Chapter 21.2 : Shinobu!!

Kawamatsu, the kappa, couldn't help but rush straight towards King. "I can't just stand by!"

Ashura Doji shouted, "Everyone, attack together! We must save Lord Momonosuke!"

Ashura Doji, Kikunojo, Denjiro, Kanjuro, Kawamatsu, Nekomamushi, Inuarashi, and the remaining samurai charged forward.

Queen suddenly burst into laughter. "Let me show you my masterpiece!"

Bang!

The muzzle of his left hand erupted, firing a cannonball towards the samurai.

Kikunojo, leading the charge, sliced through the cannonball with a casual swing of her sword. "Don't underestimate the samurai—"

The shell exploded violently, releasing a cloud of smoke that enveloped the samurai.

Queen's laughter turned smug. "Mmhahaha! Time to test the plague bomb!"

"They're finished."

At the top of the mountain, Ian observed the samurai shrouded in the plague bombs, his resolve hardening. 

Queen was indeed skilled at crafting these devious devices—highly toxic gas bombs. But this battle was not the most critical.

Ian's gaze shifted further, focusing on the ongoing clash between Kai-sensei and Kozuki Oden. The confrontation between the monsters showed no sign of a quick resolution.

If Kozuki Oden were to win, he alone could potentially wipe out the entire Hundred Beast Pirates. Preventing this outcome was crucial.

Ian turned his attention back to Momonosuke Kozuki and Shimotsuki Yasuie. With Kozuki Oden's indecisive nature, holding these two should make things manageable—

Bang!

At that moment, the ground beneath Momonosuke and Yasuie suddenly collapsed. The two of them fell, along with Black Maria and Jack, who had been guarding them.

What?

Before the thought of surprise could even form, Ian had already leapt out and rushed to the edge of the newly formed crater.

Peering down, Ian saw Black Maria reacting swiftly. She transformed into a large spider mid-fall, using her silk threads to suspend herself and Jack in mid-air.

But.

"Ian! It's a woman! She's taken those two away!!"

Black Maria shouted upward, "The moment she touched the spider silk, it shattered!"

Ian looked down and noticed a tunnel at the edge of the crater. When had it been dug?

Without hesitation, Ian jumped into the hole, instantly donning his golden armor and transforming into his Human-Beast Form once more.

Before he could hit the ground, he flapped his wings and surged into the wide tunnel.

If they manage to escape, he'll be in serious trouble.

As he raced through the tunnel, Ian took a deep breath and shouted, "Blaze Cannon!"

The flames erupted like a torrent, filling the entire tunnel and continuing to surge forward.

"Wow!"

A woman's scream echoed from up ahead.

Flames burst from Ian's feet, lower back, and shoulders, propelling him forward like a bolt of lightning that outpaced even the expanding flames.

Not far ahead, Ian saw an opening in the tunnel.

Had she made an emergency escape route to evade the flames?

Ian launched himself out of the hole, bursting through with a trail of flames.

He emerged on the slope of a hill, not far below the summit of a small hill.

"Lord Yasuie! Take Momonosuke-sama and go first!"

Ian heard a woman's voice and turned to see a well-dressed woman rushing towards him. "I'll handle this guy!"

Behind her, Shimotsuki Yasuie was holding Momonosuke, who looked somewhat distressed but managed to grit his teeth. "Then please!"

He hugged Momonosuke, who had already woken up, and turned around to run.

"Stinky boy! Do you know your flames almost disfigured me, the No. 1 bewitching kunoichi of Wano Country!"

Shouting such bewildering words, the woman threw kunai and shuriken at Ian.

Ian didn't even flinch, allowing the hidden weapons to bounce off his scales.

"It's not good for a little brat to be so tough!" 

The woman had already closed the distance under the cover of her hidden weapons and pressed her hand towards Ian. "Let big sister make you softer!"

Oh, right. 

This woman is a ninja, isn't she?

In the original work, she's the female ninja who helped Kozuki Oden in this battle. She was once a member of the Kozuki family's Oniwabanshu but defected after Oniwabanshu surrendered to Orochi.

If memory serves, her abilities are quite tricky. 

Her Devil Fruit is a Paramecia-type. 

It allows her to ripen all things to the point of decay. That's how the tunnels were dug out.

If her abilities are used on a person, the subject will be forced to age rapidly, and this growth is irreversible.

But.

Ian reached out casually and grabbed the woman's hand. 

"Yamato."

The white wolf dashed past him, chasing after Shimotsuki Yasuie like lightning.

"Oh? Can't wait to grab big sister's hand, boy?"

Shinobu, whose hand was now in Ian's grasp, smiled slyly. "But big sister prefers a more mature man. Let's see if I can help you with that."

Ready to become an old man, stinky boy? 

Sexy Ninpo: Rot Garden!

And then.

"Huh?"

**********

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