Masterfully Controlled! Kozuki Toki's Ability

Kozuki Oden's miserable state shocked them all.

After all, they knew Kozuki Oden's strength all too well. Yet now, he had been beaten into such a state.

Looking at the blood covering him, with that much blood loss... could Lord Oden already be dead?

"I can still sense Lord Oden's presence, but it is very faint."

Inuarashi of the Mink Tribe stared solemnly at Kozuki Oden. After his ears twitched, he spoke.

"We have to save Lord Oden and treat him immediately!"

Nekomamushi, the other Mink, bared his fangs as he spoke.

"Kanjuro, get ready to save him. We'll hold this guy back!"

Kyoshiro suppressed the urge to cough up blood and spoke in a low voice.

"Huh? Oh, right!"

Kanjuro had been staring at Kurozumi Orochi, who Lin Ye had sliced into two, his eyes filled with horror. Hearing Kyoshiro's words, he hurriedly nodded.

The other seven stepped forward together, their momentum looking quite imposing.

But Lin Ye's attention was not on them. Instead, he looked past them, toward the area behind them.

A tall woman in a light green floral kimono, with light green hair, picked up several torn scraps of cloth from the ground in the distance.

Kozuki Toki.

At that moment, Kozuki Toki held the cloth scraps in her trembling hands, her eyes filled with disbelief.

She had not expected that, after only separating a short while ago, he would now be dead without even a complete body left behind.

Kozuki Toki's pupils trembled violently. Clearly, her emotions were in turmoil.

Lin Ye withdrew his gaze and refocused on the seven people before him.

"Attack!"

Kyoshiro roared and shot forward. The blade in his hand was driven by his speed, flashing toward Lin Ye's waist at an even faster pace.

The others were just as fast. In the blink of an eye, they appeared around Lin Ye, their weapons descending upon him all at once.

Boom!

Conqueror's Haki erupted violently, sending the figures rushing in to attack flying away.

Kanjuro, who had quietly slipped over to Kozuki Oden's side, threw out the canvas in his hand. With a bang, white smoke spread out and engulfed Kozuki Oden.

But as Conqueror's Haki burst from Lin Ye's body, the shockwave blew the smoke apart. Terror appeared on Kanjuro's face as he staggered back several steps.

In the distance, Kozuki Toki, who had been holding the torn cloth scraps, was jolted awake by Lin Ye's erupting Conqueror's Haki and suddenly turned to look over.

Lin Ye moved. His figure flickered, blade light flashed, and each of the several figures sent flying took another slash.

Just as he was about to strike again, the light-green-haired figure stood in front of him.

Lin Ye sheathed his blade and stood still, looking at Kozuki Toki, who held a sword in both hands before him.

Kozuki Toki, who stood half a head taller than Lin Ye, gripped her sword with both hands. Her body trembled slightly, but her expression remained firm.

She bit her lip tightly, tears still staining her face.

The heavily wounded people who had fallen to the ground stared wide-eyed at this sight.

"Lady Toki!"

"You all, leave!"

Kozuki Toki stared at Lin Ye without turning her head.

Their expressions changed.

"They can't leave!"

Lin Ye shook his head slightly, his tone indifferent.

With his sword in hand, he walked up to the trembling Kozuki Toki.

"Was that your son just now?"

Lin Ye came before Kozuki Toki, his eyes examining her before he spoke casually.

A trickle of blood ran from the corner of Kozuki Toki's mouth. She had clearly bitten her lip hard enough to break it.

"Very angry?"

Seeing Kozuki Toki's state, Lin Ye sent out a Flying Slash. The sword scar passed through Kiku's body, cutting from her left shoulder to her right ribs.

The others' eyes nearly split with rage.

Kozuki Toki's hands trembled. She suddenly raised her sword and slashed down at Lin Ye, but he shifted his feet and dodged the attack.

Another Flying Slash.

"The world doesn't revolve around you. Oh, no, actually, you didn't do anything wrong. Kozuki Oden caused all of this."

Lin Ye looked at Kozuki Toki, who had lost control of her strength after swinging her sword and fallen face-first to the ground.

"I gave him a choice. The moment he chose to fight me, he, along with all of you, became my enemies."

Lin Ye looked at Kozuki Toki lying on the ground, then turned around and crouched to look at her face.

"Originally, I only wanted to kill you. But since they want to die, I'll grant them their wish as well."

Even Kozuki Toki, who was usually calm and composed, could no longer remain calm now.

She turned her head and looked at the young man before her.

"Kill me? Do I have a grudge against you?"

Kozuki Toki had caught something in Lin Ye's words and spoke with difficulty.

"You don't care about your son's death, but you care about that instead?"

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow and looked at Kozuki Toki.

As he spoke, Lin Ye looked into the distance. A figure had picked up Kurozumi Orochi's body and was fleeing away. Then Lin Ye sent out a Flying Slash.

Kurozumi Kanjuro's figure appeared, severed at the waist. Kurozumi Orochi, whom he had been carrying, fell to the ground.

Kanjuro looked at the lower half of his body that had been left behind and immediately screamed in agony.

"This man is a spy Kurozumi Orochi sent among you. No need to thank me."

Lin Ye sheathed his sword and turned back, continuing to look at Kozuki Toki.

But at this point, those matters were clearly no longer important.

"If you want to kill me, let them go."

Kozuki Toki looked at Nekomamushi, Inuarashi, and the others who were still alive.

"No. I have no reason to agree to that."

Lin Ye shook his head.

A trace of desolation flashed through Kozuki Toki's eyes.

She did not know why Lin Ye had said he wanted to kill her from the beginning, but she knew that if she had been able to stop Kozuki Oden from obeying Kurozumi Orochi's orders earlier, none of this would have happened. Perhaps only one person would have died.

"If possible, I ask that you let me die with my husband."

Kozuki Toki looked at Kozuki Oden, who was kneeling on the ground with his head lowered, his presence now nearly imperceptible, then spoke.

Without waiting for Lin Ye to agree, Kozuki Toki crawled over to Kozuki Oden's side.

Seeing a glimmer of light appear in Kozuki Toki's hand, Lin Ye suddenly spoke.

"It seems you have another daughter. Oh, she came along too."

The moment he said this, Kozuki Toki's body shook. Then she saw a little girl stumbling toward them.

"Take her away!"

Kozuki Toki shouted suddenly, no longer caring about activating her ability.

Inuarashi and the others who could still move hurriedly got up, wanting to rush toward Kozuki Hiyori.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several Flying Slashes passed through the people who had just risen.

"I said, no one is leaving!"

Lin Ye spoke calmly as several transparent bubbles drifted over.

Kozuki Hiyori, who had run over, stared wide-eyed at the scene, her eyes filled with fear and confusion.

What exactly had happened here?

Kozuki Toki raised her hand toward Kozuki Hiyori.

Lin Ye watched her actions with great interest.

A strange bubble instantly enveloped Kozuki Hiyori, who had fallen to the ground. It also enveloped the kappa beside her.

As the bubble burst, the two figures inside vanished.

"So this is the ability of your Time-Time Fruit?"

Lin Ye walked over to Kozuki Toki's side. After using her ability, Kozuki Toki had clearly exhausted all her strength.

She panted heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"You came because of my ability?"