Pirate: It’s not a phantom beast, it’s a phantom god!

Chapter 364 Trace On
Tick ​​tock~tick tock~tick tock~
"hu~hu~"

Heavy breathing echoed across the field, accompanied by the dripping sound of liquid...

"Um..."

Having reverted to human form, Jin knelt on one knee, pressing his hand to his chest, blood flowing uncontrollably through his fingers.

This time it wasn't just a simple cut in the skin; internal organs were damaged.

The almost insurmountable physical strength of the Lunaria clan was once again cleaved open by the man's sword... Jin stared at the two-sword-wielding samurai before him, seemingly trying to memorize his face.

At that moment, Shimotsuki Ushimaru turned around and looked at Jin.

"As I suspected, it was those flames protecting you."

"If you want to hurt me, you'll have to put out all those flames first... Am I right?"

Niuwan then revealed Jin's secret.

He's right. The flames of the Lunaria race are not only powerful weapons of attack, but also the strongest shield.

As long as the flames continue to burn, they are practically protected, as if wearing a thick layer of armor...

Therefore, under normal circumstances, to harm these [gods], one must either rely on overwhelming strength far exceeding theirs or wait for them to extinguish their flames on their own.

But Niuwan chose the third option—to directly extinguish Jin's flames.

In order to one day achieve the great feat of slaying a dragon, Shimotsuki Ushimaru specially practiced slashes targeting flames in order to deal with the legendary 'dragon's' breath.

"I never expected to need it here!"

da~
With the knife in his left hand slung over his shoulder, Ushimaru raised the remaining knife and pointed the tip at Jin, who was still kneeling on the ground clutching his wound.

"You've lost, pirate."

"..."

"Ohhhhhhhhh!"

Before Jin could say anything more, a deafening cheer instantly engulfed the entire Imperial Square!

At this moment, almost everyone in Wano Country, except for Orochi's personal guards, raised their hands and cheered!

\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/\O/!

They won! Wano Country won!

The daimyo of Wano Country defeated these outsiders in the sacred "Imperial Duel"!
The scene of Ushimaru pointing his knife at Jin was just like a scene from a legend where a samurai subdues a great monster that is causing havoc in the region.

"This this……!"

"you!"

The giant serpent panicked completely. The cheers that surged up below were like a tsunami, threatening to drown this general who had gained his position illegitimately.

Defeating the outsider in full view of everyone, the victory in the "Imperial Duel" directly propelled Shimotsuki Ushimaru's prestige to its peak.

If he were to raise his voice at this moment, the consequences would be...

"Hey! Big snake!"

"Alas--!"

Just as the giant snake was trying to escape and cover up the incident, Shimotsuki Ushimaru suddenly shouted his name from below.

Now all eyes were on him again.

"I won."

"According to the rules of the [Imperial Duel], I hereby rescind your order to let these pirates in and expel them!"

Ushimaru's tone showed no respect for the general, and he even pointed his sword at Orochi... but this time no one came forward to rebuke his rudeness.

"This, this..."

"Expel these outsiders, leave no one alive!"

Seeing Orochi's hesitant attitude, Denjiro in the crowd below simply started the rhythm again, and soon others joined in.

"Drive them out, leave no one behind!"

"Expel them all, leave no one alive!"
Although many people were stunned by Kaido's Haki, they were all ordinary civilians. Samurai and knights were not greatly affected.

These people still shouted with great vigor, even more so than before.

"You, you all...you want to rebel?"

"Stop immediately! This general orders you to stop immediately!"

The giant snake roared, but the shouts of the crowd did not diminish in the slightest.

"Kaido! Why are you just standing there?!"

"..."

"Tons, tons, tons~"

"Hehehe~ What's the rush? We've already sent someone down."

"what?"

Upon hearing Kaido's words, Orochi turned his gaze to the field and, sure enough, saw a small figure appear beside King.

……

"Are you alright, Jhin?"

"Phew, I'm fine."

Jin forced himself to stand up, but his steps were still unsteady.

Although he said he was fine, it was obvious that he was seriously injured; otherwise, given his personality, he would have definitely forced himself to continue fighting Niuwan.

For some reason, swordsmen in this world seem to have a talent for 'one-hit kill'... No matter how much they were suppressed before, as long as they seize the opening, they can kill their opponent with one strike.

Even someone with a monstrous constitution like Jhin was rendered unable to recover after taking a fatal blow.

"Sorry, I lost."

"Well, I see it."

"How embarrassing!"

"..."

Although he wasn't expecting any comfort, being told so bluntly that he was embarrassing still left Jhin speechless for a moment.

"I……"

"Pfft~"

Before Jin could say anything more, Osi burst out laughing when he saw Jin's dazed expression.

Okay, okay, I'm just teasing you~

She waved her hand, signaling Jin to step back first.

