Ever since Luffy and his crew wreaked havoc in Udon,
In the following period, the atmosphere within Wano Country became extremely strange.
The Beasts Pirates went berserk, dispatching a large number of troops to conduct a massive search throughout Wano Country.
Flower Capital, Udon, Hakumai, Kibi —every town, every street, every shop was turned upside down.
The pirates in black uniforms kicked down the doors of civilians' homes, violently overturned furniture, and pinned anyone who looked suspicious to the ground for questioning.
Strangely, their search area seemed to deliberately avoid Kuri.
Occasionally, a few careless patrols would wander into Kuri territory, but before they could even walk half a mile, they would be silently eliminated by the Straw Hat Alliance.
The bodies were dragged deep into the forest and buried. Robin used her Flower-Flower Fruit to clean up all traces of the battle, as if those people had never existed.
Meanwhile, Luffy's side also fell completely silent.
The wooden door of the Oden residence, which was mostly broken, remained tightly closed all day long. No one spoke loudly in the courtyard anymore, and smoke only dared to rise from the chimneys late at night.
Everyone seemed to be gathering their strength, waiting for a certain signal.
·········
Kuri, Kozuki Oden's residence.
This old house, which had been dilapidated for twenty years, has recently come to life again.
The wildly growing weeds in the courtyard were cleared away by the Nine Red Scabbards, and Franky rebuilt the half-collapsed courtyard wall using the surrounding rubble.
Although it was still rudimentary, at least we had a place to stay.
At this moment, the largest main room in the mansion was packed with people.
Hyogoro sat cross-legged in the middle, holding a common stone in his hand, explaining the techniques of Ryuo to those around him.
Surrounding him were members of the Straw Hat Pirates, the Nine Red Scabbards, four Supernovas, and several representatives of the released samurai.
"The essence of Ryuo lies not in the quantity of its Haki, but in its fluidity."
Hyogoro placed the stone on the ground and gently touched it with his finger.
The stone's surface was intact, but a faint cracking sound could be heard coming from inside.
"Ordinary Armament Haki Hardening is treating Haki as Haki, covering the body's surface."
But Ryuo is different—it allows Haki to seep into objects like water, destroying them from the inside out.
He turned the stone over, and everyone crowded around to take a look. On the back of the stone was a hole the size of a pinhole, and the inside of the hole had been crushed into powder.
"The members of the Beasts Pirates have extremely terrifying defensive capabilities; ordinary attacks simply cannot penetrate their defenses."
To truly harm them, one must master Ryuo —injecting Haki into their bodies to bypass external defenses and directly destroy their muscles and internal organs.
Zoro sat cross-legged in the corner, with Wado Ichimonji lying across his lap.
He closed his eyes, his fingers slowly gliding along the blade, creating a faint pink halo—the traces of flowing Ryuo blossoms on the edge.
He had practiced this move countless times in Udon Prison, and now he could reliably incorporate Ryuo into the starting stance of the Three-Sword Style.
Sanji leaned against the wall, a sliver of fire occasionally flashing at his right ankle.
He's also trying to incorporate Ryuo into Diable Jambe, but his progress is much slower than Zoro's.
Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and the others were listening attentively, but their Haki foundation was too weak, let alone their Ryuo.
"Anyway, let's master Ryuo first! As long as..."
Hyogoro was about to continue his explanation, Luffy suddenly raised his hand, interrupting Hyogoro.
"Grandpa, I have a question."
Hyogoro turned to look at him. "Brother Luffy, what's up?"
Luffy sat cross-legged on the ground, arms crossed, his brows furrowed tightly.
He recalled the scene of his battle with Kaido in the Flower Capital—
The black and red Inazuma around Kaido's spiked club created a chilling, oppressive feeling that sent shivers down one's spine.
And the feeling of powerlessness when his full-force attack, King Kong Gun, struck Kaido's head but didn't even break the skin.
"When Kaido hit me, the thing wrapped around his spiked club—"
It was black and red, crackling and Ryuo.
Luffy gestured, trying to describe the feeling, " Ryuo destroys from the inside, but Kaido's attack hadn't even touched me yet, and I felt like I was about to be knocked away."
That's not Ryuo, is it?
Hyogoro was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"Brother Luffy is right."
That was definitely not Ryuo, and it wasn't even the application of Armament Haki.
He looked around, his voice becoming low and solemn.
"That's a high-level application of Conqueror's Haki — Conqueror's Haki Coating."
The room fell silent for a moment.
" Conqueror's Haki Coating?"
Kid frowned.
"Isn't Conqueror's Haki only useful for intimidating weaklings?"
How can it still be wrapped around a weapon?
"Regular Conqueror's Haki only has a deterrent effect."
Hyogoro explained,
"However, in the ancient legends of Wano Country, there are a very few top-tier powerhouses who possess Conqueror's Haki."
It allows one to Conqueror's Haki coating for attacks.
This technique is even more difficult to master than Ryuo, and its power is far more terrifying.
An opponent struck by Conqueror's Haki Coating will suffer internal organ damage from the overwhelming force, even if they manage to block the attack.
"In the history of Wano Country, as far as I know, only Kozuki Oden possessed this skill."
A flicker of reminiscence crossed Hyogoro's eyes.
"Perhaps the legendary dragon-slaying Ryuma also possessed a similar ability, but there is no evidence to prove it now."
Luffy's eyes lit up when he heard this:
" Conqueror's Haki? I have that too!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an invisible wave exploded from his body.
Dark red Inazuma crackled and danced around him, and everyone in the room felt a heavy sense of oppression pressing down on them.
Chopper rolled his eyes and collapsed to the ground.
Usopp's legs trembled, and he curled up in a ball, clutching his head. Nami's face was pale, but she barely managed to stay upright.
Several weaker warriors were also swaying precariously, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.
Luffy quickly withdrew his Conqueror's Haki and scratched his head:
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Hyogoro gave a wry smile:
" Luffy's Conqueror's Haki's Haki is truly amazing."
But I don't understand how to use this Conqueror's Haki Coating technique.
This technique is so advanced that probably only Kaido himself has mastered it in Wano Country.
Luffy's face immediately fell, and his lips pouted so much they could hang an oil bottle on them.
"Then I won't be able to learn it..."
"Not necessarily."
A soft voice came from the corner.
Everyone turned their heads at the same time and saw Kozuki Hiyori walking out of the inner room.
Today she was wearing a plain white kimono, her long green hair was casually tied up with a wooden hairpin, and her face was still covered by that thin veil.
She was holding a thick booklet in her hands.
The booklet's cover was worn out, and the paper was yellowed and brittle.
There are water stains and burn marks on the edges, but it is still well preserved.