!
"Mother? Brother?"
At that moment, an even worse situation appeared. A soft, childish voice sounded beside her as a paper door next to her was pulled open by a little girl. The Kozuki Family's second daughter, Hiyori, had also been awakened by the commotion. Hugging a small pillow, she rubbed her eyes and yawned as she stepped outside, looking utterly confused by the scene before her.
"Hiyori!!"
Almost instinctively, Toki pulled her younger daughter into her arms.
The little girl had no idea what was happening. Held in her mother's embrace, she instead closed her eyes comfortably.
"Mother's arms are so warm."
Toki nearly bit through her lip.
They were all here, right?
Ian took a step forward. "I'm sorry, but Teacher Kai said he wanted to see you."
"Stop!"
Toki drew the sword at her waist, its tip aimed directly at Ian. "Don't come any closer! And let Momonosuke go!"
"I can't do that."
Ian neither stopped walking nor showed any intention of releasing the boy. He merely shook his head. "All I can say is, I'm sorry."
Sigh, it really felt like he was getting farther and farther down the path of a villain.
"Give Momonosuke back to me!"
The furious mother erupted with astonishing strength. With a sliding step, she shot forward as though shrinking the distance itself, her blade slashing horizontally.
She could naturally tell from Ian's voice that he was a very young child.
But even if he was a child, he could not hurt her child.
Ian merely raised his hand casually and grabbed Toki's blade.
A blade without Haki had even less chance of breaking through Ian's defense, and his strength was also more than Toki could contend with.
Without any hesitation, Toki released the sword and reached her slender right hand toward Ian's arm.
Flames surged from Ian's hand, forming a barrier before Toki.
Yet the woman did not hesitate in the slightest. She forcefully thrust her hand into the blazing golden fire.
The terrifying heat instantly twisted her expression.
But in the next second, the flames blocking her vanished completely.
"Hm?"
Ian could not help but cry out softly.
What happened?
But he immediately remembered that this woman was the user of the Paramecia Time-Time Fruit.
That was an incredibly troublesome ability.
The Time-Time Fruit possessed the ability to travel through time, sending people or objects into the future.
Could she have sent even the flames into the future?
It could do that?
As he marveled, Toki's hand had already pressed against his arm.
Success!
Toki was so overjoyed that she nearly wept.
Now, fly to the distant future!
Time-Time Fruit, activate!
But—
Huh?
Toki froze.
Ian grabbed the woman's wrist with his other hand and lifted her up. "Got you."
"How is this possible?!"
Toki could not understand. "How could it not work?!"
Her Time-Time Fruit had no effect on this guy!
It should not be possible. It made no sense at all.
Powerful Haki could indeed hinder Devil Fruit abilities from taking effect, and could even directly dispel certain Devil Fruit abilities.
But there was no sign that this guy was using Haki at all.
It was simply that the ability had no effect on him!
How could it not work? How could it possibly not work?
Devil Fruit abilities should have been absolute.
If even her ability did not work, then what was she supposed to do? What would happen to Momonosuke and Hiyori?
"You're asking how it could possibly not work,"
Ian said leisurely. "Isn't it simple? Because the Sun God's The Winged Dragon of Ra isn't a mythical beast. It's a god."
A god?
Toki froze slightly.
This child actually called himself the Sun God?
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