“Guh! Uguh, ugaah…!! How dare that guy hurt me like this…!! I’m never gonna forgive that kid…!!”
(He’s more hurt than I thought. I didn’t think he’d be cornered like that…)
Koumaru managed to shake off the pursuers, and had unpleasant thoughts as he looked at Zaraki in a hideout.
The plan was to get Raiha and the weapons with loong power, and quickly escape the country, but… Zaraki was more badly hurt than he anticipated, which threw a wrench into that plan.
Flying with a shikigami would draw attention, so he could not do it from there.
He secured a safe escape route at the start, but it would take time to carry the wounded Zaraki through it, increasing its risk.
The guards could find the hideout at any time, so they could not wait for Zaraki to recover either.
Yuugo’s brave struggle caused the final step of his plan, leaving the country, to be a very difficult one. He did not hate him as much as Zaraki did, but was still angry.
(I thought I had plenty of data on the students of Luminous Academy… That trump card was completely out of my predictions.)
He knew very well the danger Yuugo and Ryuuga posed to his plans. That was why he caused them to be somewhat confined, to prevent them from interfering… but this was the result.
He questioned how they knew his location, and how they got ready so quickly, but that did not matter.
The real question was, what now? But Koumaru settled on a plan.
“It can’t be helped. This is an emergency, so it’s time for plan B. Zaraki, come here.”
“Ah? Why?”
Koumaru stood in front of Zaraki, with some irritation in his voice, but a somewhat calm demeanor.
He took out the jewel where Raiha and Setsuna and Sakura’s magic items were sealed, and as Zaraki had one knee on the ground, he pushed the jewel strongly against his forehead.
“Nuguooh!? Oh, oooooh!?”
Strong sparks bounced off Zaraki’s head.
It hurt, but more importantly, he raised his voice as he felt something flowing from the jewel into himself. After the jewel was embedded into his forehead, Koumaru spoke.
“Looks like it worked. How are you feeling?”
“What is this power…!? I feel power welling up I’ve never felt before…!!”
“Of course. You have two half loong people’s worth of power inside you.”
The jewel that sealed Raiha was embedded in him, further reinforced by magic items. Koumaru explained that this amplified Zaraki’s loong power.
He could feel his power with every heart beat, and a power swirling inside him that was even stronger than when he used his loong person form. Koumaru continued speaking to the excited Zaraki.
“You should heal these wounds faster with your amplified loong power. Then go through the route I indicate and towards the escape spot. And go nuts along the way.”
“Ah? Are you sure?”
“It’s okay. The guards will pick up on that power soon. It’s better to make a big scene and grab everyone’s attention.”
“Hehehe… I get it…!!”
Zaraki wanted to test his new power, and happily obeyed Koumaru.
And Koumaru also explained what he would do.
“I’ll escape through a different route. I’ll attract their attention on purpose and perform some level of diversion.”
“Are you sure? That’s dangerous, you won’t even have a guard.”
“It’s all right. I have a guaranteed escape route if I’m alone. Also, if you rampage, they won’t have many personnel available to come after me. And more importantly… this plan clears away my one worry.
“What worry?”
Zaraki asked as he squinted.
Koumaru responded while checking the time.
“Your loong power has been increased to its limit. I’m sure no attack will work against it. The only exception… is the Loong King Fang. Not taking it is my one worry.”
A loong’s weakness was loong power… Zaraki was immune to most attacks, but it was still not an exception.
The only weapon in this country that could hurt him was the Loong King Fang. That meant there was a way to defeat him.
“You can see what will happen if that swordsman tries to stand before me at this point. Now I’m even stronger and he’s in tatters. It won’t even be a fight.”
“Yes, but as long as there’s a chance, no matter how small, I want to erase it.”
“I guess, but… why is splitting up related to eliminating that chance?”
The unexpected element known as Yuugo got in the way, making Koumaru rework his plan, so he wanted to be thorough and eliminate every possibility of failure. Zaraki understood this.
But why would splitting up eliminate their chances of defeat, asked Zaraki, and Koumaru explained with a grin.
“Don’t you get it? Basically…”
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Looks like Ryuuga’s debut battle won’t be an easy one