svetikya Chapter 297 Temporary Departure, Zou's Summoning
Chapter 297 Temporary Departure, Zou's Summoning
Chapter 297 Temporary Departure, Zou's Summoning
"Cough cough————"
A faint cough came from a corner of the hall.
Hiyori suddenly turned her head and saw that Semimaru, who was thought to be dead, had his fingers twitch slightly.
"Semimaru-sama!" Hiyori exclaimed and rushed over.
The old minister struggled to open his eyes, and the moment he saw Hiyori, a trace of relief flashed in his cloudy eyes.
"Hiyori—Sir—you're alright—that's wonderful—"
"Don't speak, you're badly injured!" Hiyori frantically tried to treat his wounds, but Semimaru's injuries were too severe.
He had at least three broken ribs, internal bleeding, and severe bruises on his back from being trampled by the crow man. It was a miracle that he was still alive.
"There's no time left!" Semimaru grabbed Hiyori's wrist and said with all his might.
"I heard you—your words—Go to Wu—are right—"
He took a few breaths and continued, "But—we can't go directly—Kaido—he must be at the border—"
"Deployment—Ship to Port"
"A hidden harbor?" Hiyori was taken aback. "Wasn't that sealed off by Orochi?"
"There's a secret passage!" Semimaru pulled a blood-stained wooden plaque from his pocket and stuffed it into Hiyori's hand.
"Take this—go to the western side of Lingxi—the abandoned mine—the deepest part—there's a secret waterway—run by the Kozuki family for generations—that can—bypass the border—and—directly—go to sea—"
His breath grew weaker and weaker.
"Lord Hiyori—you must—go down—to the—Kozuki family—hope—"
Before he could finish speaking, Chanmaru's hand fell limply to his side, his eyes slowly closed, and his breathing became barely audible.
"Lord Semimaru!" Hiyori's voice was choked with sobs.
Nobunaga walked over, squatted down, and used his fingers to check the pulse in Seramaru's neck.
"Still alive, but not far from death." He stood up and looked at Hiyori.
"What are you planning to do? Take him with you? In his current condition, he'll surely die from the bumpy ride."
Hiyori bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. Semimaru was her teacher who had watched her grow up, and her retainer who had secretly protected her for twenty years—how could she bear to—
"Stay here," Nobunaga said calmly.
"Find him a secluded place to hide, and leave him water and medicine. If we successfully reach Zou, we'll find a way back to rescue him. If we fail—"
He didn't continue.
Hiyori closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. After a long while, she nodded heavily.
"I see."
As night fell again, Hiyori and Nobunaga had already left the abandoned shrine.
Cicada was placed in a hidden storage room in the basement of the main hall, where there was a small amount of dry food and water that the shrine had previously stored.
Hiyori left behind most of the healing medicine and disguised the entrance.
At this moment, the two were walking briskly along the rugged mountain path west of Linghou under the moonlight.
Hiyori changed into a simple dark blue kimono, with a warm cotton-padded jacket over it, and tied her long hair into a ponytail.
Nobunaga, still wearing his red jinbaori and with two swords at his waist, led the way.
His injuries have healed to about 70-80% thanks to the magic, demonstrating the powerful regenerative abilities of heroic spirits.
Following the simple map on the wooden sign, the two found a mine entrance covered by vines and snow late at night.
The entrance to the cave was narrow, allowing only one person to pass by bending over. Inside, it was dark and smelled damp and musty.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Nobunaga frowned, looking at the entrance to Heimer's cave. "There might be some wild beasts or something worse inside."
"Lord Semimaru wouldn't lie to me." Hiyori gripped the wooden plaque tightly, took a deep breath, and bent down to crawl inside first.
Nobunaga shrugged and followed behind her.
The mine was much deeper than I had imagined, and had many branching paths.
Fortunately, a simple route map was engraved on the back of the wooden sign, and Hiyori navigated the maze-like tunnels by relying on her memory and the dim light.
The deeper you go, the more obvious the traces of human excavation become.
Ancient murals and inscriptions began to appear on the rock walls, depicting scenes from the founding of Wano Country and the Kozuki family fighting side by side with the Mink Tribe.
"It seems your family has a good relationship with those furry creatures." Nobunaga looked with great interest at the warriors in the murals who looked like various animals.
"The Mink Tribe is one of Wano Country's oldest allies," Hiyori said softly.
"Legend has it that in ancient times, humans and furry people lived together on this land. Later, they separated for some reason, but the alliance was never broken."
