Inuarashi and Nekomamushi coughed up blood, their bodies battered and bones screaming in pain.
Climbing from the crater, they looked at each other in disbelief.
"How can the Flying Six be this strong?!"
They had long learned the Beasts Pirates' general strength through Denjirō's letters.
By their own measure, they could rival Kaido's Calamities—beating the Flying Six should have been easy.
But the clash just now shattered that belief completely.
"We haven't grown weaker," Inuarashi said grimly. "They've grown stronger. Look—those wings!
He was a saber-tooth Zoan; his fruit's evolved. It must be that Monster Cell power Denjirō mentioned!"
Zou's isolation left them ignorant of the chaos outside: Monster Cells now sold for ten billion Berries each on the black market.
But they understood enough to know the truth—
and that truth crushed any hope.
From above, Fuz-Fu, wings spread wide, sneered.
"You two should just open your mouths and pledge yourselves to the Beasts Pirates."
"Keep dreaming!"
The two kings would never betray Kozuki Oden.
Battle erupted again. Surrounded by Fuz-Fu, Runmie, and Pejiwan, they fought desperately but were soon bloodied and staggering.
"Still won't yield?" Fuz-Fu growled.
They clenched their jaws, refusing even to touch the enchanted rice balls.
Luo Xing, watching from the warship, sighed lightly.
"If they won't take the path to heaven," he said calmly, "then send them to join Oden in hell."
At his words the three Flying Six unleashed their full might, tearing the sky itself.
Lightning, dust, and the dying roars of cat and dog filled the air.
Moments later, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi lay dying.
Their vision dimmed; fragments of old memories flickered—Oden's laughter, their comrades' faces, the lost promise of Wano's dawn.
"Don't give up, cat… we still have Lord Momonosuke!" Inuarashi rasped.
"He'll avenge us someday!"
"Yes… the son of Oden… he'll—"
A shadow fell over them. Luo Xing had jumped down from the ship.
"You two can rest easy," he said softly. "The Navy can wait—but Momonosuke will die first."
"You—!"
Steel flashed.
Both heads fell.
Pejiwan flicked the blood from his blade.
"Mind your place. The Consort isn't someone strays like you can touch."
With the kings dead, Zou's resistance collapsed.
By sunset, the battle was over.
Fewer than a hundred Minks had died; the rest were pacified by the Momotaro Rice Balls.
From them, Luo Xing selected three hundred of the strongest warriors and fed each a Monster Cell.
Their roars shook the clouds.
In an instant, their strength rivaled the Gifters Corps.
Then Luo Xing approached the giant elephant itself.
It took ten thousand rice balls, but eventually Zunesha obeyed his command.
He ordered it to march toward Wano and then returned to his ship, satisfied.
This campaign had achieved everything:
future threats erased, and the Beasts Pirates' power multiplied once again.
Nightfall
Luo Xing reclined on a deck chair, gazing at the moonlit sea.
A soft, graceful voice approached.
"Master, your tea."
He turned.
The speaker was a young Mink girl covered in snow-white fur, her long rabbit ears curving gently upward—Carrot.
"Tell me, Carrot," Luo Xing asked quietly, "do you hate me?"
The rabbit-eared girl blinked, startled.
"How could I hate you, Master?"
Anyone who had eaten the rice balls now saw Luo Xing as their rightful lord.
"I killed your two kings," he said. "Doesn't that sadden you?"
She lowered her head.
"A little… but they defied your will. You gave them a chance."
Luo Xing smiled faintly and took the cup from her hands.
"It's a full moon tonight," he said. "Show me your Sulong form."
"Yes, Master."
Carrot looked up.
Under the silver light her eyes glowed crimson, her fur shimmered like snow, and the air around her turned icy and still.
She was radiant—beautiful and fierce, like a warrior spirit of the moon itself.
Luo Xing stepped closer, touched one of her long ears lightly, and nodded.
"Good. Keep that form. We have work to do."
He turned toward the helm, the moon reflected in his eyes—
a calm predator guiding his new army home.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/ZoroTL442