The black charcoal serpent took a deep breath as it stared at Ryuma, letting out a cold snort. In its mind, it thought... this guy should be nothing more than an empty threat.
"If I had known your strength was this weak, I should have finished you off days ago..."
Before the black charcoal serpent could finish, Ryuma's lips curled into a faint, cruel smile. Shaking his head, he said, "You'd better stop showing off in front of me."
At that moment, Ryuma summoned the shadows created by his Shadow-Shadow Fruit, and they swiftly surrounded the eight-headed serpent from all sides.
"You... are nothing but trash. Earlier, I only pulled out one of your scales. Now, what if I stripped every single scale from your body?"
No sooner had he finished speaking, Ryuma's black blade, Shūsui, which had been charging power for a long time, began to emit a thick black aura—both on the blade and within his shadow!
This was Armament Haki!
Though Ryuma had not formally learned Armament Haki, his memories from his past life gave him an edge. His power was far from weak, and his mind knew how to control Armament Haki with skill.
"Hahaha, childish! You think that using Armament Haki and your Devil Fruit ability can defeat me, General? Let me tell you, you're far from that! No matter how many copies you split yourself into, your true body is only one!"
Ryuma snorted coldly at these words, thinking, You'll regret this soon enough.
With a move of his body, the shadows beside him rushed forward toward the serpent.
Seeing so many shadows swarming like a swarm of bees, the black charcoal serpent finally sensed something was wrong.
"Damn it!"
It used its eight heads to block the incoming shadows.
In that instant, countless shadows were torn to pieces by the serpent's heads.
But this didn't affect Ryuma at all—it was nothing more than a minor nuisance.
"Hahaha, laughable! Today, I'll show you why the flowers bloom so brightly!" Ryuma laughed loudly.
Age-wise, the black charcoal serpent could rightfully call Ryuma an ancestor. Yet Ryuma's anger was boiling over.
If this had been before, the serpent might have been docile, and the Black Charcoal clan would never have caused much trouble. But this black charcoal serpent had been colluding with Kaido—an unforgivable crime worthy of death!
Ryuma had heard that for snakes and fish alike, the pain scale was clear: pulling out one scale was equivalent to pulling off a fingernail on a human hand.
At this moment, countless shadows wielding the Shūsui blade tore every single scale from the black charcoal serpent's body.
This time, the serpent was stunned—
This guy...
actually used the Shadow-Shadow Fruit for such a "low and dirty" trick!
Ryuma thought, This Shadow-Shadow Fruit is so sharp and ruthless. When it was with Gecko Moria, it was just a mere decoration. He never had the ability to use the fruit's power to its fullest.
The black charcoal serpent did not revert to its original form but remained in its eight-headed state, lying on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, looking utterly pitiful.
"You... Ryuma, you're from Wano too, how can you do something so cruel? Besides... I'm the Great General of Wano!"
"Oh? You're the Great General of Wano, huh?"
Ryuma replied as he enveloped Shūsui with Armament Haki and swung the blade directly at the serpent's heads.
Only then did the black charcoal serpent begin to feel fear toward Ryuma.
When it was knocked down onto the ground, it shuddered all over and said, "Ryuma... if you don't kill me, I'm willing to give you my position as Great General. How about that?"
Hearing this, Ryuma said nothing but sneered coldly, his expression icy.
Ryuma knew deeply that sometimes killing the body is easier than killing the heart. To live with a broken spirit is worse than death—that's what they called being worse off than dead.
He was going to make him despair.
At that moment, three large figures burst in from outside.
They were Quinn, Jack, and king!
The black charcoal serpent's face lit up with joy seeing the three calamities of the Beast Pirates.
"Hahaha, my lords, you've finally arrived! Help me kill this guy!"
But after saying that, the serpent quickly realized these three had no intention of attacking. Just like Ryuma, they stared coldly at him, not uttering a single word.
The serpent finally sensed something was wrong.
"What... what are you doing? Lord Jack, Lord Quinn, Lord king, save me!"
It called out desperately.
Jack, expressionless, removed his iron mask, revealing sharp fangs. He snorted coldly, "Boss, what's the order? Should I finish him off?"
Upon hearing this, the serpent's heart sank.
This time, it was truly over.
These three had betrayed him!
Ryuma merely waved his hand slowly. "Taking care of him isn't your job. Let me handle it."
After saying this, Ryuma lightly brushed the dust off his body, looking utterly confident.
His expression seemed to say it all.
He slowly approached the black charcoal serpent. With a swift motion, his black blade Shūsui rose and fell, ending the serpent's life in one decisive strike.
"Sorry..."
Ryuma took a deep breath and spoke softly.
Ding dong, the system's voice chimed, Congratulations, host, you have obtained an S-Class Zoan Devil Fruit: the Eight-Headed Serpent Fruit!
Startled by the system's announcement, Ryuma paused for a moment.
An S-Class fruit?
Something didn't quite add up.
This Eight-Headed Serpent Fruit could, to some extent, boost both defense and attack power, but it also seemed somewhat underwhelming in certain ways.
Then he thought again—perhaps the high ranking simply meant it was a rare fruit.
He had no intention of consuming it outright; instead, he chose to fuse it.
In his hand was an Icefield Wolf Fruit, which could potentially combine well with this.
Ding dong, the system sounded again. Congratulations, host, mission complete. You've earned three lottery draws!
Ryuma's grin stretched wide, almost splitting his face. He thought to himself, Finally, I've hit the jackpot!
Three draws might bring new combat techniques—or maybe some rare treasures.
Quinn, Jack, and king stared at him, utterly baffled by his cheerful expression. They exchanged confused looks, unable to understand what he found so amusing. Their eyes were filled with bewilderment.
"Boss, shouldn't we head to Kaido now? If we delay any longer, things could get unpredictable," king said, taking a deep breath.
Ryuma nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're right, but not just yet. No rush. Let me get familiar with the General's Mansion first. You three go out and make sure nobody escapes the mansion. No leaks—understood?"
"Yes, sir," Jack responded.