After walking for about an hour, the sound of flowing water came from ahead.
The two turned a corner, and suddenly the view opened up before them.
A huge underground cave appeared before us, with countless stalactites hanging from the ceiling and a wide underground lake on the ground.
The lake water was deep and dark, shimmering with a faint blue light, which was the glow emitted by some luminescent mineral at the bottom of the lake.
On the lakeshore, several oddly shaped boats were moored. They were long and narrow, covered with waterproof animal hides, and looked old but were well-preserved.
"This is it." Hiyori breathed a sigh of relief. "The Kozuki family has been operating a secret waterway for hundreds of years, which leads directly overseas from underground. Kaido and Orochi probably don't know about this route."
Nobunaga jumped onto a boat and inspected it: "The boat is fine, but—who's going to row? I'm not good at that. I've never been to sea before."
"I'll go." Hiyori boarded the boat and sat at the stern. "My father brought me here when I was a child and taught me how to operate this kind of boat."
She untied the rope, picked up the oar, and with a gentle push, the small boat glided into the lake.
The underground lake's current was faster than expected, and the small boat followed the current into an even narrower waterway.
The rock walls on both sides of the waterway are almost within reach, with low rock ceilings above, from which water droplets fall from time to time.
In the darkness, only the illumination orb maintained by Nobunaga at the bow of the ship and the eerie blue glow of the minerals underwater created an eerie and tranquil atmosphere.
"How much longer?" Nobunaga asked. He didn't like this enclosed space.
"According to my memory, it takes about two hours to cross this waterway, and then you will enter an underground river. Drifting along the underground river for half a day will take you to the estuary."
As Hiyori rowed, she answered, "Once we're out at sea, if we sail north for another day, we'll see Zou, if it's still in that spot."
"A moving giant elephant—" Nobunaga muttered, "There are so many strange and wonderful things in this world."
The small boat moved forward in silence.
There were only the sounds of oars, water, and dripping water from the top of the rocks.
After an unknown amount of time, Nobunaga suddenly spoke.
"Hey, Master."
"yes?"
"Why do you want to restore your country?" Nobunaga turned his head, his red eyes appearing exceptionally deep in the dark blue light.
"It's not for revenge, nor for power—you said before that you wanted a new era. Specifically, what kind of new era?"
Hiyori slowed her rowing. She thought for a long time before speaking slowly.
"I—don't know exactly what to do. I don't have my father's strength and charisma, nor do I have experience in governing a country."
"However, I have seen what Wano Country looked like when it was under lockdown."
Her voice echoed through the narrow waterway.
"I have seen children starving to death in the slums beneath the glitz and glamour of the City of Flowers; I have seen prostitutes forced into prostitution by debt and violence in the White Dance Gallery."
"I have seen how many bones of rebels are buried beneath the snowfields of Linghou; I have also seen how the shadow of Oni Island loomed over the entire country for 18 years."
"My father wanted to open the country's doors, to let Wano Country connect with the world, and to let the people see a wider sky. But he failed, was slandered as a foolish prince, and was boiled to death."
"I want to finish what he didn't finish. But it's not just about opening the country's doors—what I want to break down is the structure that forced my father to die."
"It is the general's dictatorship, Kaido's violent rule, those outdated customs that divide people into different classes, and the old era that allows the weak to only cry and the strong to act recklessly."
She raised her head and looked at Nobunaga, her eyes flashing with a faint but determined light.
"Lord Nobunaga, weren't you the same way when you were alive? You burned down Mount Hiei, breaking the monopoly of the temples; you ignored the imperial court and made your own rules."
"
"Isn't everything you've done also aimed at breaking down an old era and establishing a new one?"
Nobunaga remained silent.
He turned his head and looked at the endless dark waterway ahead. After a long while, he chuckled softly.
"Break the old era—yes. But the new era I built was ultimately just another set of shackles."
"That Hideyoshi—I can't help it, that bastard took over my position, and then Ieyasu took over his—after all this time, Japan is still the same Japan, only the people sitting on it have changed."
His voice carried a rare, almost imperceptible hint of weariness.
"Breaking down the old is easy, building something new is hard. Building something good—that's even harder. But I believe in you; you still have the Sixth Demon King's help!"
The small boat fell silent, a silent silence between two smiling faces.
Only the sound of flowing water could be heard.
Zou, deep within the Western Forest.
The silvery light of the full moon pierced through the sparse canopy of trees, spilling onto a relatively open clearing in the woods.
