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 gripped his swords with both hands at his sides. Vast amounts of Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki coiled 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 diagonally upward with the Haki-coated blades.

Boom!

A ferocious slash streaked skyward, crackling with black lightning.

The nearly four-meter-tall figure that had charged down in a frenzy was sent flying by the slash, while the Flying Slash shot straight into the sky.

The clouds above trembled violently as the slash passed through them, then exploded with a thunderous roar and vanished into nothingness.

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

So now he knew how to get angry.

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

Still, Kozuki Oden's strength had somewhat exceeded his expectations.

Not because he was stronger than expected, but because he was weaker.

Before his panel had 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.

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

He must have gotten something wrong!

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 Yingxue from Kurozumi Orochi's chest.

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

The black energy churned, and within it writhed the shadow of a six-headed Orochi.

Then, under Lin Ye's gaze, the figure abruptly shrank, and the black energy gathered back in.

Kurozumi Orochi's body reappeared, the wound through his chest already gone.

However, Kurozumi Orochi clearly remembered what had just happened.

The instant he saw Lin Ye standing with his sword in hand, 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 feeling of dying twice in a row had terrified him beyond measure.

"Ahh!"

With an enraged roar, a figure crashed through more than a dozen houses. Holding two Haki-coated swords, he stomped across the ground and charged toward Lin Ye.

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

Yet he seemed completely unaware of it as he charged at Lin Ye with bloodshot eyes.

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

"Stop!"

The two words left Lin Ye's mouth.

Kozuki Oden, who had been charging over with bloodshot eyes, abruptly halted and stared fixedly 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 killed!"

Feeling the sharp edge cut into his neck, Kurozumi Orochi let out an enraged scream.

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 looked Kozuki Oden over.

"You seem to have forgotten that when we first met, I told you that the moment you decided to act, we became enemies.

Your family, friends, brothers, even your subjects—all of them are my enemies."

Lin Ye spoke indifferently.

"But he was still a child!"

Kozuki Oden gritted his teeth and stared hard at Lin Ye.

"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 plunged Kurozumi Orochi into complete panic, and he screamed.

"You're too noisy!"

Hearing the shrill voice beside him, Lin Ye abruptly drew Shusui. Kurozumi Orochi's enormous round head rolled off his thin neck.

Kozuki Oden's eyes widened at the sight.

"You really are a villain!"

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

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

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

Yingxue came slashing down.

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 if taking a leisurely stroll. Yingxue rose and fell again and again in his hand, while Kozuki Oden could only repeatedly raise his swords to block, his body forced backward each time.

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

As Lin Ye hacked down strike after strike, he also turned and sent out a slash.

At some point, Kurozumi Orochi had revived again and was crawling across the ground, trying to escape. The slash split him in two from the crotch down.

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

The blood loss inside his body and the enormous wounds on him had left his mind far from clear.

Boom!

As Lin Ye's sword fell once more, Kozuki Oden instinctively raised his blades to block it, then crashed to his knees. The two swords flew from his hands.

Kozuki Oden lowered his head as blood continuously poured from his mouth. His eyes had gone vacant, and his breath was already extremely weak.

Looking at the towering figure kneeling before him, Lin Ye expressionlessly raised his sword.

Bang!

A Haki-coated bullet shot from the barrel toward Lin Ye's temple.

Bang!

Lin Ye raised a hand and knocked the bullet away.

"Uminokawa!"

A short, round figure burst out and leaped directly above Lin Ye. His webbed hand gripped a short blade as his body spun violently, sending slash after slash flying out.

Boom!

Lin Ye raised his hand, and Yingxue, infused with Conqueror's Haki, tore through the incoming spinning slashes and was about to strike the round figure in midair.

Clang!

Two figures, one from the left and one from the right, crossed their twin swords and blocked Lin Ye's strike. Then all three figures were sent flying, coughing up blood.

Lin Ye did not care that the single strike had failed to kill them. He turned and looked at the few figures who had emerged.

Kozuki Oden's presence was growing weaker and weaker. Even if Lin Ye did not kill him, he would die soon enough.

But these people...

Were they Kozuki Oden's subordinates?

Lin Ye looked over the seven figures walking out.

"Kyoshiro, Kikunojo, Matsu, are you all right?"

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

"We're fine, but Lord Oden!"

Kyoshiro got up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He looked at Kozuki Oden, whose life or death was unknown, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Lady Toki was right. Lord Oden really was in danger." Kikunojo held his swords in both hands and spoke through heavy breaths.