Divine Departure! The Enraged Kozuki Oden

No bubbles rose from the ruins, and Lin Ye knew the real Orochi was not dead.

Within the range of his Observation Haki, his blade was embedded in Kurozumi Orochi's nape, having pierced through his head and emerged from his left eye socket.

That guy was reviving.

Or rather, the Yamata no Orochi Fruit's ability was activating.

Lin Ye flashed over to the side of the Kurozumi Orochi transformed from Kurozumi Higurashi.

A ring-shaped flash of sword light swept through, killing the samurai and ninjas guarding her.

The fake Kurozumi Orochi, who had been pointing at Kozuki Oden and shouting abuse, was startled. She slowly turned to look at Lin Ye standing behind her.

Lin Ye smiled, his stark white teeth gleaming.

"You can't kill him!"

Kozuki Oden's voice rang out as two slashes flew toward Lin Ye.

Lin Ye did not move. He raised his hand, grabbed the Kurozumi Orochi before him, and used her as a shield.

Puff, puff!

The sound of slashes cutting through flesh rang out.

Puff!

A plume of white smoke rose from Lin Ye's hand.

The Kurozumi Orochi he held, now struck by the slashes, turned into an ugly old woman. Two enormous wounds nearly split her into three pieces.

Lin Ye tossed her aside in disgust.

Kozuki Oden stood there blankly, gripping his two blades as he looked at the person Lin Ye had thrown down.

"You have chosen death!"

Lin Ye raised the Black Blade in his right hand and pointed it at Kozuki Oden.

(From now on, they would all be called blades. Although One Piece distinguishes between swords and blades, blades were generally more common, and calling them swords felt strange.)

Powerful Armament Haki wrapped around the blade. Its body, which had nearly become a Black Blade already, completely turned a deep black.

Terrifying killing intent poured from Lin Ye's body.

Kozuki Oden, frozen in shock because he had struck the wrong person, suddenly looked at Lin Ye.

Such terrifying killing intent.

Just how many people had this man killed to accumulate such killing intent?

Killing intent rose from Lin Ye's body like black flames.

A horrifying pressure filled the hearts of everyone present.

A pirate nearby struggled to pull out a Transponder Snail.

Even the Transponder Snail was nearly frightened unconscious by Lin Ye's terrifying killing intent.

The pirate who took out the Transponder Snail connected to Onigashima and reported what had happened here.

In the plaza, Lin Ye pointed his Black Blade at Kozuki Oden.

Kozuki Oden looked fully guarded, holding Ame no Habakiri and Enma, two of the Twenty-One Great Grade Blades, crossed before him in a defensive stance.

Behind Kozuki Oden, on the street at the edge of the plaza, Kin'emon was peering toward the plaza with Kozuki Momonosuke.

"Kin'emon, can Father win?"

"Our lord will definitely win!"

Hearing that, Kin'emon sighed, then nodded with a resolute tone.

Kozuki Momonosuke's face brightened with joy.

In the plaza.

"Exactly how many people have you killed?"

Kozuki Oden's expression turned grave as he stared at Lin Ye and asked.

"How many? I never counted. But personally, I must have killed several thousand."

Lin Ye's tone remained calm.

Several thousand!

Kozuki Oden swallowed.

"Do you know? A year ago, in Loguetown, I witnessed the execution of Roger, the King of the Pirates."

Lin Ye looked at Kozuki Oden and brought up Roger.

"Roger!"

Upon hearing that name, Kozuki Oden's eyes became somewhat unfocused as he softly repeated it.

"Then... Divine Departure!"

A flash of red light passed through Lin Ye's eyes. His figure suddenly appeared before Kozuki Oden, and his blade, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki, cut through the distorted air as it slashed straight at Kozuki Oden.

"Impossible!"

The moment he saw that blade, Kozuki Oden felt as though Roger himself had swung it.

The force, the momentum, even the direction—it all seemed like Roger's attack.

Boom!

The blade wrapped in Two Types of Haki struck Kozuki Oden's crossed blades.

Boom!

Just as before, Kozuki Oden was sent flying by a single strike, hurtling down the street toward the other end.

Yet while he was flying backward, Kozuki Oden saw Kin'emon and Kozuki Shinnosuke standing by the roadside.

Terror flashed in his eyes.

Then, Kozuki Oden watched helplessly as the Flying Slash that had sent him flying swept through the two of them.

Blood sprayed.

"NO!"

The strength in Kozuki Oden's arms, which had been desperately holding his twin blades before him, faltered.

Splurt!

A bloody slash appeared across Kozuki Oden's chest.

Amid a spray of blood, his entire body was blasted straight out of the Flower Capital.

Lin Ye sheathed his blade and looked at Kozuki Oden, who had been sent flying, at the small half of the Flower Capital destroyed by that strike, and at the clear bubbles surging toward him.

As well as the two little bugs he had casually crushed to death.

Kozuki Oden had not died, but he had been severely wounded by that strike.

Lin Ye did not pursue him. Instead, he turned toward the ruins where Kurozumi Orochi lay.

A dark aura seeped out from the ruins.

Kurozumi Orochi was using his Fruit ability to revive.

Lin Ye walked over and watched as the ruins shifted. Then, a bizarre giant serpent head emerged from the rubble.

One, two, three.

In just a moment, seven serpent heads emerged, throwing off the ruins that had covered them.

One of the heads had one eye closed.

Its other eye had been pierced through by a blade.

The seven serpent heads panted heavily, seemingly not yet recovered from the terror of death.

When Lin Ye raised his blade again, Kurozumi Orochi, who had yet to understand the situation, finally came to his senses. His Mythical Zoan-transformed body rapidly shrank.

The Skillful Grade Blade Welcoming Snow fell to the ground with a light clink.

"You can't kill me! Kaido and I are allies! If you kill me, Kaido won't let you get away with it!"

Kurozumi Orochi retreated repeatedly with a terrified expression, but he tripped over the wreckage beneath his feet and fell backward. After falling, he braced himself against the ground with both hands, desperately trying to get away from Lin Ye.

Hearing this, Lin Ye lowered his raised blade.

Seeing his movement, Kurozumi Orochi's terror-filled eyes lit up.

"If you join me, I..."

Kurozumi Orochi's eyes shifted as he tried to promise Lin Ye benefits. Lin Ye stepped forward, reached Welcoming Snow, and moved his foot.

The Skillful Grade Blade Welcoming Snow, which had fallen to the ground, was kicked by him.

Whoosh!

Welcoming Snow shot forward, piercing directly through Kurozumi Orochi's chest and pinning him to the stone slabs behind him.

Blood spilled from Kurozumi Orochi's mouth. His body struggled futilely as he opened his mouth, trying to say something, but because Welcoming Snow had pierced his lungs, only blood came out whenever he opened his mouth.

Lin Ye watched Kurozumi Orochi struggle with a calm expression. His Observation Haki had already sensed an aura outside the Flower Capital, erupting like a volcano.

Kozuki Oden!

He was enraged by the deaths of his son and subordinate.

So he was not completely unresponsive after all!

Lin Ye turned around and looked toward that beast-like approaching aura.

The ground shook violently. The beast-like aura was chaotic and disordered, clearly overwhelmed by rage.

Boom!

With a thunderous explosion, the ground jolted fiercely. In the distance, a figure leaped high into the air, both blades wrapped in Two Types of Haki and trailing long streams of smoke as he pounced toward Lin Ye.