Clang!
Jack had expected to crush his opponent, but he was caught completely off guard. The man, Kyoshiro, expertly used the force of Jack's own powerful slash to propel himself forward. He moved like a phantom, deflecting the dozen or so pirates who had nearly reached Hiyori with a single, fluid strike before landing gracefully at her side.
Bang, bang, bang...
The bodies of the Beasts Pirates hit the ground hard.
"What!?" Jack roared, stunned. He stared at Denjiro, who now stood protectively in front of Hiyori. For the first time, Jack recognized the man's true strength, and the realization filled him with an incredible fury. His eyes turned bloodshot.
"You damned bastard!"
In an instant, Jack also transformed into a blur of motion, charging forward with his twin blades swinging wildly.
Denjiro's brow furrowed. He had heard that Jack was a reckless monster, but he hadn't expected this level of blind rage. To avoid escalating the fight into an all-out war, he had deliberately avoided parrying Jack's first attack directly. He had even used the blunt side of his sword to knock down the grunts. But now, it seemed a real battle was unavoidable.
With that thought, he gently pushed Hiyori out of the way and charged forward to meet Jack head-on.
Their weapons clashed with violent force. In terms of pure strength, Jack was an absolute monster. His Fishman bloodline, combined with the power of an Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit, gave him the unshakeable power of a living mountain. Denjiro knew he couldn't face that power directly. Fortunately, he possessed incredible speed, and Oden's Two-Sword Style was an exquisite and deadly martial art.
The surrounding buildings, however, were not so fortunate. As the two fought, entire structures were torn apart by their blows, sending debris flying and causing the remaining onlookers to flee in terror.
Watching the fierce battle from a safe distance, the brothel's mama-san nervously clutched Hiyori's hand. "Komurasaki, we have to get out of here!" she urged. "It's too dangerous!"
Hiyori shook her head, her eyes fixed on the fight. "No. I want to stay with Kyoshiro-san." She paused, an intense feeling of dread washing over her. "Besides," she added quietly, "even if we run, where could we possibly go?"
The mama-san froze, her face falling. She remembered who had summoned Komurasaki. It was Kaido, the one man in Wano even more terrifying than Shogun Orochi. The thought choked the words in her throat.
Boom!
Jack swung his massive shotel, cleaving a three-story house in two, but the attack brought him no satisfaction. His Observation Haki screamed a warning, telling him the enemy was already behind him.
"You're running around like an annoying bug!" Jack snarled as he spun around, slashing blindly behind him.
Clang!
Their weapons met once more. Denjiro's lesser strength was obvious as he was forced back, his sandals digging grooves into the street. Yet, he still wore a calm smile.
"This is pointless," Denjiro said, his voice steady despite the strain. "We could fight like this for three days and three nights and never decide a winner. Why don't we stand down and let our masters sort this out?"
With a clever twist of his blade, he deflected the force of Jack's blow and quickly retreated.
His words had no effect. Jack pursued him relentlessly. He wasn't a man who listened to reason; his mind was consumed by a single thought: complete the mission Kaido had given him.
Seeing this, a dangerous light flashed in Denjiro's eyes. "Is that so? If you won't listen to reason... then I'll just have to make you fall."
In that instant, a powerful, invisible armor—the Haki of Ryuo—enveloped his sword. A terrifying aura of hostility erupted from Denjiro as his body accelerated to an impossible speed. A scarlet light flashed across the battlefield. Jack felt a sharp, searing pain in his chest as blood suddenly sprayed from his body. A deep, bloody gash had been torn open from the top of his exposed chest all the way down to his stomach.
"What... Ugh!"
Crimson blood gushed from Jack's mouth. He looked down at the wound, then up at Orochi's subordinate in disbelief. He's this strong...
However, even with such a severe injury, Jack merely gritted his teeth and charged forward again, swinging his blades with even more ferocity. His heart was now filled with nothing but pure, unadulterated killing intent.
Feeling the increased intensity of Jack's attacks, Denjiro's brow furrowed in frustration. "An attack like that, and he still hasn't fallen?"
As Jack's offensive grew more ferocious, Denjiro found himself on the defensive. He could no longer parry every blow, and shallow cuts began to appear on his body. The vitality and recovery speed of Zoan Devil Fruit users were simply unnatural. The grievous wound Denjiro had just inflicted was already visibly starting to close.
What made the situation even more troublesome was that, despite having the skill to win, Denjiro absolutely could not kill Jack. For Lady Toki's prophecy to come true in two years, he had to maintain his cover as Kyoshiro.
The onlookers watched in awe. "Look at that vitality!" "As expected of one of Kaido's men!" "Even with an injury like that, he's overpowering Kyoshiro-sama!"
Hiyori watched from the sidelines, her heart pounding with tension and worry. She saw that Denjiro was trapped in a losing battle. If this continued, his life would be in grave danger. She made up her mind. In a sudden, desperate move, she rushed out from the safety of the crowd and placed herself directly between the two fighting men.
Her suicidal action stunned both Jack and Denjiro, who instinctively stopped their attacks.
"Enough!" Hiyori declared, her voice ringing with authority. "There is no need to fight anymore, Kyoshiro-sama. It is my honor to serve Lord Kaido!" She then turned her gaze towards the pirates. "Please inform Lord Orochi that after I have finished serving Lord Kaido, I will attend to him."
In Hiyori's mind, this was the only solution. She couldn't begin to imagine the deep humiliation her words inflicted upon Denjiro. His face twisted in a silent agony, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Though unsatisfied, Jack remembered Kaido's orders and slowly lowered his weapons. "Someone, take this woman away!"
"Hey!" A group of pirates immediately surrounded her, leering menacingly.
Hiyori stopped them with a raised hand. "There is no need to trouble yourselves," she said calmly, her composure unwavering. "This humble girl has her own sedan chair."
As if on cue, four palanquin bearers, led by the mama-san, emerged from a nearby building carrying a luxurious sedan chair. Hiyori gracefully walked over and stepped inside. Jack watched her, then grunted and gave the order.
"Return to Onigashima!"
Under the guard of the Beasts Pirates, the sedan chair carrying Komurasaki began its journey.
From beginning to end, Denjiro never raised his head. He couldn't find the courage to watch her leave.
As he was about to depart, Jack seemed to remember something. He glanced back at Denjiro and said, "Lord Kaido said that if Orochi wants this woman back, he should come to Onigashima and get her himself."
With that final taunt, he turned and walked away.
Only then did Denjiro finally look up, his face a mask of shame and fury. A thought struck him, and he immediately broke into a sprint, running towards Orochi's mansion.