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

Chapter 366: Admit Defeat
"Qingtianding!"

A red magnetic field suddenly appeared as Ossi leaped up, instantly enveloping Niuwan below and slowing his movements for a moment.

"?!"

Before the opponent could react, Osei leaped into the air and delivered a knee strike straight into Ushimaru's chest... In a panic, Ushimaru barely managed to swing his twin swords to defend, but the next moment he was sent flying.

boom!
"Uh-huh!"

……

blah-

The special effects of the powerful knee strike were quite impressive, with sparks flying like iron filings the moment it hit the target... The slammed beef ball slid across the ground for dozens of meters, sparks flying, before finally coming to a stop.

The two famous swords spun in the air before finally landing back beside him.

Clang!
The famous sword was so sharp that even after it landed and embedded itself several feet into the ground, only a short section of the blade was visible, still reflecting light.

……

"hu~hu~"

Niu Wan lay on his back on the ground, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath. He felt as if all the bones in his body were broken...

Osina's attacks, which were so fast that he couldn't react, left him covered in wounds within minutes, almost unable to fight back, and completely unable to get up again.

He couldn't believe he had been defeated so quickly... His opponent was like a red meteor, smashing him and his knife almost to pieces.

Just now, I was like a motionless ball in the other party's hands, being kicked around at will.

"cough~"

"Cough cough~"

After coughing a few times and feeling the burning pain in his chest and face, Niuwan couldn't help but think of his favorite handmade beef balls.

In Lingou, at the beef ball shop I frequent, the chef makes beef balls by taking a piece of high-quality komainu hind leg meat and then pounding it continuously with a wooden stick.

That old master swordsman seemed to have been a dual-wielding swordsman in his youth, wielding his two wooden sticks with incredible skill and power, each swing seemingly carrying a touch of finesse.
What would take others tens of minutes to form into beef balls, he could pound a piece of komainu beef with distinct muscles and tendons into a uniform, bright red mince in just a few minutes, without even needing to remove the tendons and membranes.

There's a saying circulating in the local community: "Oden gets more flavorful the longer it's cooked, while beef balls get chewier the more you beat them."

This means that the longer oden is cooked, the richer the flavor becomes... and the longer the beef balls are pounded, the more bouncy and chewy they become.
……

"Whoo~~~~"

Niu Wan, his mind racing, let out a long breath and then turned his head away with difficulty.

Through the famous sword tucked behind his ear, Ushimaru saw his own face reflected in the blade...

"Ah~ it's swollen up like a pig's head~"

"Did I... uh, kick a little too hard?"

A bright and cheerful voice came from above his head, and it sounded very familiar... This voice had been chattering in his ear like the sound of the blows when he was being hit.

This monster seems to really enjoy talking during battles.
Unfortunately, I was so focused on getting beaten up that I didn't hear most of what the other person said about beef balls. I just had an instinctive reaction to that lark-like tone of voice.

He turned his head back, his gaze rising, and sure enough, he saw a strange, upside-down mask...

The orange and black mask had no distinct facial features, but Ushimaru could sense that the other person was looking at him.

What a strange monster!
Seeing that Niuwan ignored him, Osei, who was originally bent over with his hands on his knees, simply squatted down.

A smooth calf blocked most of Niuwan's view, and above that was a pair of rounded knees... It was these knees that had just sent Niuwan flying dozens of meters, sliding right up to where he was.

“o～i~～”

"Are you OK?"

Seeing that Niu Wan's eyes, squinted into slits due to swelling, were just looking at her without saying a word... Ossie reached out her slender finger and poked his puffed-up cheek.
Poke~
Poke~
"Sigh~"

The pain in his face caused Niu Wan to twitch involuntarily, and he spoke with a hint of helplessness.

"You, you monster, you're really... really strong!"

Despite his swollen face, Niuwan's speech remained clear, though the pain in his chest made his words somewhat intermittent.

"To be honest, apart from Oden who has already left, I have never seen anyone as strong as you."

"Hmph~ Of course~ This young lady is..."

"He just talks a lot."

"..."

"Speaking of which, I remember there is a kind of monster in the folk tales of Wano Country that looks like a woman wearing a mask."

For some reason, Niuwan, who was unable to move, suddenly started telling stories, and they were even ghost stories.

"Does this kind of monster approach lone people late at night and ask them if they are pretty?"

"If the answer is not good, that person will be killed; but if the answer is good..."

As Niuwan finished speaking, he looked at the mask on Osei's face and a slight smile actually appeared on his lips:

"If the answer is good, the monster will lift its mask to reveal a terrifying mouth that splits open to its ears, and then ask again."

"..."

"?"

"What does it mean?"

Ossie tilted her head, wondering why Niuwan suddenly started telling ghost stories at this moment.
Are you trying to stall for time?

Or is it just that you want to scare yourself?

That's so childish!
Ossie looked at the beef ball on the ground with an expression as if he were an idiot, only to find that the man was also looking at him...

"I was thinking... since you talk so much, could it be that you have a big mouth under your mask too?"

"Hahahaha!"

Ossi: “…”

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap~
“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!”

"Hiss—it hurts!"

……

"Hiss~ Why does it seem like Sister Ossie is chatting with that samurai?"

The Beasts and the people from Wano Country in the stands tilted their heads as they watched the two who had been fighting on the field suddenly sit down and start chatting.

