Uchiha Puppet Master, Starting from One Piece.

"What you are looking for is not in Wano Country."

How did you know what we were looking for?

Bai Yu countered with a question.

"I haven't said it yet."

The samurai's lips were pressed into a thin line. He didn't speak, but stared intently at Bai Yu, as if trying to assess how much of a threat this outsider posed.

Bai Yu sighed and shook his head.

The samurai did not answer, but his expression said it all.

Just then, Bai Yu's ears twitched slightly.

He heard footsteps.

It wasn't the sound of one person's footsteps, but the sound of a group of people's footsteps, coming from the path behind the port, dense and rapid, as if they were running.

And it's not just one direction.

There are some on the left and some on the right.

They were surrounded.

Artoria had obviously heard it too; her hand was already on the hilt of the invisible sword at her waist, her body slightly turned to the side, her gaze sweeping around.

"Looks like we're not popular."

She said softly.

Violet's gaze pierced through the dilapidated wooden houses along the edge of the harbor and saw the figures rapidly approaching from behind them.

"Seventeen people."

She whispered, "They all carry knives."

Robin closed the book in his hand and calmly looked at the path leading into the island.

“It’s not just samurai, there’s something else.”

The footsteps grew closer.

Then, those figures emerged from the alley.

He is a samurai.

Chapter 198 Resistance

Samurai dressed in various kimonos, some in tattered armor, others in only thin kimonos, but each held a sword in their hand, the blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Their faces bore an almost fanatical resolve, an expression not found on ordinary soldiers, but on those who had already disregarded life and death.

Bai Yu counted them.

Seventeen, just as Violet said.

But that's not all.

Behind those warriors, there was something else.

Bai Yu's gaze passed over the warriors and landed deeper into the path.

There stood a tall man.

The man was a head taller than all the warriors, and he wore a black cloak. The hood of the cloak covered most of his face, leaving only his chin visible.

There was a long scar on his chin, stretching from the corner of his mouth all the way to his ear, as if it had been cut by something sharp.

But what Bai Yu cared about most wasn't the scar, but the aura emanating from the man.

It was a feeling of oppression.

It wasn't the oppressive feeling from strength, but a deeper, more primal, beast-like aura.

The man seemed to sense Bai Yu's gaze, and he slightly raised his eyes under his hood to meet Bai Yu's eyes.

Bai Yu saw those eyes.

Those were golden eyes, with vertical pupils, like the eyes of a reptile.

It is not a human eye.

"interesting."

The man stepped out from behind the samurai, his steps slow and steady, each step feeling like a tap on a heartbeat.

The warriors automatically parted to make way, bowing slightly as if they were paying homage to some important figure.

The man walked to the front and stopped.

The golden eyes under the hood swept over Bai Yu and his group, finally settling on Bai Yu.

"Outsiders".

His voice was deep, like a rumble coming from underground.

"Wano Country does not welcome you. Leave here."

Bai Yu looked into those cold eyes and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"What if we don't leave?"

silence.

That silence was like an invisible knife hanging over everyone's heads.

Then, the man smiled.

That wasn't a friendly smile, but a murderous, cold smile, like a wild beast eyeing its prey.

"Then die here."

Before he finished speaking, he moved.

The man was incredibly fast, like a black lightning bolt, instantly covering a distance of more than ten meters and appearing directly in front of Bai Yu.

His hand emerged from under his cloak; it was a scaly hand with long, sharp nails, like the claws of a wild beast.

The hand reached out to grab Bai Yu's throat.

Bai Yu did not move.

He didn't even blink.

The hand stopped less than an inch from Bai Yu's throat.

It wasn't the white feather that blocked it; it was the man who stopped on his own.

Because an unseen sword was pressed against his throat.

Artoria stood beside Shiraha, her right hand gripping the invisible sword shrouded in wind, its tip firmly pointed at the man's throat, less than a millimeter from his skin.

The man's eyes narrowed slightly. He could feel an invisible sword pressed against his throat. Then his gaze shifted from Bai Yu to Artoria.

"who are you?"

he asks.

Artoria did not answer, but simply looked at him calmly, her eyes showing neither hostility nor fear, only a faint wariness.

The man's lips twitched slightly, then his hand suddenly changed direction and reached out to grab Artoria.

Artoria slightly shifted her body to the side, dodging the grab, while simultaneously drawing an arc with her sword and slashing towards the man's wrist.

The man reacted quickly, his wrist snapping shut as his claws collided with the sword blade, producing a piercing metallic clang.

Sparks flew everywhere.

There were no wounds or even marks on the man's claws.

Artoria frowned slightly.

"Your hand."

"It's the power of a Devil Fruit."

Bai Yu's eyes lit up.

"Kaido."

"Are you one of Kaido's men?"

"No, I am a samurai who obtained this power by accident... Kaido, he is the enemy!"

The man didn't answer, but instead took a few steps back, putting distance between himself and Artoria.

His cloak was blown open by the wind as he retreated, revealing his body underneath.

That's no longer a human body.

His body was covered in black scales, stretching from his neck to his wrists, dense and resembling snakeskin. His fingers had grown longer, and his nails were sharper.

The warriors behind them also moved.

They drew their swords and charged towards Bai Yu and his group.

Rangiku drew her Zanpakuto, her smile growing even more blatant.

"Finally, I can get some exercise!"

She met the three samurai charging at the front, her Zanpakuto drawing a silver arc in the air, accurately blocking the simultaneous attack of the three swords.

The sound of metal clashing echoed across the harbor, sparks flying everywhere.

The three samurai were incredibly strong, far stronger than ordinary people, but Rangiku's sword was steadyer, her hand was steadyer, and her smile was steadyer.

"Is that all the strength you have?"

She smiled and said that, then suddenly flipped her wrist, and a huge force burst out from her Zanpakuto, sending the three samurai flying at the same time.

The three samurai tumbled through the air several times before crashing heavily to the ground, their swords flying from their hands and embedding themselves in the sand some distance away.

But they quickly got up, as if they felt no pain, picked up the knife and rushed back.

"Tsk."