"Go down and bandage your wound properly. Leave the rest to me."

"……Um."

"Be careful, these warriors are not simple."

"More difficult than fluid mechanics?"

Jin didn't know what fluid mechanics was, but he did know about Ossie, so dealing with the samurai in front of him shouldn't be too much of a problem.

As long as you don't underestimate your opponent...

……

"oi~ that purple hair."

"I'm talking to you~ Stop trying to mobilize the masses."

"Ok?"

Shimotsuki Ushimaru, who was pointing his sword at the general, heard someone calling him. He turned his head and saw that Jin had already returned to the Beasts' side with the help of several pirates...

Instead, a suspicious man wearing a mask appeared.

"You are... that woman who works for Kaido?"

"Wearing a mask and acting suspiciously...you're not some kind of monster either, are you?"

There are few people around Kaido who seem normal, and Ushimaru strongly suspects that Osei, who wears a mask, is also some kind of monstrous monster.

"A monster, huh... you could call it that."

Ossie nodded and said.

"Oh? He actually admitted it so openly... He's quite an interesting guy."

"Tell me, what do you want to do?"

"They've come to surrender on Kaido's behalf..."

"Or are you going to take over from that tengu and continue fighting me?"

Shimotsuki Ushimaru twirled his sword, planted it in the ground, and waited patiently for Osei's reaction.

These swordsmen always seem to have an attitude of never backing down.

……

"Beef balls!"

Seeing that Niu Wan seemed to want to continue fighting, Kang Jia stepped forward anxiously.

Now that they have won the [Duel in the Imperial Court], they should seize the momentum and use it to pressure Orochi into ordering the expulsion of those pirates.

This would not only break the alliance between Orochi and the pirates, but also allow them to use the law to mobilize all the samurai in Wano Country to forcibly expel any pirates who refuse to leave.

The internal strife within the Wano Country that the Kang family was most worried about has been resolved thanks to Ushimaru's brilliant move. All that's left is to proceed step by step...

Thinking of this, amidst the crowd's shouts of "Drive out the pirates!", the Kang family stepped forward and faced Orochi.

"General Orochi, based on the results of the [Duel Before the Emperor], please order these pirates to be expelled from Wano Country now."

"This is the wish of Ushimaru, the victor; it is the wish of us daimyo; and it is the wish of all the people of Wano Country!"

Kang's words were full of vigor, his impassioned speech accompanied by the cries of the people of Wano Country, almost becoming the final straw that broke Orochi's back. "This, this general..."

"Please give the order, General!"

"me……"

"Please give the order, General!"
"Then... then I'll take it back..."

"Yakamashi!"

boom!
Just as the giant snake was about to give in to the pressure, a soft shout came from the arena... followed by an invisible and terrifying aura.

Everyone clutched their chests, the suffocating feeling that felt like it was crushing their hearts made it impossible for them to utter a single word.

The scene instantly plummeted from a bustling hubbub to a deathly silence, with only the displeased voice of the lone crimson figure beneath his mask audible.

"Can't you see I'm speaking?"

"Don't you people have any manners at all?!"

Ossie, who had opened her mouth several times only to have her voice drowned out by the shouts of the crowd, finally lost her patience. She looked around at the pale-faced samurai, and then turned her gaze to Ushimaru and the Kang family and others sitting behind him.

At this moment, Niu Wan's relaxed expression had completely vanished. He pursed his lips and stared intently at the mask on Osei's face.

The Kang family member, with an unpleasant expression, spoke up:

"The outcome of the [Duel Before the Emperor] is clear, you pirates..."

"It's just one win, you guys don't think it's over yet, do you?"

"Since you accept the result of this so-called 'duel before the emperor,' how about we have another one?"

Osi interrupted the Kang family abruptly, looking at the still-shaken giant snake...

"Hey, you big-faced guy, don't you guys have any self-restraint about only being able to fight one match at a time?"

"Ah, ah?"

The snake, nicknamed "Big Face," was taken aback. Although he didn't understand what Osi meant, he could roughly guess what Osi wanted to do.

Orochi glanced at Kaido and saw him watching the show with an air of smug satisfaction... Recalling the terrifying pressure he had just felt, Orochi's hope was rekindled.

"No."

"By special order of this general, all those challenged to a duel before the Emperor today must accept!"

"General!"

"Shut up, Kang family!"

"Do you intend to continue overstepping your bounds?! Get out of my way!"

"..."

"Well, isn't this good enough, Kang family?"

"Since I doubt these guys will obediently tuck their tails between their legs and leave, I might as well take this opportunity to kill a few more."

He didn't care about the Beasts' gauntlet attack, nor did he think they would give up before Kaido fell... In fact, one-on-one duels were quite to his liking.

Ushimaru gripped the knife stuck in front of him and assumed a fighting stance again.