They didn't understand what the two of them were doing...

"That terrifying swordsman should be beyond saving by now, right? Why not take the opportunity to cut off his head?" "Idiot~ Didn't you hear Boss Kaido say he wanted him alive? Is Sister Osei trying to persuade him to surrender?"

The beasts began to whisper amongst themselves.

"Persuade them to surrender? I feel like they're just having a casual chat."

"Tch~ You newbies don't know anything."

"This is a unique fighting style of Sister Ossie. By constantly pressuring the opponent with words during the battle, she eventually destroys the opponent's psychological defenses, thus defeating the opponent both physically and mentally."

"Sister Ossie seems to call this method 'Cavity Fighting Technique'? I've noticed that Brother Taolong seems to be learning this fighting style lately."

……

Putting aside the rumors circulating among the audience, Ossie on stage started poking at the large bump on Niuwan's forehead with lightning speed, as if she were using an auto-clicker.
Niuwan was in so much pain that he curled up into a ball.

"Cut~"

"You lowly defeated opponent, how dare you fabricate stories to slander me!"

Ossie stood up, retracting her fingers, and, still not satisfied, kicked the immobile Niuwan, causing him to wince in pain.

"Let me tell you, the face under my mask is quite beautiful~"

"If I weren't worried that you bunch of country bumpkins from Wano Country would be so stunned by this that you'd turn into complete idiots who can only 'baba aba', I wouldn't bother with all this trouble~"

"Hmph~ That really piques my curiosity... hiss~"

"Alright, I see your companions are getting ready to go on stage, so you should prepare to leave."

Osi turned his head to look in the direction outside the arena, where Kang Jia, Rice Ball, and Tempura were already running towards him together, seemingly intending to challenge Osi together.

"Hmm... Is it the Kang family?"

Niuwan managed to lift his neck and saw the three people rushing over anxiously.

Seemingly fearing that Osei might suddenly strike, Amatsuki Tempura and Fugetsu Rice Ball flew out from a distance and unleashed two flying slashes.

Swish—*2
Faced with this hastily unleashed attack, Osi didn't even bother to block it. He just stood there and let the two attacks hit him and explode like flower petals.

"..."

"Niuwan, are you alright?"

Kang Jia knelt down beside Niu Wan, examining his injuries with a worried expression. Meanwhile, the two daimyo, Fuugetsu and Ugetsu, held their swords horizontally, protecting the two behind them.

"It's nothing, just some broken bones all over my body."

"what?!"

"Don't make a fuss, Kang family. Help me up first."

"But……"

The Kang family originally wanted to find a professional doctor to handle the situation, since he, being a layman, dared not move the fracture easily, but Niu Wan seemed indifferent.

Grabbing Kang Jia's shoulders, Niu Wan actually struggled to sit up.

Despite having fractures all over his body, it seemed to him as if they were only minor injuries... This branch of the Shimotsuki family seemed to have inherited the strong physique of their ancestors, making them far more resilient than ordinary swordsmen.

"Uh... Phew~"

Tempura, rice balls.

"Beef Ball? Are you... alright?"

Turning their heads to look at Niuwan, who was being helped to his feet by the Kang family, the two daimyo asked with equal concern.

"I'm fine, put the knife away."

"Huh? Why? If we attack together..."

"it's useless."

Looking at Osei, who stood naturally beside the rice ball and tempura with his hands behind his back, as if he didn't consider himself an outsider at all, Ushimaru said helplessly:
"You are no match for her, and neither am I. We have lost this time."

When Shimotsuki Gyuumaru openly and frankly admitted his team's defeat, the scene erupted in uproar.

The giant snake pushed away the beauty in its arms and stood up, grinning widely and asking loudly, its tone filled with barely suppressed smugness.

"Beef Ball, are you... are you sure you want to admit defeat?"

"Yes. I admit I'm no match for this woman."

"I, Shimotsuki Ushimaru, have lost this [Imperial Duel]!"

Ushimaru didn't try to save face by making excuses. He had lost, and that was that... His pride as a daimyo and a great swordsman made him appear open and honest even when he admitted defeat.

His actions drew cheers from many warriors and even the beastmen present.

Losing is not shameful. What is shameful is refusing to admit defeat.

……

With the help of Kang Jia and others, Niu Wan walked step by step towards the stage... but after only a couple of steps, Niu Wan suddenly turned his head and looked at Ossie behind him.

He asked:
"Hey, masked woman, what's your name?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

While still on stage, Ossie, who was looking to see if there were any more challengers, casually asked a question in return.

"It's nothing, it's just that I find it a bit ridiculous that I don't even know the name of the person who defeated me."

"Or do you prefer the name 'Masked Monster'?"

"I don't care what you call me, you can call me Dad if you want~"

"Ah!"

"You're sharp-tongued. Next time we meet, I'll rip that suspicious mask of yours in two."

"I'll see what kind of mouth is hidden under that mask then."

"Next time, I won't lose again."

"Tch~ What third-rate elementary school student's challenge to a fight."

"I think the chances of you being unplannedly pregnant are higher than winning a fight with me."

Ossie didn't care at all about Niuwan's challenge... but looking at his back, which was completely unscathed, she still spoke up:
“Osiris… Osiris, that is my name.”

"remember."

(End of this chapter)