One Piece: Groudon the Beasts

Chapter 43: The Invisible Brainstorming, the Most Deadly

The sun sets and night falls.

Deep in the mountains, a bandit gang's stronghold.

Shutenmaru sat on a rattan chair, his body riddled with arrows and shuriken, as well as numerous burns and knife wounds.

Having fallen into an enemy ambush and being surrounded, it was impossible to escape injury while leading his men in a surprise attack.

"Tick-tock~ Tick-tock~"

Fresh blood continued to drip onto the ground.

"puff!"

The arrow was violently pulled out, drawing out a trickle of hot blood.

Shutenmaru gasped for breath, looking at the few remaining brothers in the hall, his eyes quickly turning bloodshot.

Even though he fought valiantly, he only managed to save one-third of his brothers; the rest died at the hands of the samurai.

This is the first time he's suffered such a huge loss!

"Devil Muscle Man!"

Shutenmaru gritted his teeth and growled.

According to intelligence, it was that pirate known as "Devil Muscle Man" who orchestrated all of this, and this debt absolutely cannot be forgiven.

He wants revenge!

At this moment, at the foot of the mountain.

The anti-bandit army lay in ambush in the bushes.

Yamato sniffed and pointed to the path leading up the mountain. Judging from the smell, many people had come up the mountain from here not long ago.

"The smell of blood is going up the mountain!"

"Well done, Yamato."

Goode was lavish in his praise.

Having located the bandits' stronghold, it's time to wipe them out. However, some preparations are needed to prevent the bandits from escaping via side paths.

"Everyone, rest where you are!"

"rest?"

The samurai stood there, stunned.

They've already reached the outskirts of the thieves' stronghold. Why aren't they attacking before the thieves discover them? What's the point of resting?

Although puzzled, the samurai obediently sat down to rest, especially those who had been injured in the battle and were eager to recover.

Big Black came up to Goode.

"Lord Goode, what does this mean?"

"Don't be impatient, Big Black."

Goode looked at Big Black with a meaningful expression.

“Shutenmaru is already a frightened bird, and this is the most vigilant moment. If we launch an attack now, he will definitely use the complex terrain to escape.”

"When the night is deep and quiet, the exhausted thieves will surely relax their guard and rest. That will be the time for us to attack."

"Don't worry, you'll have room to make your mark."

Big Black remained silent.

Admittedly, Goode's judgment was reasonable and well-founded, but the brief time they spent together made him realize that things were not so simple.

This man is quite shrewd!

In the previous battle, Goode may have deliberately arrived late; otherwise, given the combined strength of Goode and Kaido's daughter, there was a high probability that they would have captured Shutenmaru.

Goode couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

This means one thing: Goode was deliberately sitting on the sidelines, likely with the aim of wearing down their fighting strength against Shutenmaru.

Their current rest is probably for ulterior motives.

Time passed slowly, and the forest grew increasingly quiet.

The hours of waiting made many samurai anxious, while some carefree samurai even dozed off.

"Hoo~ Lululu~~"

Yamato was asleep too.

Goode, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them.

"What time is it now?"

"1:15 AM!"

Big Black answered in a deep voice.

1:15 AM, the first quarter of the hour of Chou.

The time has come!

Goode checked the wind direction and then waved to the crowd.

"Everyone come here!"

"Big Black, you'll follow me and we'll launch an attack from the front gate."

"Lei Ren, take your men and head east."

"Wind Blade, Chiyo, you two lead 100 samurai to the west."

The tactical arrangements were completed quickly.

Goode scanned the crowd. "You all understand now, right?"

"understand!"

Everyone took a deep breath, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at Goode. If they could, they really didn't want to be his enemy!
"set off!"

"Yes!"

The group split into three groups and quickly disappeared into the jungle.

Good, along with Yamato and Dahei, and more than two hundred samurai, followed the path up the mountain and quickly reached the outside of the bandit stronghold.

The lights were sparse, and it was exceptionally quiet.

There wasn't even a gatekeeper.

Clearly, the thieves had spent several hours safely inside the stronghold, which made them instinctively lower their guard.

"Fifteen minutes to go."

Goode glanced at the time and looked at Big Black with a leisurely air: "Big Black, you have to be careful during the battle later. I don't want the ninja's shuriken to accidentally pierce my back."

"."

Big Black felt a chill run down his spine.

Good patted Big Black on the back.

"Don't be too nervous. After we finish this fight, I'll treat you to a hot spring. By the way, why don't you just follow me from now on?"

"I'm sorry, Lord Goode, ninjas are only loyal to the general."

A shadow fell over Dahei's eyes.

This man saw through his intentions!
"Unfortunately, I still have high hopes for you."

Good shook his head regretfully, then changed the subject.

"Hey, why don't I just become a general?"

"My Lord, be careful with your words!"

Big Black responded in a low voice, startled.

Goode pointed at himself with slight dissatisfaction.

"What, I can't be a general?"

"."

Big Black swallowed hard.

Please stop talking!

How can a general compare to you? A general doesn't have your guts!

But please don't drag me down with you!

"Just kidding, a rough guy like me can't be a general."

Good shook his head and smiled, pointing to Yamato beside him who was looking around like a thief, and spoke calmly, as if stating a fact.

"She is the one who can be a general."

"."

Big Black's heart skipped a beat.

Kaido's daughter wants to become a general?
He didn't think Goode was joking; judging from the other man's expression, he was clearly being given a dangerous signal.

Also, Kaido's daughter is indeed qualified to be a general. She has a good father, and no one in this country dares to oppose him!
Clearly, Goode wanted him to take sides!
As a confidant of General Orochi, he knew very well that General Orochi wanted to get rid of the man in front of him, and now it seemed that the other party probably also intended to get rid of General Orochi.

And Kaido was standing behind the other side!

"Wait, could this be the will of the King of Light?!"

A terrible thought arose in Big Black's mind.

While the beasts were on their expedition, Kaido deliberately left his daughter behind in Wano Country, and she repeatedly tested Orochi.

This isn't Kaido's style!

If Kaido intends for his daughter to replace Orochi as general, then everything that has happened recently makes sense.

Yes, that’s definitely the case!
Otherwise, how could just two people dare to covet the general's position?

This must have been orchestrated by Kaido!
Kaido wanted to take advantage of his absence from Wano Country during the expedition to have his daughter replace Orochi, thus avoiding the stigma of betrayal.

The more Dahei thought about it, the clearer his mind became, and the paler his face grew.

He won't be silenced!
"Big Black, prepare for battle!"

Goode stood up and looked eastward.

The fire had already started at the foot of the mountain and was spreading rapidly upwards with the help of the wind. It wouldn't be long before it burned down to the mountain village.

Set the mountain on fire!

The time was exactly three-quarters past the hour of Chou!
Goode's gaze was icy as he raised his right hand.

"Archer!"

The warriors behind him immediately drew their bows and lit the arrows.

"Fire arrows!"

A hail of arrows rained down on the mountain stronghold.

The next moment, flames shot into the sky!

(End of this chapter)