Chapter 356: Amigasa Village, Ace Appears
Wano Country, Kuri.
This region located in the westernmost part of Wano Country is almost one of the most closed-off areas in all of Wano Country.
Because of this, it was often associated with "chaos" and "crime" in its early years.
Of course, after being governed by the previous Daimyo of Kuri, it once returned to prosperity.
But when that Daimyo was boiled alive by Kaido, and the "Oden Castle" that symbolized him was burned to the ground.
The entirety of Kuri returned to despair once again.
The polluted water discharged from the weapon factories, the ruins of villages seen everywhere, and the emaciated people—this is the most common scene in Kuri today.
And right now, outside a bamboo forest on the southernmost coast of Kuri.
"Uncle Long, we traded for a lot of food this time too—why aren't you happy?"
A massive Komainu had wooden crates of various sizes hung on its body.
Inside the wooden crates was some food—of course, there was no meat or fresh fruit, which are super luxuries in today's Wano Country. Inside the wooden crates was only some bran, wild vegetables that looked visibly stale, and a tiny amount of white rice.
But to some people, just this food alone was unimaginable happiness.
For example, the little girl raising her hands excitedly right now.
She wore a patched kimono, had a round baby face, purple hair, and wore a simple little flower hairpin on her head. She looked somewhat malnourished.
But right now, she looked at the bamboo forest in front of her full of energy, her expression very happy.
"If we bring the food back, everyone in Amigasa Village will be able to eat their fill again recently!"
"Tama even specially traded the bamboo hats she wove herself for rice to give to Ace and the others!"
"Yes, Tama."
Hearing her words, the middle-aged samurai "Yamazaki Ryu", who was riding on the giant Komainu with her, also revealed a smile.
But his smile was somewhat forced.
Yes.
He and the young girl named Tama were villagers of "Amigasa Village" inside this bamboo forest.
Leaving the village this time, they went to the nearest "temporary market" to trade the bamboo hats woven by the villagers for food.
Everything had gone fairly smoothly, so logically speaking, he should be happy.
However, Ryu couldn't feel happy.
Because during this market trade, he had learned some news.
"The Beasts have arranged a new All-Star for Kuri as the regional manager, 'Beast Disaster' Hanafuda..."
He felt somewhat gloomy in his heart.
One must know that the Beasts Pirates' manager in Kuri was originally the "Drought" Jack, one of the Three Disasters, who suppressed Kuri with violence and slaughter. So after Drought Jack unexpectedly perished overseas, the oppressive policy across Kuri was only slightly alleviated.
The market he and Tama went to this time was also a "black market" quietly established by the commoners themselves, taking advantage of Jack's absence and the relatively loose organization of the Beasts Pirates members in the Kuri region.
But today, he heard that the Beasts Pirates had established three new All-Stars.
And among them, the "Beast Disaster" Hanafuda had already arrived in the Kuri region.
He even heard—after arriving in Kuri, this "Beast Disaster" had already left Bakura Town with several Headliner members from Bakura Town, seemingly intending to lead a team to inspect the Kuri region just like "Jack".
This made Ryu very worried.
Because he had also somewhat heard of this "Beast Disaster". He was Kaido's close friend, an evil scoundrel similarly known for his violence.
And most crucially, there were currently "outsiders" in their village.
They were also pirates who came from overseas, who provided them with a lot of food and help. They were the benefactors of Amigasa Village, and simultaneously Hanafuda's enemies, coming to Wano Country specifically to seek revenge on Hanafuda!
"Once Ace learns the news, he will definitely go find Hanafuda for revenge. By then..."
His expression was full of worry.
Because he knew very well that once things reached that point, Amigasa Village would inevitably be unable to survive.
But at the same time, the favor Ace did for them made it impossible for him to open his mouth and ask the other party to give up on revenge.
Or to be more precise—as a samurai, he also had a responsibility to repay Ace's favor.
"I can only notify Lord 'Tenguyama Hitetsu' in advance before the matter is exposed, letting him take everyone away from the village."
"And then we few samurai will accompany Ace to deliver heavenly punishment to that evil thief!"
