CHAPTER 25 - Battle of Takeshi's Castle: Part 2
"Do you hear that?" Uzui asked.
"What?" Tomioka asked absentminded, having been preoccupied with their situation ahead. He was worried over Zoro and Kanao Tsuyuri, who had embarked on a dangerous quest to the Shi-niju monument, named Takeshi's Castle.
Tomioka had good reasons to be tensed. In pursuit of the Upper Demon Moon Karaku through the dead night, the team of Tomioka, Uzui and Master Kuwajima brought them closer to the impending Takeshi's Castle. There was no doubt that there was trouble brewing up in the said monument, especially since Karaku's fading Demon Energy could've been sensed moving towards it.
"That again." Uzui mentioned, bringing up his initial observation.
"What do you hear?" Tomioka asked, him being impatient to the fact that they might have to face an unimaginable terror ahead.
"Big footsteps from afar. Unlikely of a common person." Uzui mentioned.
Tomioka showed interest. But that didn't mean he was willing to change course after the unknown. Uzui himself was fixedto reach the castle, but that didn't mean he could ignore anomalies if he could sense one.
"To the east. Doesn't seem to emit any Demonic Energy." Uzui concentrated.
"Is it moving?"
"It seems that way. To the north."
Both Tomioka and Uzui glanced at each other. They were suspicious and thought the Takeshi's Castle had to do something again. North meant a location of interest for both the mysterious entity, as well as, for the Demon Slayers. A common heading for all.
"Demon Bear!" Zoro pounced with his Shusui and Kitetsu bellowing sparks against Kibutsuji's defending tentacles.
"Three Swords…"
Kibutsuji planned to counterattack. His tentacles curved, aiming for Zoro's position. Without ado, the protrusions zipped out from their coils, heading straight for a single target.
"Bull Demon…" Zoro slipped through the cluster of tentacles before the latter could've pierced through him. Zoro's leap was strong, leading him straight back to his undefended opponent.
Kibutsuji observed in surprise. He tried to block with his arms.
"Courageous Talons!*" Zoro bellowed.
The impact shook the area. Kanae, Kanao, and Shinobu were busy engaging Zokuhaten, the Upper Demon Moon, the one created from the clones Karaku and Urogi. All their attention was drawn to the adjacent fight.
"Master." Zokuhaten observed coolly.
Unlike his previous clones, Zokuhaten had a group of drums attached to his back. He looked at Zoro after his attack and beating one of drums. Swift gusts of slashing winds rushed towards the Pirate Hunter. Zoro sensed the incoming malice, dodging the wind blades with ease.
"Dance of the Dragonfly… Compound Eye Hexagon!" Shinobu wasted no time. She stabbed through the Demon Moon the moment the latter turned his attention away. Shinobu's stabs consisted of paralysis poison, restricting the Demon's mobility.
"Now!" Kanae bellowed.
Kanao and Kanao followed the Insect Pillar into a dual, yet unified Crimson Hanagoromo. Zohakuten had seen better days, but never had he expected to be sliced again in his advanced clone form, let alone by three female Demon Slayers.
"How dare you!" The Upper Demon Moon leaped back.
Blood dripped through the turf. The Demon Slayers observed that the Demon Moon lost a leg to the attack, but were surprised to find it intact otherwise, thanks to an uncanny technique that Zohakuten used, creating wood to block the attack.
The Demon Moon beat the same drum behind his back, that time aiming towards the women.
"Kanae, your sword." Shinobu exchanged blades with her sister.
Kanao was perplexed. To her knowledge, Shinobu never used a broader blade since her ability was based on piercing the opponent instead of hacking them.
"The point is to improvise. I learned this technique from Zoro." Shinobu said, drawing the blade horizontally above her shoulder.
"36-Pound Phoenix!"
The swing of the blade shot a strong gust known as a Flying-blade attack. It clashed with Zohakuten's wind slashes, neutralising the incoming threat.
Kanao was surprised. Zoro observed from the side with a grin. He knew the Demon Slayers had the situation under control.
He returned back to his priority, turning back. The strike upon Kibutsuji was more than a force of strength. Zoro knew that he had sliced Kibutsuji's heart sliced into pieces, observing the remains splattered with blood on the ground.
"And yet, you are not defeated." Zoro said.
