Chapter 139: The Promised Duel! Hope of Setting Sail
Oden Two-Sword Style: Peach Garden Ten Fists.
This was one of Kozuki Oden's strongest techniques. Swinging dual blades coated in Armament Haki, he crossed them in front while following behind—like a meteor streaking through the sky.
After unleashing the extremely fast cross-shaped flying slash,
He himself charged right after.
When Kozuki Oden executed this attack, the surrounding air visibly trembled in that instant.
The flying slash moved as if piercing through time.
In the blink of an eye, it arrived right in front of Lotte—like an unstoppable meteor dragon!
Lotte raised an eyebrow upon seeing it.
He was naturally familiar with this move. In the original story, Oden had used it to charge into the sky and leave two indelible massive scars on Kaido,
Knocking Kaido down to the ground.
It could be called the strongest technique Oden had developed. No wonder he declared that if Lotte could block this, the duel would be his victory.
"Exactly what I wanted!"
Lotte didn't bother saying more. He simply assumed his stance and unleashed a slash without hesitation to meet it head-on.
Along the edge of his blade,
The surrounding air seemed to blur in an instant. Suddenly descending water vapor accompanied the sword technique unleashed from his blade.
It crashed down like an unstoppable raging wave.
"Splash splash!"
"Water Breathing—Endless Flow!"
This was the most powerful technique in Water Breathing, and also the ultimate secret of the entire Water Breathing sword style. Though its killing power was inferior to Sun Breathing,
The continuous flowing essence
Allowed Lotte's slash to grow stronger with each rotation, erupting with astonishing power far beyond his usual level.
As the Endless Flow slash
Collided head-on with Kozuki Oden's incoming attack, an incredible howling shockwave exploded outward once again.
Even Toki had to grip a nearby tree trunk tightly
To avoid being heavily affected by such a shockwave.
After all, she was now several hundred meters away from the battle, yet the terrifying aura from their clash still made her heart pound in fear.
Not only that.
The roaring airflow exploding from their duel made it nearly impossible to see the result clearly at first. Izou—who had approached the battlefield—
Had no choice but to retreat several steps before stopping.
His face showed worry as he looked toward the center of the storm.
"My lord…"
This was the first time he had ever seen someone push his lord to such an extent.
This outsider's strength was simply monstrous!
Meanwhile, Whitebeard Newgate—who was the only one besides the combatants able to clearly see the battle—only let a smile appear at the corner of his mouth.
Just as he expected,
The victor of this fight would undoubtedly be that monstrous genius from the past!
As the smoke and dust gradually cleared.
Lotte could clearly be seen standing calmly in place with narrowed eyes. Though his clothes looked somewhat torn, he had obviously suffered no significant damage.
Only the webs between his thumbs had cracked slightly,
But under the powerful regeneration of Hashirama Cells, they were visibly healing at a rate visible to the naked eye—in an instant, they had fully recovered.
As for Kozuki Oden ahead, he gripped his dual hilts tightly while grinning at Lotte. Crimson blood dripped continuously from the wounds that had split open along both his arms.
Izou, seeing this, immediately felt alarmed and rushed to Kozuki Oden's side.
"My lord! Your wounds need bandaging!"
"Outsider! You're not welcome here—our lord is the daimyo of Kuri!"
"There's no way he's going out to sea with you people!"
He turned and shouted sternly toward Lotte.
Everyone knew that the current Kozuki Oden held immense significance for all of Wano Country. Having now solidly established his position in Kuri,
Becoming the future shogun of Wano was practically set in stone!
Under the mask, Lotte raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't force your daimyo to go out to sea—he came running over saying he wanted me to take him. If you don't believe me, ask him yourself."
Lotte's calm voice fell.
Kozuki Oden, completely unconcerned about his injuries, sheathed his dual blades and looked toward Lotte with hearty laughter.
"Hahahaha! You're exactly the kind of man I've been waiting for!"
"No time to waste—let's set sail right now!"
"I'm already completely fed up with this boring country!"
Kozuki Oden seemed to completely ignore what Lotte had just said. He still stared expectantly at Lotte without looking away.
Izou hurriedly grabbed his clothes.
"What are you talking about! My lord, you are the daimyo of Kuri!"
"If you leave to sea, what will happen to Kuri next?!"
"Kuri can't be without you!"
Izou tried to reason with emotion and logic to dissuade Oden, but he forgot that his lord had never cared about such things.
"Kuri won't fall apart without me—you guys will be there!"
"I want to adventure in the world—this is my dream! Masked guy, let's set sail together!"
Kozuki Oden said carelessly.
He had long wanted to leave the rigid, old-fashioned Wano. Such a small island simply couldn't contain his dreams!
For him,
The arrival of Lotte and the Whitebeard Pirates
Undoubtedly opened a ray of light in his unbearably lonely days. As long as he seized this opportunity,
He could successfully leave this boring Wano Country!
And sail across the vast seas!
Lotte raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. Kozuki Oden's personality was just as reckless and free-spirited as in the original story—somewhat of a double-edged sword.
Similar in some ways to Luffy's carefree nature.
He had no intention of letting Kozuki Oden join his crew too easily. Things obtained too easily tend to be taken for granted.
Until Kozuki Oden had worn the scabbards (proven his resolve),
Lotte wouldn't easily allow him to join his pirate crew—otherwise, wouldn't it be no different from the old Rocks Pirates?
"I told you—if you want to join a pirate crew."
"You have to defeat me head-on first."
"I'll stay in Wano until the ship is repaired. If you can successfully challenge and beat me, then I'll allow you to join the crew."
"And take you out to sea to sail the world."
Upon hearing this.
Kozuki Oden immediately clenched his fists in excitement.
"Great! Then you absolutely have to take me with you! I'm counting on you!"
--------------------------
Support us on patreon (+Gain access to 100 chapters in advance)
patreon.com/inkshield