Chapter 256: "Get Out Here, Uchiha Raijin"

"Boom!"

The moment the terrifying golden water touched the ninjas, it instantly transformed them into golden statues.

But in the next second, a water dragon surged from the pit created by the Scorch Release!

It immediately engulfed all the ninjas who had come into contact with the golden water.

The golden coating on their bodies vanished in an instant!

At the same time, they regained control of their bodies.

"These guys know my weakness too?"

Tezzoro’s eyes filled with murderous intent. He originally thought this attack would cripple a large part of their fighting force.

But it turned out his abilities had already been seen through, even his weaknesses were well understood.

"Shikaku, let the ninja forces handle his men! Leave this guy to me."

Kakashi, with one hand in his pocket, approached Shikaku Nara and spoke.

He glanced at Borsalino and Zephyr, noticing the two still didn't get along.

This made Kakashi secretly smile; it was good that Borsalino hadn't confronted Zephyr.

"Kakashi, are you planning to go in personally?"

Shikaku Nara had thought it would be a simple test of strength, but Kakashi had decided to take action himself.

He had been planning to use the tried-and-true Ino–Shika–Cho formation to defeat Tezzoro and showcase their skills.

But Kakashi interrupted those plans.

"Facing an opponent like this, ordinary ninjas won't stand a chance!"

"After all, we're already short-handed in Dressrosa, and we can't afford to lose too many people."

Kakashi said softly.

He didn't seem to take Tezzoro seriously at all.

To Kakashi, someone like Tezzoro wasn’t worth paying much attention to.

"That’s true! In that case, it's all yours!"

Shikaku Nara nodded and said nothing more.

Since Kakashi had volunteered for the task, there was nothing more to say.

"Boom!"

A mass of golden water surged from the casino, gradually forming a shape on the battlefield.

A colossal giant made of gold slowly appeared before everyone.

Tezzoro sat inside, his face twisted with fury.

He raised his hand!

"Boom!"

Countless ninjas were instantly sent flying.

The terrifying strength resembled that of a demon god.

This scene made Sengoku and the others narrow their eyes.

The power of this fruit was immense, at least in terms of raw strength.

"Uchiha Raijin! Get out here!"

Tezzoro roared, venting his emotions across the battlefield.

The casino he had painstakingly built was being destroyed by Uchiha Raijin.

And he had no idea why he had angered this man in the first place.

From the beginning until now, Tezzoro had been suppressing a deep fury!

He just wanted to find Uchiha Raijin and kill him.

"Stop howling! Raijin wouldn’t waste his time with a small fry like you!"

At that moment, a flash of lightning appeared, and a figure slowly materialized in the sky.

Kakashi gazed calmly at the massive golden giant before him. It didn’t even look like a person.

But Kakashi's sensory abilities were at their peak.

In an instant, he detected Tezzoro hiding in the core of the golden giant.

This guy had found a good hiding spot!

Unless someone cracked the outer shell, it would be hard to reach him.

"A small fry?"

Tezzoro wanted to ask what kind of grudge they had, but hearing Kakashi’s comment enraged him.

Just how much were these people looking down on him?

He was an up-and-coming star in the New World.

But these people dared to evaluate him like this.

"You know what? I'll just kill you, then bring your head to Uchiha Raijin!"

Tezzoro roared in anger.

The giant’s massive hands clapped together, instantly trapping Kakashi between them.

The sound echoed, making the entire battlefield tremble, and everyone instinctively covered their ears.

"Hahahahaha! A bunch of Uchiha Raijin’s dogs dare to shout in front of me!"

"I’ll make sure none of you are left to bury! How dare you look down on me!"

Tezzoro’s twisted voice echoed with rage!

He wasn’t as angry about the destruction anymore.

What infuriated him most now was that these people looked down on him.

He was destined to become the richest person in the world.

How could a bunch of lowly commoners look down on him?

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm not that easy to kill!"

A streak of lightning flashed across the sky, and in an instant, a figure appeared on the shoulder of Tezzoro's giant.

The figure looked relaxed, as if he wasn’t taking the battle seriously at all.

This attitude completely enraged Tezzoro. No one had ever looked down on him this much.

Not even bothering to be serious in a fight.

"Ten million volts! Thunderbird!"

Kakashi raised one finger!

In the next moment!

A giant bird made of lightning appeared in the sky.

Its wings flapped, creating a thunderous roar.

"Let's end this farce quickly."

Kakashi gently moved his finger, and the Thunderbird followed suit.

It instantly flew toward Tezzoro.

"Boom!"

"Ah!"

For a moment, the golden giant was engulfed in flashing lightning, as countless bolts exploded across its body.

White lightning surged over the giant, crackling and popping!

Kakashi lifted one hand and picked up a golden rod.

Without making a sound, he tossed it into the Kamui dimension.

With so much gold around, pocketing a little wouldn’t hurt.

After all, Uchiha Raijin was a generous guy.

He probably wouldn’t mind the little details.

Cough, cough!

Tezzoro, sitting in the core of the golden giant, felt his body tingling with electric shocks.

He still wanted to attack Kakashi, but under the powerful electric assault, he couldn't move.

His body stiffened as he slowly regained control thanks to his Armament Haki.

"Now for the final strike!"

Kakashi noticed Tezzoro starting to recover.

A spark of lightning appeared in his hand, and his eyes flashed with sharp intent.

In the next instant!

Swoosh!

Lightning streaked through the air!

A figure holding lightning appeared in front of Tezzoro.

"Die!"

Kakashi said calmly.

Bang!

The lightning pierced straight through the golden giant’s head.

It drilled through the gold without stopping, rushing deeper inside.

Splat!

Tazzoro stared in disbelief at Kakashi, who had just pierced the head of the golden giant.

