Chapter 68: The Beasts Pirates vs. The Eleven Samurai
The weather that day should have been flawlessly clearânot a cloud in sight.
And surely, the same could be said of their hearts.
Their chosen strategy to defeat their formidable enemy was a surprise attack. Via arrow-bound missives, theyâd informed their alliesâincluding the daimyo of the Shimotsuki clanâto guard the castle during the battle, with a plea to rely on them if the worst came to pass.
Yet en route, they realized something.
To reach the uninhabited island, they first had to pass through Udonâand there, they saw it. A sky choked with storm clouds.
Dark omens loomed over their path. Unease prickled at them as they climbed the hill deep within Udonâs forestâand then, they saw it.
"âŠâŠâŠâŠ!!"
All ten of themâevery last samuraiâfroze in shock.
Beyond the hill, there was no town. Only an endless expanse of forest.
By all logic, the place should have been deserted.
"This wasnât part of the planâŠ!!"
At the head of the ten samurai, Kozuki Odenâs face twisted with disbelief.
Because below themâstretching as far as the eye could seeâwas a sea of people.
Not just any people.
Their enemiesâthe soldiers of the Beasts Pirates.
Weapons in hand, the pirates leered up at Odenâs group with vicious, mocking grins. Their raid had been exposed. This was an ambush.
But Oden swallowed his shock and steeled himself. The enemy was overwhelming. Heâd never expected this to be easy.
Shrugging off his haori, he locked eyes with his targetâa massive blue dragon coiled around a boulder: Kaido.
Beside him sat a girl perched on a crimson flying disk. The samurai discarded their straw hats. Hiding was pointless now.
"âToo damn thorough, ainât ya!? Howâd you know!? We were coming to chop off your drunk, napping head on that deserted island!! We werenât ready for a full-scale war!!"
"Maybe thereâs a spy in your castle. Worororo⊠Didnât wanna wreck my brand-new palace, so I came to you insteadâŠ!!"
"Ahahaha!! Welcomeee~! Step right up to the battlefield~âȘ"
"Tch⊠So it was all a lie!! Kaido!!!"
Oh⊠He really, truly believed itâ
Hearing Odenâs outburst, I couldnât help but think that. Honestly, Iâd assumed he had some backup planâsome contingency for deceit. But apparently not.
Well, thatâs Oden for you.
That kind of recklessness might seem grandâbut it only shines when backed by power. And as Kaidoâs next words rolled out, that truth rang clearer than ever.
"Yeah⊠Wororo, it was all a lie. Back then, the odds were against usâif youâd returned and teamed up with Hyogoro⊠every last samurai and yakuza in Wano wouldâve turned on us. With our forces thin, it wouldâve been a brutal fightâŠ"
True. Weâd have struggled. Even if weâd won, the cost wouldâve been steep. I never thought weâd lose, but Oden wasnât an enemy we could crush without losses.
If weâd fought that dayâpersonal feelings asideâthe aftermath mightâve been disastrous. Especially for those of us who loathe wasting subordinates.
"But back then, if youâd been the unshakable madman they said you wereâif you hadnât balked at sacrificeâWorororo!!!"
Yet that wasnât what happened.
As Kaido said, things unfolded in our favorâall thanks to one man.
Oden.
"âBut you chose the path where no one got hurtâŠ!!"
Exactly.
Because of his decisionâbecause he chose naivety, just like those two heâd once befriended. Kaidoâs words seemed to dredge up the past.
For us, they were enemies we couldnât defeat. Foes we still havenât beaten. One of them was even a former allyâa man who shared our era.
So yeah, Iâve got thoughts.
"Newgate and Roger were that kind of pirate. Strong as hell, but soft in the endâŠ!!!"
"âŠâŠâŠâŠ"
Oden and the samurai listened in silence. What went through the minds of those who knew Whitebeard and Roger? Who could say?
But let me be clear: That choice wasnât wrong in itselfâitâs just that power dictates its worth.
The same âsoftâ choice made Roger the Pirate King and Whitebeard the Strongest Pirate in the Worldâwhile Odenâs just the âIdiot Lord.â
The first two were overwhelmingly strong. Whitebeard, especially, understood his role as a captain and acted accordingly.
