Chapter 1156
Chapter 1156
“It’s so hot!”
“What’s with these temperatures?!”
“Watch out—the flames are spreading!”
“Admiral! Kuroadmiral!”
Flames surged around them, encircling the Navy troops and sending them into panic.
At this temperature, they couldn’t hold their ground.
Admiral?
Robin, standing nearby, heard the Navy’s cries and instinctively narrowed her eyes.
This man is an Admiral now?!
“Stop panicking. Show some pride as Marine Elites.”
Kuro glanced at the surrounding flames, then bit down on his cigar and exhaled a plume of smoke. He spread his fingers slightly before clenching his fist.
Whoosh.
The searing flames around them vanished in an instant.
Flames required oxygen to burn, and Kuro’s ability to manipulate air let him simply drain the oxygen from the flames’ medium.
This was child’s play for him. Back in Totto Land, he’d already shattered the flames and lightning conjured by Homies during his battles with Charlotte·Big Mom.
But as soon as he extinguished them, Kuro narrowed his eyes, instinctively looking upward at the strange creature descending from above.
This thing felt off.
Normally, he should’ve doused its flames too, but the fire on its body still blazed unnaturally. It wasn’t ordinary flame.
Down below, Klah had already extended his claws, black aura of demonic wind encasing his forearms.
He was furious.
First, he’d been interrupted earlier—now even some inhuman monstrosity was cutting off his speech? Was he really so cursed he couldn’t finish a sentence?!
“I’ll tear you apart!” Klah snarled, his eyes hardening as he lunged forward.
“Klah, fall back! This thing isn’t something you can touch!”
Kuro’s sharp command rang out.
Though confused, Klah reacted instantly, launching himself backward with a burst of speed to land beside Kuro, crouching low.
“Kuro, Mr.?” he asked, glancing up, his eyes even hinting at resentment.
Kuro kept his gaze locked on the descending creature. It landed on the floor, its body passing straight through without disturbing the people below, as if phasing through the floor itself.
“It’s a Soul being.”
“A Soul?!”
Klah’s eyes widened. “Like Homies?!”
If it was that kind of thing, Kuro’s warning made sense. Klah’s attacks were purely physical—he hadn’t mastered the “presence” needed to strike at Souls. That scorching heat could easily wound him.
“Not quite. It doesn’t seem conscious. Strange. Besides Big Mom, who else can create Soul beings?” Kuro muttered, puzzled.
This massive creature, like a living night sky, blocked their view. Opposite it, Usopp and the others stared at the beast.
Zeus emerged from Nami’s Clima-Tact, staring at the flaming monster in shock. “Soul! There’s a Soul aura!”
“Is it Homies?!” Nami gasped.
Zeus studied the aura carefully. “No, I don’t sense Homies’ aura. It’s another kind of Soul being—but it’s unintelligent. It feels like it was born for a specific Mission, more like resentment or something.”
“We should leave now. That thing saved me earlier.”
Robin interjected, “CP0 is chasing me, and now there’s the Navy too. We’re cornered if they surround us.”
“You’re right. Let’s retreat. Luffy can handle the upper levels.” Nami nodded.
Bang!
As the group turned to flee, the ceiling above suddenly bulged outward into a semicircle, a deep rumble echoing.
Bang!
Another thunderous boom. Cracks spiderwebbed across the protruding section.
Bang!!
The ceiling exploded open, and a figure leapt through, shouting, “Don’t run!”
In that moment, the strange creature plunged into the floor and vanished.
The figure landed, slamming a Wolf’s Spirit Thundercloud into the ground with a clang. “Damn it, too late again!”
It was a woman.
Kuro’s eyes widened slightly as he took in the Wolf’s Spirit Thundercloud, then trailed upward to her sleeveless kimono.
Hmm? Killing Intent?
He glanced sideways, spotting Lida baring his teeth, glaring at him with clear hostility.
“Kuro,” Lida growled, enunciating each syllable, “what exactly are you looking at?”
“Oh, this white-haired one’s interesting. Gradient coloring.”
Kuro blinked rapidly, eyes alight with curiosity as he studied her further.
Her hair, like Lida’s, was white—but only at the roots. It shifted to green, then blue at the tips.
A real color-shifting oddity.
Her sideburns hung naturally to her chest, while the back was tied into a ponytail adorned with two orange hairpins. Her ears, like Kuro’s, bore golden ornaments. Kuro’s were golden balls pinching his earlobes, while hers were golden hoops.
Most strikingly, her head bore a pair of crimson, demon-like horns.
That horned head, combined with the familiar Wolf’s Spirit Thundercloud. Though different from Kaido’s—his had jagged spikes on the staff, while hers had smooth, rounded protrusions—it was undeniably a Wolf’s Spirit Thundercloud, wielded by a woman.
Now that was a twist.
Nami and Usopp blurted out, “Yamato?!”
“Eh?”
Yamato turned, spotting the four of them. “It’s you.”
She began to raise her hand in greeting but quickly realized her error. "Wait! This isn't the time for pleasantries. I must find 'Kazegan-bo'—it's targeting the Castle's underground ammunition storage."
