Divine Departure! Kozuki Oden's Rage

When no bubbles rose from the ruins, Lin Ye knew the real Orochi was not dead.

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

That bastard was reviving.

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

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

A ring of sword light swept past, killing the samurai and ninja guarding her.

The fake Kurozumi Orochi, who had been pointing at Kozuki Oden and shouting threats, jolted in alarm and slowly turned to look at Lin Ye behind her.

Lin Ye smiled, his gleaming white teeth flashing.

"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 a hand, grabbed the Kurozumi Orochi before him, and used her as a shield.

Pfft! Pfft!

The sound of flesh being cut rang out.

Pfft!

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

The Kurozumi Orochi in his grasp, struck by the slashes, turned into an ugly old woman. Two massive wounds had nearly cut her into three pieces.

Lin Ye threw the thing in his hand away with disgust.

Kozuki Oden stood there blankly, gripping his two blades as he stared at the person Lin Ye had tossed aside.

"You have chosen your own 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 blades and swords, blades were generally the main term, and swords sounded a little strange.)

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

Terrifying killing intent surged from Lin Ye's body.

Kozuki Oden, who had frozen after cutting the wrong person, abruptly looked toward 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 dreadful pressure filled the hearts of everyone present.

Nearby, a pirate arduously pulled out a Den Den Mushi.

Under the intimidation of Lin Ye's terrifying killing intent, even the Den Den Mushi was nearly fainting.

The pirate who took out the Den Den Mushi connected it to Onigashima and reported what had happened here.

Meanwhile, in the square, Lin Ye pointed his Black Blade at Kozuki Oden.

Kozuki Oden watched him warily, crossing Ame no Habakiri and Enma, two of the Twenty-One Great Grade Blades, before himself in a guarded stance.

Behind Kozuki Oden, on the street at the edge of the square, Kin'emon peeked toward the square with Kozuki Momonosuke.

"Kin'emon, can Father win?"

"Our lord will definitely win!"

Kin'emon sighed upon hearing that, then nodded, his tone resolute.

Kozuki Momonosuke's face brightened at those words.

In the square.

"Just how many people have you killed?"

Kozuki Oden's expression turned grave as he fixed his eyes on Lin Ye and asked.

"How many? I've never counted, but I've personally killed at least several thousand."

Lin Ye's tone was calm.

Several thousand!

Kozuki Oden swallowed.

"You know, a year ago, I personally watched the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, be executed in Loguetown."

Looking at Kozuki Oden, Lin Ye brought up Roger.

"Roger!"

Hearing that name, Kozuki Oden's gaze grew somewhat unfocused as he softly repeated it.

"Then... Divine Departure!"

A red glint flashed 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 twisted air as it slashed down at him head-on.

"Impossible!"

The moment he saw that strike, Kozuki Oden felt as though it were Roger himself swinging the blade.

The power, the presence, even the direction—it all seemed like Roger's attack.

Boom!

The blade wrapped in Two-Color Haki struck Kozuki Oden's crossed swords.

Boom!

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

Yet while flying backward, Kozuki Oden spotted Kin'emon and Kozuki Shin'nosuke standing by the roadside.

Terror flashed through 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 force in Kozuki Oden's two blades, which he had desperately held before himself, faltered.

Pfft!

The bloody mark of the slash landed across Kozuki Oden's chest.

Together with a spray of blood, his entire body was sent flying out of the Flower Capital.

Lin Ye sheathed his blade and looked at Kozuki Oden, who had been blasted away; at the half of the Flower Capital destroyed by that strike; and at the translucent bubbles surging toward him.

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

Kozuki Oden was not dead, but that strike had gravely wounded him.

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

A dark aura seeped out from the rubble.

Kurozumi Orochi was using his Fruit power to revive.

Lin Ye walked over and watched the rubble shift. Then a strange giant serpent head emerged from the ruins.

One, two, three.

In only a moment, seven serpent heads emerged, heaving away the rubble that had covered them.

One of those heads had one eye shut.

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 still had not understood the situation, finally came to his senses. His Beastification body rapidly shrank.

The Fine Grade Blade Yingxue fell to the ground with a soft clang.

"You can't kill me! Kaido and I are allies! If you kill me, Kaido won't let you go!"

Kurozumi Orochi's face was filled with terror as he backed away repeatedly. Yet he tripped over the ruins beneath his feet and fell backward. After falling, he braced himself against the ground with both hands, desperately trying to get farther from Lin Ye.

Lin Ye withdrew his raised blade upon hearing that.

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

"If you pledge yourself to me, I..."

Kurozumi Orochi's eyes shifted as he prepared to promise Lin Ye benefits. Lin Ye stepped forward to Yingxue's side and moved his foot.

The Fine Grade Blade Yingxue, which had fallen to the ground, was kicked by him.

Whoosh!

Yingxue shot out, piercing directly through Kurozumi Orochi's chest and pinning him to the stone slabs behind him.

Blood flowed from Kurozumi Orochi's mouth as his body struggled futilely. He opened his mouth to say something, but since Yingxue had pierced his lung, only blood came out whenever he opened it.

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

Kozuki Oden!

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

So he was not completely unresponsive after all!

Lin Ye turned around and looked at the aura approaching like a wild beast.

The ground trembled violently. That beastlike aura was chaotic and disorderly, clearly overwhelmed by rage.

Boom!

With a deafening blast, the ground jolted violently. In the distance, a figure leaped high into the air, both blades wrapped in Two-Color Haki and trailing long streams of smoke as he lunged at Lin Ye.