Kaido's sudden, devastating move instantly ignited the absolute wrath of the samurai under Kozuki Oden's command.
Denjiro, Kiku, Kurozumi Kanjuro, Raizo, Ashura Doji, Kawamatsu, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Izo—the Nine Red Scabbards—all simultaneously drew their katanas, pointing their gleaming blades directly at Kaido.
"Invader! How dare you harm Kin'emon!"
"Prepare to die, pirate trash!"
The hot-headed Denjiro was the first to charge with his blade raised high, but Kaido didn't even bother to explain himself or justify his actions, retaliating with a casual Thunder Bagua.
Denjiro was undeniably very strong. His swordsmanship transcended the basic 'Iron Cutting' level, allowing him to launch powerful Flying Slash Attacks, and he possessed a deep mastery of Advanced Armament Haki (Ryuo). Within the pirate power ranking system of the outside world, he would easily be considered a Supernova, perhaps even one of the stronger individuals among them.
However, even a master like Denjiro, when facing the absolute physical monstrosity of the current Kaido, found his downward-slashing blade effortlessly forced back by a single, casual strike. The terrifying kinetic impact immediately slammed into his chest, sending him flying backward through the air exactly like Kin'emon.
"Denjiro!!" The other samurai cried out in alarm at the sight of their peer being swatted like a fly.
The equally short-tempered Minks, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, roared and charged forward together, coordinating a lethal pincer attack.
However, the brutal outcome was absolutely no different.
Currently, they were simply no match for an Emperor's Vanguard in a direct, single encounter. Without the protagonist group's destiny-defying buffs brought by Luffy in the distant future, their true combat strength was merely above average—especially since this wasn't thirty-two years later as in the original timeline.
BOOM! BOOM!
With two successive, deafening bangs, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were also sent violently flying into the dirt.
"You dare! You dare!!"
"AHHH—!!"
The remaining samurai roared in blind anger and charged forward together in a desperate wave.
Kaido sneered, generously giving each and every one of them a devastating club strike.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Like a giant playing baseball with insects, each heavy strike sent a proud samurai flying through the air, coughing up blood. Only Ashura Doji, the most burly, corpulent, and physically resilient among them, managed to barely raise his blades and block one of Kaido's strikes. But even he was sent skidding backward, violently spitting blood from the sheer concussive blow.
"Uororororo! Your blind loyalty is commendable, but you brats have got one major thing wrong!"
After brutally teaching the Red Scabbards a lesson in manners, Kaido rested his spiked club lazily on his shoulder and laughed loudly.
"It was your idiot lord who wholeheartedly wanted to go out to sea! I didn't instigate him at all!" Kaido mocked, pointing his club at them. "Yet you immediately started making baseless accusations! Looking down on me from your high horses!"
"This time is a harsh lesson for you! To teach you arrogant frogs in the well what politeness means!!"
The Red Scabbards lay groaning on the ground, bleeding from their mouths and noses, utterly unable to retort upon hearing this brutal truth.
Just then, Kozuki Oden—who had easily snapped the thick ropes that bound Kin'emon and the others—stood up and once again picked up his two legendary swords.
"What you said might be very reasonable, pirate. But to lay such heavy, ruthless hands on my loyal retainers... if I, their lord, show no reaction to this disrespect, I fear they will be deeply disheartened!!"
As he spoke, Kozuki Oden's entire massive body erupted with incredibly powerful Haki and lethal killing intent. Advanced Armament Haki and Advanced Conqueror's Haki once again layered and coiled violently around his twin swords, emitting a terrifying hum.
"Uorororo! It's just the battle naturally continuing, Oden!"
Kaido's body also erupted with powerful Haki again, his spiked club entwined with crackling three-colored lightning. But the Oni didn't forget to continue his psychological, verbal assault.
"As the ancient saying goes: If the teaching isn't strict, it's the teacher's fault!" Kaido sneered. "Although you are not their teacher, you are their Lord! If your retainers completely lack politeness and discipline, it must be due to your own profound laziness as their leader! They were taught a bloody lesson by me, but the responsibility actually lies entirely with you!!"
Kozuki Oden gritted his teeth, making a loud, grinding sound.
"I am not in need of your damn lecturing!!"
His left foot, clad in a heavy wooden geta, stomped forcefully, creating a shallow, spiderweb-cracked pit in the bedrock. The sheer recoil propelled Kozuki Oden forward like a fired cannonball.
"Oden Two-Sword Style: Togen Shirataki!!" (Paradise Waterfall)
Watching the fully enraged Kozuki Oden approach, Kaido switched from holding his spiked club with one hand to gripping it tightly with both hands.