“Kazeganbo?” Usopp frowned. “What is that? Zeus said it was a Soul creation.”
"I’m not sure either, but it’s Kazeganfang—the creation Kurozuru left behind before his death. Its purpose is to destroy the Ammunition Storage. Blackbeard’s Giant Serpent isn’t dead—Momonosuke’s fighting it on the fifth level, and Luffy’s battling Kaido there too. We must stop Kazeganfang from reaching the Ammunition Store. If it explodes, the entire Castle will go sky-high!"
Her voice hardened. “There are still many people here—they shouldn’t die because of this!”
“Oh? It’ll blow up the Castle?”
A voice rang from her side. Yamato turned in shock, only now noticing a group in white hooded cloaks standing on her other side.
“Who are you?” she instinctively asked.
“These are Navy!”
Nami shouted, “They’re Navy, Yamato! They’re the enemy!”
“Navy!”
Yamato’s eyes lit up, her voice tinged with excitement. “Are you the Navy described in Oden’s diary? Oden’s enemy, Roger’s enemy, and even Whitebeard’s enemy! There’s someone named Garp—isn’t he Luffy’s grandfather? The Navy who chased Roger everywhere, right?!”
Before she could finish, a thought struck her, and she gritted her teeth, snarling, “You’re also the ones who killed Ace! I’ll take exact revenge for Ace!”
She raised her Wolf’s Spirit Thundercloud at Kuro’s group, but suddenly remembered something and hastily added, “Wait, I don’t have time for you now—I must stop Kazegan-bo!”
“Kuro, Mr.,” Klah sniffed, eyes widening, “that aura—was that the icy wolf aura we smelled earlier?”
Klah sniffed again, eyeing Yamato. “Who are you?”
“I’m Yamato!”
“No, I mean—what’s your name?” Klah pressed again.
“I’m Yamato…” She looked genuinely confused.
“Ugh!” Klah clenched his teeth in frustration.
This woman might be a bit… simple-minded.
"I’ll stop Kazegan Fang first!"
(Translated using pinyin for the name "Fang" to match the chapter's naming style, as seen in "Kurozuru" and other character names rendered in pinyin. This maintains consistency with the established convention for translating proper nouns in the text.)
Without waiting, Yamato gripped her Wolf’s Spirit Thundercloud with both hands, lifting it high as her eyes flared. “Thunder Roar!”
Crackling!
Black lightning-like Haki surged across the Wolf’s Spirit Thundercloud, its powerful aura making Klah and Lida instinctively widen their eyes in shock.
This seemingly clueless woman had Haki this strong?!
Kuro raised an eyebrow, murmuring, “As expected…”
“Eight Trigrams!!”
Boom!!
The Wolf’s Spirit Thundercloud, blazing with lightning, slammed into the floor, carving a massive hole and sending up a cloud of smoke and debris that rippled outward.
“Hmph.”
Lida instinctively shielded half his face, frowning. “That was intense, Kuro.”
“Naturally,” Kuro said, smacking his lips. “She’s Kaido’s daughter—she’s no slouch.”
“Kaido’s daughter?!”
Lida’s eyes bulged. “Seriously? He has a daughter?!”
“I’m as confused as you,” Kuro said, smirking. “With Kaido’s genes, how’d he have such an attractive daughter? Doesn’t seem right.”
As the smoke cleared, only the gaping hole remained. Usopp and the others exchanged glances before leaping down after Yamato.
“Wait for us!” Usopp shouted.
The four, plus the young girl, rode a lion-dog down into the hole, vanishing from sight.
Klah stared into the depths, his voice steady. “Kuro, Mr.—should we pursue, or keep searching?”
Though he felt a simmering anger toward Usopp, their main mission wasn’t to chase or capture. From the woman’s words, there was clearly more action above. Opportunities were ripe for the taking.
He knew the priorities. Their task was to investigate, then decide whether to act.
“You decide. I’ll go up,” Kuro said, glancing at the hole above, a smirk tugging his lips. “Fifth level? Saves me the stairs.”
With that, he launched upward through the ceiling’s opening.
The Castle’s upper levels had been conveniently breached by Yamato, saving Kuro the trouble. The aura here was too dense and chaotic for Observation Haki, but Yamato’s outburst had exposed Kaido’s position on the fifth level.
Whether Kaido or Big Mom, either was fine. Now that Kaido’s location was clear, Kuro was determined to investigate.
Watching Kuro leave, Klah called out, “Sazil!”
“Yes!” Sazil snapped to attention, saluting sharply.
“You, Ju Geng, and Fen Ni—keep searching. Find anyone important. And share Moer’s trail with me—I’ll pursue Usopp’s group.”
Klah quickly assigned tasks, then turned to Lida. “Lida, Miss—”
Lida bared his teeth, his tone hostile. “I’m interested in that Yamato. Kuro kept staring at her.”
“Then let’s go,” Klah said. “Luffy’s crew won’t escape either!”
(End of Chapter)
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