"Samurai?"
Hearing Ozz's words, the two who had been arguing fell silent at the same time and turned to look at him, still sitting on Kaido's head and smoking.
He seemed to be chewing on something, and the wounds on his body were visibly fading away.
"Yeah. Wano's samurai."
"One of Kozuki Oden's former retainers. Name's Shinobu."
At that, Queen clenched his teeth, his expression turning a little complicated.
Kozuki Oden?
That name already felt like something from a distant past, but he still knew it. Quite a few of Oden's former samurai were still stubbornly resisting in the dark.
But Ozz calling out a specific samurai by name made him feel uneasy.
Was it to save her?
Or for something else entirely?
Because when Oden died, Ozz had been in Wano. He clearly had the power to intervene, yet chose not to.
So saving some old comrade out of nostalgia was obviously not the reason.
Then what was?
Queen was still secretly turning that question over in his mind, but King did not have the luxury to care.
Looking at Kaido lying under Ozz's backside, eyes rolled white, completely knocked out and "put to sleep," King answered without hesitation.
"We will find that kunoichi and bring her before you."
"I hope you keep your word, Black Gun."
Ozz spread his hands.
"Kaido and I are not the same. I do not lie."
"Of course, if you want to try solving this by force, you can see if you have what it takes to snatch Kaido back."
"…"
At that, King finally gave up that thought. He shot Ozz a long, heavy look, then grabbed Queen and flew off into the distance.
They had to mobilize every hand and every resource they had and drag that Shinobu woman out.
King had a vague impression of her.
Back when Kaido executed Oden, that same woman had stood at the execution site explaining Oden's greatness and sacrifice to the stunned citizens.
"Notify Kurozumi Orochi. Get him to move his people now."
…
Watching Orochi, who had just crawled out of the rubble after losing another life, get immediately snatched up by King and dragged off to join the search, Ozz stretched lazily.
Tss.
Yeah, those internal injuries hurt.
He might look relaxed on the surface, but pain was still pain. It was not like he was some "steel balloon."
He had not fought a true high level match in a long time. Firing off his ultimate that hard in one go really did feel a bit unfamiliar.
"All right."
Ozz hopped lightly to his feet, the Seagull King perched on his shoulder. He walked out of the impact crater and glanced at the dragon lying unconscious inside. He did not bother leaving anyone to guard it.
Because King was not stupid.
He knew that even if they managed to drag Kaido back now, if they did not fulfill Ozz's demand, Ozz could show up again any time he pleased.
Then the whole mess really would never end.
Blame it on Kaido and Ozz butting heads in the first place.
Besides…
Was that not exactly what an emperor's right hand was for?
Cleaning up the disasters their unreliable Yonko bosses left behind and wiping their backs for them.
Ozz wandered around the Flower Capital for a bit. Most of the city had already turned into ruins, and the part that remained was nothing but fear and panic.
So he did not do much. Just tried some local street food.
"M my lord, I…"
The street vendor was completely dumbfounded. He had just been hiding inside his shop, and somehow the next moment Ozz was already standing outside at his stall.
"Relax. I just want some dango."
Ozz held several skewers of dumplings in both hands and ate with obvious satisfaction, completely ignoring the cold sweat running down the vendor's face.
Right then,
From the end of the street, a girl came sprinting toward him.
"Ha ha ha ha. I knew it was you, Father!"
"Hm?"
Ozz had been busy enjoying his food and topping up his energy, so he had not bothered to keep Observation Haki constantly active. When he heard the voice in the distance, he finally glanced over.
A lazy sweep with his far range Observation, and his lips curled into a smile.
"Oh, Yamato, huh."
The same cute little horns as before, long white hair streaked with color, a delicate little face that did not resemble Kaido's rough mug in the slightest.
Girl Yamato already had a trace of the bright, youthful beauty she would one day grow into.
She was not wearing a kimono today. Instead she was dressed in an outfit that looked like it belonged nowhere in particular.
Black boots, pants like soldier's trousers, and on top a short sleeved shirt that did not fit properly, exposing a bit more skin than it should.
Given that this was Wano, this was probably the closest she could get to something in Ozz's style.
Even those boots and pants had been stolen from Kaido.
The contrast suited her.
"What are you even wearing, Yamato?"
Ozz could not help laughing. He casually caught her as she threw herself at him. Even though she had grown into a young girl, next to his height she still felt tiny.
Yamato rubbed her cheek against his face, smiling so brightly it was blinding.
"So you really are here. I heard it from members of the Beasts Pirates."
Ozz set her down and handed her a couple of dango skewers.
Yamato brightened up even more when she saw them, her eyes shining. It was only because the Beasts Pirates were in chaos that she had managed to sneak out at all.
Normally she was not allowed to come to this side, so she never got to eat things this delicious.
"So good."
Since Ozz did not have anything urgent to do, he let her hold his hand and they wandered through what remained of the Flower Capital.
"If you like this style, I will send you a few sets of clothes later. Similar to what I used to wear."
Ozz pinched his chin, took a long look at Yamato's current outfit, then shook his head.
"Really?"
Yamato's happiness skyrocketed. Among the rough old men of the Beasts Pirates, no one spared a thought for clothing.
The loot they dragged home had never once included something as refined as a proper suit.
Ozz nodded.
With how rich he was, he bought clothes in "handfuls."
And by handful he did not mean five pieces for five fingers.
He meant that whenever he walked down a shopping street, wherever his finger pointed, he just bought the entire row of clothing stores.
It was not that he was some fashion addict.
It was just that the clothes in the world of One Piece really did look good. With all the dozens, even hundreds of outfit changes the Straw Hat crew had gone through, their clothes always had a great sense of style.
Especially the movie outfits. Each film came with its own exclusive new skins.
Ozz had tons of skins too.
Suit Ozz, black tuxedo Ozz, Hawaiian shirt Ozz, trench coat Ozz…
Any one of them could easily be sold as a premium skin.
He could send as many as he wanted. One seagull with a newspaper route was enough for precise delivery.
The two of them strolled down the street.
On an upper floor by the roadside, a man with a sword at his waist and slightly slanted eyes stood beside a girl in a kimono.
The girl's gaze was locked on the figure walking with Kaido's daughter.
"To destroy Wano like this, and still plan to drag Sister Shinobu away…"
Her teeth clenched hard. The tension made Kyoshiro beside her break out in a cold sweat. He was terrified that Hiyori might do something impulsive.
Even if that man had once sailed on the same ship as Lord Oden…
They absolutely could not afford to provoke him.
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