Chapter 406 The End of Orochi!

A cold, drizzling rain began to fall over the Flower Capital, though no one knew when it had started.

Tatsuya wore a wide straw hat and was draped in a dark-colored ronin robe.

He walked at an unhurried pace, passing through the empty streets, heading straight for Orochi Castle in the center of the city, which was brightly lit and heavily guarded.

On the high walls surrounding Orochi Castle, torches burned brightly.

A large number of samurai from the "Patrol Unit" and the "Oniwabanshu" Ninjas hiding in the shadows instantly detected the intruder, who made no effort to conceal his presence.

"Who goes there?! How dare you trespass into the Shogun's residence!"

With a sharp shout, the gates swung open with a boom.

Hundreds of fully armed samurai and elite Ninjas wielding hidden weapons surged out like a black tide.

With fierce glares, they drew the katanas at their waists, attempting to hack the arrogant swordsman into mincemeat in an instant.

However, facing the murderous intent that rushed toward him like a storm, Tatsuya's footsteps did not falter in the slightest.

Just as the leading samurai raised their blades.

Hum—!

A wave of dark red Conqueror's Haki erupted from Tatsuya, sweeping outward in a terrifying, tangible storm.

The standing water on the ground was instantly shattered, turning into a mist that filled the air.

Those samurai and Ninjas, who had been fierce only a second before, felt as if their brains had been struck by an invisible, massive hammer, and their souls instantly plunged into an endless abyss.

The weapons in their hands clattered to the ground, powerless.

Hundreds of self-proclaimed elite Orochi guards rolled their eyes back, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed into the mud like harvested wheat, completely losing consciousness.

Tatsuya stepped over the sprawling bodies and walked straight into the castle keep, the symbol of supreme power.

Meanwhile, inside the most luxurious hall deep within the castle keep of Orochi Castle in the Flower Capital.

Kozuki Hiyori sat on a cushion in the corner, clutching her precious shamisen, her slender fingers plucking the strings mechanically.

At this moment, her breathtakingly beautiful face lacked its usual charm, and her expression seemed somewhat vacant.

Tatsuya, like an inescapable nightmare, had left her heart in turmoil.

In stark contrast to Hiyori's gloom and distraction was the current Shogun of Wano Country, sitting in the main seat of the hall—Orochi.

His ugly, broad face was flushed with drunkenness, and he was embracing several beautiful, trembling geishas.

While letting his rough hands roam wantonly over the geishas, he madly poured high-end sake into his mouth.

From time to time, he let out a harsh, owl-like "Hahahaha" laugh, savoring the taste of power to the fullest.

A moment later, another large jar of fine wine was emptied.

Orochi smacked his lips, unsatisfied, and impatiently smashed the empty wine jar onto the expensive wooden floor with a crisp "bang."

"Where's the wine! Why is there no wine left!"

Orochi shouted, his voice grating, ordering those outside the hall.

"Are the guards outside slacking off? Go to the cellar immediately and bring the best wine to this Shogun!"

However, as time ticked by, there was no response from the corridor outside; even the footsteps of the servants who were usually at his beck and call had vanished without a trace.

The entire castle keep was terrifyingly quiet at this moment, with only the monotonous and faint "drip-drop" of the night rain hitting the eaves remaining in his ears.

Hiyori, who had been absent-minded, also sensed this unusual abnormality.

Her fingers paused, and the music of the shamisen came to an abrupt halt.

The geishas in Orochi's arms seemed to sense something, covering their mouths and looking pale at the closed, ornate shoji door.

Outside that paper door, illuminated by candlelight, a tall silhouette wearing a straw hat had appeared, though no one knew when.

The silhouette did not move, yet it radiated an oppressive aura that made people feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

At the same time, a thick, inescapable scent of blood drifted in through the cracks of the door.

Striking, bright red blood was silently seeping through the cracks of the shoji door, like winding little red snakes, slowly flowing into the hall covered with expensive carpets.

"Who's playing tricks?!"

Orochi's drunkenness faded by thirty percent, and he roared, his voice harsh but cowardly.

"Boom—!"

The response was a deafening thud.

That sturdy, ornate shoji door was directly shattered by an invisible, violent force.

Countless sharp wood splinters, mixed with torn paper, sprayed into the hall like hidden weapons.

Amidst the swirling night wind and rain, Tatsuya walked slowly into the hall with a steady gait, holding the black blade shusui casually in his right hand.

Looking at this man who had walked out of hell, Orochi was terrified to the point of collapse.

He roughly shoved away the screaming geishas in his arms, his fat body scrambling backward on the tatami mats until he hit the corner of the wall.

"Someone! Protect me! Where is the Oniwabanshu! Come and save this Shogun!"

Orochi waved his hands wildly, trying to shout for help at the top of his lungs.

But his shrill cries for help were interrupted by Tatsuya's smiling voice:

"Don't waste your breath shouting."

"In this castle keep, besides you lot, there are no living creatures left that can breathe."

Tatsuya slightly raised his head, his gaze beneath the straw hat fixed on Orochi in the corner as if looking at a corpse.

In the corner, Hiyori stared blankly at the man standing with his blade, forgetting even to breathe.

She knew better than anyone how heavily guarded Orochi Castle was, how outrageous the permanent forces were; it was an absolute iron barrel from which not even a fly could escape!

Yet, this man before her had silently slaughtered all the elite guards in the outer and inner perimeter without triggering a single city-wide alarm.

He had just walked up to the supreme ruler of Wano Country as if taking a leisurely stroll.

This terrifying strength, a literal dimension-reduction strike, left Hiyori's mind blank.

