Noro slowly drew his Sun Eater halberd. With another swing, he severed the head of Kozuki Sukiyaki, leaving the man's eyes wide in death.
Hyouzou, Ushimaru, the remaining Daimyo, and all the samurai present were struck dumb.
The sheer brutality of the scene left their minds blank. They stared, transfixed, as Kozuki Sukiyaki's head rolled across the ground.
The Shogun… was dead?
The supreme ruler of Wano… was dead?
As if he were no more than a stray dog, casually slain?
For generations, the Kozuki Family had ruled Wano, their authority unquestioned. To kill the Shogun… it was unthinkable.
Even when the previous Shogun had grown old and frail, lacking an heir, the Kurozumi Family had only dared to target the other Daimyo. Never had they considered laying a hand on the Shogun himself.
As the shock receded, an uncontrollable rage surged forth.
This man… dared to murder their Shogun!
His crime demanded death!
Blinded by fury, they disregarded the disparity in strength, charging towards Noro.
Ushimaru and Hyouzou led the charge, their longswords imbued with the full force of their anger towards the intruder.
Noro paid them no heed, strolling leisurely towards the rolling head of Kozuki Sukiyaki.
Reaching the severed head, Noro stopped. He slowly raised his foot…
And brought it down.
The head of Kozuki Sukiyaki shattered instantly, a mess of red and white splattering the ground.
This act momentarily halted the samurai charging towards Noro, their fury intensified.
"You seek death!"
Ushimaru and Hyouzou reached Noro, one blade aimed at his heart, the other at his neck.
Noro neither dodged nor blocked, allowing the attacks to strike him squarely.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the air. The swords of Ushimaru and Hyouzou met resistance as if they had struck steel, sparks flying.
No, they could cut through steel. But they could not pierce Noro's Armament Haki.
A mocking smile touched Noro's lips. "Your Armament Haki… is lacking."
See? Even with Ryuo, they cannot break my defense! My mastery of Armament Haki far surpasses theirs!
God knows why, in the original story, anyone who knew Ryuo could go up and fight Kaido.
Oden, perhaps. But the Nine Red Scabbards? They were not worthy!
Does Kaido not possess Armament Haki?
To give these Wano samurai their moment in the spotlight, they abandoned all sense of logic!
The faces of Ushimaru and Hyouzou paled, a sense of utter despair washing over them.
A casual swing from him required their full strength to parry. Even with Armament Haki, they could not break his defense!
Not even against Oden had they felt such a crushing disparity.
How can we fight this battle?
And what is this madman's purpose?
Even if he seeks to invade and rule Wano, why begin with murder?
The feeling was…
Pure venting of rage!
But Wano has been closed off for centuries, adhering to its ancient Asian traditions. When did we ever provoke him?
At that moment, a chilling aura erupted from Noro, Conqueror's Haki surging skyward, a storm of dark red lightning crackling around him.
The overwhelming force staggered Ushimaru and Hyouzou.
The approaching Daimyo and samurai collapsed one after another, foaming at the mouth and unconscious.
The samurai guarding the Shogun and Daimyo were the elite of Wano.
Yet, they could not withstand the impact of Noro's Conqueror's Haki at such close range.
Even the few who managed to remain conscious knelt on one knee, struggling to maintain their balance.
Suppressing his fury, Ushimaru gritted his teeth and asked, "May I ask, what offense has Wano committed against you? Why do you treat our nation in this way?"
Noro smiled faintly. "One of my crewmates went missing in your Wano!"
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Ushimaru lost all composure, roaring in anger.
Noro chuckled. "So, you admit it is nonsense!"
Ignoring their reaction, Noro continued, "This Sun Eater halberd, forged from the finest steel and tempered with lightning and fire… do you know its name?"
"What?" Hyouzou asked, bewildered.
"It is called 'Sun Eater'."
"And this technique… is also called…"
"Sun Eater!"
As the words left his lips, dark red lightning crackled and danced across the blade of the Sun Eater halberd, imbued with Conqueror's Haki.
Noro gripped the Sun Eater halberd tightly, swinging it in a sweeping arc towards Ushimaru and Hyouzou.
A crescent-shaped slash, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, tore through the air, whistling towards them.
The faces of Ushimaru and Hyouzou twisted in horror as they desperately raised their weapons to defend.
But a slash imbued with Conqueror's Haki was beyond their ability to withstand.
The longswords of Ushimaru and Hyouzou shattered upon contact.
"Impossible!"
The slash continued its trajectory, striking Ushimaru and Hyouzou squarely.
The terrifying force caused their eyes to roll back, blood gushing from their mouths as they lost consciousness.
Their bodies were swept away by the slash, crashing through buildings and trees, finally slamming into the ground far away, their fates unknown.
One move, two down. It's not that Noro is far stronger than Kaido, but that the so-called strongest samurai of Wano, second only to Oden, and the boss of the Flower Capital's underworld, are simply not on Oden's level.
"Run!"
Even the most foolish samurai now understood that they were no match for Noro.
As reality dawned, their fury dissipated, replaced by an overwhelming fear!
If Ushimaru and Hyouzou had fallen, what chance did they have?
Noro had no intention of letting them escape. Gripping the Sun Eater halberd, he pursued them.
A halberd strike for a Daimyo on the left, a sword slash for a samurai on the right.
Moments later, all the Daimyo and samurai lay dead at Noro's hand.
Noro returned to the samurai who had been knocked unconscious by his Conqueror's Haki, crushing their hearts.
Then, dragging the Sun Eater halberd, he slowly approached Ushimaru and Hyouzou.
They were not yet dead, merely unconscious.
Noro was not like Kaido, always trying to recruit this one and that one, only to fail and cause himself trouble.
In the original story, Ushimaru directly turned Kaido's daughter against him, turning her into a filial daughter who opposed Kaido for twenty years.
Hyouzou also taught Luffy Ryuo Haki in prison.
It was simply self-inflicted!
Noro did not hesitate. He raised his Sun Eater halberd and brought it down, severing the heads of Ushimaru and Hyouzou.
===
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