Watching Izou jump down from the ship with dual guns in hand, Delia couldn’t help but feel a twinge of nostalgia. Long ago, she too wielded dual guns, but after joining the Beasts Pirates, her fighting style gradually changed.
Fists became her more reliable weapon, but she still kept two pistols at her waist. However, their style had become more futuristic, which is a new type of weapon developed based on her own abilities.
Similar to the energy cannons within Queen’s body, these were modern weapons powered by Pokémon abilities. However, Delia rarely uses them.
As Izou landed, he was immediately confronted by a large cat enveloped in lightning, Delia’s Beast-Form. In terms of sheer speed, her pure Beast-Form was faster than the Human-Beast form.
Delia’s sprint was lightning-fast, and for a moment, Izou couldn’t even lock onto her.
Bang! Bang!
The two gunshots merely left two holes on the beach as Luxray’s agility brought Delia above Izou, her teeth crackling with lightning as she aimed to bite him.
Although her actions may appear barbaric, using sharp teeth has always been one of the combat styles of Zoan-type users. Most Ability users with sharp teeth tend to retain this combat style.
However, Delia’s Thunder Fang failed to connect as Izou agilely evaded.
With her attack unsuccessful, Delia reverted to her Human-Beast form. The sharp claws gleamed with cold light as she engaged Izou in close combat, launching a relentless barrage of swift and close-range attacks that left him with scarcely any opportunity to shoot his gun.
Though Izou hailed from Wano Country, unlike the samurai there who are good at swords, he lacked confidence in his swordsmanship. He believed that “samurais” don’t have to be just limited to swords; being a samurai was a way of life, and using guns was just as much a display of samurai spirit.
Yet Izou couldn’t shake the feeling that his moves were being predicted by his opponent. It wasn’t Observation Haki’s foresight; rather, the opponent seemed to know exactly what his next move would be.
Indeed, that was the case. Delia was equally skilled with dual guns and understood the frustration of facing such opponents. While ordinary people would struggle to dodge bullets, an officer of her level was different.
It could be said that Izou was at a disadvantage from the start against her. However, having spent many years on Whitebeard’s ship and rising to the position of the 16th Division Commander, Izou had his own strengths.
During Delia’s close combat, he found an opportunity to shoot.
In Delia’s eyes, Izou’s movements resembled a dance. This was because Izou was the successor of the dancing school Hanayanagi School in his childhood. After his father became a criminal, their family was scattered, leaving him and Kikunojo to wander the streets.
Because he has been dancing since he was a child, his dance skills have also been integrated into his fighting system.
“Slicing Rounds!”
Bullets infused with Haki shot out of Izou’s gun, allowing for a special shooting technique where every bullet carried a circular slashing effect around it, thus achieving both shooting and slashing effects simultaneously.
Though using a gun, the bullets he fired could accomplish feats only a blade could achieve. Then, the bullets shot out by Izou collided with the claw strikes unleashed by Delia. Taking advantage of the smoke produced by the collision, Izou wanted to pull back and enter a distance suitable for pistol combat.
However, Delia wasn’t about to give him that chance, surrounded by electricity as she continued her assault towards Izou.
Meanwhile, Isuka carried out the task given by Delia.
“Go help Sister Delia deal with the enemies, or you know what the consequences will be.”
Covered in insect armor, Isuka’s tone was flat as she addressed Kikunojo beside her. This was the task Delia had assigned her. She didn’t know what these consequences were, but it didn’t matter, because Kikunojo himself was well aware.
When they engage in battles outside, if they tried to take advantage of a difficult situation, it would spell trouble for Kozuki Hiyori in the Wano Country. This was something they had long known.
For the sake of Kozuki Hiyori, they were willing to become the blades of the Beasts Pirates, but this time was different because the person he was facing was his own brother, Izou.
Yes, he wasn’t dealing with Fossa; it was Izou.
Though Delia urged Combe to hold on a little longer, Kikunojo wouldn’t go to help him because his strength was insufficient. Even with Kikunojo’s assistance, they might not be able to quickly deal with Fossa.
But here it was different. Kikunojo’s assistance could let her quickly resolve the battle, allowing her to free up to deal with Fossa.
Unleashing his ultimate combat power was her plan.
They never doubted the Beasts Pirates’ words because they dared not gamble on what not cooperating might bring to Kozuki Hiyori.
“What are you waiting for? Don’t you understand the implications?”
“I-I understand.”
Despite his reluctance, Kikunojo forced his body to move.
“Brother, I’m sorry.”
Between his biological brother and the heir of his deceased lord, Kikunojo chose the latter. Whether Delia died in battle or was defeated, but since he was accompanying her, it would inevitably affect Kozuki Hiyori’s situation.
He didn’t even dare to go easy because Delia knew him too well. Just because of his identity, even if he did nothing, just appearing in front of Izou would have a huge impact.
As Izou, who was currently fighting Delia, sensed the commotion nearby, when he aimed his gun in that direction, his entire body froze, even giving up firing. It wasn’t until Delia kicked him in the abdomen that he reacted.
Seeing the left gun’s barrel severed, Izou’s expression was filled with shock.
“Why? Kiku, why would you do this?!”
Even though there was a mask between them, through the eye holes and the posture when wielding the blade, he recognized the other person. It was his own younger brother.
Though he had stayed on Whitebeard’s ship for various reasons for many years without returning to Wano Country, he never imagined his brother would wield his sword against him.
“I’m sorry.”
Two tears slid down from the seams under the mask. There was a joke that in the original timeline, Izou and Ashura Doji died because they didn’t idolize the Kozuki family enough. But in some sense, these two were indeed slightly different from the other retainers.
At this moment, Izou guessed that there was something that Kikunojo found difficult to mention, but he didn’t dwell on it. Because of Kozuki Hiyori, whether it was teaming up with his brother against Delia or passing on information, Kikunojo dared not do it and just kept apologizing while attacking.
Izou was in a difficult position. Kikunojo was completely open to him, with no defenses at all. He hoped that Izou would defeat him, as that would be the best outcome for him, but Izou couldn’t bear to shoot his own brother.
With Kikunojo’s arrival, the previously deadlocked battle turned into a one-sided situation.
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