PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

Boom!

The seven enormous serpent heads of the Yamata-no-Orochi slammed to the ground, lifeless in an instant.

The bizarre sight left Orochi completely stunned.His eyes, filled with disbelief, locked onto Luo Yu.

But in the face of impending death, Orochi could no longer care about anything else.

"Wait! Don't kill me!" he screamed desperately. "I… I'm still useful! I can negotiate with Kaido! Don't forget—I'm his ally!"

"He still needs me to deal weapons with the World Government! If I die, Kaido will go berserk! No one will be able to stop him!"

Kyoshiro and the others snapped back to their senses, their expressions darkening.

The name Kaido still triggered deep-rooted fear in their hearts.

"Kaido, huh?"Luo Yu took a casual sip of his cheap sake and looked up.

"Too bad. If you'd worked harder on cultivation, if you hadn't wasted that Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit… maybe you'd have been worth something."

He narrowed his eyes.

"But you made me lose two hundred million…So go die."

"Two… hundred million?!"

Orochi was dumbfounded.

When did he ever cost Luo Yu two hundred million?!

They were meeting for the first time!

But with his life on the line, Orochi quickly pushed those doubts aside.

"No, no, I have way more than that!""I'll give you everything! Two hundred million? I'll give you two billion! Ten billion! Anything!!"

His shrieks echoed across the ruined battlefield.

But the moment the last syllable left his lips—

An icy chill swept through his spine.

He looked up.

Luo Yu's right hand had moved—slowly, effortlessly, through the air.

And in the same moment—

Orochi felt a cold sting on his neck.

A jet of blood sprayed into the air, dyeing the rubble beneath him crimson.

He looked down—

A thin red line had appeared across his long, serpent-like neck.

He instinctively raised a hand to stop the bleeding.

But it was already too late.

The last traces of life slipped away.

His massive head rolled cleanly off his shoulders and crashed onto the ground.

Even in death—

Orochi never figured out when he had supposedly cost Luo Yu two hundred million.

If he had known it would cost his life…He'd never have incurred that debt.

"He's dead? Orochi's actually dead?"Hiyori's voice trembled as she turned to Kyoshiro. "Is this real, Uncle Kyoshiro?"

Kyoshiro stood in silence.

He stared at the devastated remains of the castle.

After waiting over twenty years for this moment…

He never imagined the liberation of Wano would feel so absurdly easy.

As Orochi's body reverted from the Yamata-no-Orochi form back to human, Kyoshiro took a deep breath and looked solemnly to the sky.

"No… This isn't a dream."

"We really were frogs at the bottom of a well."

"But what comes next might be the real challenge."

"Kaido and the Beasts Pirates will come.

They'll go to war with the Navy."

"If we want to keep Wano's borders open, there's only one solution—

Make sure Kaido never returns."

He turned to Hiyori with resolution in his eyes.

"Princess Hiyori… I've decided to follow Lord Luo Yu to sea.

I believe he is a greater force of destiny than even Lord Oden."

"You're going to sea?!"Hiyori's face changed instantly.

But before she could say more—

Nekomamushi and Inuarashi arrived with their warriors, voices firm and unified:

"To ensure Wano opens its borders completely—

We request to join this war at sea!"

Their bold voices echoed across the ruins, heavy with determination.

More and more samurai gathered, their faces filled with fearless resolve.

Hiyori stood frozen, stunned by the wave of unwavering loyalty around her.

Her mind reeled.

"Go on," said an elderly voice behind her.

Kozuki Sukiyaki placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm still alive and kicking. Let me handle things here."

He paused, then winked:

"And don't forget, if you get the chance, remember that thing—

Wano lacks true strong warriors."

"Father! Just stop!"Hiyori's face flushed red as she glared at him.

But she still couldn't help glancing back—

Toward Luo Yu, standing atop the rubble.

And what she saw made her eyes widen in shock.

"Uncle Kyoshiro—t-the sky! There's a ship in the sky!

A huge one! And it's filled with people!"

Everyone tensed immediately.

They followed her gaze.

Floating in the air above the ruins—

A massive warship, slowly descending.

And standing atop it—

Dozens of powerful figures.

None of them had expected this.

They had assumed Luo Yu came alone.

They never imagined this colossal force stood behind him.

And to levitate such a behemoth into the sky?

No mere mortal could do such a thing.

"In a moment, Ashura, when you see the big brothers on that ship,"Inuarashi said gravely,"You'll understand why two hundred million was worth every berry."

"Those guys are special forces of the sea—some of them are on par with admirals."

Nekomamushi nodded beside him, dead serious.

And in that moment—

Ashura Doji, Kyoshiro, and all the warriors present finally began to understand.

They finally grasped why Luo Yu had claimed Orochi owed him two hundred million.

Because Orochi had wasted a Mythical Zoan fruit.

Because he had thrown away potential that could've created a war god.

Because he was not worthy of the power he held.

But now—

As they looked upon that floating warship—

Their worries about Kaido ever returning to Wano…

Vanished instantly.

Ten Days Later — Marineford

As the war at the summit approached, the entire Marineford was a flurry of tension and preparation.

Not just Marineford—

The entire ocean roared like a war machine revving into action.

Ten thousand of the Navy's elite soldiers were rapidly deployed to headquarters.

Commanders and vice admirals arrived one after another.

Three days until war.

Every heart beat with dread.

A massive pressure loomed across all of Marineford like a storm cloud.

Inside the strategy hall—

Dozens of Marine officers had gathered.

At the head of the table sat the three Admirals.

And presiding over it all—

Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself.

He was personally overseeing the final strategic deployments for the War at the Summit.

Facing an incoming force of two Emperors,

over a hundred pirate crews,and an army of over 100,000 pirates—

Even Sengoku's face looked grim.

His bloodshot eyes said everything.

The man had not slept in days.

And so the room remained silent.

No one dared speak out of turn.

They all knew—

A single misstep now could lead to catastrophe.

And so, they waited.

Waited for war.