Ryuma said, flipping Shusui in his grip once more. In the next instant, a massive circular burst of slash energy shot from the tip of his blade, severing Jack's remaining braid. Right then and there, Jack was left sporting a full-on bowl cut!
Even Jack's subordinates—members of the Beast Pirates—could barely hold back their laughter at the sight!
Of course, if anyone actually dared to crack a smile, Jack's brutal nature meant they'd be dead men on the spot.
Ryuma struck a pose without sheathing Shusui. The technique he had just unleashed was none other than Soul Sever.
He paused to wonder if he was being a bit too impatient. His original plan was to eliminate Jack and claim his Elephant-Elephant Fruit, Ancient Model: Mammoth. But he had only just arrived in this world—what right did he have to take on someone of Jack's caliber head-on right away?
Then again... Jack had wanted him to join the Beast Pirates and meet Kaidou! Knowing Ryuma's pride, he would rather die on the battlefield than agree to that. After all, Wano was his home, and these invaders were nothing more than plunderers occupying his land.
Jack let out a roar, practically shrieking from the depth of his throat. After a long moment, his human rage morphed into the deafening bellow of a giant elephant!
The noise echoed like thunder.
Ryuma kept his eyes locked on Jack. He knew full well that in his mammoth form, Jack was not to be taken lightly. His destructive power was immense. With Ryuma's current physical frame, getting close was out of the question—one swipe of that trunk would crush him to dust!
Just then, the surrounding samurai and Beast Pirate lackeys exchanged nervous glances. They drew their weapons, preparing to swarm Ryuma all at once.
"If Lord Jack is going all out, shouldn't we jump in too?"
"Yeah! There's no need to play fair with a bloodthirsty freak like him!"
"Charge together! Wipe him out in one shot!"
Hearing the senseless chatter of these insects, Ryuma's blood boiled with irritation.
He turned and glared at them.
That single glance hit like a physical blow, freezing them dead in their tracks. Their mouths snapped shut, silence instantly falling over the crowd.
A minute later, one man turned pale as a sheet and collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Then came a second, a third...
A visible ripple burst forth from Ryuma, expanding outward in a massive, crushing wave of intimidation!
Within three minutes, the samurai and the Beast Pirates brought along by Jack collapsed completely. Those lacking raw strength fell unconscious without a sound, while the stronger ones, unable to withstand the overwhelming force of Ryuma's Conqueror's Haki, lay writhing uncontrollably on the earth!
Ryuma looked down at them, sighing with a weary shake of his head. "Ah... why bother?"
Jack gasped in horror at the scene, taking an involuntary step back. "You... you have Conqueror's Haki?!"
"Obviously. What else would it be?"
This time, Jack was utterly stunned. He had never heard of such a formidable powerhouse existing on this island!
Beside him, Kurozumi Orochi was equally bewildered. How could there be a samurai this powerful in Wano without anyone knowing about it?
Could he really be the legendary dragon-slaying swordsman, Sword God Ryuma?
The thought terrified Orochi, but he quickly shook his head in denial. No way, impossible! Ryuma died centuries ago! How could a wet-behind-the-ears kid be a legendary figure like Ryuma?!
"So, do you two still want to fight, or what?" Ryuma asked lazily, not even bothering to waste more words.
Jack and Orochi traded terrified glances, turned tail, and bolted as fast as their legs could carry them!
Watching the two flee like cornered rats, Ryuma's lips curled into a amused smirk.
"And here I thought you guys were tough. Turns out you're nothing special..." he chuckled, shaking his head.
Then, turning back to look at the fallen Wano samurai and pirate crew members, he began to ponder.
What should he do with them?
Killing them all outright felt a bit too ruthless. Although he wasn't the ancient Ryuma in the literal sense, his soul had merged with the legendary swordsman, making him virtually identical in nature. Finishing off these incapacitated men felt no different than slaughtering defenseless Wano warriors... doing that would make him no better than a common criminal.
Finally, he came up with a compromise.
He would spare the local samurai.
As for the Beast Pirates, however, he had to finish them off—every last one! He reasoned that since the Beast Pirates were stacked with Zoan Devil Fruit users, taking them out might yield a hefty bounty of Devil Fruits for himself!
With that in mind, he raised his blade and thrust it straight through the heart of one of the pirate crew members.
He waited for the system notification announcing his new Devil Fruit acquisition, but to his surprise, total silence followed. It seemed he had overthought things.
"System, what's going on here?" he asked out loud.
Ding! Host, the target you just eliminated was not a genuine Devil Fruit user.
"Say what?" Ryuma blinked in disbelief. That didn't make sense—the guy clearly had the traits of a Zoan user!
After thinking it over for a moment, the truth clicked.
He remembered that while the Beast Pirates boasted an army of Devil Fruit wielders, genuine Devil Fruits weren't nearly abundant enough to feed an entire crew. Most of these low-level grunts were actually fed mass-produced Artificial Devil Fruits!
While Artificial Devil Fruits shared similarities with the real deal, their power and stability fell far short. If memory served, a twisted scientist named Caesar, working under Doflamingo, had been running research on these artificial fruits for a long time.
Looking down at the remaining pirates, Ryuma lost his appetite for slaughter. He decided he might as well do them a favor and let them be.
Taking a deep breath, he sheathed the black blade Shusui and walked away with long, confident strides. He didn't want to waste any more time here.
The immediate threat had passed, but there was no telling what story Jack would spin to Kaidou once he got back.
Meanwhile, in another part of the region...
Orochi and Jack were still running for their lives, panting heavily.
Orochi was out of breath, his face pale with lingering terror as he stared wide-eyed at Jack. "Lord Jack... what do we do now?!"
Jack was equally distraught. This was the first time he had ever suffered such humiliation since setting sail. His pupils shrank with rage as he barked back, "What else CAN we do?! We get back to Lord Kaidou right now! Only Lord Kaidou can settle this score for us!"
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN MORE CHAPTERS, I HAVE 60+ STORED IN MY:
[email protected]/xiram21