While thinking this in his heart, Ryu suddenly heard Tama's voice beside him: "Eh? Uncle Ryu, look... there seem to be guests." Guests?
Hearing this, Ryu was stunned at first, instinctively looking in the direction Tama pointed.
Then, his expression changed drastically.
Because he had already seen that outside the bamboo forest not far away, there were indeed several outsiders.
They rode some bizarre beasts—such as giant dinosaurs, elks far exceeding normal size, or yaks with fangs. Every one of them looked extremely strong, and the few people walking at the very front held a banner with a giant dinosaur painted on it. And in the center of them was a robust, tall giant wearing a helmet.
"It's the Headliners of the Beasts Pirates, and... 'Beast Disaster' Hanafuda!"
And Ryu, who had just heard of the other party's existence in the market not long ago, naturally recognized those figures instantly.
Those guarding around were the core members of the Beasts Pirates in the Kuri region, namely the "Headliners".
And the one surrounded by them in the center was strikingly the newly appointed one of the Three Disasters.
"Is this the 'region-wide inspection' everyone in the market mentioned?"
"No... if it's an inspection, there's no reason to come directly to the village."
So, at this time, Ryu's heart had sunk to the bottom of the valley.
He had already realized that the situation was wrong.
The Headliners and Hanafuda himself appearing here were almost the top combat forces of the entire Beasts Pirates in Kuri.
And they clearly weren't here for a region-wide inspection—their target was very obvious, directly aiming for this bamboo forest, for Amigasa Village inside the bamboo forest. So, the only answer Ryu could think of was...
"Ace, their existence has been exposed!?"
That pirate from overseas had inevitably been exposed, which was why the guys from the Beasts had come knocking on the door.
"Damn it!"
Thus, Ryu gritted his teeth fiercely.
He stood up from the Komainu, drew the nodachi from his waist, and looked at Tama: "Tama, you immediately return to the village with Komachiyo, notify everyone to evacuate—especially Ace, tell him to escape as far as possible. I will go hold those guys back!"
He gritted his teeth and said this.
"Eh!?"
Tama, who had never encountered such a thing, instantly filled with tears in her eyes after hearing this.
"B-But..."
Even though she was only five years old, she could read Ryu's expression right now.
That was an expression intertwined with instinctive fear and resolve, an expression of going to one's death.
She had seen such an expression many times—every time someone in the village was conscripted into the weapon factories, she would see it once.
"Be good, go quickly!"
Ryu shouted in a low voice right now, and then prepared to leap down from Komachiyo.
But even before that.
"Ho, an unexpected discovery!"
He heard a voice carrying malice coming from not far away.
He turned his head, and then noticed—a Headliner had, unknown when, clearly already noticed them.
"How is that possible... from such a distance, they actually..."
Ryu naturally found it unbelievable—separated by such a distance, how did the other party discover him?
But just a moment later, he knew the answer.
Because at this time he noticed that this Headliner wearing a helmet actually had ears pulled very long from under the helmet, with furry short hair growing on them.
And if one looked closely, they would find that this Headliner's mouth clearly presented the shape of rabbit teeth.
[Zoan-type; Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit; Lop-Eared Rabbit Model]
"Sorcerer, no... according to Ace, an ability user!?"
Seeing this, Ryu also naturally understood.
Sorcerer—this is the term used by the commoners inside Wano Country for Devil Fruit ability users.
And after getting to know Ace, through Ace's popular science, they naturally also learned the overseas term for these monsters mastering sorcery—ability users.
And it wasn't just this one.
VMMM!
VMMM!
At this time, without exception, the bodies of the several Headliners guarding around Hanafuda all began to undergo changes.
Their expressions all began to show the morphological changes of Zoan ability users—either growing fangs, or sprouting sharp claws. "They want to escape, there's definitely a problem—Lord Hanafuda is truly a brilliant strategist, it looks like there really are intruders here."
"Hey! How about leaving them to me? I haven't adapted to the new power yet!"
"Who would give them to you? We all just got this 'power', and everyone wants to properly display it!"
"Whoever grabs them first gets them!"
