The samurai's retreat did not go smoothly. Kaido's men stayed on their heels, determined not to let them escape.
Before long, the samurai had fallen back into Wano Country. The wooden houses gave them excellent cover, and their retreat picked up speed.
But after withdrawing about half a kilometer into Wano Country, the samurai stopped.
That had to be the so-called Final Defense Line. Werther wanted to see what the people of Wano Country were up to.
Click, click, click.
Werther heard machinery turning and looked toward the sound.
The ground beneath the samurai suddenly bulged, as though something were about to burst through it.
With a rumble, a pitch-black wall slowly rose beneath their feet.
The rising wall tore the buildings above it apart.
Soon, a wall more than twenty meters high stood before Werther, barring Kaido's men from advancing.
"So this is the Final Defense Line? Doesn't look like much. We'll stop here for today."
They had been attacking Wano Country for some time, and the sky was growing dark. Werther planned to resume the assault the next morning.
"Another wall? Wano Country's forebears certainly planned ahead."
Tillman approached from behind. His face was still pale, but he had otherwise recovered.
"That's enough for today. I'll cut this wall open tomorrow morning. I want to see how many walls Wano Country has."
Tillman nodded. He agreed with Werther.
The battle had only just begun. For now, they were merely getting a sense of Wano Country's strength.
"These samurai are stronger than I expected, but they shouldn't pose much trouble. Apart from Kozuki Oden and Wano Country's shogun, I doubt they have anyone worth worrying about."
With that, Tillman went to see to the Beasts Pirates' men.
The fearless pirates were still shouting beneath the wall, occasionally firing cannonballs