"Enough talk!"
Longma said, flipping his blade Qiushui once more. In the next instant, the tip of the sword unleashed a massive circular slash of sword energy, shredding one of Jack's braided pigtails. At that moment, Jack looked like a mushroom-headed fool.
Even Jack's subordinates—the members of the Beast Pirates—almost burst out laughing at the sight. But knowing Jack's brutal nature, if they dared to laugh, they'd be dead for sure.
Striking a confident pose, Longma didn't sheath Qiushui. The move he just used was called Soul Severance.
He wondered if he'd been too impatient, too eager for quick results. His original plan was to kill Jack and seize his Devil Fruit—the Ancient Zoan Mammoth Fruit.
But then he remembered: he had just arrived in this world. What right did he have to challenge someone like Jack?
Still… Jack wanted him to join the Beast Pirates and meet Kaido. With Longma's stubborn streak, even if it meant dying on the battlefield, he would never agree.
After all, Wano was his homeland, and these guys were nothing but invaders, thieves occupying his land.
Jack roared, a furious cry almost torn from his throat. Gradually, the sound morphed from a human shout into a mighty elephant's trumpet. The roar was deafening.
Longma stared at Jack. He knew well that Jack's transformation into his Mammoth form made him a force not to be underestimated.
In this form, Jack's destructive power was immense. Given Longma's current physique, he could not risk close combat—one swing of that trunk would pulverize him.
Beside Jack, the samurai and Beast Pirates exchanged wary glances. They drew their weapons, ready to swarm Longma.
"Since Lord Jack's joining the fight, we will too!"
"Yeah! No need to respect some murderous maniac's code of honor!"
"Let's all attack together and take him down fast!"
Hearing the scurrying insects' cries, Longma's anger flared.
He turned to glare at them. That single look was enough to freeze them in place, silencing them instantly.
Within a minute, one by one, warriors began collapsing—faces pale, falling to the ground motionless.
A ripple of pressure radiated outward from Longma's body like a stone dropped into water, creating a massive, oppressive aura.
Three minutes later, the samurai and Beast Pirates who came with Jack were utterly broken.
The weak lay motionless, utterly defeated.
The stronger fighters, unable to withstand Longma's Conqueror's Haki, convulsed violently on the ground.
Longma sighed, shaking his head. "Why bother...?"
Witnessing this, Jack's eyes widened in panic as he took a step back. "You… you have Conqueror's Haki?!"
"Otherwise?" Longma replied coolly.
This time, Jack was truly stunned. He'd never heard of anyone on this island being such a hard nut to crack.
Beside him, Black Charcoal Snake was equally baffled. How could such a powerful samurai exist in Wano without their knowledge?
Could he really be the legendary Dragon-Slaying Samurai, Swordmaster Longma?
Shaking his head frantically, Black Charcoal Snake muttered, "Impossible, impossible! Longma died hundreds of years ago. How could this inexperienced kid possibly be that great a figure?"
Longma, feeling no need to entertain them, yawned lazily. "What, you guys still want to fight?"
Jack and Black Charcoal Snake exchanged glances, then hurriedly fled in panic.
Watching the two of them run away with their tails between their legs, Longma's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
"So much for tough guys… Turns out, they're all bark and no bite."
He shook his head with a chuckle.
Just then, Longma glanced back at the remaining Wano samurai and the pirate crew members. A thought stirred in his mind.
What should he do with them? Killing them all would be too cruel.
Though he was not the ancient Longma, he had fused with that Longma's spirit—there was almost no difference between them.
If he killed all these people, it would be like slaughtering the samurai of Wano itself. What would make him any different from the criminals?
Finally, a solution came to him.
He would spare the samurai.
But the pirate crew members? He would not leave a single one alive.
He thought to himself, since the Beast Pirates were all Devil Fruit users of the Zoan type, maybe if he killed them all, he could collect a lot of Devil Fruits for himself!
Without hesitation, he raised his sword and plunged it straight into the heart of one of the pirate crew members.
He had expected the system to chime, signaling that he had acquired a Devil Fruit ability, but no sound came. It seemed he had been wishful thinking.
"What's going on with the system?"
He asked aloud.
"Ding dong, reporting to the host: you have not killed a Devil Fruit user," the system responded.
What?!
Longma was stunned. That was impossible! He had definitely killed a Devil Fruit user—a genuine Zoan-type user!
After a moment of thought, the truth dawned on him.
He suddenly recalled that although the Beast Pirates were all Devil Fruit users, there weren't enough real Devil Fruits for everyone.
So, these guys must have purchased artificial Devil Fruits.
Artificial Devil Fruits were indeed a kind of Devil Fruit, but their powers and strength were far inferior to the genuine ones.
If he remembered correctly, there was a mad scientist named Caesar under Doflamingo who had been researching artificial Devil Fruits.
With this realization, Longma glanced again at the crew members and thought to himself: maybe it was better to do them a favor and just let them go.
He took a deep breath, sheathed his black blade Qiushui, and strode away briskly.
He didn't want to give up any opportunities just yet.
After all, the matter was settled for now, but Jack might not even report this properly to Kaido.
At the same time, but in a different place—
Black Charcoal Snake and Jack were fleeing in full panic.
Black Charcoal Snake gasped heavily, disbelief written all over his face. He stared intently at Jack and asked, "Lord Jack, what do we do now?"
Jack was equally flustered. This was the first time since setting sail that he had suffered such humiliation. His pupils shrank as he shouted, "What else can we do? We have to find Lord Kaido—only Kaido can avenge us now!"