"Damn it! Enemy attack! On guard, now!"
Kalifa's face went white as she shouted for her subordinates.
This was their own safehouse.
Yet Soul King-sama had been assaulted inside it.
If this went wrong, she'd have to atone with her life.
In her panic, she completely forgot that none of the people in this room were weak.
There was no way ordinary waiters could ever be a threat to them.
As the waiter lunged again, Oguro stepped forward and kicked him square in the chest.
Boom!
The dining table flipped over. The waiter flew backward and passed out instantly.
The other waiters were also subdued with ease.
But even with their limbs restrained, the waiters struggled wildly. Their eyes glowed with an eerie red light, like beasts that had lost all rationality.
"Kalifa… looks like your movements were noticed long ago."
Oguro's expression turned heavy.
These men were clearly being controlled.
Kalifa's face darkened. After years of ambushing others, she was the one who got ambushed today.
She dropped to one knee. "Soul King-sama, please withdraw first. I will uncover who is behind this and make them pay the price."
This was her first time leading an operation, and it had gone horribly wrong.
She wanted to skin the mastermind alive.
Oguro slowly shook his head. "There's no time to withdraw."
Kalifa froze, then spread her Observation Haki. Her expression turned even uglier.
Outside the restaurant, a massive crowd had already formed, completely surrounding the hotel.
Before anyone could move, their vision blurred and a faint white mist began to spread through the dining area.
Inside the fog, Oguro felt his limbs turn unbearably heavy. Even the smallest movement took effort.
"This is… a Devil Fruit ability."
Oguro's heart jolted. When had they been caught?
Even his Observation Haki hadn't warned him.
Boom!
The door was smashed open. A group of armed attackers rushed in, their bloodshot eyes locked onto Oguro's group.
"Kill!"
Someone's shout ignited the already explosive scene.
Boom!
Oguro punched the first attacker charging at him. The man's ribs cracked in three places, yet he stood up again and charged, as if he couldn't feel pain at all.
Crack!
A whip lashed across the man's body and sent him flying.
Kalifa stood protectively in front of Oguro, fury burning in her eyes.
"You bastards… I'll deal with you myself!"
Whoosh!
Her whip snapped around the attacker's neck.
A sharp crack rang out. His head tilted, and he collapsed with no breath left.
"Kill them all!" Kalifa roared as she directed the Shadow Dragon Guards.
The agents drew their weapons, murderous intent pouring off them as they rushed into the crowd.
"Wait! Leave them alive!" Oguro shouted.
But the Shadow Dragon Guards ignored him and continued their lethal assault with killing blows.
Boom!
Oguro flash-stepped to the front, kicking several Shadow Dragon Guards backward at once.
"Are you all insane? Did you not hear what I said?"
They stared back at him with confused expressions.
Kalifa spoke urgently. "Soul King-sama, they dared attack you. That's an unforgivable crime. We must wipe them out completely!"
"No… that's wrong."
Oguro caught the flaw instantly.
Kalifa wasn't someone who killed indiscriminately.
Especially after being ambushed, she should be focused on capturing enemies alive for interrogation.
Most importantly… these attackers were too weak.
Even weaker than the lowest-ranked Marine recruits.
Letting such people attack a professional intelligence agency was laughable.
With so many suspicious points, Oguro barked, "No killing! Leave survivors!"
But even with his clear order, the Shadow Dragon Guards stayed vicious, striking to kill.
Even Yoruichi started using lethal attacks.
"Damn it! None of you are listening to me!"
White light flickered in Oguro's eyes as his terrifying spiritual pressure mixed with his Conqueror's Haki exploded outward like a volcanic eruption.
Boom!
Everyone felt like a massive grindstone crashed through their skulls.
Both the attackers and the Shadow Dragon Guards flipped their eyes upward and collapsed to the ground.
Kalifa included.
Under the impact, Yoruichi and the others snapped back to clarity.
"We… were being influenced!"
Yoruichi's face tightened.
A Captain-class Shinigami getting caught like this was humiliating.
"It wasn't full control. More like being nudged mentally," Oguro reassured.
With their spiritual pressure, Shinigami had powerful resistance to mental interference. Given a little more time, they could have broken free without Oguro's help.
They stepped outside the hotel. The streets were packed with people.
At the same time, Oguro caught the faint scent of flowers.
"So that's it."
He finally understood how he had been affected.
The new flower breed, the flower drink, and the spiced fried rice.
Individually harmless.
But together… they changed.
The mixed scent acted as a unique narcotic.
That's why Observation Haki didn't detect anything.
The drug wasn't strong. Under normal conditions, no one would notice anything off.
But once the mastermind activated their ability, the drug became the perfect entry point.
It allowed them to influence or even control a person's thoughts with terrifying speed.
Oguro's group had only been here briefly, and their spiritual pressure gave them resistance, so they weren't heavily affected.
But the people in the capital had clearly been under control for a long time.
"Heh… as expected of Sith Oguro, someone even the World Government has to step carefully around. Your judgment and decisiveness really are frightening."
A voice echoed around them, coming from everywhere at once. They couldn't determine its source.
Oguro snorted. "Trying to act mysterious?"
His Observation Haki pulsed outward like a radar wave.
In the next moment, his eyes snapped open and he grinned sharply. "Found you."
Whoosh!
Oguro shot into the air and flew toward the enemy's location.
Inside the royal palace, chaos had erupted into blood and flames.
The troops mobilized by the princes throughout the past week had become the core of the riot.
Harris stood on a high ledge within the palace, shouting,
"Kill them all! The throne is mine!"
As the fighting spread, it finally spilled beyond the palace walls.
Homes collapsed. Innocent residents began to fall and die.
***
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