Chapter 425: The Wrath of Kozuki Oden
Chapter 425: The Wrath of Kozuki Oden
Facing the hawk-eyed youth before him, Crocodile's lips curled into a smirk.
"Another fool who doesn't know death when it's staring at him."
He conjured a swirling sandstorm in his hand.
"Sables!"
He hurled it at Mihawk.
The sandstorm spiraled violently, catching the ocean winds and transforming into a monstrous sand hurricane on the open sea.
Mihawk narrowed his eyes and responded with a single slash—
Boom!
His powerful sword strike tore the sandstorm apart.
Crocodile narrowed his eyes in turn.
"Hmph. Looks like you've got some skill."
"Desert Spada!"
His arm transformed into a massive sand blade and slashed toward Mihawk.
The gigantic sand blade screamed toward him.
Clang!
Mihawk blocked it with one clean swing.
The collision of steel and sand rang across the waters.
Seeing his attack blocked so easily, Crocodile's expression grew serious.
He started to fight in earnest.
The two battled for an entire day.
As the sun began to set, they finally stopped.
"Dracule Mihawk, is it? I'll remember you."
Crocodile, panting and slightly battered, glanced at Mihawk, who looked similarly worn.
He turned and left—his ship on the verge of collapse from the battle.
If he didn't leave now, he would die at sea.
As a Logia user, there would be no surviving a shipwreck out here.
Mihawk didn't pursue him.
He knew—his survival had depended on the terrain.
"I need more battles like this…"
He sheathed his blade and sat cross-legged in his coffin boat.
This fateful clash had brought them both a new understanding of their place in the world.
But fate would not wait.
The coming storm was already brewing.
---
Wano Country
"Oh? Barrett couldn't handle this newcomer?"
Charlotte sat in his palace, reading the latest intel.
"Barrett said the enemy is a Logia user—the Sand-Sand Fruit. The desert gave Crocodile a huge advantage. He couldn't finish him off."
Caesar, standing beside Charlotte, explained.
Charlotte nodded slightly, deep in thought.
So those two had finally met.
Fate was moving.
And he didn't know yet what his fate would be.
He put down the newspaper.
"Have we found the location of Kurozumi Orochi's remnants?"
He asked Lafitte.
"We've tracked them to Kuri. Most of the local population supports the Kurozumi remnants, either openly or in secret."
"Caesar, go assist Lafitte and eliminate them."
Charlotte ordered.
"Yes…"
Caesar groaned. He knew the terrain of Wano was still awful—outside of Udon, it was a wasteland due to volcanic eruptions that even six years later hadn't healed.
Charlotte didn't care about Caesar's complaints.
After the war with Big Mom, both sides had quieted down.
Charlotte took this opportunity to come to Wano, a destabilized region, and left Kame Island in Barrett and Esdeath's hands.
As for why…
He glanced at a second piece of intelligence:
"Roger Pirates disbanded. All members leave the ship."
Kozuki Oden was returning.
Without Charlotte personally sitting in Wano, Lafitte alone could not stop Oden's wrath.
---
A sea near the New World
"Lord Oden! We'll reach Wano in three days!"
Kin'emon, one of the Red Scabbards, informed Kozuki Oden.
Oden stood silently, gazing at the endless sea.
"…Can you tell me what's happened in Wano?"
He asked in a low voice.
He had heard, back on Zou, that the Rockefeller Pirates had taken over Wano.
He hadn't believed it at first.
But then one retainer after another confirmed the truth.
"Milord… do you remember Kaido?"
"Seven years ago, the Beast Pirates allied with the Kurozumi clan. They invaded Wano and imprisoned your father. Then the Rockefeller Pirates arrived by accident and clashed with Orochi's faction."
"That led to Kaido showing up… and a battle broke out between Kaido and Rockefeller Charlotte."
"Their fight triggered a volcanic eruption, drowning most of Wano in lava. Countless died. In the end, Kaido died by Charlotte's hand, and Wano fell into the Rockefeller Pirates' control."
"To suppress resistance, they massacred our samurai, and now the people pray for your return… to drive the invaders out!"
Kin'emon summarized grimly.
"…So Wano was destroyed."
Oden closed his eyes. His voice was calm.
Too calm.
But everyone could feel the storm brewing within.
"Yes. Only Udon survived mostly intact."
Kin'emon replied, eyes filled with fury.
"…What of my father?"
"Lord Sukiyaki was imprisoned in the castle… It's likely he died in the eruption."
Oden's eyes snapped open.
Boom!
His Conqueror's Haki erupted to the sky.
"Rockefeller Charlotte!!"
The name burst from Oden's lips, filled with killing intent.
The Red Scabbards behind him trembled. He looked like a wrathful god.
"Shall we request help from the Whitebeard Pirates? After all—"
"No."
Oden cut Kin'emon off.
"I've already left the Whitebeard Pirates. I have no ties to them now. I won't trouble them."
"But… this is Rockefeller Charlotte! The world's strongest swordsman! Equal to Roger and Whitebeard!"
Kin'emon pleaded.
Over the years, he'd come to understand just how powerful this man was.
"So what?"
Oden turned to him, eyes blazing.
"If I do not avenge my father, I am no son. I will personally kill Charlotte and reclaim Wano!"
His voice was terrifying.
All fell silent, heads bowed.
As the ship approached Wano…
Far away, Charlotte, sitting in a shadowed palace, looked into the horizon.
"Come then. Let's settle this, here and now…"
He muttered quietly.
And elsewhere in Wano—
A giant dragon soared over Kuri, spitting fireballs that scorched squads of Wano's samurai below.
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