Kozuki Oden's miserable state shocked them all.
After all, they knew Kozuki Oden's strength better than anyone. Yet he had been beaten into this 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's very faint."
The Mink Inuarashi stared solemnly at Kozuki Oden. After his ears twitched, he spoke.
"We have to save Lord Oden and treat him immediately!"
The other Mink, Nekomamushi, bared his teeth.
"Kanjuro, get ready to rescue 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 had been cut in two by Lin Ye, his eyes filled with horror. Hearing Kyoshiro's words, he hurriedly nodded.
The other seven stepped forward together, looking quite imposing.
But Lin Ye's attention was not on them. Instead, he looked past them toward the rear.
A tall woman in a light-green floral kimono, with light-green hair, picked up several torn pieces of cloth from the ground in the distance.
Kozuki Toki.
At that moment, Kozuki Toki held the scraps of cloth in her trembling hands, her eyes filled with disbelief.
She had not expected that, after parting only a short while ago, he would now be dead without even a complete corpse left behind.
Kozuki Toki's pupils trembled violently. Clearly, her emotions were in turmoil.
Lin Ye withdrew his gaze and turned it back to the seven people before him.
"Attack!"
Kyoshiro roared as his figure shot forward. Driven by his speed, the blade in his hand slashed even faster toward Lin Ye's waist.
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 attackers flying away.
Kanjuro, who had quietly slipped beside Kozuki Oden, threw out the canvas in his hand. With a bang, white smoke spread out and engulfed Kozuki Oden's figure.
But as Conqueror's Haki erupted from Lin Ye, the blast of air dispersed the smoke. Terror appeared on Kanjuro's face as he staggered back several steps.
In the distance, Kozuki Toki, who had been holding the torn scraps of cloth, was jolted awake by Lin Ye's burst of Conqueror's Haki and abruptly turned toward them.
Lin Ye moved. His figure flickered unpredictably, and blade light flashed as each of the figures sent flying was struck again.
Just as he was about to finish them off, the light-green-haired figure stepped 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 was resolute.
She bit down hard on her lip, tears still staining her face.
The heavily wounded people who had landed on the ground stared wide-eyed at the sight.
"Lady Toki!"
"You all leave!"
Kozuki Toki stared at Lin Ye without looking back as she spoke.
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 roaming over her body before he spoke casually.
A trickle of blood ran from the corner of Kozuki Toki's mouth. She had clearly bitten her lip open.
"Very angry?"
Seeing her state, Lin Ye sent out a Flying Slash. The sword scar passed through Kikunojo's body, from his left shoulder to his right ribs.
The others' eyes nearly split open with rage.
Kozuki Toki's hands trembled as she suddenly raised her sword and slashed down at Lin Ye. Lin Ye shifted his feet and dodged the strike.
Another Flying Slash followed.
"The world doesn't revolve around you. Oh, no, that's not right. You aren't really at fault either. Kozuki Oden caused all of this."
Lin Ye looked at Kozuki Toki, who had fallen to the ground because she could not pull back her sword in time.
"I gave him a choice. The moment he chose to fight me, he and all of you became my enemies."
Lin Ye looked at Kozuki Toki lying on the ground, then turned and crouched to look at her face.
"Originally, I only wanted to kill you. But since they want to die, I'll grant their wish too."
Even Kozuki Toki, who was usually rarely calm, could no longer remain calm now.
She turned her head and looked at the young boy before her.
"Kill me? Do I have a grudge against you?"
Kozuki Toki heard 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 was carrying Kurozumi Orochi's body away, and Lin Ye sent out a Flying Slash.
Kurozumi Kanjuro, who had been severed at the waist, appeared, and the Kurozumi Orochi he had been carrying fell to the ground.
Kanjuro looked at the lower half of his body that had gone on without him, then immediately screamed in agony.
"This man was a spy Kurozumi Orochi planted among you. No need to thank me."
Lin Ye sheathed his sword, turned back, and continued looking at Kozuki Toki.
But at this point, none of that was important anymore.
"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 start, but she knew that if she had stopped 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 together with my husband."
Kozuki Toki looked at Kozuki Oden, who knelt on the ground with his head lowered, his presence already nearly imperceptible, then spoke.
Without waiting for Lin Ye's answer, Kozuki Toki crawled over to Kozuki Oden's side.
As a glimmer of light lit up in Kozuki Toki's hand, Lin Ye suddenly spoke.
"You seem to have another daughter. Oh, she came along too."
As soon as those words fell, Kozuki Toki's body shook while she was activating her power, and she saw a little girl stumbling toward them.
"Take her away!"
Kozuki Toki shouted abruptly, no longer caring about activating her power.
Inuarashi and the others who could still move hurriedly got to their feet, intending 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 he watched several transparent bubbles drift over.
Kozuki Hiyori, who had run over, stared wide-eyed at the scene, her eyes filled with fear and confusion.
What had happened here?
Kozuki Toki raised her hand toward Kozuki Hiyori.
Lin Ye watched her movements 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 power of your Time-Time Fruit?"
Lin Ye walked to Kozuki Toki's side. After using her power, Kozuki Toki had clearly exhausted all her strength.
She panted, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
"You came because of my power?"
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