The screen continued. Soon, the purple card flipped—and the drawn character appeared in front of Kaien.
"It's actually him!!"
The man on the card had deep blue hair, shark-like facial features, matching skin tone, jagged teeth, golden pupils, and a forehead protector from Kirigakure crossed with a slash—marking him as a rogue ninja. He wore the signature black cloak with red clouds of the Akatsuki organization and carried a massive sword on his back.
Kisame Hoshigaki.
That's right! This time, Kaien had drawn none other than Kisame, a member of the Akatsuki from Naruto.
Kisame was first introduced as Itachi's partner, and among the Akatsuki, he had a surprisingly large amount of screen time for a villain.
His strength was also undeniable. Despite being a villain, he stuck to his own beliefs from beginning to end. When he realized escape was impossible, he chose to summon his summoning beast and commit suicide to protect the secrets of the Akatsuki.
Kaien had always remembered that scene—it left a strong impression. Kisame was, without a doubt, a man of conviction.
But now wasn't the time to reminisce about the story.
Now that he had pulled a Purple Character Card, there was no need to recall one of his more valuable Gold Cards.
Kaien immediately selected the Kisame card and tapped "Recycle."
[Ding! Recycle rare character card Kisame Hoshigaki?]
"Yes!"
[Ding! Recycle successful. Mana acquired: ★★]
Suddenly—
A powerful wave of mana surged into Kaien's body, not only restoring everything he had previously used, but also greatly increasing his maximum mana.
"Humans are still as weak as they were 400 years ago! But watching you crawl and struggle—it really is entertaining! Hahahaha!!"
"Your Majesty!!"
Many soldiers rushed forward, trying to save the king.
"Run!! Inform all citizens! Everyone must evacuate! No one is allowed to remain in the kingdom!!"
The king roared.
After watching his carefully forged Dragon Slayer Sword shatter and seeing how not even the strongest Nine-Star Swordsmen could scratch the dragon, he finally understood—those legends written in the royal archives were real. Every dragon could destroy a country with ease.
Creatures like this… weren't something humans could defeat.
All he could do now was try to let as many people escape as possible. The kingdom… was finished.
"Run? You think you can run? Go ahead—try it."
The purple-haired youth licked his lips. He was ready to feast.
Suddenly—
A voice rang out:
"Excuse me. Could you let go of His Majesty? He's my client, after all."
Everyone turned in shock to the source of the voice—and saw a handsome black-haired, black-eyed young man walking toward them.
"Mr. Kaien!!"
Many instantly recognized him. He was the one who had single-handedly wiped out five Nine-Star Beasts just moments ago.
Under normal circumstances, Kaien's appearance might've filled them with hope—but now, the gap between dragon and human felt insurmountable. All they could feel was despair.
"Oh? It's you. I saw your performance earlier—you're quite strong. If you swear loyalty to me, I might even let you live."
The purple-haired youth remembered Kaien well. His strength was already comparable to a low-tier dragon. If Kaien had dragon blood, he might even pose a threat. But he was just a human—no matter how strong, without Dragon Power, he couldn't harm a real dragon.
And since Alazham had just reemerged after centuries, he needed powerful subordinates. Kaien was just right.
"Kaien, run!!"
Erza shouted to him.
She bitterly regretted dragging him into this. If she hadn't insisted on taking an S-Class Mission, the guild master wouldn't have assigned Kaien to accompany her. He wouldn't have gotten caught up in this death trap.
The strength of a dragon… was just too overwhelming.
Kaien walked over to her side and gently lifted her into his arms. Then, without a word, he turned and began walking away.
"…"
The battlefield fell into a strange silence.
Kaien carried Erza back toward the city wall.
"Kaien… you…"
Kaien gave her a dazzling, reassuring smile.
"Don't worry. I'll handle this guy."
He turned back toward the purple-haired youth, who watched him with amusement, curious to see what new trick this boy might try.
Kaien stepped forward—and as he walked, he chanted:
"Full Take Over: Yoriichi Tsugikuni!!"
With his first step, Kaien's irises turned red.
With the second, his facial features subtly shifted. He now wore paper earrings with red suns.
With the third, his hair began to grow rapidly—then turned deep crimson, tied into a high ponytail.
With the fourth, his outfit transformed into a samurai's uniform, complete with a flowing red haori.
With the fifth, a long katana appeared at his waist.
With the sixth, a strange, fiery-red mark or tattoo bloomed across his left forehead.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni!!"
Everyone except the purple-haired youth was stunned by Kaien's transformation.
That appearance—his stance—anyone who had seen today's Continental Swordmaster Tournament could never forget it.
This was the man who had crushed the Nine-Star Swordsmen with overwhelming force.
The one who had become the strongest swordsman in the world in a single day.
Everyone had wondered where such a swordsman came from. With skill like that, his name should've been known across the entire Ishgar continent.
And yet, before the tournament, no one had ever heard of Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
Then, after the tournament, he vanished. Even when the monster army arrived, he never showed up.
Many had assumed he fled in fear.
Now… they realized how terribly wrong they were.
He never left. He had simply been saving the kingdom under a different name.
"Y-Yoriichi…?"
Arthur looked at Kaien in disbelief. He didn't even know what to call him anymore—Kaien? Yoriichi? His mind was buzzing louder than when he found out the purple-haired man was a dragon.
"Call me Kaien. Yoriichi is just an alias."
After all, it wasn't really his name—and it always felt a bit awkward.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"Mr. Kaien… you… how…?"
Even the old king was baffled.
"Sorry, Your Majesty! I'm kinda broke. The prize money looked tempting, so I entered the tournament… and, well, I accidentally won. You will still pay the champion prize, right?"
"T-That's not the problem… I mean, the country is…"
The king was still reeling. He wanted to pay him, but with the country on the verge of destruction, what difference did money make?
Kaien chuckled.
"That's simple. I will just kill him."