Bang! Bang!
"Chase her! Don't let her escape!"
"You can't get away, Shinobu!"
"General Orochi ordered us to take your head!"
At this moment…
Not far from where Wilhelm was—
In a dense forest—
A slender and beautiful woman was moving swiftly through the trees, using her incredible agility and jumping skills. She leaped from branch to branch with ease, desperately trying to escape.
Behind her—
A group of Beast Pirates, armed with guns, swords, and other weapons, were chasing her down like wild beasts.
They fired bullets and arrows from time to time, attacking without mercy.
The woman they were hunting had twin ponytails, tight-fitting clothes, and a flawless figure—she was stunning.
She clenched a sharp kunai between her teeth, while her right hand pressed against her wounded shoulder, which was bleeding heavily.
Despite her injury, her eyes were filled with determination. She kept running, trying to escape from the pirates.
Swish...
At that moment—
The pirates suddenly noticed someone ahead.
He was a tall, rough-looking man with a strong build. His long, unkempt hair hung loosely behind him.
He wore tattered linen clothes and had two swords at his waist, dressed like a samurai.
This was Wilhelm—
He had just used the power of the Mythical Zoan Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Yamato no Orochi, to create a new body from Kozuki Oden's corpse, renaming it "Miyamoto Musashi."
Right now, the Beast Pirates didn't recognize him at all.
His appearance had none of Kozuki Oden's original features.
The two swords at his waist were taken earlier from the Shogun's Mansion in the Flower Capital—they belonged to Wano's shogun, Kurozumi Orochi.
"Wait! Someone's up ahead!"
"A samurai? Never seen him before..."
"Move aside! Can't you see we're capturing a traitor who tried to assassinate General Orochi?"
"Stop! Who are you?"
"Doesn't matter! Just kill him first—hahaha!"
The Beast Pirates were as arrogant as ever.
They didn't care who he was.
Without hesitation, they opened fire.
A rain of arrows shot toward Miyamoto Musashi.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Miyamoto Musashi drew his swords.
In an instant, his aura changed—fierce and overwhelming.
Holding a sword in each hand, his body moved like lightning, cutting through the air with deadly precision.
"Clang!"
"Bang! Bang!"
"Aaaahhh!!"
Like a storm of destruction, his blades struck fast, sharp, and mercilessly.
One after another, the pirates fell.
In just moments, dozens of them lay lifeless in pools of blood.
Not a single one survived.
And Musashi? He didn't even have a scratch.
"Amazing..."
Shinobu, clutching her wounded right shoulder, stared in shock.
She couldn't believe her eyes.
That rough-looking samurai had wiped out all of Orochi's men—just like that.
Realizing what had just happened, she quickly bowed in gratitude.
"I see… Thank you for saving my life!"
Miyamoto Musashi sheathed his swords and spoke calmly.
"No need to thank me. My master ordered me to save you."
"Your master?" Shinobu's beautiful face showed surprise.
Was such a powerful samurai serving someone even greater?
She instinctively followed his gaze.
A figure dressed in silver-white slowly approached, walking at a relaxed pace.
Beside him was a half-sized, white-haired mastiff.
Perched on his shoulder, a small, lively civet cat playfully jumped around.
For a moment, Shinobu felt like she was in a dream.
The young man before her was unbelievably handsome—so much so that he looked more beautiful than a woman, yet still carried a heroic presence.
"Thank you for saving me. I have no way to repay you..."
She finally snapped out of her daze and hurriedly expressed her gratitude to Wilhelm.
But as she moved, pain shot through her wound, making her groan.
She gritted her teeth and pressed a hand against her bleeding shoulder.
"No need to thank me…"
Wilhelm looked at the twin-ponytailed kunoichi.
Judging from what the pirates had shouted earlier, he had already guessed who she was.
With a calm expression, he said lightly—
"I just happened to be passing by."
Originally, the plan was to let Miyamoto Musashi handle the fight.
The main reason was to test the skills of this newly created "samurai."
Another goal was to confirm the identity of the woman and see if she had already eaten the Paramecia-type Ripe-Ripe Fruit.
The female ninja in front of them clearly hadn't been forced to change her appearance yet. Right now, she still looked like herself.
If she already had the powers of the Ripe-Ripe Fruit, she could still be useful.
"Run hee hee~ I just heard that you were being hunted down by that so-called General Kurozumi Orochi, right?"
The small civet cat, Pato, sitting on Wilhelm's shoulder, suddenly spoke with a playful grin.
"Not long ago, Boss Wilhelm took care of him!"
"Master Wilhelm?"
Shinobu stared at the silver-haired young man in front of her—his luxurious clothes, his striking beauty, and the noble aura he carried.
"Wait... what!?"
Her eyes widened in shock.
She looked at Wilhelm in disbelief, her mind struggling to process what she had just heard.
"You… you actually killed Kurozumi Orochi!?"
"River hee hee~ You recognize the two swords Uncle Miyamoto is carrying, don't you?"
Pato pointed at the two swords hanging at Miyamoto Musashi's waist.
"They were taken from Kurozumi Orochi himself!"
"How is that possible!?"
Shinobu quickly looked at the swords, and her pupils shrank.
Someone nearby gasped.
"That's right… those are the swords of General Orochi!"
She hadn't paid much attention before.
But now that she was looking closely, there was no mistaking it.
The rough-looking samurai in front of her was carrying Kurozumi Orochi's swords!
"Let's treat your wound before you lose too much blood and die."
Wilhelm spoke calmly.
Noticing her pale face and the steady stream of blood from her injured shoulder, he acted immediately.
With a swift flick of his razor-sharp nails, he dug out the bullet lodged in her wound.
Shinobu, drenched in cold sweat and already feeling weak, didn't even have time to react.
A sharp, searing pain suddenly hit her, and she let out a groan.
The next moment—
A brilliant, holy light radiated from Wilhelm's left hand.
He pressed it against her bloody wound.
In mere seconds, her injury began to heal at a visible speed.
Not even a scar remained.
"Is this... black magic?"
Shinobu's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Wilhelm.
"Are you a black magician too?"
"Oh? A hex?"
Wilhelm raised an eyebrow.
Looking at the twin-ponytailed kunoichi, he asked,
"So, you're also a Devil Fruit user?"
He knew that due to Wano's long period of isolation, its people referred to Devil Fruit abilities as "black magic."
Shinobu didn't try to hide it. She nodded seriously and said,
"Yes, I am a sorcerer with a familiar Technique!"
As she spoke, she demonstrated her ability.
She pressed her right hand against the ground—
Immediately, the earth began to corrode and melt right before their eyes…
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You can read the advance chapters here : patreon.com/Vigilante04