At this moment, backed into a corner and realizing there was no escape, Orochi, under extreme fear, was finally driven to paranoia and madness.

"Don't look down on me! This Shogun is the ruler of Wano Country!"

"I am an absolute existence blessed by the gods!"

Orochi roared with bloodshot eyes, his body springing up from the ground.

He did not hesitate to activate the ability of his rare Devil Fruit—the Zoan, Mythical type, Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Yamata no Orochi.

Accompanied by the sound of expanding bones, Orochi's originally short and fat body instantly swelled and grew larger.

The violent power directly shattered the exquisite wooden roof of the castle keep, causing tiles and massive timbers to collapse with a thunderous crash.

Amidst the flying ruins and night rain, eight huge, ugly, and hideous snake heads danced wildly in the night sky.

Like a world-destroying monster descended from myth, it let out a deafening, violent roar.

Eight huge, slit pupils radiated greedy and venomous glares, locking firmly onto Tatsuya, who was as small as an ant below.

Lethal green venom and scorching crimson flames brewed madly in the gaping maws of the different snake heads.

High heat and toxic gas intertwined, instantly turning the entire luxurious hall into a burning, devastated ruin.

Facing this massive beast that seemed to have walked out of myth, Tatsuya slightly raised his head.

He looked at the arrogant Yamata no Orochi with undisguised contempt and mockery:

"Just a deformed reptile that grew a few extra heads, and you dare to claim to be blessed by the gods?"

Tatsuya slowly raised the black blade shusui in his hand, and dark red Armament Haki instantly wrapped around the blade, emitting heart-pounding rumbles:

"Since you have eight heads... then I'll cut you eight times."

The battle erupted instantly, but this was completely a one-sided slaughter.

"Go to hell! You arrogant pirate!"

Orochi roared, and three snake heads opened their maws simultaneously.

The sky-filling venom poured down like a rainstorm, and the scorching flames turned into pillars of fire that swept across the entire hall.

However, these seemingly world-destroying attacks couldn't even touch the hem of Tatsuya's clothes.

Tatsuya's figure instantly turned into streaks of uncatchable dark red afterimages.

He wove through the sea of fire and toxic rain as if taking a leisurely stroll.

Swish!

The first strike!

Tatsuya's figure appeared in mid-air like a ghost, and the black blade shusui drew a perfect half-moon arc in the night sky.

The huge snake neck that was attempting to open its maw to bite down didn't even have time to react before it was instantly severed by this fierce, unparalleled sword energy.

The second strike!

During his descent, Tatsuya stepped on empty air, and his figure rose again.

The black blade cleaved down from above like a mountain, directly splitting the ugly head that was spraying lethal venom in two, slicing it cleanly down the middle!

The blade's light was like snow, illuminating the dark night sky.

A rain of blood poured down, scattering over the ruins of the castle keep!

"Aaaaah—! It hurts!"

Accompanied by Orochi's heart-wrenching, shrill screams.

Those huge snake heads, one after another, were ruthlessly severed by the flawless black blade light.

Like huge meteorites, they crashed heavily into the broken ruins, kicking up dust that filled the air.

Hiyori had long been terrified by this apocalyptic scene and was slumped in a corner under a barely safe section of broken wall.

She didn't bother to wipe the rain and dust splattered on her face, her eyes unfocused, staring blankly at the battle in the night sky.

That nightmare monster, who had used brutal means to oppress the people of Wano Country for twenty years, who had made countless samurai feel deep despair and powerlessness.

At this moment, in the hands of this man wearing a straw hat, it appeared so clumsy and fragile, being casually sliced like fish on a cutting board.

This display of absolute power was deeply branded into the depths of Hiyori's trembling soul.

As the seventh dazzling dark red blade flash passed.

After the seventh huge snake head was ruthlessly severed at the root.

The Devil Fruit ability within Orochi's massive body could finally no longer be maintained due to the insurmountable trauma it had suffered.

The massive headless remains shrank rapidly amidst a cloud of thick purple smoke.

When the purple smoke dissipated, Orochi had reverted to the short, fat, and ugly appearance of the Kurozumi head.

At this moment, Orochi was covered from head to toe in wounds torn by the sword energy, blood gushing out like a spring.

Knife wounds deep enough to see bone covered his entire body, leaving him without even the strength to stand, and he collapsed miserably into the pool of blood that covered his feet like a dead dog with its spine removed.

Watching Tatsuya, who was walking slowly toward him while holding the dripping black blade, Orochi's psychological defenses completely collapsed.

He desperately clawed at the broken wooden boards on the ground with both hands, dragging his heavy body backward.

Snot and tears mixed with blood smeared his ugly face.

He no longer had the dignity of a Shogun; he frantically knocked his forehead against the floor toward Tatsuya, letting out pig-like pleas for mercy:

"Don't kill me! Please, don't kill me!"

"Whatever you want, I'll give it to you!"

"The treasures of Wano Country, women, even the position of Shogun, I'll give them all to you!"

"I don't want to die!"

Tatsuya walked up to Orochi and stopped.

He looked down at this stray dog begging for mercy.

For such scum who had plunged the entire country into misery for his own selfish desires, death was his only destination.

Tatsuya slowly raised the black blade in his hand, which was drenched in blood, and the cold blade was precisely aimed at Orochi's neck.

Just at this critical moment.

Kozuki Hiyori, who had been slumped in the ruins in the corner, seemed to be suddenly awakened by some obsession.

She didn't know where she found the strength, but she struggled to stand up from the water-logged ground.

Her eyes were red, tears mixed with rain sliding down, and she shouted at the top of her lungs toward that tall back, which seemed as invincible as a god:

"Please stop, Lord Tatsuya!"