Gathering Storm

Sabo continued on his way, and Martin, who had been going the other way, came into view. Martin was trembling, clutching his injured left hand, panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat. He glanced at the newcomer out of the corner of his eye before secretly letting out a sigh of relief. "Mr. Sabo... this woman is very capable..."

"Oh? You have backup...?"

Standing opposite Martin, Tamamo-no-Mae and chuckled softly, not surprised by Sabo's appearance.

Sabo twirled the hose in his palm, then pointed it at Tamamo-no-Mae. "I think... you must be one of the masterminds behind this."

"I have no need to tell you, strangers from afar..."

Tamamo-no-Mae paused, her large sleeves concealing her face slowly descending, revealing a hint of murderous intent in her alluring eyes behind them. "But so what?"

"Even though she's a woman, I won't show her any mercy."

As he spoke, the water pipe in Sabo's hand was already coated with a layer of jet-black Armament Haki.

Hehehehe...

Tamamo-no-Mae's laughter grew increasingly eerie, her slender, seductive eyes turned blood-red and bewitching, and nine snow-white tails suddenly emerged from beneath her robes, spreading out in all directions and hovering in mid-air behind her without any wind, instantly emanating a powerful aura.

"So he's Devil Fruit User..." Sabo said seriously, "And it seems to be an extremely rare Mythical Zoan..."

"I've eaten a strange fruit, and even so, do you still have the confidence to be so presumptuous in front of me?"

Sabo responded with action, charging straight at Tamamo-no-Mae, his water pipe imbued with powerful Armament Haki blasting towards her with a gust of wind!

Tamamo-no-Mae's smile vanished, her expression turned icy, and her nine tails suddenly extended, instantly forming a cocoon that enveloped her before Sabo's attack could land.

The collision of the two generated a powerful shockwave that was visible to the naked eye, which spread outwards!

The scattered ruins were blown away, and the nearby wheat fields collapsed like waves. Whether it was the demons and monsters under Tamamo-no-Mae or Martin, they all turned their faces away, not daring to approach.

Using the water pipe as a fulcrum, Sabo levitated and kicked the white cocoon formed by Tamamo-no-Mae with all his might. The white cocoon could not withstand the force and was forced back nearly ten meters along the ground, raising several plumes of dust.

"This is..."

Sabo landed back on the ground, solemnly looking down at his arm, which had been slightly trembling from being touched by Tamamo-no-Mae's flames.

Tamamo-no-Mae's nine tails, like sparks from a piece of white paper, turned into tiny specks of dust, gradually revealing her delicate face, which then blossomed into a sly yet somewhat sinister smile.

"Your power may indeed surpass that of Shuten and Great Tengu, but so what? I possess a strange fox flame. If it were just power... your fate would ultimately be to become one of these hundreds of skeletons!"

"It's really novel. This is the first time I've seen Mythical Zoan in all these years..." Sabo continued fiddling with his arm, looking as if he had encountered some kind of unsolvable puzzle.

The Mythical Zoan of Devil Fruit can produce both Logia- Zoan form transformations and Logia-type elemental transformations. However, the elemental transformation of Mythical Zoan is quite different from that of Logia. For example, Marco, who ate the Phoenix Fruit, can create flames that, while unable to cause widespread damage, allow him to be reborn from the ashes.

The flames created by Tamamo-no-Mae cannot be ignited or burned like ordinary flames, but they do possess certain characteristics of the Mythical Zoan type.

At least for Sabo, who had sensed something was wrong with his body, it was a very difficult situation.

"What I really hate are you outsiders who rush in one by one. You're all filthy bandits who don't know what's good for you..." As Tamamo-no-Mae spoke and laughed, her nine white fox tails suddenly stretched out and lashed out at Sabo like vines.

Sabo suddenly took a step forward, then involuntarily began to retreat, clumsily dodging Tamamo-no-Mae's rapid and relentless attacks, searching for a way to break free.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Wano Country, another group had already landed on the north shore a day earlier and was heading towards Kyoto, the capital of Wano Country.

"Haha, although I had already thought of your birthplace, I had no idea that you had any connection with the shogun of Wano Country, Fujitora!"

"Please don't speak so loudly. The people in my hometown are rather xenophobic, and given our status, it's not appropriate for us to attract attention... Mr. Sengoku."

Fujitora lowered his head slightly. "Whether this trip will be successful, I have no idea. I can only do my best."

With Sengoku frizzy hair completely white, Sengoku held a senbei in his arms, walking with his feet turned outwards, showing no sign of nervousness about intruding into Wano Country. He smiled carefree, "Just do your best, don't push yourself too hard!"

The pressure that had accumulated over the past twenty years was released the moment he stepped down as Sengoku Fleet Admiral. He was like a completely different person. His originally rigid and stubborn personality became very easygoing and carefree. He spent his days idly drinking tea, eating senbei, fishing, and reading newspapers. His life couldn't be more comfortable. He even showed off this to his longtime colleague and old friend Garp. Garp immediately tore off half of the pirate bounty poster he had just received, feeling incredibly envious and jealous.

It wasn't until three months after the end of the Marineford War that the World Government, short of manpower, was unwilling to leave Sengoku's strength idle. So they appointed him as the Grand Inspector of the Headquarters, mainly responsible for monitoring the status of Marine Base around the New World. Because he had no real power and did not have to issue orders or make decisions, Sengoku was happy with this burden-free position.

During their casual conversation, Fujitora talked about his past. "I was born in Wano Country, but I left my hometown after coming of age. Because of a junior brother, I went to the East Blue and stayed there for a long time. After that, I wandered the seas and saw all the filth in the world."

Sengoku, munching on a senbei (rice cracker), said, "So you have a junior brother?"

"I am an abandoned child without parents. Since I can remember, I have been adopted by the teachers at the dojo, so I have many junior brothers with whom I have always been close."

Fujitora paused for a moment, then continued, "However, that was decades ago. It was by chance that I saved the general... Now that time has passed, I wonder if the general is still alive."

Sengoku began to take Fujitora's words somewhat seriously, "If the general you mentioned is no longer here..."

"Therefore, I am not confident about the success or failure of this matter. It's just that many of my ideas coincide with those of Aokiji Fleet Admiral Aokiji, so I am willing to give it a try. If the power of Wano Country, a major power in the New World, can be lent to the Navy, then more notorious pirates will be wiped out, which is in line with my thinking."

"Really? Hahaha..." Sengoku laughed heartily, stuffing the senbei in his hand into his mouth even faster.