Kibutsuji was standing and recovering from the danger he had just taken.
"Very impressive." He had a maniacal look on his face. Zoro realised that he had succeeded in exciting the enemy. And that proved unexpected dangers. Zoro was an experienced swordsman, understanding ways to tackle opponents of various kinds. An angry enemy was predictable in ways. But that wasn't Kibutsuji. From what Zoro had heard from Shinobu and the others, Kibutsuji hadn't shown himself for centuries, his existence and abilities having remained a mystery. Believed stronger than the Demon swordsman Kokushibo, Kibutsuji did not have a worthy fight in a long while, let alone someone being capable of slicing his heart in two.
Zoro knew it was going to get dangerous.
"A Demon amongst Demons." he remarked.
Flurries of the tentacles lashed onto the swordsman who was surprised to engage the blows. The speed was unreal. Zoro couldn't predict the ultra-zipping barrage, almost getting hit from the initial blows. The clash of tentacles and blades let off shockwaves all around. Shinobu observed the unparalleled duel, going beyond the bounds of previous Demon Slaying encounters.
Kanae and Kanao confronted Zohakuten before the latter could've sent in more of the air slashes. Shinobu joined them, making a three-sided attack. Zohakuten kept a keen eye against Shinobu, trying to close in distance against her. From the fight they had clashed until that moment, the Upper Moon understood Shinobu's weakness in her body constitution. He knew that getting close range against her could help him take her out easier than the other two.
"36-Pound Phoenix!" Shinobu covered for the others to attack.
But to her surprise, she realised Zohakuten's plan.
The Upper Demon dodged the Flying-blade, making a sudden rush towards the Insect Pillar. His high speed surprised the others. Kanae and Kanao had no time to make an immediate pursuit.
"Sister!" Kanao gasped.
Kanae rushed ahead nonetheless, giving it all to confront the Demon Moon from fighting her sister.
"No…" Shinobu lost her words.
Blood spilled. Zoro got hit through his right arm. He realised the result of continuous fighting through all those days was taking a toll on his body. But he was nowhere near getting desperate. The extreme flurry from Kibutsuji's tentacle attacks forced Zoro's Observation Haki to its full extent, getting him to understand the pattern of the enemy strikes.
Kibutsuji began to realise that his opponent was beginning to defend lesser with his blades. Instead, the man was starting to dodge through them like flowing water, anticipating the tentacle whips through mere instinct. He was especially surprised, when Zoro made a quick leap amidst the tentacles vines, getting out of the impact zone.
"Bird Dance!"
Zoro swiped Kanao's Nichirin blade in a vertical path, creating an instantaneous Flying-Blade. Kibutsuji dodged the attack, pulling the tentacles barrage towards Zoro's new location. But amidst his attack and defence, Kibutsuji had lost track of the opponent's presence. He wasn't situated inside his tentacle lashes.
Kibutsuji's eyes moved lower to relocate Zoro right in front of him within a few metres. He realised Zoro's closing in to employ his direct attacks, capable of dealing heavy damage as compared to his Flying-Blades.
"Black Blood: Brambles!"
Withdrawing his tentacles, a cage of spiked-barbed wires emerged right in front of him. Zoro crouched. A part of the running wire slashed him through his right arm and forehead. It gave Kibutsuji the satisfaction of observing the harm to a formidable opponent, the elation of seeing the signs of winning in a worthy battle. But Zoro knew what he was doing.
"Hawk Wave!"
His first prototype in the creation of the Flying-Blade attacks proved the trump card. The attack rushed underneath Kibutsuji's Brambles near the ground, where the barbs seemed to barely exist, putting least resistance against the attack. The Hawk Wave devised through Zoro's quick thinking, swung above right side underneath Kibutsuji's stance.
"What the…"
Kibutsuji was taken by surprise as the Hawk Wave slit the right side of his torso. The Brambles yet remained to keep away Zoro on his path from inflicting a direct attack, but unaware to Kibutsuji, Zoro had no need to attack from the front.
With a distracted Kibutsuji, Zoro rushed to the Demon's left side, assuming that the Demon King might focus on his injuries. The injuries themselves were nothing great, considering Kibutsuji's amazing regeneration abilities. The trump card relied on the act of surprise. Kibutsuji fell for it, realising it too late.
