Chapter 242: The Beast Pirates Arrive
"Quick! Gather all the samurai of Wano Country! The enemy is invading!"
Kozuki Sukiyaki, the Shogun of Wano, gave the order, and his subordinates immediately moved to summon reinforcements.
"Yes!"
The surrounding samurai quickly dispersed to call for warriors.
Meanwhile, in the Flower Capital, the battle continued.
Kaido swung his massive kanabo, crushing the samurai who charged at him. These warriors, fearless in the face of death, kept attacking while shouting, "Kill the invader!"
This constant harassment annoyed Kaido. Though their attacks couldn't harm him, their relentless persistence was frustrating.
More warriors poured into the Flower Capital, making the battle drag on. Kaido's kanabo, covered in the blood of fallen samurai, had already slain countless warriors, yet more kept coming.
Kaido now understood what Kurozumi Murasaki meant when he said that Wano could not be taken by brute force alone.
But Kaido was not one to give up.
Each swing of his kanabo crushed another opponent. No samurai could withstand a single blow. Slashes rained down from all directions, but Kaido ignored them. His dragon scales rendered their blades useless.
This battle continued for most of the day.
Then, the Beast Pirates arrived.
"Brother!"
Jhin and Queen led their forces into the Flower Capital, launching an assault on the samurai.
The battle officially escalated.
Kaido glanced at his subordinates and quickly realized that apart from Jhin and Queen, most of them were useless.
The warriors of Wano initially wavered at the sight of reinforcements, but they quickly steadied themselves and charged forward, shouting "Kill!"
Kaido had spent years gathering over a thousand pirates, but these men were no match for Wano's skilled samurai.
Within moments, the samurai slaughtered dozens of Beast Pirates. If not for Jhin and Queen, the entire force might have been wiped out.
As the battle raged on, another force entered the fray.
A group of warriors, dressed similarly to the samurai but bearing different insignia, charged in. At their head were Kurozumi Murasaki and Kurozumi Chanmaru.
The two siblings led two to three hundred warriors into battle, instantly stabilizing the Beast Pirates' position.
These warriors were loyal to the Kurozumi family.
Although the Kozuki family had labeled them as traitors, the Kurozumi clan was still one of Wano's five major families. If not for their fall from grace, they could have summoned even more samurai to their cause.
With the Kurozumi warriors joining the fight, the battle seemed balanced for a moment. But the situation remained dire—while Kaido, Jhin, and Queen dominated in high-level combat, their forces were still vastly outnumbered.
When the various daimyos of Wano sent reinforcements, the Beast Pirates suffered heavy casualties. Their numbers dwindled from over a thousand to just half in mere hours.
At this point, the Beast Pirates were just ordinary pirates. They had yet to form the formidable Zoan army they would become known for.
Against the battle-hardened samurai of Wano, they stood no chance.
"Kaido! We must capture Kozuki Sukiyaki! He is the key to this battle!"
Kurozumi Murasaki, covered in blood, rushed to Kaido's side.
Her sudden words nearly caused Kaido to get hit by a stray attack.
Kaido glanced around.
His subordinates were dying at an alarming rate. If this continued, he would be left with nothing. There would be no point in victory if he had no army left.
Realizing this, Kaido abandoned the fight and focused on capturing the leader.
He immediately locked onto Kozuki Sukiyaki, who was heavily guarded.
Kaido transformed into his dragon form, soaring into the sky before diving straight toward the shogun.
"It's a dragon!"
One of the samurai recognized him immediately.
In Wano, dragons were legendary creatures.
The tale of Ryuma Shimotsuki, the dragon-slaying swordsman, was known by all.
The samurai's eyes burned with determination.
"Slay the dragon!"
Many of them shouted, inspired by the legend of Ryuma.
Kozuki Sukiyaki stood atop a hill, his expression grim as the massive dragon charged toward him.
"Run!"
His samurai bodyguards pushed him aside, causing him to tumble down the hill.
The elderly shogun groaned in pain, but before he could react, wind blades from Kaido's attack slashed through the hilltop.
The samurai who had stood there were instantly torn to pieces.
"Quick! Capture Kozuki Sukiyaki!"
The Kurozumi warriors saw the shogun's vulnerable state and rushed toward him.
"Protect the general!"
The remaining samurai turned red-eyed with rage and charged to defend their leader.
But they couldn't hold out for long.
Kaido landed in front of Kozuki Sukiyaki and returned to his human form.
The shogun clutched his chest, struggling to breathe.
"Why… why are you invading Wano?"
Kozuki Sukiyaki gasped.
Kaido didn't bother answering.
He simply swung his kanabo.
"Wait!"
Kurozumi Murasaki shouted.
Kaido held back at the last second, but the blow still knocked Kozuki Sukiyaki unconscious.
"We can't kill him now! If we do, the entire country will rise against us. We must take control through strategy!"
Kurozumi Murasaki quickly checked the shogun's pulse and sighed in relief.
Kaido looked at the warriors who were still fighting desperately.
He nodded.
Then, he charged back into the battle.
One by one, the samurai fell.
The battle continued until dawn.
Kaido, Jhin, Queen, and the Kurozumi siblings fought tirelessly, cutting down the remaining warriors.
By the time the sun rose, the battle was over.
The samurai were dead.
But the cost had been high.
The Beast Pirates, which had started with over a thousand men, had been reduced to fewer than four hundred.
Kaido had lost years of recruitment in a single night.
But he didn't care.
To him, pirates were disposable.
More could always be found.
---
Read up to 20 Chapters ahead on patreon.com/Fanglin
[Please leave a 5 Star review and power stone for this novel]
*Thank you*