novelnext Chapter 198 Resistance
Chapter 198 Resistance
Chapter 198 Resistance
Samurai dressed in various kimonos, some in tattered armor, others in only thin kimonos, but each held a sword in their hand, the blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Their faces bore an almost fanatical resolve, an expression not found on ordinary soldiers, but on those who had already disregarded life and death.
Bai Yu counted them.
Seventeen, just as Violet said.
But that's not all.
Behind those warriors, there was something else.
Bai Yu's gaze passed over the warriors and landed deeper into the path.
There stood a tall man.
The man was a head taller than all the warriors, and he wore a black cloak. The hood of the cloak covered most of his face, leaving only his chin visible.
There was a long scar on his chin, stretching from the corner of his mouth all the way to his ear, as if it had been cut by something sharp.
But what Bai Yu cared about most wasn't the scar, but the aura emanating from the man.
It was a feeling of oppression.
It wasn't the oppressive feeling from strength, but a deeper, more primal, beast-like aura.
The man seemed to sense Bai Yu's gaze, and he slightly raised his eyes under his hood to meet Bai Yu's eyes.
Bai Yu saw those eyes.
Those were golden eyes, with vertical pupils, like the eyes of a reptile.
It is not a human eye.
"interesting."
The man stepped out from behind the samurai, his steps slow and steady, each step feeling like a tap on a heartbeat.
The samurai automatically made way for them, bowing slightly as if they were paying homage to some important figure.
The man walked to the front and stopped.
The golden eyes under the hood swept over Bai Yu and his group, finally settling on Bai Yu.
"Outsiders".
His voice was deep, like a rumble coming from underground.
"You are not welcome in Wano Country. Leave here."
Bai Yu looked into those cold eyes and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"What if we don't leave?"
silence.
That silence was like an invisible knife hanging over everyone's heads.
Then, the man smiled.
That wasn't a friendly smile, but a murderous, cold smile, like a wild beast eyeing its prey.
"Then die here."
Before he finished speaking, he moved.
The man was incredibly fast, like a black lightning bolt, instantly covering a distance of more than ten meters and appearing directly in front of Bai Yu.
His hand emerged from under his cloak; it was a scaly hand with long, sharp nails, like the claws of a wild beast.
The hand reached out to grab Bai Yu's throat.
Bai Yu did not move.
He didn't even blink.
The hand stopped less than an inch from Bai Yu's throat.
It wasn't the white feather that blocked it; it was the man who stopped on his own.
Because an unseen sword was pressed against his throat.
Artoria stood beside Shiraha, her right hand gripping the invisible sword shrouded in wind, its tip firmly pointed at the man's throat, less than a millimeter from his skin.
The man's eyes narrowed slightly. He could feel an invisible sword pressed against his throat. Then his gaze shifted from Bai Yu to Artoria.
"Who are you?"
he asks.
Artoria did not answer, but simply looked at him calmly, her eyes showing neither hostility nor fear, only a faint wariness.
The man's lips twitched slightly, then his hand suddenly changed direction and reached out to grab Artoria.
Artoria slightly shifted her body to the side, dodging the grab, while simultaneously drawing an arc with her sword and slashing towards the man's wrist.
The man reacted quickly, his wrist snapping shut as his claws collided with the sword blade, producing a piercing metallic clang.
Sparks flew everywhere.
There were no wounds or even marks on the man's claws.
Artoria frowned slightly.
"Your hand."
"It's the power of a Devil Fruit."
Bai Yu's eyes lit up.
"Kaido."
"Are you one of Kaido's men?"
"No, I'm a samurai who gained this power by accident—Kaido is the enemy!"
The man didn't answer, but instead took a few steps back, putting distance between himself and Artoria.
His cloak was blown open by the wind as he retreated, revealing his body underneath.
That's no longer a human body.
His body was covered in black scales, stretching from his neck to his wrists, densely packed like snakeskin.
His fingers grew longer, and his nails became sharper.
The warriors behind them also moved.
They drew their swords and charged towards Bai Yu and his group.
Rangiku drew her Zanpakuto, her smile growing even more blatant.
"Finally, I can get some exercise!"
She met the three samurai charging at the front, her Zanpakuto drawing a silver arc in the air, accurately blocking the simultaneous attack of the three swords.
The sound of metal clashing echoed across the harbor, sparks flying everywhere.
The three samurai were incredibly strong, far stronger than ordinary people, but Rangiku's sword was steadyer, her hand was steadyer, and her smile was steadyer.
"Is that all the strength you have?"
She smiled and said that, then suddenly flipped her wrist, and a huge force burst out from her Zanpakuto, sending the three samurai flying at the same time.
The three samurai tumbled through the air several times before crashing heavily to the ground, their swords flying from their hands and embedding themselves in the sand some distance away.
But they quickly got up, as if they felt no pain, picked up the knife and charged again.
"Tsk."
Rangiku shook her head.
"That's really persistent."
On the other side, Robin stood still, but her arms kept growing in the air, reaching out from all directions to grab the wrists, ankles, and hilts of the samurai, pinning them to the ground one by one.
The samurai struggled to break free, but Robin's arms were as hard as iron and remained motionless.
"Don't move."
Robin said calmly, "I don't want to hurt you."
But the samurai wouldn't listen. They struggled frantically, shouting something incomprehensible. Sure enough, the so-called samurai were all difficult to communicate with.
Violet stood beside Robin, her gaze sweeping over the samurai's bodies, her brow furrowing slightly.
"Something's wrong with their bodies."
she says.
"The muscle tension is abnormal, and the nerve reaction speed is too fast. It's not like a normal person should be in this state."
"Is it a special drug?" Bai Yu asked.
Violet shook her head.
"have no idea."
Bai Yu's gaze shifted to the man with scales.