Odenâs closer to Rogerâbut heâs not as strong. Had he possessed the power to crush foes like us effortlessly, that choice wouldâve made him a hero.
But he didnât.
So he gets called a foolâby me, by Kaidoâbecause he is one.
"Youâre just like them!! Kept dancing like a clown!! Stripped bare, laughed at, scorned!! Wororororo!! Youâve got no dignity leftâno right to the name Kozuki!!"
"Such an idiot~⥠Worst possible pick. Hope youâre ready to be a joke for generations~! Ahahaha!!"
"That day⊠Iâd make the same choice again. Nowâletâs talk about the future."
Unshaken by our jeers, Oden drew his blades and answered.
Well, heâs rightâwhatâs done is done.
That refusal to wallow in regret and his focus on the next challenge? Very Roger-like. Very legendary. Heh⊠but whatever. Whether heâll be remembered as a peerless hero or the "Idiot Lord" hinges on what happens next.
Kaido smirked down at Oden and the samurai, silent but unmistakably approvingâif only of their choice to fight.
Because weâd been dying to crush them.
"Worororo!! In a hurry to die, are ya!? Then Iâll oblige!! âMove out, you bastards!!!"
"RROOOOAAAARRR!!!"
"âŠLetâs go. I trust your backs."
"âŠYES, MY LORD!!"
And soâthe Beasts Pirates vs. the Kozuki Clan. A battle of 1,000 against 10. A war for Wanoâs soul had begun.
Glinting in the piratesâ grips were swords, axes, spears, and riflesâall forged in Wano, all lethal.
Facing these odds with just ten men was madness. The piratesâ morale soared; they knew numbers ruled war.
Yet the samurai didnât flinch. Oden charged ahead, his twin bladesâAme no Habakiri and Enmaâwreathed in Ryou. A single swingâ
"!!!"
"Ghkâ!?"
âsent dozens flying. A mere flick of his sleeves. His eyes never left the dragon coiled in the sky. The enemies between them? Pebbles.
The sole exception perched beside Kaido, but Oden trusted his men. However brutal the fight, theyâd endure.
Answering that silent faith, the nine samurai surged into the breach Oden had torn.
"AFTER ODEN-SAMA!!!"
"GYAAAAâ!?"
Though not his equal, each was a warrior worth a thousand. Their Ryou-infused blades carved through the horde without hesitation.
"Hold upâ! These âsamuraiââŠ!? Since when are they this strong!?"
"Stand your ground!! Weâve got the numbers!!"
For pirates facing samurai head-on for the first time, their strength was a shock. Some faltered.
But the pirates had numbers. And Kaidoâthe "invincible" Kaido. The three Calamities.
They were the Beasts Pirates, feared across the seas. That pride, that numerical advantage, kept their morale unbroken.
"!!"
"HehâŠ"
A sniper took aim at Odenâs skull. Even legends could fall to a bulletâor so he thought. Oden sensed the threat, tightening his gripâ
"Whaâ!?"
"Whoâs there!?"
"Forgive my presumption! Allow me to assist!"
âbut before either could act, a kunai struck the sniper down. A kunoichi dropped from the trees. A stranger to Oden, yet her intent was clear.
"You may not recall, but in Lord Sukiyakiâs dayâ"
"!? Shinobu!?"
"!! Y-Yes! Itâs me!!"
Stunned he remembered, Shinobu briefly forgot the battle, grinning at Oden. She hurriedly explained:
"I kept faith that the Kozuki would rise again⊠but the OniwabanshuâFukurokujuâ! Heâs betrayed us for Orochi!! I dreamed of serving you, my lord⊠I couldnât stay!!"
"Iâd never blame those who lost faith in a fool!!"
"âŠâŠâŠâŠ!!"
As Oden kicked through enemies, Shinobu bit her lip. She knew the truthâand that left her speechless, torn between fury and grief. All she could do was fight beside him.
"This pathâs paved with thorns, Shinobu!!"
"âIâll walk it with you!!!"