"Three Swords - Crab Grab!"
An instant swipe. Kibutsuji's head was removed from his body. Zoro dropped his Shusui, grabbing Kanao's Nichirin blade with both hands. He held high.
"One Sword - Great Dragon Shock!"
With the same technique he had used to terrorise and wreck Monet back in Punk Hazard, Zoro showed no mercy throwing judgement.
Kibutsuji's brain was ripped in half, with the shockwave ripping apart every soft tissue inside the hard skull, and the same went for all through his body. Unlike Monet, Kibutsuji was no Logia user. Zoro took no chances and had the Nichirin blade imbued with Haki to bring in the worst nightmare upon the Demon King.
Shinobu fell on her left knee, dropping the sword. Zokuhaten yelled in agony.
"What happened?" Kanao was confounded beyond belief.
Shinobu was underneath Zohakuten, the latter who had drawn his bird claws from Urogi's powers, ready to rip the Insect Pillar off before she could've defended herself.
She was terrified. Time seemed to go standstill. Blood dripped on her face from above. She found Zohakuten's terrified face glared down in malevolence, but static. And then, with slow movement, the Demon Moon's body fell down behind, ripped in half.
Kanae took the opportunity and dragged Shinobu away. The latter was injured as Zohakuten had almost managed to rip off her left arm. Shinobu's eyes turned towards the Pirate Hunter and kept them on him.
"That shockwave…" Kanao was baffled, "That shockwave from that final attack saved sister Shinobu like some Divine Intervention."
And that was not all. Kanao followed the trajectory of the Great Dragon Shock into the forest beyond the turf. The trees were ripped in half. All of them.
The smoke from Zoro's fight cleared off, with Kibutsuji's remains on the ground and disintegrating as dust. Kanae stabbed the Demon Moon Zohakuten right through his neck before he could've regenerated. Dust everywhere.
At long last, it seemed the arduous night was at an end. Zoro walked to them. He found Shinobu looking at him.
"You okay?" he asked.
Shinobu observed her wounds and took a moment of silence. She looked back.
"I'll be fine. Just a bit tired from all this." she replied with a sigh.
Zoro agreed with a nod. Kanae picked up her sister.
It was a great victory against the Demons, after the long centuries of struggle. And yet, no one said a word. In a way, the majestic victory seemed less jubilant than they had believed. It felt more of tranquil and peace than exultation. Zoro knew he had a great fight after a long time, and could only wonder what must've gone through the minds of the Demon Slayers. Their reason for fighting coming to an end, in a way. And that seemed unsettling for a man like Zoro, who always aspired to fight better opponents.
An end of purpose from a person's primary duties can hit hard.
Before the void could've swallowed their minds, something went through Zoro's mind. Something that he had just realised.
"The Great Dragon Shock."
Big sounds in the town. It seemed as if the people of Shiniju would get no peace through the endless night. Tomioka, Uzui and Master Kuwajima was in big trouble. It was related to Uzui's sensing of large sounds that he had believed coming in from the east.
Uzui bled from his forhead after he had attempted attacking the source of the chaos.
"There's no end to them." Tomioka heaved, looking around, "What are these men-creatures?"
"Tell me." grumbled the large creature standing in front of Uzui, "Where is Trafalgar Law?"
"What?" Tomioka was surprised.
The large beast looked at Tomioka, "I remember you on Moria's ship. Maybe you can enlighten me."
"You know him, Tomioka?" Uzui asked. He found Tomioka in utter shock.
"You…" Tomioka began to remember, back from the voyage. He was uncertain from his sight and familiar from the description Law had mentioned. Men capable of turning into another because they ate weird fruits called Zoan Devil Fruits.
A scout had returned back, a sight that surprised Uzui and Tomioka. The scout was a woman in the form of a horse, something that was unfound in the Mainland.
"We searched through the town. The men responsible for Doflamingo's downfall isn't here."
"Don't give me that crap, Speed! They are here in this land. Including that Straw Hat's henchman, Roronoa Zoro. Find them!"
Tomioka had no more doubt of who he was.
"Yes, Captain Jack." Speed sped off.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Footnotes:
*Pronounced as Santoryu: Gyuki Yuzume in Japanese. Zoro used this move against Captain T-Bone at the end of Water 7 arc.