Kozuki Oden on the Brink of Death! Kozuki Toki

Watching Kozuki Oden dive down from the sky, his eyes bloodshot and his expression crazed, Lin Ye held his swords at his sides with both hands. Vast amounts of Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki wrapped around the blades.

The Haki on the blades was so dense that it seemed to form black vortices.

Mighty Arms!

Lin Ye's sword-wielding arms suddenly swelled by a full size. He then drew his swords back and slashed upward at an angle, the Haki-infused blades cutting toward the sky.

Boom!

A ferocious slash crackling with black lightning shot upward.

Kozuki Oden's nearly four-meter-tall figure, charging down in madness, was sent flying by the slash. The Flying Slash soared straight into the sky.

The clouds overhead shuddered violently as the slash passed through them, then exploded with a thunderous roar and vanished into nothing.

Lin Ye looked toward Kozuki Oden, who had been blasted backward into the residential houses of the Flower Capital and disappeared from sight.

So now he knew how to get angry.

After Kozuki Momonosuke's death, Kozuki Oden's state had clearly changed.

Still, Kozuki Oden's strength was somewhat beyond Lin Ye's expectations.

Not unexpectedly strong, but unexpectedly weak.

If this had been before his panel updated, facing Kozuki Oden might have been difficult for him.

But now, he did not feel much pressure from him at all.

Granted, Kozuki Oden was the strongest opponent he had encountered in the past year, considerably stronger than Moria.

But dealing with Kozuki Oden now was not difficult for him.

I must have gotten something wrong somewhere!

Lin Ye planted the sword in his hand into the stone slabs beside him, turned, and walked back to Kurozumi Orochi, whose body had been pierced through. He pulled Welcoming Snow from Orochi's chest.

Kurozumi Orochi slid to the ground, his body twitching once as black energy surged from him again and spread in all directions.

The black energy churned endlessly, with the shadow of a six-headed Orochi writhing within it.

Then, beneath Lin Ye's gaze, the figure suddenly shrank as the black energy drew back into itself.

Kurozumi Orochi's body reappeared, and the wound through his chest had already vanished.

However, Kurozumi Orochi clearly remembered what had just happened.

The instant he saw Lin Ye standing there with his sword, his face cold and stern, cold sweat covered his entire body.

"Spare me. I'll do anything you want."

Kurozumi Orochi's eyes were filled with terror and pleading.

Before absolute strength, every scheme was utterly useless.

The fear of death left Kurozumi Orochi with no choice but to beg for mercy.

The sensation of dying twice in quick succession had terrified him beyond measure.

"Ah!"

With an enraged roar, a figure smashed through more than a dozen houses. Wielding two Haki-infused swords, he stomped across the ground and charged at Lin Ye.

Two huge diagonal wounds crossed Kozuki Oden's chest, his internal organs faintly visible through them. His clothes had been completely soaked crimson with blood.

Yet he seemed entirely unaware of it, charging at Lin Ye with bloodshot eyes.

Lin Ye turned his head toward the charging Kozuki Oden, reversed Welcoming Snow in his hand, and placed it against Kurozumi Orochi's neck.

"Stop!"

The two words left Lin Ye's mouth.

Kozuki Oden, charging forward with bloodshot eyes, abruptly halted and glared at Lin Ye.

"Bastard, didn't you hear him tell you to stop? If you dare come any closer, I'll have everyone in Wano Country slaughtered!"

Feeling the sharp blade cut into his neck, Kurozumi Orochi roared in fury.

Kozuki Oden panted heavily, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Lin Ye.

"Why? Why did you kill him?"

Kozuki Oden's eyes were full of pain.

"Heh!"

Lin Ye examined Kozuki Oden with a cold gaze.

"You seem to have forgotten that when we first met, I told you that once you intended to act, we became enemies.

Your family, your friends, your brothers, even your people—they are all my enemies."

Lin Ye spoke indifferently.

"But he was still a child!"

Kozuki Oden clenched his teeth and stared at Lin Ye.

"He was an enemy."

Lin Ye's tone remained unchanged.

"An enemy must die. Likewise, I am your enemy now. You can kill me too, if you can manage it."

"Bastard, you can't attack! Let this lord kill you!"

At those words, the agonizing pain in his neck drove Kurozumi Orochi into complete panic, and he screamed.

"You're too noisy!"

Hearing the shrill voice beside him, Lin Ye suddenly drew Shusui. The enormous round head rolled from Kurozumi Orochi's slender neck.

Kozuki Oden's eyes widened at the sight.

"You really are an evil man!"

Watching Lin Ye casually behead Kurozumi Orochi, Kozuki Oden spoke in a hoarse voice.

"So you think you're a good man?"

As Lin Ye's words fell, he had already appeared at Kozuki Oden's side.

Welcoming Snow slashed down fiercely in his hand.

Kozuki Oden raised Enma to block. The two swords collided, and Kozuki Oden's towering body staggered backward.

Step after step, Lin Ye advanced as though taking a leisurely stroll. Welcoming Snow rose and fell again and again in his hand, while Kozuki Oden could only raise his swords to block each strike, his body retreating over and over.

Compared to Kozuki Oden's height, Lin Ye was not tall, yet he seemed like an insurmountable mountain.

As Lin Ye continued chopping down with each stroke, he suddenly pulled back and swung a slash behind him.

At some point, the revived Kurozumi Orochi had crawled across the ground, trying to escape. This slash split him in two from the crotch down.

But Kozuki Oden's eyes had already begun to lose focus.

The blood draining from his body and the massive wounds covering him had left his mind no longer clear.

Boom!

As Lin Ye's sword fell once more, Kozuki Oden, who had instinctively raised his blade to block the slash, crashed to his knees. The two swords in his hands flew away.

Kozuki Oden lowered his head, blood continuously spilling from his mouth. His eyes were vacant, and his breath had weakened to the extreme.

Looking at the towering figure kneeling before him, Lin Ye raised his sword without expression.

Bang!

A Haki-infused bullet shot from the barrel and flew toward Lin Ye's temple.

Bang!

Lin Ye raised a hand and knocked the bullet away.

"Uminokawa!"

A short, round figure rushed out and leaped directly above Lin Ye. Its webbed hand gripped a short sword as its body spun violently, sending slash after slash flying out.

Boom!

Lin Ye raised his hand. Welcoming Snow, coated in Conqueror's Coating, tore through the incoming spinning slashes and was about to cut into the round figure in midair.

Clang!

Two figures came from the left and right, crossing their twin swords to block Lin Ye's strike. Then all three figures spat blood as they were sent flying.

Failing to kill them in one blow did not bother Lin Ye. He turned to look at the several figures who had appeared.

Kozuki Oden's breath was growing weaker and weaker. Even if Lin Ye did not strike again, he would die shortly.

But these people...

Were they some of Kozuki Oden's retainers?

Lin Ye's gaze swept over the seven figures who emerged.

"Kyoshiro, Kiku, O-Matsu, are you all right?"

Kanjuro hurriedly helped the three of them up, panic written all over his face.

"We're fine, but Lord Oden!"

Kyoshiro rose and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes turned toward Kozuki Oden, whose fate was unknown, filled with disbelief.

"Lady Toki was right. Lord Oden really is in danger." Kiku held her sword with both hands and spoke between ragged breaths.