CH278 THE MASK OF ODEN
"Clang!!"The clash rang out like a thunderclap. Steel met steel—ACE erupted into sparks as the Conqueror's infused blade whipped through the air, crashing violently into the Kanabo.
"Woo hoo hoo... hoo hoo hoo..."The pressure exploded outward. Shockwaves tore across the battlefield, flyiing debris in every direction and sending ripples through the very earth.
Even the distant sea stirred. Waves trembled.The air itself seemed to shiver.
"Clang... clang..."Lightning flickered between every strike, a deadly dance of force and fury. Two figures—almost mirror images of one another—collided again and again, locked in a brutal test of strength.
Ren , just seventeen, had once stood at a modest 2.2 meters. Still growing.But everything changed the day he awakened the power of the Mythiical Zoan Devil Fruit—
A mythical form, the Kirin, fierce and majestic.And with it, came growth. Rapid and Relentless.
In barely a month, his frame surged. Now? He stood tall at 2.4 meters—bigger, stronger, faster .Not far behind Yamato, the towering warrior who stood at 2.63 meters. Now, he was almost looking her in the eye.
Ren was only slightly shorter than Yamato now. And at the rate he is growing, it wouldn't be long. Before, He'll surpass Yamato who stood at 2.63 meters soon enough.
"Yamato," Ren called out, his voice steady. "You said you wanted to be like Kozuki Oden, didn't you?" Gripping the supreme-grade sword, ACE, Ren met Yamato's gaze, "Of course I did," Yamato replied without hesitation.
A rare spark danced between them—two warriors with equal ferocity. A rare encounter. A perfect clash.
The wound from earlier had healed, thanks to Mansherry. And Yamato's strength had returned in full. She swung her weapon—fast, powerful, focused.
"Clang!" The weapons clashed again, "Haah!?" Yamato said, bracing for the next move.
Ren blocked with ease. His expression turned sharp, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I've never seen someone with so-called determination… and yet so little will. LIKE YOU"
Yamato frowned, "What do you mean?" Yamato stepped back, uncertain now—her confidence shaken by the weight of Ren's words.
Ren met Yamato's gaze—his eyes calm, unwavering. "On my way here," he began quietly, "I caught a glimpse of what Wano has become. It's... horrific."
Yamato's grip on her Kanabo tightened. Her voice cut through the silence like thunder. "Isn't it just the Beast Pirates' crimes that brought Wano to this point. It's the entire corrupted system of the Beasts!"
She moved like lightning—fierce, fast, furious. With a sudden roar, she charged, swinging her Kanabo with explosive force. Yamato had never seen herself as one of them. Never a true member of the Beasts Pirates. That name meant nothing to her.
"CLANG!!", Steel crashed against steel again. Sparks danced in the air as the two clashed once more.
"No! That's not what I meant!" Ren called out, his voice sharp. "if you just compromised— just a little— you could escape all of this. You don't have to carry the weight alone!", But Yamato's voice rose, thick with rage.
"No matter what you say— no matter how logical it sounds— I will never submit to that bastard father!". She swung her mace again. And again.
Each strike was a release of, A scream, A memory turned to fury. Her mace carved arcs through the air, a storm given form.
She wasn't just fighting Ren. She was fighting everything she represented. Everything she refused to become.
Yamato's strikes came faster, more chaotic—each blow a release of long-held anger and frustration. As if every swing of her mace could tear down the chains of her past.
"One day," she shouted between attacks, "I will fulfill Kozuki Oden's final wish. I will drive all of you out of WANO and protect this land with my own hands!"
Ren didn't flinch. He met the onslaught with calm precision, then suddenly stopped. A faint, amused smile crossed his lips. "Oh? That's quite the ambition."
He slowly sheathed his blade.
Yamato froze, caught off guard. Her weapon still raised, her breath Uneven— but she couldn't bring herself to strike again.
Around
them, a hush fell over the onlookers. Some exchanged glances, brows furrowed in quiet disbelief.
"In this country," Ren began, voice low but resonanting throughout the Area, "people die every day— starving, exhausted, forgotten."His eyes locked with Yamato's— His eyes sharp, penetrating.
"So tell me, 'Kozuki Oden'... What have you done?"
The question hung in the air like a blade at her throat. Before she could answer, Ren stepped forward, his tone turning cold, almost cruel.
"Let me guess what you're about to say. That you're trapped. That the Beast Pirates have kept you here against your will. That you couldn't help them even if you wanted to."
He scoffed, "Save your excuses."
"Listen carefully," Ren's voice cut through the tension like Hot-blade through Butter. "Everyone in this vast ocean— we all live under invisible laws. Rules, etched not by men, but by the world itself."
