Chapter 170: Blood on the Cherry Blossoms

“Charlotte Linlin—Karl is dead, and your reign is about to end!” Kozuki Sukiyaki led thousands of samurai and the Fishmen Corps into fierce hand-to-hand combat.

“Ma ma ma ma!”

“Old man, you won’t live to see it.” Linlin’s gaze was icy cold.

What truly surprised them was that Wano’s people would actually betray them.

Karl had mentioned problems with Wano before, but everyone had been so well-behaved these last three years that Krell and the others let their guard down.

That’s what led to this horrifying tragedy.

If only they’d sent people to Wano right after retreating from God Valley, none of this might have happened.

“Kill them all. Leave no one who resists alive.” From the rear, Krell directed the massive Fishmen Corps, which this time included a force of five hundred thousand Fishmen brought in from the Sweets Sea.

Their goal was to wipe out all the resistance in Wano with one swift sweep.

“Blood Slash!”

Riding the skies, Ledfield would swoop down now and then, clashing fiercely with samurai below.

“Shadow Bats!”

He summoned thousands of bats, sending them charging toward the oncoming ranks of samurai.

Each bat was enormous, nearly a meter tall.

Their eyes glowed crimson, razor-sharp fangs bared.

Samurai swung their swords desperately, trying to fend them off, but every so often, someone would get bitten.

“Ah!” The unlucky victim had their blood drained in an instant and crumpled to the ground like a mummified husk.

“Run!”

“What kind of monsters are these?”

A mass of samurai tried to retreat, only to find there was nowhere left to run. The sky above was completely swarmed with bats.

“Ah!”

“Ugh!”

More and more were grabbed by the bats, carried screaming into the sky to be drained and dropped. Within minutes, hundreds had already perished this way.

The bats brought all the collected blood up to Ledfield, who closed his eyes with a satisfied smile as he absorbed it.

That blood kept feeding his strength. He could feel himself growing more powerful by the second.

Because of Karl’s rules, he wasn’t allowed to harm civilians without cause, but to him, these people had betrayed them—so he could be as ruthless as he wanted.

“Heaven’s Fire!” Charlotte Linlin stood atop Zeus, then hurled Prometheus straight to the ground.

A torrent of flames burst from Prometheus, and towering fire engulfed the mummified corpses in front of them.

“No!” Kozuki Sukiyaki screamed in anguish.

He never imagined he’d witness such a brutal massacre.

Since Karl hadn’t accompanied Charlotte Linlin to Wano, and the resistance had been plotting in secret for years, most didn’t even know Karl and Charlotte Linlin were married.

When they got word of Karl’s death, the shock made them act recklessly and ignite their rebellion.

They never expected to suffer such bitter defeat in just ten days.

“I surrender!” Kozuki Sukiyaki bellowed, and everyone on the battlefield instantly halted their attacks.

Those who stopped fighting looked down at their fallen comrades, tears welling in their eyes.

No one could have foreseen such horrific consequences.

Even the Fishmen looked on with deep hatred, shocked by how many of their kin had been killed by the people of Wano.

Charlotte Linlin was never known for mercy.

She wasn’t educated, but even she knew what it meant to call someone a turncoat.

“Surrender? Too late for that.”

“Listen up! Leave no one alive!” Charlotte Linlin’s roar thundered as she swung her Emperor’s Blade down toward Kozuki Sukiyaki.

With her command, the Fishmen let out a deafening roar of approval. “Charge! Leave no one standing!”

“Nyeh nyeh nyeh!” Perospero, as if expecting this outcome all along, led his siblings and charged straight into the fray.

The moment Wano took up arms against the Fishmen, there was no going back—reconciliation was impossible.

After years under Karl’s leadership, they all understood just how important it was to stand by their own.

Put simply, you can mess with your own, but outsiders lay a hand and it’s war.

Kozuki Sukiyaki knew that regret could do nothing for him now.

All that was left was to fight for survival, no matter how slim the hope.

“Follow my orders—retreat!” He gritted his teeth and gave the final command, praying that at least a few would escape, though deep down he knew it was hopeless. Still, he’d rather gamble than send everyone to their deaths here.

What he didn’t realize was that even farther out, an even larger Fishmen force had already surrounded them. The moment they rebelled, they lost any chance at escape—there would be no survivors.

Charlotte Linlin and her group were here to wipe out every last traitor in Wano once and for all.

“Spare us!”

“We were wrong!”

But no matter how desperately the samurai begged, the Fishmen never stopped advancing.

The bats above continued their relentless assault, and utter despair closed in on everyone.

“Kowainai!”

“Yasakani no Magatama!” Borsalino hovered in mid-air, forming orchid fingers as countless beams of light rained down on those trying to escape.

The slaughter raged on until deep into the night. Tens of thousands of samurai fell, their blood painting the land around Rabi Well for dozens of kilometers.

After this massacre, there was no one left in Wano with the strength to resist.

The five great Kozuki families were completely wiped out, and Kozuki Oden was left buried, utterly forgotten.

Even Karl hadn’t expected Linlin to be so ruthless, eradicating all the samurai in Wano.

Meanwhile, on Cake Island, Kaze Tsuki Yaya received a strange signal.

“What? No way!”

But as he watched the video from the Visual Transponder Snail, he realized it was all true.

His face darkened—he guessed he and Oden might already be under surveillance.

He forced himself to calm down before stepping out of his room.

Fortunately, he didn’t draw any attention as he walked, but his senses told him someone was tailing him. He stopped outside Oden’s door and knocked softly.

“Who is it?”

“Oden, it’s me!”

Kozuki Oden walked to the door, and in one swift motion flung it open.

Seeing it was Kaze Tsuki Yaya, Oden grinned. “What brings you here?”

“Let’s talk inside.” Kaze Tsuki Yaya reached out, ushering Oden into the room.

Once inside, he checked all around to be sure no one was hiding before sitting down next to Oden. “You need to see this.”

He took out the Visual Transponder Snail and played the footage for Oden.

“Wha—? This can’t—” Oden started to shout, but Kaze Tsuki Yaya quickly covered his mouth and gave a subtle shake of his head, pointing toward the door.

Following the gesture, Oden saw several figures flash past outside, a cold sweat breaking out as he nodded quietly.

“I understand.” Oden quickly finished watching the video.

He stood up and began pacing. “I’ve got it—follow me.”

All those years on Cake Island hadn’t been wasted. Tagging along with Borsalino and the others, he’d accidentally discovered a secret path leading off the island.

He led Kaze Tsuki Yaya out the back door, dodging the guards, and they escaped from Cake Island.

Cake Island was so vast that it took days of running before Oden and Kaze Tsuki Yaya realized they’d left.

But by the time they did, it was already too late.