They roared in low voices like this, their figures carrying the sound of breaking wind as they pounced towards Tama and Ryu.
Very strong, I'll die!
Just by seeing the movement speed they erupted with, far exceeding ordinary people, Ryu could already make an accurate judgment in his heart—as a samurai who hadn't mastered Haki and only guarded the village, he was no match for any of these Headliners. Once they clashed, he would definitely die.
But...
"Tama, escape quickly!"
Accompanied by this low shout, he had already drawn his sword.
Not being a match is one thing, fighting with all one's might is another!
As his words fell, he bent his knees, leaped, and met the Headliners head-on.
"Sunacchi!"
He shouted the slogan of the samurai, symbolizing resolve, and swung his sword at the Headliner charging the fastest—judging from the other party's fangs, the patterns on their body, and that astonishing speed, the Devil Fruit the other party consumed seemed to belong to some kind of feline. "Clang!"
The next moment, his sharp claws collided with Ryu's nodachi, bursting into searing sparks in the air.
The massive difference in strength sent Ryu flying instantly, and the nodachi in his hand was also instantly knocked away.
"Hm? This sword... the forging level is quite good. During the test yesterday, normal weapons clearly couldn't withstand my 'claws'." The Headliner looked at the nodachi, which was knocked away but remained undamaged, and clicked his tongue in wonder.
"Pity."
He looked down at Ryu, whose mouth was already bleeding.
"The guy swinging the sword is nothing special."
Evaluating like this, he smirked and raised his claws again: "Die, trash."
"Uncle Ryu!"
Seeing this scene, Tama, who hadn't yet reacted beside him, also let out a scream.
And exactly at this moment.
"Hm?"
The Headliner who raised his claws suddenly let out a confused sound.
Because at this time, he suddenly felt inexplicably hot around him—and the super five senses of a Zoan ability user he obtained after consuming the fruit sensed a light appearing by his side.
Whoosh!
The next moment, a searing sensation came from the wrist of his raised claws.
"Ah!"
The sensation of being roasted by fire instantly made the Headliner unable to help but let out a painful low roar.
"Ah, I can't agree with your words."
And in his peripheral vision as he instinctively turned his head slightly, he strikingly saw a figure had already appeared by his side at some point.
"Weapons forged by Mr. Hitetsu, even if just casually forged swords, are indeed rare good swords."
One of his hands casually pushed up against an orange hat, and flames gradually gathered on his bare upper body.
That was shockingly the Supernova who had vanished from the sea recently—"Fire Fist" Ace!
"However... Mr. Ryu is not someone a guy like you can insult."
"Over the years, he has risked his life to slay many beasts and bandits, protecting the village."
A hint of a smile carried on the corner of his mouth: "You... trash."
As the words fell, the flames instantly incinerated the Headliner completely.
In just a moment, even with the powerful body of a Zoan fruit ability user, his body was still burned to a crisp.
Thud!
With a casual toss, Ace had already thrown his corpse away.
"A-Ace!"
Seeing this scene, Tama couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes anymore.
"Tama, you and Komachiyo take Mr. Ryu back to the village first—Deuce and the others are organizing the villagers to evacuate, they will protect you." Right now, Ace also helped up Ryu, who was still coughing blood, and with a similar toss, landed him on Komachiyo's massive body.
"Eh? Then... what about you!"
Receiving such similar requests twice in a short time, Tama sniffled after hearing this.
"Me?"
Hearing this, Ace chuckled softly.
But in the depths of his usually gentle and enthusiastic eyes, there was a rare, distinct bone-piercing coldness.
"Although it's unexpected for me too, but... I finally found him with great difficulty."
His gaze looked at the figure behind the several Headliners.
"Hanafuda..."
That was the reason he came to Wano Country, the mortal enemy he had pursued all the way here.
Although Ace didn't know why the other party would suddenly appear here, there was no doubt.
"You can't escape—let's end everything right here today."
He said in a deep voice.
Faced with Ace, whose entire body was burning with raging flames, Hanafuda remained silent for a moment, and then said softly: "I didn't plan on running away." "I came here specifically for you."
☆☆☆
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