Ash Destined to Be Crushed

The world seemed to be completely stripped away by an illusory and ethereal power at that moment. Kaido glanced at the figure lying on the ground, and his pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpoints.

"Kai... Kaido... Kaido, why?"

Queen's chest was ripped open with a huge hole; if he hadn't entered the animal form of the Devil Fruit, this attack would have Yomi him.

"You... you bastard, it was... it was you who did this! Uchiha... Uchiha Huayue!"

Jin coughed up blood. Even though the flames behind him were constantly healing his wounds, he was still bleeding profusely and was on the verge of death from his serious injuries.

"Jin! Queen, you bastard, Uchiha Huayue, what exactly did you do to my right-hand man?!"

Despite Kaido's roar, Huayue behind him continued to applaud the terrifying Fire Dragon Bagua, his admiration genuine.

"I did nothing. Aren't the injuries they suffered the result of the Fire Dragon Bagua you released?"

"Truly powerful, it flew all the way from Onigashima to the Flower Capital, melting everything along the way into lava. How wonderful."

Looking back, Kaido realized that the group had arrived in the Flower Capital, where the waves along the way were churning.

From afar, the first half of Onigashima had been transformed into a lava inferno, with countless Beast Pirates fleeing in disarray, struggling and swimming away into the distance amidst the waves.

"You bastard... from the very beginning! Great Vajra Thunder Bagua!"

With Conqueror's Haki swirling around him, Kaido in his dragon-man form stomped on the lava, neither dodging nor avoiding, charging straight toward the smiling figure whose eyes were full of mockery.

"Uchiha Huayue, die!"

"I have a general understanding of your level. This concludes the experiment on virtual objects. Thank you for your cooperation."

Bite!

As the thunder and dust dissipated, the people of the Flower Capital, who had been watching the outcome of the battle from the shadows, felt a chill run through them, and their expressions of disbelief lingered for a long time.

"Am I seeing things? That terrifying spiked club was actually pressed down with a single finger!"

"Whose samurai is this? How could there be such a powerful samurai in Wano Country?!"

"The savior has arrived! Wano Country will be at peace! The savior has arrived! Kurozumi Orochi is going to be in trouble!"

"But what if it's another pirate? Then we'll be facing someone even stronger than Kaido. What are we going to do...?"

Click! Click! Click!

No matter how hard Kaido tried, Hassaikai remained unmoved in his hand, as if gripped by fingers made of Seastone, a grip that even he, as Ability User of the Azure Dragon Form, could not shake.

"If possible, I hope you won't be too insistent. Trying to step on an ant but not completely crush it requires very little control over the force applied..."

With bloodshot eyes, Kaido roared to the sky, unleashing the boundless domineering aura contained within his body, and the resulting storm of wind and thunder struck straight towards Huayue.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention for a second and this guy rushed out. Sorry!"

Her full, cherry-colored lips parted slightly, and her bat-like wings slowly unfurled, enveloping the sky and the sun.

Like lovers' whispers, it made Kaido's eyes turn icy cold, and he could only find it hard to believe.

"Buckin Stussy? Impossible, more than ten years have passed, how could you still..."

"It doesn't matter. Dust destined to be crushed, no matter how much it struggles, the ending is already predetermined."

Just as Kaido was in shock, Huayue slowly raised his head and answered with a smile.

"Buckin Stussy? I'm sorry, that lady isn't here. The person standing before you is the God's Knights, Citrus..."

"Goodbye, you were truly excellent material."

The blade flashed, and the bull's horns on its head snapped off. Under Kaido's resentful gaze, the whole world spun around.

"I... lost? What kind of monster is this bastard???"

"Your Majesty, the Lineage Factor have been collected. Are we ready to depart? It's such a waste to just scatter such excellent blood on the ground like this."

Citrus is a clone of Stussy, an improved version of Vegapunk's clone. Because the Lineage Factor that Vegapunk left in Stussy was so interesting, Huayue simply didn't make any further changes.

"It's a pity we didn't get the original blood sample from the Lunarian Race, but there's not much difference anyway. The extra refining steps are always annoying. Let's go."

The demonic bird soared into the sky, Itsumaden flew away into the distance, letting out a strange cry.

Within Wano Country, countless Wano Country citizens, upon seeing this, knelt down and cried out in protest.

"The divine bird saved Wano Country, and the master of the divine bird saved Wano Country!"

"The evil Azure Dragon has been defeated by the divine bird master, and we are free!"

"Quickly, quickly, chain Kaido up with Seastone chains! It'll be troublesome once he wakes up..."

The remnants of the Kozuki Family clan, led by their leader, rallied the crowd, Wano Country rushed to the vicinity to search for the Seastone handcuffs, leg irons, and chains.

Among the crowd, the golden-haired saddle-belted grouper was frozen in place, the terrifying scene from before rendering him completely immobile.

"How is this possible? How could this be? How could the mighty Kaido be defeated by a mere human? Just a human, a mere human..."

Muttering to himself, his pupils trembling, Jack walked aimlessly towards the Wano Country. The terrifying scene left him at a loss for what to do.

In the distant Flower Capital, a young girl with smooth, golden hair and emerald green eyes gazed intently in the direction the demonic bird had departed, her heart pounding faster and faster.

"So powerful! It doesn't even look down on the Azure Dragon in the sky. That aggressive gaze is so captivating!"

"Maria, Maria! What are you doing here? Go back quickly, or things will get chaotic again."

Inside the Shogun's Residence in the Flower Capital, Kurozumi Orochi stared at the horrifying scene, still reeling from the shock.

Only after the birds had flown far away did he wipe away his cold sweat and jump up in frustration.

"Idiot! What kind of Four Emperors Kaido? He was killed by some mysterious person who appeared out of nowhere, and he even calls himself the Strongest Creature on Land, Sea, and Air, land, and air. Bah!"

"Fukurokuju, what are you standing there for? Go and wake Kaido up! A bunch of lowly commoners, do they think they can rebel in Wano Country?!"

When Orochi's ninja forces mobilized, an unprecedented sense of powerlessness suddenly overwhelmed him.

"What... what's going on?"

"You also smell of Devil Fruit; it seems to be a very rare variety. If I collect your Lineage Factor, His Majesty will surely praise me, hehehe..."

Raising his head, Kurozumi Orochi saw a stunningly beautiful blonde woman standing beside him, holding a syringe as big as an adult's arm.

"No... no!"