"You shouldn't have come."
The man spoke with a strange tremor in his voice, as if he were excited.
"You shouldn't have come, you shouldn't have come, you shouldn't have come! Our plan will definitely succeed!!"
He repeated the phrase, his voice growing louder and faster until it became an almost manic muttering.
Then, his body began to swell.
Scales spread from his body, covering his entire face, neck, and body. His limbs grew thicker and longer, like a tree growing wildly. His mouth split open, revealing two rows of sharp teeth, like those of a shark.
His cloak was torn, and pieces were scattered all over the ground.
A monster stood in front of Bai Yu.
It was a half-human, half-dragon monster, over three meters tall, covered in black scales, with limbs as thick as tree trunks and claws as long and sharp as scythes.
Those golden vertical pupils swirled in the monster's eye sockets, staring intently at Bai Yu.
"Is this an Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit?"
Bai Yu looked at the monster, his tone as calm as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.
"No."
The monster made a muffled sound, like two stones rubbing against each other.
His body lunged forward with incredible speed, almost like teleportation, instantly appearing in front of Bai Yu, and his enormous claws slammed down towards Bai Yu's head.
"This kind of power is beyond the comprehension of mortals like you!"
Bai Yu did not dodge.
He didn't even raise his hand.
He simply looked up and watched the enormous claw come crashing down from above.
Then, he opened his eyes wide.
It wasn't just a matter of his eyes widening; his pupils had changed.
It turned scarlet, and three black tomoe appeared in its pupils, slowly rotating on the scarlet background.
Sharingan.
The enormous claw stopped less than an inch above Bai Yu's head.
It wasn't because the monster stopped on its own, but because its body suddenly lost control.
His arms were frozen, his legs were frozen, his whole body was frozen, like a stone statue.
Fear appeared in his eyes.
"What—what did you do to me?!"
Bai Yu did not answer, but simply looked at him calmly.
The Sharingan's tomoe were slowly rotating, like a precise gear, carrying an irresistible force that controlled the monster's nervous system.
"Your body no longer belongs to you."
A terrified sound came from the monster's throat. He desperately tried to regain control of his body, but no matter how hard he tried, his body remained motionless, as if he had been nailed to the spot.
"You—you're a demon?!"
Bai Yu did not answer the question.
"All you need to do is hate yourself for not having the Sharingan."
Seeing that the other party had calmed down, the tomoe of Shiraha's Sharingan stopped spinning and slowly turned back into ordinary black pupils.
The monster suddenly felt control of its body return to its own, and it felt completely exhausted. Its knees buckled, and it knelt on the ground.
He was gasping for breath, his eyes filled with fear.
"Who exactly are you?"
He asked, his voice no longer carrying the previous ferocity, but only a deep, soul-deep fear.
Bai Yu looked down at him and smiled slightly.
"My name is Uchiha Shiraha. We shouldn't pose any threat to you. If you hadn't acted so agitatedly, we wouldn't have bothered at all."
Someone who can make him completely lose control of his body with just a glance, and you say he's not a threat?
He didn't believe it, but the battle behind him was also nearing its end.
Rangiku pinned the last samurai to the ground, her Zanpakuto pressed against his neck, a helpless smile playing on her lips.
"I told you you can't win, but you still insist on fighting."
The samurai did not answer, but stared intently at Rangiku, his eyes filled with resentment.
Robin released the samurai she had been holding down. As soon as they were free, the samurai tried to get up and continue fighting, but their bodies were no longer under their control. Their muscles were trembling from the excessive force, and they couldn't stand up at all.
Artoria sheathed her invisible sword, stood beside Shiraha, and glanced at the fallen samurai, her brows furrowing slightly.
Violet's gaze fell on the person kneeling on the ground.
"They have a hormone in their bodies that is more than ten times the amount secreted by normal people when they are fighting. That hormone will greatly enhance their strength and speed, but at the same time it will also make them lose some of their rationality and become reckless."
"Samurai actually do this kind of research?" Bai Yu asked.
Violet shook her head.
"It's uncertain. But what is certain is that these people's condition did not develop naturally; it was modified by some external force."
Bai Yu's gaze fell upon the Devil Fruit user, who was kneeling on the ground, head bowed, saying nothing, only panting heavily.
Bai Yu crouched down, bringing his eye level with his.
"What's your name?"
The man raised his head and looked at Bai Yu with his eyes, which had returned to their normal black color. His lips trembled slightly.
"——Onimaru."
"Onimaru."
Bai Yu repeated the name: "You're really not Kaido's subordinate?"
Onimaru remained silent for a few seconds, then slowly shook his head.
"No—I am his enemy! Or rather, his rebel."
Bai Yu's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"interesting."
When Kaido was mentioned, a complex emotion welled up in his eyes: sadness, anger, resentment, and a deep, unforgettable hatred.
"Resist! Resist without end!"
Onimaru knelt on the ground, his breathing gradually calming down, but the flames burning in his eyes grew stronger and stronger.
"You don't understand."
His voice was hoarse: "You simply don't understand what's happening here."
Bai Yu didn't urge him, but just watched him quietly.
The harbor wind carried the salty smell of the sea and a faint, lingering stench of blood—not from this battle, but from long ago, seeping into the cracks in the rocks, impossible to wash away.
Onimaru raised his head and looked in the direction behind Shiraha, towards the path leading deep into the village.
There used to be a village there.
He pointed to the rooftops faintly visible in the distance: "It's called Shiomi Village, with 237 people living there—fishermen, farmers..."
There are also a few woodcarving craftsmen.
,
"Two years ago, Kaido's men came and demanded protection money, asking each person to pay 300,000 Berries per month. The village couldn't afford that much money, so they killed the village chief at the village entrance and hung his body on a tree for seven days."