"Oni Slash."
The moment those two words fell—
the entire Hannabal changed.
A suffocating ripple spread outward, as if space itself were trembling. Wave after wave of invisible force surged through the vast underground arena.
That force—
was no ordinary power.
It was pure, overwhelming demonic energy.
Kairos raised Higekiri—
and brought it down.
This strike—
recreated the legend of the oni blade that severed Ibaraki-dōji's arm at Rashomon Gate.
At that moment—
Kairos no longer looked human.
He looked like an ancient demon god reborn from a sea of corpses.
This slash—
was beyond comprehension.
Unstoppable.
Unmatched.
It felt as though the entire Hannabal would be split in two.
Even a pirate worth a billion berries—
would be cut down without resistance.
Before such power—
Mushul's toxic spores meant nothing.
They never even reached the blade.
The shockwave alone—
erased them completely.
Like snow melting beneath the spring sun.
"You—"
Mushul couldn't even finish his sentence.
The blade-light swallowed him whole.
Just like the spores—
he was erased.
Gone.
Buried forever within this place.
But—
it didn't end there.
That single slash stretched—
over a hundred meters.
BOOM!!
The blade-light roared forward, tearing through everything in its path.
The fourth-level corridor—
split apart instantly.
Wood, stone, earth—
everything was reduced to dust and debris.
Within the reach of that strike—
all life was extinguished.
Dozens of pirates—
vanished without even a scream.
And then—
chaos erupted.
"AHHHHH—!!"
"I'm falling!!"
"Someone kill that madman!!"
The fourth level had been packed with people.
Kairos' strike didn't just kill—
it destroyed the structure itself.
The entire level collapsed.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of pirates lost their footing.
Panic spread like wildfire.
BOOM!!
Within seconds—
the fourth level gave way completely, crashing down onto the third.
The entire Hannabal shook violently.
And then—
rage exploded.
Tens of thousands of pirates roared in fury.
"Kairos D. Vale is insane!! He's trying to kill us all!"
"We can't let him continue—if we don't kill him, we die!"
Their voices merged into a deafening roar.
This was no longer anger.
This was survival.
Kairos—
had declared war on all of Hannabal.
He stood alone—
against an army.
And then—
a voice rang out.
Low.
Cold.
Filled with endless malice.
It cut through the chaos—
and reached every ear.
"None of you… are leaving alive."
Silence.
For a single moment—
everything stopped.
Through the smoke—
a figure stepped forward.
Floating.
Suspended in midair.
His left eye burned crimson—
like a sea of blood and corpses swirling within.
Kairos.
"Kill him!!!"
The roar erupted once more.
This time—
they charged.
Hundreds—
then thousands—
surged forward.
Blades.
Guns.
Explosives.
An avalanche of violence.
The pressure of their killing intent alone—
felt like a tidal wave crashing down.
And still more came.
Not just hundreds.
Not just thousands.
But nearly ten thousand pirates.
A force capable of overwhelming even a Marine Vice Admiral.
One against ten thousand.
Who could survive that?
Gunfire erupted.
Blades flashed.
Rockets screamed through the air.
The battlefield turned into a storm of destruction.
And yet—
Kairos smiled.
A twisted, chilling smile.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA—!"
It echoed like something crawling out of hell itself.
Then—
BOOM!!
A terrifying pressure burst outward.
Demonic.
Oppressive.
Absolute.
In that instant—
every pirate froze.
Their bodies trembled.
Their instincts screamed.
Some nearly collapsed to their knees.
They looked up—
at the source.
At Kairos.
Purple demonic energy surged violently around him, so dense it seemed almost solid.
Space itself warped.
Light bent.
Bullets—
stopped midair.
Frozen.
Even time itself seemed to hesitate.
His black hair whipped wildly in the storm.
Beside him—
a massive demonic arm, like that of an ancient oni—
gripped Higekiri.
And in Kairos' own hands—
two more blades formed.
Tomogiri.
Shishino-ko.
Three blades.
One man.
Against ten thousand.
The battlefield fell into a suffocating silence.
And then—
the slaughter was about to begin.
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