There was no grand ceremony here, only a solitary knight-errant sitting quietly facing the moon.
Pedro, a former member of the Mink Musketeers, now calls himself the King of the Night.
He had the agile physique of a jaguar, his golden fur gleaming in the moonlight, and a deep scar over his left eye that recorded a past he preferred not to mention.
He was not admiring the moonlight.
His gaze was fixed firmly on his outstretched left palm.
There, three bright red lines, as if they possessed life, pulsated slightly in the moonlight.
Command Spells.
Three days ago, when the full moon rose, the mark appeared on his wrist without warning.
What followed was a strong, soul-stirring feeling, as if something ancient was resonating with him from a distant place.
Pedro was not alarmed, nor did he tell anyone.
This included his most trusted Duke Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, the shopkeeper. He simply left the town and came to this secluded retreat deep within the Western Forest.
Because he knew what it was.
The Holy Grail War.
Months ago, when news of the Alabasta Holy Grail War, which shocked the world, drifted to the back of this isolated giant elephant through word of mouth of newsbirds and wandering merchants, Pedro had a vague feeling that some great change was about to happen.
He hadn't expected the wave of change to come so quickly, crashing directly onto the shores of Zou.
"Have I been chosen? —" Pedro muttered to himself, a complex light flickering in his single eye.
He didn't crave power or glory. On the contrary, he understood better than anyone that power often brought not salvation, but more responsibility and sacrifice. The wound in his left eye, the companions he lost, and the things he failed to protect—all reminded him of this.
but-
"If—if this power could be used to protect—"
He raised his head and looked at the bright full moon in the night sky, and also at the vast and boundless sea where giant elephants walked under the moonlight.
He remembered what the captain, wearing a straw hat and with a bright smile, had said to him many years ago when he left Zou.
"Pedro, you still have things you need to accomplish, don't you? Then live on, and wait until the day you finish!"
He remembered the mission he was entrusted with, the promise made in the historical text, and the truths about the world and the blank century that awaited his discovery.
He also remembered—Kaido.
That thing, like a nightmare, looms over Wano Country and indirectly affects the beasts of Zou.
If the Holy Grail War is truly a storm sweeping the world, then Kaido, and the Heroic Spirits under his command, will sooner or later become a huge threat to Zou and to all those who pursue freedom and truth.
"My wish—" Pedro clenched his fist, the Command Seals burning in his palm, "is not revenge, nor domination."
"It's about protecting."
Protect Zou, protect our comrades, protect the truths yet to be revealed, protect the future that may come...
A hope like the dawn.
Is this desire strong enough? Strong enough to summon heroes across time and space?
Pedro didn't know.
But he's willing to try.
He took out a carefully preserved item from his pocket.
It was a metal badge with its edges worn smooth.
The dragon relief is faintly visible on the badge, but most of the details have been eroded by time.
This was something he found in some ancient ruins during an adventure many years ago.
It doesn't belong to any known civilization, yet it always evokes a strange sense of familiarity and resonance in Pedro.
He didn't know if it could act as a catalyst, but it was the only item he possessed that could possibly connect him to an ancient hero.
Pedro took a deep breath, placed the badge on the open ground in front of him, then stood up and took a few steps back.
He raised his left hand, and the Command Seal emitted an increasingly intense red light under the moonlight.
"With the full moon as our witness —"
He chanted softly, his voice not loud, yet it possessed a peculiar penetrating power, echoing through the silent forest.
"Use this awakening of the body as a bridge—"
The latent power belonging to the Mink Tribe's Sulong form resonated subtly with the magic of the Command Seals.
A faint light began to emerge from his body, but he did not fully transform into his Sulong form; instead, he maintained a delicate state between human and lion.
"Cross the veil of myth and legend, answer this call—"
He poured all his will, all his awareness, and all the beliefs he wanted to protect into the incantation.
"Descend here, stand beside me—"
"Heroic spirits who fought for what they protected!"
boom-!!!
The red light of the Command Seal and the silver glow of the moonlight intertwined violently, transforming into a pillar of light that reached the heavens and the earth, completely enveloping Pedro and the badge!
The trees throughout the West Forest rustled without wind, and the creatures that inhabited them emitted uneasy low moans.
In the direction of the town, Duke Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, the shopkeeper, sensed the powerful and unfamiliar energy fluctuations almost simultaneously. Their expressions changed drastically, and they rushed towards the direction of the pillar of light!
"Could it be—Pedro—"