Raizou, her old rival in the Oniwabanshu, tested her resolve. Her answer was instant.
And so, the rebels numbered eleven:
Kinâemon, Denjiro, Kikunojo, Raizou, Kanjuro, Ashura Doji, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, Kawamatsu, Shinobu⊠and Kozuki Oden.
Against a thousand pirates, Wanoâs mightiest warriors stood unshaken. Their strength surpassed all expectations.
âYet the samurai, too, were in the dark.
They had no idea of the true terror wielded by the New Worldâs most infamous crew.
"Tch⊠The deeper we push, the stronger each foe getsâŠ!!"
âTheyâre trying to wear us downâŠ! So theyâve been putting nothing but cannon fodder on the front lines!!â
Kinâemon responded to Denjiroâs shout as the two cut through waves of enemies. The enemy resistance was growing fiercer, their advance gradually slowing.
And Kinâemon was right. The Beasts Pirates had placed their newer or weaker recruits at the frontâas if their defeat had already been accounted for. As if it didnât matter how many fell.
Which meant the farther they pressed in, the stronger the enemies became. Yet rather than fear the strength of the samurai, these foes grew more aggressive. Even when cut down, if the wound was shallow, theyâd rise again to fight. It was like facing an unending horde of zombies.
âBut itâs not enough to stop us!!â
âWeâre pushing through, no matter what!!â
âIâll clear a path too!!â
Yet even with that tenacity, it wasnât enough to overwhelm or halt the samurai.
Raizo, Nekomamushi, and Shinobu each tore down the dogged resistance in front of them and pressed onward.
But that was as far as they gotâbeyond that point, the tide turned, and they were forced to fall back.
The first to encounter the change was Shinobu, the nimblest among them, who had been moving above the battlefield from tree to tree.
ââ!! A red mist!?â
Just as she leapt to the next branch, a crimson fog suddenly rose up to block her path.
ââYes. From here on out, this is my domainâĄâ
âGhâaughâŠ!!?â
âLady Shinobu!?â
She froze as a voice whispered from directly behind herâand the next moment, she was slammed to the ground with brutal force. Kikunojo saw it and rushed to her aid, sword in hand, instincts screaming caution at the figure who had just appeared before them.
And then, just moments later, as Nekomamushi charged forward, swatting enemies aside, a massive, round shadow appeared before himâmoving with a speed wholly unbefitting its size.
ââEXCIIIIIITE!!â
âWhaâ!? MEOOOOW!!?â
â!? Neko!! Are you all right!?â
âWhat the hell is that miasma!?â
A weapon like a giant club crashed into Nekomamushiâs face, sending his huge body flying into a tree. Denjiro shouted and stopped in his tracks, sword raised. So did Kanjuro. Nekomamushi clutched the place where he was struck, clearly in painâwas it poison? Something else? Neither he nor Denjiro could tell.
Then, moments laterâone corner of the forest erupted into flames, and a scream rang out.
âGRAAAHHH!!â
âFeh!! How are you struggling with opponents of this caliberâŠ!?â
âRAIZO!!!â
The scream came from Raizo, who now had a fresh slash running from his forehead down his faceâhis skin scorched from a burn. Before him stood a massive man, sword in hand, black wings spreading from his back and flames licking his weapon.
âBe careful!! These guys are monsters!!â
Denjiro shouted as he took in the scene. These were no ordinary enemiesâthis had to be their main force.
And he was right. Two towering men and a single woman. The moment they appeared, the morale of the pirates around them surged.
Beasts Pirates All-Star âCalamity Jokerâ â Bounty: 600 million berries
âSorry, but the road ends hereâĄâ
Beasts Pirates All-Star âPlague Queenâ â Bounty: 820 million berries
âMuhaha!! You bastardsâve taken out way too many!! Time to croak, samurai scum!!â
Beasts Pirates All-Star âWildfire Kingâ â Bounty: 1.03 billion berries
âYou dared to defy us⊠You wonât die easy. Prepare yourselvesâŠ!!â
The top three commanders of the Beasts Pirates. With the completion of their ship, these three had officially taken the title of âAll-Starsââa trio so inhumanly powerful and terrifying, they were known as the âCalamities.â
âWOOOAAAHH!! The All-Stars have joined the battle!!!â
âLady Joker~~~âĄâ
âYEEAAAAH!! Q-U-E-E-N!!â
âLORD KING!!!â
The pirates roared in triumph, weapons raised as they began surrounding the samurai. The few samurai who had stopped their charge were now forced to fight back while encircled by powerful enemies they werenât sure they could even defeat.
