CHAPTER 194- The Fool’s Daughter and the General’s Choice
A flurry of chaotic thoughts surged through Daikoku's mind.
He had already pushed his speed to the limit—but now, in desperation, he pushed even further.
Yet he had barely covered fifty meters when a piercing sonic boom cracked the air behind him.
He turned in a panic.
What he saw was Luo Yu—at the very instant he flicked his finger.
BOOM!
Agonizing pain erupted across Daikoku's back.
A huge spray of blood exploded outward.
The impact felt like a cannonball slamming straight through him.
His body flew backwards—smashing violently into a jagged rock wall dozens of meters away.
CRASH!!!
The colossal impact shattered the cliffside.
Dust surged skyward, and blood splattered across the ground in gory trails.
By the time it all settled…
Tenguyama Hitetsu and Komurasaki were already white as sheets.
They stared in horror.
Daikoku was embedded halfway into the cliff, a gaping, bloody hole in his chest.
Dead.Completely and utterly dead.
Around the field lay the remains of the other Oniwabanshu—mangled limbs, severed torsos, a hellscape painted in blood.
Komurasaki's legs gave out. She collapsed on her rear, face pale as a ghost.
They had seen death before.
But never like this.
A massacre… without movement.
A slaughter… without emotion.
Had they not seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it.
As the images flashed through her mind, Komurasaki's thoughts spiraled into the absurd.
"Who… are you?"
Luo Yu slowly dissipated the golden aura of his Whirlwind Blade-Cutting Technique.He took another casual sip of his earthy moonshine, then chuckled.
"Who am I? I'm just a man asking for directions."
He tilted his head and added with a smile:
"But before we chat—how about the ones in hiding come out first?"
"In hiding?!" Komurasaki's face changed.
Her earlier warning to Luo Yu had already exposed a sliver of her true allegiance.
If she wanted to protect Tenguyama and Otama, she couldn't afford more slip-ups.
If those lurking were with Orochi—or worse, from the Oniwabanshu again—then all her years of planning could be undone in an instant.
Panicked, she darted her eyes around the area.
When she saw the figure step forward, her heart eased just slightly.
"Komurasaki, get behind me. This man is dangerous."
Kyoshiro stepped from the shadows, his hand already resting on his katana's hilt.
Earlier, when Otama and Hitetsu were ambushed, Kyoshiro had considered intervening.
But what he hadn't expected was this.
A stranger descending into a killing field… without lifting a finger.
A one-man massacre.
Komurasaki quickly stepped up and grabbed Kyoshiro's arm.
"Wait—Boss Kyoshiro, don't act rashly. I have an idea."
She turned back to Luo Yu, heart pounding.
"Sir, are you… with Kaido?"
Kyoshiro froze.
An idea?
Luo Yu raised a brow, then laughed lightly.
"Me? With Kaido? On the contrary… I'm probably the one he wants dead the most right now."
"You could say—we're mortal enemies."
Mortal enemies?!
Everyone froze in disbelief.
Even Komurasaki stared blankly for a moment before her eyes widened. She suddenly gripped Kyoshiro's arm tightly and said urgently:
"Boss Kyoshiro! I remember now—he looks just like the new Marine admiral! Quick—get the newspaper!"
In Wano, newspapers delivered by News Coo were rare luxuries.
But people of Komurasaki and Kyoshiro's rank could still get their hands on them—especially during this turbulent period, when the Beasts Pirates were facing chaos after chaos.
They had been closely watching for any sign—any opportunity—that might help Wano break free.
Kyoshiro immediately pulled out the newspaper he had hidden on him.
One look at the front page—
Their pupils shrank.
"It is him. Not just a resemblance. This is the real deal—Marine Admiral Taiote Luo Yu! But the Marines are supposed to be preparing for war with the Four Emperors. Why is he in Wano?!"
Kyoshiro was utterly stunned.
He had lived hidden in Wano for so many years.
And never—not once—had anyone successfully infiltrated Kaido's stronghold without being caught.
To the world, Wano was a den of dragons. Only madmen dared enter.
Yet now, before his eyes, stood not just any outsider—
But a living bombshell.
"He's really a Marine Admiral? But why does Kaido want him dead so badly?" Hitetsu couldn't help but ask.
Komurasaki, still shaken, replied softly:
"Orochi said the rumors outside say the Marines were forced into declaring war on two Yonko… all because of the new Admiral."
"He defeated one of Kaido's top three Disasters—Jack the Drought—and sent him to Impel Down."
"That was the spark… that ignited this entire war."
"So he's the cause of the war?" Hitetsu was stunned.
The idea that this youth—this calm, wine-sipping stranger—could force Kaido to move his entire pirate crew?
It was unimaginable.
And yet… they were witnessing it.
Just as Hitetsu was about to speak again—
Thud!
Komurasaki dropped to her knees, her voice trembling with resolve:
"Admiral Luo Yu of the Marines—my name is Kozuki Hiyori."
"I am the granddaughter of Kozuki Sukiyaki, the former shogun of Wano."
"Years ago, Kaido and Orochi conspired to seize our land. They murdered my father, Kozuki Oden, with treachery."
"My mother and brother perished in the flames."
"The people of Wano have lived in torment ever since."
"For over ten years, I endured as the oiran Komurasaki… just to bide my time—to wait for a chance to liberate our country."
Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked up.
"My father was indeed a pirate… but in Wano, he was a man of justice, a hero to his people."
"I beg you, Admiral Luo Yu—don't judge him for the title he bore at sea."
"If you agree to help us open Wano's borders, I—Kozuki Hiyori—will do anything."
"Anything to fulfill my father's last wish."
She took a deep breath and raised her voice.
"Surely you, as a Marine, have heard of Kozuki Oden!"
Luo Yu chuckled softly, sipping his wine again.
"Your father's name?"
He tilted his head, the golden light now completely faded.
"Of course I've heard of him."
A faint grin curved his lips.
"That big idiot? Of course I know him."