His ambitions, dreams, and revenge were all left unfulfilled.

None of them came true!

And now he was dead, without even understanding why.

"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for taking the Uchiha’s Gilded-Gold Fruit!"

"Some things that belong to Dressrosa aren’t so easily taken!" Kakashi said casually.

Slowly, he pulled his hand out of Tazzoro's heart.

Even as blood splattered on the gold, he remained unfazed.

"The Gilded-Gold Fruit? Isn't that Doflamingo's?" Tazzoro seemed to realize something, speaking his last words with great effort.

He had stolen the Gilded-Gold Fruit months before Doflamingo was defeated by Raijin.

At that time, the fruit and the auction house weren’t even part of Dressrosa yet.

"Doflamingo’s things belong to Dressrosa!" Kakashi scoffed.

Tazzoro, his eyes filled with resentment, slowly fell silent.

He couldn’t believe that such a ridiculous reason had led to his death.

Moreover, just how domineering was Dressrosa?

"It’s finally over. Next, we’ll have Nara Shikaku take control of this entertainment city."

"Maybe I’ll just move my base here—it seems like a quiet place," Kakashi mused to himself as he left the golden giant’s body.

Even though Tazzoro was dead, the golden giant stood firm on the icy ground.

Though it had been controlled by Tazzoro's ability, the gold itself was real, not a fabrication.

All the gold Dressrosa had sold during this time must have ended up in this guy's hands.

Who would’ve thought? All that gold from Skypiea had come full circle.

A crackle of electricity flickered through the air, and Kakashi gestured toward Nara Shikaku.

Shikaku immediately understood and ordered the ninja to launch the final assault on the entertainment city.

With Tazzoro dead, those who still resisted posed little threat.

Kakashi and his team didn’t even need to get involved—their trained ninjas were more than capable of handling the situation.

"You sure have it easy!" Kakashi remarked as he boarded Raijin's ship, noticing that the man hadn’t moved a muscle.

Kakashi, on the other hand, had been running around constantly, even finding time to scheme against others!

He had been like this before coming to this sea.

And after arriving here, it was the same—always busy!

Was coming to the sea a waste of time?

"I gave you time off, but all you do is hole up in Dressrosa. You should get out more."

"This time, I’ve seen how much you’ve grown. It also shows that Dressrosa now has someone capable of flying the flag." Raijin waved, signaling a maid to bring Kakashi a drink.

After all, Kakashi had worked hard for some time, so a drink was the least he could offer.

"Heh, showcasing Dressrosa’s strength? If you let the Kage from the Five Great Nations out, even without your involvement, the so-called 'monsters' of the New World wouldn't be able to rival Dressrosa." Kakashi accepted the drink from the maid with a light-hearted smile.

Indeed!

Dressrosa had become that powerful.

Especially with the Five Kage summoned by Raijin, they were the true key to strength.

Each of the Five Kage was a master in their own right, standing at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World.

Once they truly mastered Haki, they wouldn’t be weaklings.

They might even rival the three admirals.

"Yes, it’s true. But some of them have their own agendas, so it’s best to keep them on hold for now."

"We’ll wait a bit longer. By then, they won’t be able to cause any trouble." Raijin smirked coldly.

Not everyone was as laid-back as the Raikage.

Some of them still harbored ambitions—to drive the Uchiha clan out and establish their own rule.

But!

All of Dressrosa was under his control!

What could they possibly use to challenge him?

Even if they bore the title of Kage, they were as insignificant as ants in the face of true power.

Raijin decided to wait until his Rinnegan had fully matured.

No need to stir up trouble in the meantime.

"That’s probably for the best." Kakashi nodded, agreeing that Raijin’s caution was wise.

They had finally achieved stability and found a peaceful home.

Kakashi didn’t want that home to be destroyed by a few petty schemers.

It wasn’t worth losing everything over some small-time conspiracies.

"Now, about the entertainment city—let’s give one-tenth of the gold to the Navy."

"The Navy’s getting closer to us. We need to act quickly to assimilate them." Raijin glanced at the Navy ships anchored nearby.

Among them were the three admirals and the fleet admiral.

Aside from Tsuru, nearly all the Navy’s top brass had gathered.

What did this signify?

The Uchiha clan’s influence in this world was growing.

But Raijin had no intention of dealing with the Celestial Dragons.

There was no need to get involved with such troublesome people.

Right now, he wanted to consolidate his control over the Navy.

"Isn’t that a bit much?" Kakashi eyed the towering golden giant.

Even one-tenth of the gold would make the Navy a fortune.

They had done nothing, yet they were about to make a killing.

It made Dressrosa seem foolish, handing over money like that.

"It is a lot, but don’t you think they’ll give us something in return?"

Raijin sighed.

Was Kakashi not using his brain lately?

He seemed to be getting rusty.

"I get it now! Poor Zephyr-sensei, though," Kakashi said, a mischievous grin forming on his face.

"?"

Raijin was momentarily confused. What did this have to do with Zephyr?

Zephyr’s only recent plot had failed!

But the outcome was good, so he had sent Zephyr a head as a gift.

Shouldn’t Zephyr be happy?

Why feel sorry for him?

"By the way, I overheard that Sakazuki, like Kuzan, plans to find someone he loves in Dressrosa!"

"If that happens, will Zephyr-sensei’s tally be complete?" Kakashi suddenly asked.

"Did Zephyr push for that?" Raijin raised an eyebrow.

"No, Sakazuki did it on his own! He’s taken a liking to one of our ninja soldiers!" Kakashi shook his head.

"Then there’s no need to cancel it. This isn’t Zephyr’s achievement, and we don’t give credit where it’s not due. Dressrosa rewards merit but doesn’t tolerate false claims."

"We strictly forbid unfairness," Raijin said with a smile.

(End of chapter)