He stomped on the ground, drawing kinetic power from the earth, channeling it directly into his massive arms, mixing it with two-colored lightning and flowing Armament Haki, and swinging with absolute, unrestrained force.
CLAAAANG!!!
The twin swords and the spiked club collided violently in mid-air. The sheer, overwhelming Haki energy generated from the friction instantly formed a massive, pulsating red energy sphere between the three weapons.
Numerous jagged, black-and-red lightning bolts spread wildly across the sky like cracks in solid glass.
High above them, the thick, dark storm clouds that had gathered due to Kaido transforming into his dragon-human form violently split apart. A massive, clear chasm formed in the middle of the sky, with the clouds churning violently upwards away from the clash.
"The sky... it split..."
Ashura Doji, who had just barely withstood one of Kaido's attacks, stared blankly at the heavens, clutching his bleeding chest. This was the first time he had ever seen an outsider capable of fighting Kozuki Oden to such a god-like extent.
"AHHH—!!"
Kozuki Oden let out an angry, desperate roar, completely enraged because his retainers had been so casually humiliated.
"Uororororo!!"
Kaido, on the other hand, laughed loudly over the deafening hum of colliding Haki.
He deeply enjoyed the primal feeling of clashing with a truly strong opponent. Before his retainers arrived, Kozuki Oden was only using about ninety percent of his strength out of playfulness, and Kaido wasn't enjoying the fight very much. Now, after deliberately provoking him, Kozuki Oden had completely gone berserk, and Kaido could finally unleash his full, equivalent, monstrous power.
"Uorororo! That's it! Let's have an intense, death-match battle!!"
BOOM!!
The massive Haki energy mass, compressed and squeezed between the weapons, was forcefully detonated, and the three weapons finally ground past each other.
Kaido's arm muscles swelled unnaturally, unleashing his second-stage physical power to forcefully send Kozuki Oden flying.
Kozuki Oden flew backward at incredibly high speed, directly smashing completely through a small mountain on the rocky outskirts of the port's open ground.
"Uorororo!" Kaido laughed maniacally as he actively pursued, taking a great, ground-shattering leap, his spiked club descending from the sky like a meteor.
"Descent of the Three Worlds: Infernal Slumber!!"
Kozuki Oden rolled haphazardly, narrowly dodging Kaido's apocalyptic smash. The spiked club missed him, but the sheer kinetic impact utterly shattered the bedrock base of the entire small mountain. Wild, untamed Haki spread violently through the earth, tearing open deep crack after crack.
Kozuki Oden took the opportunity to spring back, readjusting his dual-wielding stance.
"Roaring Thunder Bagua!!"
"Oden Two-Sword Style: Samuraime Daikon!!" (Searing Sword)
The continuous clash of powerhouses triggered violent, hurricane-force gusts of wind, sending the heavily injured, groaning Red Scabbards tumbling away one after another.
Ashura Doji, being in the best physical condition, caught them one by one, dragging them to take cover behind the shattered rock ruins, watching the apocalyptic battle from a safe distance in sheer awe.
"This outsider... his strength is absolutely terrifying," Ashura Doji muttered, gripping his hilt. "Lord Oden... you absolutely must not lose!"
"No!" Kin'emon gasped, spitting blood. "Lord Oden is invincible! He will definitely not lose!!"
This second, absolutely feral round of battle lasted directly from the evening until dawn.
Then, from dawn, it continued violently until the dawn of the third day.
Ultimately, it was Kozuki Oden—relying entirely on his human stamina—who first ran out of gas, signaling the end of the combat phase.
Of course, Kaido was not much better off.
Although his current physical strength and Mythical Zoan stamina pool were greater than Kozuki Oden's, it wasn't by a massive, insurmountable margin. So, even though Kaido had technically won the brutal battle of attrition, he was also panting heavily, his whole indestructible body aching with deep, bleeding cuts from Enma.
"Uorororo... In the end... I still won!!"
Kaido leaned heavily on his spiked club, barely maintaining a standing posture, but his massive body had already reverted to its initial, normal human state to conserve energy.
Kozuki Oden lay flat on his back on the shattered ground, his chest heaving as he breathed heavily.
"I'm so incredibly frustrated," Oden gasped, staring up at the clouds. "This is my absolute first defeat."
Enma and Ame no Habakiri lay scattered on either side of his bruised body; Kozuki Oden simply no longer had the grip strength to hold the legendary swords.
A hint of cunning, political shrewdness flashed in Kaido's tired eyes as he casually, seemingly innocently, asked his opponent a question.
"In your isolated country... are there any beings stronger than you? Or other strong individuals like you? I want to challenge them!"
"Ha!" Kozuki Oden chuckled weakly, closing his eyes.
"I also wish such beings existed here. Then I wouldn't be so damn bored."
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