And that wasnât all. Two more figures, up ahead in Odenâs path, began to move.
âAahahahaha!! âNow then, Oden, samurai! Letâs see if you can withstand the terror of my aerial bullet barrage!!â
â!! Heads up!! Theyâre coming!!â
Oden raised his voice for all his retainers to hearâhe could sense the voice and power of the girl floating in the air above.
ââRed.â âBlue.â âGreen.â âRainbowâ... and âBlackâ...!!â
Nue crossed her arms, and more and more UFO-like craft began to orbit herâone after another.
âRed for rage.
âBlue for sorrow.
âGreen for justice.
âRainbow for fear.
AndâBlack for murderous intent.
The flying constructs multiplied until their number defied counting, blotting out the sky above.
Incomprehensible. Unidentifiable. This was Nueâs powerâa spectacle meant to invoke terror and despair.
âUnknown Form⊠The Invasion of the UFOs of Despair!!!â
â!!!â
With Nueâs declaration, it beganâno more play. A true barrage rained down from the sky.
The UFOs formed ranks or broke into erratic patterns as they closed in on the samurai, unleashing flames, lasers, serpentsâevery kind of projectile imaginable to target them.
âTch⊠UFOs, huhâŠ? Doesnât matter!!â
â!! Ahaha! Not bad! But Iâm not going down that easy!â
Multiple UFOs launched their attacks in unison. But Oden evaded them, knocking several out of the air with flying slashes. Then, springing upward, he used the downed UFOs as stepping stones, drawing closer to Nue and Kaido.
But Nue had never expected to bring down Oden with UFOs alone. She wasnât surprised. Without hesitation, she unleashed her next techniqueâconjuring ghostly, flickering orbs of fire around her.
ââUnknownâ... âGhostlights of Untraceable Trajectoriesâ!!!â
âGhâHot!! Dammit!!â
âYup! Grazed you~âȘ Thatâs a point for me! And nowâUFOs, concentrate fire! âUnidentifiedâââ
â!!? Crap!!â
Even Oden couldnât avoid everything. The chaotic fireballs struck him, knocking him from the air. He plummeted toward the ground. But as he fell, he felt the overwhelming energy converge on himâdozens of UFOs locking on. He kicked hard, trying to redirect himself in midair.
And just as his feet touched downâ
ââFire-Sky Armament: Foo Fightersâ!!!â
â!!!â
The UFOs above him spun into a tight, high-speed formation, and from their center, a massive beam of light shot down like a divine strike.
With a deafening roar, the beam carved a crater nearly twenty meters wide where Oden had stoodâa mark of pure destruction. The shockwave didnât just slam into the samurai, it rocked Nueâs own ground forces as well, the blast pressure tearing at the air itself.
âWoooahhh!!? Lady Nueâs attack!!â
âIs he dead!? Did Oden bite it!?â
ââŠNopeâhe dodged. Not badâĄâ
Nue corrected them with a sweet, casual tone, almost as if scolding them for underestimating him. Her subordinates were convinced the blast had landed, and that survival was impossibleâbut Nue's Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) was still tracking Oden.
ââGun-Gan: Faux Demon Replicaâ!!!â
â!!â
From the rising cloud of dust, Oden burst forthâusing it as cover, he once again vaulted off a UFO, this time driving straight toward Nue. He swung both blades, and Nue caught the strike with a spear infused with Haki.
âGet down here and fight!!â
âGhâŠ!!â
But Oden didnât let up. He clashed his Ryuo (Flowing Haki) against hers, and without even making direct contact, he blasted her down to the ground with sheer force.
