"BOOM—"
A deafening clap of thunder echoed as Ren, wreathed in lightning, crashed down onto Inazuma's port. Yukiko and Yayoi were already waiting nearby and immediately rushed over.
"Ren-dono, are you alright?" Yukiko's face instantly filled with worry the moment she saw him, looking as if she wanted to fetch a doctor immediately. Ren certainly didn't look good.
His chest was completely soaked in blood, the vibrant crimson dyeing his clothes a deep red.
"I'm fine." Ren didn't refuse Yukiko's support, instead leaning heavily on her. "Yayoi, go have the cooks prepare some food. A wound like this will be healed with a good meal."
"Yes!" Yayoi's movements were as sharp as ever. Without a moment's hesitation, she took off in her Oni-human form, flying away at top speed for fear of being slow.
"Ren-dono, I can't believe you were injured so badly. I knew I shouldn't have let you go," Yukiko scolded, her gaze averted from the horrific wound on his chest.
"That guy was seriously pissed off this time," Ren laughed as if he didn't feel the pain in his chest at all. "He must have released all of his Conqueror's Haki at once. I may be hurt, but I think I've finally grasped a thing or two about Conqueror's Haki: Advanced."
Getting beaten up was truly a great way to get stronger. Ren figured he would master Conqueror's Haki: Advanced before long.
"Ren-dono! Are you even listening to me?!" Yukiko pouted, shouting in frustration. Ever since leaving Hakumatsu, Ren hadn't seen her act like this in ages.
"What's wrong, Yukiko?"
"It was too dangerous!" she exclaimed loudly.
"Sorry, sorry. It won't happen again." Seeing her expression, Ren couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair. "Besides, have you forgotten I have eight lives?"
At that thought, he remembered he was currently in the Yamata no Orochi soul state, where his divine recovery was much faster.
"I already feel much better."
"How is that possible?" Yukiko shot him a glare, grumpily using antiseptic to clean his wound before bandaging it. Just then, Yayoi appeared in the distance, carrying food. Following her was the Dragon Oni-transformed Shichibukai, who was also carrying a large crate of Sea King meat on his shoulder.
"Food's here, Ren-dono!"
Yayoi and Shichibukai set the food down. Shichibukai's eyes widened as he saw Ren's upper body was practically mummified in bandages by Yukiko. "Ren-dono, are you hurt that badly? You should really see a doctor!"
"It's fine. Yukiko's just being overly dramatic." Ren shook his head. This level of injury was nothing to him. After eating enough food to replenish his energy, he could use Life Return to recover completely.
Not even a scar would be left.
It had to be said that Life Return was an incredibly useful skill. While overusing it might shorten his lifespan—after all, accelerating cellular metabolism couldn't be without its cost—as long as he didn't use it frequently and replenished his nutrients sufficiently, there would be almost no effect.
Ren devoured all the food Yayoi and Shichibukai had brought, even the snake bodies manifested from his own form eagerly eating. In no time, the wounds on his body completely vanished.
He stood up, tearing off the bandages wrapped around him. By now, the scars on his chest were almost gone. If not for the bloodstains on the bandages and the scabbing blood, Shichibukai would have thought Ren had never been injured at all.
"A scar will be left, the wound is wider than my wrist," Yukiko said, pressing her cool hand against it.
"It'll be fully healed in a few days. Don't worry, have you forgotten that snakes shed their skin?" Ren said.
"How is Sakazuki doing?"
"Sakazuki took a Den Den Mushi to the newspaper office. Those guys are very interested in this and have agreed to help with live broadcasts and reports on various islands," Yukiko told Ren what Sakazuki was doing, though she was also worried. "Shiki suffered such a huge loss this time. Do you think he'll continue his attack?"
"Don't worry. He'll never swallow this loss. Besides, the losses are relative; he thinks my injuries are far worse. He won't give up on this opportunity," Ren said. As for the pirates Shiki had lost, they were just expendables to him. Anyone who couldn't even withstand the aftermath was a useless waste of space, and his truly capable subordinates had long since boarded the gliders with Indigo to escape the blast.
"I expect he'll regroup and attack again soon. But he's injured too, and by then my wounds will likely be fully healed. That puts him at a disadvantage."
This was the advantage of a Zoan user: a powerful recovery ability that could heal even near-fatal wounds in a short time. Shiki, on the other hand, was not faring so well.
Currently, Shiki was lying on his ship as Indigo carefully applied medicine to his wounds. His injuries weren't as severe as Ren's, but they weren't much better either. After eating, the less severe wounds had mostly healed, but there were still a few that Indigo had to treat with extra care.
"These wounds are burned. They'll have to be surgically removed," Indigo said helplessly.
"It's fine. Just get it over with." Shiki was half-reclined, a cigar already back in his mouth. Indigo couldn't even remember if he had ever seen this man without a cigar.
"Um, Shiki-dono, about the original attack plan…" Indigo hesitated to speak.
According to him, the best course of action would be to halt the plan. They had suffered heavy losses before even making a move, while their enemy was resting and waiting. The situation was not in their favor.
"Proceed with the original plan. We'll just delay it for a few days and recruit some more cannon fodder," Shiki said without a second thought. "That guy's progress is too great…"
He reached out and pressed a hand to his own wound. The gash was so deep it had nearly cut through his bone—a wound from Ren's final counterattack, using Conqueror's Haki: Advanced.
Although it might have been clumsy, perhaps even a fluke, there was no doubt it was the power of Conqueror's Haki: Advanced.
"…I have to take advantage of this injury and eliminate him completely! Otherwise, there might come a day he can stand on equal footing with me. At that point, it'll be much more troublesome to make a move." Shiki said. "As for the pirates who died this time, they were just trash. If they're so weak, it's their own fault for dying. The sea is just that cruel!"
If you're enjoying this story, consider supporting on Patreon. You'll get 30 advance chapters immediately, plus monthly updates and bonus content. Every subscription keeps the chapters coming.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44