Ren stepped forward, his eyes unblinking. "Even the Celestial Dragons, self-proclaimed descendants of gods, basking in their hollow supremacy… Even they aren't exempt."
"They hoard wealth. Control resources. Command slaves by the thousands. But in the end? They still bleed. They still age. They still die."
Ren's gaze was firm and unwavering. Though he sensed powerful presences drawing near, he ignored them. His focus was entirely on Yamato.
"You can't rewrite these rules," he said coldly. "So learn to bend before they break you."
Yamato's eyes narrowed, fury igniting in her chest."You want me to submit to that Bastard Father?", she growled. "To surrender to that Beast and call it survival?"
Ren's words had struck a nerve. But instead of shrinking back, she stepped forward, her voice like thunder. "Dream on. I will never kneel to that 'BASTARD FATHER'. Not now, not ever."
Ren nodded slightly, almost solemnly. "I've heard the stories," Ren said. "Uncle King told me everything. You've been chained to this island since you were eight years old, wasn't it? That makes it eighteen years now."
His tone was steady, but the words hit like a hammer.
"Eighteen years in a cage... and you still think you're free?", "For more than ten years," Ren began, his voice low and sharp like a blade drawn in silence, "you— Oni Princess of the Beasts Pirates— could've offered just one steamed bun a day to a person. One, And even that... would've been enough to pull a soul back from the death's door."
His eyes locked on Yamato, who faltered beneath the weight of Ren's words. Yamato's lips parted, but no sound came. Ren continued, cutting through her silence.
"Even just wielding the name of your ONI-bloodline, you could've done more. Not to save just a child— but thousands. Your name alone could've opened doors, moved guards, bent rules. But instead... you stood still."
He let the silence stretch, then drove his point more once again.
"You say you want to free Wano. To drive the Beast Pirates from its Land. Then why haven't you done anything?"His voice rose, bitter and loud.
"Strength can be built. Quietly. Day by day. You could've gathered your will like a storm on the horizon. Waiting for the rright moment. Strucking when the time was right. But instead... you wallowed. Trapped in your sorrow , Pretending. Playing house in the ruins of your own ambition."
Yamato's breath hitched.
Ren leaned closer, eyes blazing.
"Let me spell it out. You don't want to save this land. You don't care about Wano."
"You just wanted to be him."
"You wear Kozuki Oden's name like a mask, hoping the world will call you a hero , where ODEN fell short. That's your fantasy. That's the story you've built to hide from the truth."Yamato trembled, unable to look away.
And in that terrible moment, Ren's voice dropped to a whisper—quieter, but heavier than before.
"You're not trying to save anyone. You're trying to be remembered."
Ren's words struck like thunderclaps—merciless, raw, and echoing in the hollow chambers of Yamato's chest.
She shook, not from fear… but from a rising storm inside. A trembling that began in her fingers and climbed to her shoulders, her breath hitching , her vision blurring.
The silence between them was suffocating. Ren stood like a statue, his eyes sharp, unwavering.
Yamato turned her gaze to him— then lower, to the sea-stone cuffs shackled around her scarred hands. Those cruel remnants of battles fought and sacrifices made.
A flicker of realization flashed in her eyes.
Yes... Just like Ren, broken and chained in that wretched Bloody Prison… he still found a way to fight. To claw, crawl, survive—resist.
She had power. More than him. More than most.
And still... she had done nothing.
Nothing.
The truth stung deeper than any wound. Yamato's fingers curled slightly as she stood frozen. Ren's words echoing through her like distant thunder. Her body trembled—not from cold, but from something deeper. Shame. Realization.
Her eyes drifted to her hands, still shackled—scarred, but defiant. Half-crushed and bound by sea-stone, yet never idle. She had fought. And won.
Yes… just like the 'Blood Demon Ren'.
She could have done more. She should have. But she didn't. The question haunted her now, louder than any accusation.
Was she really wrong?
A faint voice broke through the stillness.
"Ren…" someone called softly from nearby.
The commotion earlier had drawn attention of Nami, Robin, Karina… others gathered. They didn't interrupt, only watched from a safe distance, sensing the weight of what had just passed.
And yet, despite the harshness of Ren's words, no one spoke against him.
Surprisingly, what he said… made sense.
Even Black Maria, who had remained silent until now, suddenly smiled—genuinly and curiously.
"Ah… as expected of Lord Ren," she mused, her eyes glinting with renewed clarity. "I hadn't even thought of it like that before."
She looked at Ren as if seeing him anew, her gaze filled not just with admiration, but something else— an awe she couldn't quite name.
Indescribable. Brilliant. Terrifying.