Caught off-guard by the overhead assault, Nue hit the ground, her landing rough enough to rattle her. Sheâd taken minor damage. But rather than anger, a smile of pure delight crossed her face as she raised her spear and gazed up at the airborne Oden.
âOoh, thatâs the stuff! Nice, nice!! First time Iâve taken a hit from anyone besides Kaido in ages!â
âTch⊠I wanted to take you down early⊠Youâre way tougher than you lookâŠ!!â
âAhaha! Cute and strongâbest combo, right? But heyâif youâre only looking at meâŠâ
â!!?â
No sooner had Nue finished speaking than another attack came hurtling down toward Oden from above.
But this time, it wasnât from the UFOs. It was a massive, searing heat beam, unleashed to incinerate himâ
âHeat Breath: Boro Breath!!!â
â!!!â
âOden-sama!!â
A massive dragon soared through the skyâKaido, breathing down a devastating blast. Seeing it, Kinâemon cried out in alarm.
But the ground below told a different story. The destruction was split in twoâscorch marks cleaved to either side. And right between them stood Oden, still alive, though burned.
He had cut the beam in half.
Even the pirates gasped in disbelief at that monster of a man, while Nue simply laughed. Kaido, however, glanced over at her and barked:
âHey, Nue! Stay out of this!! Heâs my prey!!â
âEhhh~? What, I canât even sneak a little bite?â
âGo kill some of the other samurai!!â
âOhh, fine, fiiineâhow cold~ Well, whatever. Guess Iâll go entertain a few of your warriors then~âĄâ
âTch⊠You lot, be careful! Iâm counting on you!!â
âHah!!â
Kaido glared down at Oden, who stared right back up. Neither could afford to take their eyes off the other. Oden had no room to worry about Nue.
He could only leave her to his retainers. And while he trusted them, his warning wasnât without reasonâheâd seen Nueâs strength firsthand and knew exactly how dangerous she was.
ââŠHeh heh heh. Do you four really get it? You canât beat me. Which means⊠going up against me means youâre about to see hell itself.â
And she was rightâOdenâs retainers didnât stand a chance against Nue. That much was clear to all involved: Oden, Nue, and the samurai alike.
Maybe, maybe, ten of them could stall her. But Shinobu and Kikunojo were up against Joker-level enemies. Denjiro and Kanjuro were dealing with Queens. Ashura Doji and Raizo were locked in battle with the Kingsâno reinforcements were coming.
Which left only four standing before Nue: Kinâemon, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Kawamatsu. And even all four together knew the truthâthey couldnât win.
Just as even ten of them couldnât hope to beat Oden or Kaido, they now faced a woman of equal power. Nue wasnât like the other top officersâher tier was beyond them. She was in a league of her own. For these four, this would be their greatest and most hopeless fight.
And with a devilâs grin, Nue leaned inâasking, almost playfully, if they were truly ready to see hell.
But one by one, and then all together, the samurai shouted their answer:
âDonât underestimate us!! Our resolve was forged long ago!!â
âIndeed! As retainers of Lord Oden, we are prepared to walk by his side until the very end!!â
âOur loyalty runs as deep as our trustâthereâs nothing left to fear!!â
âNo matter if itâs hell itself, weâll stand and fight!!â
ââWe welcome it!!!â
All four samurai drew their swords, their eyes unwavering, fixed on Nue with unshakable resolve. Even those not facing her shared the same fierce determination as they stood off against their own foes.
And seeing that, Nue laughedâat first playfully, then like a devil thrilled by the thrill of the hunt.
âAhahaha! Ohhh, I like this. That kind of spirit⊠is fun to break~â
She twirled her spear, planted its butt into the earth, and her glowing red eyes glittered with glee.
âA fish, a cat, a dog, and a human⊠Fufufu⥠What a treat. Iâll go all out just for you!â
And then, her Haki surgedâno more holding back. The UFOs overhead locked onto the four as their new targets. Raising her left hand as if commanding them, Nue gave her final warningâand invitation.
âHumans who let loyalty blind them to the terror of monsters⊠Die, trembling beneath the hail of unidentified flying object danmaku!!!â
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