Chapter 368: The Great Filial Son
"Ice cavalry charge!"
With a command from Esdeath, the centaur-like ice cavalry leaped down from the dragon's back, moving with speed, their long spears waving. Hundreds of ice knights thundered toward the Beast Pirates, charging into the unsuspecting members of the Beast Pirates like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.
"Ahhh—!"
"She's—'The Queen of Ice' Esdeath!"
Enemies were either impaled by the spears or severely injured and collapsed to the ground, trampled by the hooves that followed. Severed limbs were everywhere, and the smell of blood filled the air as the cold wind swept across the battlefield.
Even the ice knights themselves were covered in a layer of blood, turning a deep red as they continued charging toward the enemies like a raging storm.
"This is the Beast Pirates?" Esdeath sneered. "Their members aren't even that strong..."
"These are just the regular members," Eric pointed ahead. "A few of your ice knights have been taken down."
Even without artificial Devil Fruits, these real fighters were no match for the ice cavalry, and several ice knights were quickly taken down.
One of the real fighters furrowed his brow. "How can he transform into a giant dragon just like Kaido? Who exactly is he?"
"Who cares! This is the perfect opportunity to earn some merit!" Another one said, "Eric ? The Queen of Ice? Perfect!"
"Lant, Genos , Gin , leave those elite monsters to you," Eric and Esdeath jumped off Gin 's back.
"Got it."
"Understood!"
Lant nodded silently, flying toward the real fighters along with Gin and Genos .
Gin , flying in mid-air, began shrinking, turning into his dragon-human form. A pair of horns sprouted on his head, dark golden scales covered his arms, and a long tail extended from his waist. The three landed in front of the real fighters.
"You're facing me!" Gin swung his staff and slammed it toward the enemy.
...
"Wait!" Sasaki raised his hand, interrupting the two's fight. "The giant dragon that flew into the island just now is not Kaido-sama!"
"So what?" Kisame raised his shark-skin sword on his shoulder. "Are you thinking of escaping?"
Sasaki held back his anger. "Something's not right. What's with all the screams and noise? We'll postpone our fight for now!"
"My job is to stop you, not..." Kisame grinned, showing his sharp teeth. "It's to eliminate you."
"You... do you know what's going on?!" Sasaki's face turned serious.
Kisame chuckled. "From now on, the Beast Pirates will be history."
"—!" Sasaki froze for a moment, then smiled knowingly. "I see. You've infiltrated the Beast Pirates as a spy."
"Eh—?" The Beast Pirates members around them were shocked. "Lord Kisame is a spy?!"
Kisame pretended to be surprised. "Oh no, it's been exposed~"
"Hmph, Jack must be heartbroken." Sasaki coldly smiled. "His trusted subordinate turns out to be an undercover agent. When they meet again, they'll be a corpse, unable to execute the spy personally."
"That's not necessarily the case," Kisame grinned. "Today, the shark is going to eat the dinosaur~"
...
Deep within Onigashima, the sounds of chaos gradually reached the ears.
"What's going on?" Kaido roared unhappily, his deafening voice echoing through the cave.
"Lord Kaido!" A pirate ran to report, panting. "Eric and the Queen of Ice rode a giant dragon into Onigashima!"
"Hmm?" Kaido's oppressive gaze swept across his subordinates. "Riding a giant dragon? Now that I think about it, the Dawn Pirates should be arriving in Wano soon..."
Standing next to him, King spoke. "They must have used the Float-Float Fruit, not climbing the waterfall to enter Wano."
"Well, well, these little brats, ohohohoho..."
Kaido's laughter echoed as his head slowly stretched, his exposed back sprouting blue scales. His massive body quickly elongated, and the blue dragon soared into the sky! A burning, toothless wyvern followed closely behind.
...
"Why has it suddenly become so noisy..." Ulti avoided others' gazes, carefully walking down the corridor.
Passing by a window, she inadvertently saw the ice cavalry in full force.
"What are those things?!"
No one answered her.
But Ulti , who had always been smart, quickly realized that enemies were invading Onigashima!
"And they're strong..." Ulti observed through the window, seeing many Beast Pirates members covered in blood, lying on the ground. A large number of their comrades were being mobilized, charging toward the battlefield.
However, Ulti felt no attachment to them. In the Beast Pirates, a pirate crew where strength was paramount, infighting among pirates was severe. As a child, she and her brother could barely survive here.
Although their father had some ties to Kaido, Kaido usually adopted a laissez-faire policy. As long as they didn't die, Kaido didn't care much for them.
Unless...
Unless they ate a Devil Fruit and gained powerful strength!
This was the only way to quickly increase strength and improve their chances of survival!
"Since there are enemies invading, the guards at the treasure room should be reduced..."
Ulti made up her mind. She would use this opportunity, while the enemies invaded, to steal two Devil Fruits for herself and her brother.
She was already familiar with the map of the building, and she carefully avoided spots where there might be guards. She moved towards the treasure room where the Devil Fruits were stored.
"Ah, ah~" The sudden voice froze Ulti 's blood, and she stiffened, standing still.
"It's a little girl," the woman in front of her chuckled, slowly appearing from the shadow around the corner.
With an exceptional beauty and near-Otohimeal charm, her red right eye drew in attention like a black hole, while her left eye shimmered with a golden, mechanical quality, resembling a clock.
Her hair was styled in two uneven pigtails, one longer than the other, and she wore a red and black Gothic Lolita dress with lace trimmings and many frills.
"This little girl," Kurumi slowly spoke, "Do you know where Black Maria is?"
"…"
Kurumi spread her hands and spoke to herself, "Although there's a map drawn by Kisame , there are so many buildings here…"
Ulti was silent for a moment, then spoke, "I can take you to find her, but you have to do me a favor."
"How cute~" Kurumi raised her gun. "You're actually a member of the Beast Pirates, aren't you?"
"!" Ulti 's blood froze, and her sharp mind temporarily shut down. Her large eyes uncontrollably filled with tears.
"Ah~" Kurumi sighed, putting away her old-fashioned flintlock. "I'm actually very kind. If you meet Esdeath, you'll be dead for sure... So, little girl, what favor do you need me to help with?"
Ulti 's frail legs gave way, and her thin body collapsed to the ground.
"Hurry up~" Kurumi waved her gun. "I'm on a tight schedule."
Ulti forced herself to prop up her knees, gritting her teeth as she stood up.
"Good, very strong~" Kurumi encouraged. "Now, hurry and lead the way~"
...
"Hmm?" The sharp-eared Yamato escaped from the confinement room.
"Why is it so noisy on Onigashima? It's not even time for the Fire Festival yet."
"It's the perfect opportunity to escape from Onigashima!" The smile on Yamato's face lasted only a second before it disappeared. "But what should I do about this bomb collar?"
(END CHAPTER)
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