"Hmm? You seem pretty confident~"

"I don't dislike people like you."

"Hmm... how about this~"

Ossie sensed the man's unwavering fighting spirit. She put one hand on her hip and waved her slender, fair right hand at him.

"Since you've already played one match, I'll give you a discount~"

"For example... how about I give you one hand?"

"You know, my right hand is my dominant hand!"

Ossi waved his right hand, speaking casually... but the warriors below were beyond furious!

"Insanity!"

"Is this woman insulting Shimotsuki's name?!"

"A mere woman! Not only has she stepped into the sacred [Imperial Duel], but she has also disgraced your great name!"

"This is absolutely outrageous!"

……

"..."

"Heh~ Are all you pirates like this?"

"What an...interesting woman!"

Niu Wan crossed his arms wide and held his two swords horizontally, like a tiger ready to charge at any moment.

"Is it interesting?"

"Would you like to see something even more interesting?"

Standing with his hands on his hips, Ossie extended his left hand, a faint red light shimmering in his palm...

"Trace On!"

Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, a crimson longsword made of crystal gradually 'grew' out of the light in her hand, and its shape was exactly the same as the one in Niu Wan's left hand.

……

"Hmph~ Has that brat Osei grown up to this extent already~"

On the stands, Kaido sat up straight, and the familiar scene before him made him sigh – 'creating from nothingness', something that only Ra could do in the past.

It seems like Ossie has suddenly grown up a lot since I went out for a while.

Kaido realized that he could no longer see through Osei's strength.

……

"So, you do know magic too... No wonder you're a demon~"

"Then... Dual-Sword Style: Fuyao Mountain Lord!"

Swah——

Niu Wan, like a purple tiger, pounced on Osei at an extremely fast speed!
The two knives in his hands were like gleaming fangs, biting fiercely at the prey's neck!

Feeling the overwhelming, fierce aura emanating from him, Ossi did not dodge, but instead raised the knife horizontally to his chest...

"What is this?!"
This rather familiar pose caused several daimyo, including Jin and Kang, to exclaim in surprise. Ushimaru himself also had his pupils shrink when he saw Osei's action!
"Hmm, this move seems to be called..."

"The calamity of Tsuyakumo's fallen scales?!"

As Niuwan blurted out his ultimate sword technique, a crimson slash crashed towards him!
Clang! ! !
One sword against two swords, one arm against two arms... The moment the two clashed, the outcome was decided in an instant—the crimson light directly overwhelmed everything!
An absolute crushing defeat!
After a deafening clang of metal, Shimotsuki Gyuumaru was sent flying backward at a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive!
"This……"

The samurai daimyo watching the battle seemed to freeze in shock... until a loud bang came from behind them.

Phew—boom! ! !

Everyone turned around and saw that the outer wall of the General's Mansion, which was hundreds of meters away from the scene, had been smashed through by a huge stone!

"Beef, beef balls?"

"Ushimaru-sama!"

Shimotsuki Gyuumaru's personal guards rushed towards the general's mansion without regard for their own safety.

But amidst the billowing smoke and flying pebbles, they couldn't find Niu Wan anywhere. All they saw were Niu Wan's two swords deeply embedded in the stone wall, not even reaching the hilts.

……

"Monster, monster!"

"This woman is a monster!!!"

Perhaps the scene just now was too shocking, some of the more fragile warriors began to tremble involuntarily and had the urge to flee from here and escape from Osei.

Fear began to spread among the crowd, and those who had just been cheering for victory were now silent and trembling.

"Kang family, Niu, Niuwan, he..."

The two daimyo, Fugetsu Onigiri and Ugetsu Tempura, also gripped the swords at their waists.

"Don't panic, Beef Ball won't be defeated so easily."

Kang Jialian, forcing himself to remain calm, said.

Within the wide sleeves of his kimono, his hands were clenched so tightly they had turned white in an attempt to suppress his trembling.

……

"Hee~"

A twisted laugh came from the high platform.

If anyone could still laugh in this situation, besides the beastmen, only Orochi would be left.
"Haha~"

“Mhahahaha!”

"That's amazing, that's absolutely fantastic!"

"Hey! Did you guys see that? That damn beef ball got flung away like a beef ball!"

"Hahaha! That's absolutely hilarious!"

If it weren't for the occasion, Orochi would have practically picked up his folding fan and started a celebratory dance on the spot.

"Don't get too excited, you big-faced uncle."

"Haha... huh?"

The giant snake's laughter was interrupted by Osei's words, and he looked at Osei on the field with a puzzled expression.

"That purple-haired guy isn't going to fall so easily~"

Osei imitated Niuwan's earlier move, twirling his sword, and then waved his hand, causing the blade in his hand to scatter into crimson specks of light again.

"This is just the warm-up!"

(End of this chapter)