Cain's gaze moved past the two people frozen in place and landed on the pirates who had just climbed back up after being slapped away, then on Izo, who stood quietly nearby.
His voice deepened.
"Izo, you're a retainer of the Kozuki Family. What I'm about to say may hurt, and you can choose not to listen. But for everyone else, I need to make this clear."
Izo was not someone who worshipped blindly.
He also wanted to hear how Cain would judge the lord he had once served, so he raised his eyes and met Cain's gaze.
"No. I'll listen. I was not only Lord Oden's retainer, I'm also a member of the Whitebeard Pirates."
Seeing that, Cain swept his gaze quickly across the area.
He then activated his Observation Haki and carefully sensed his surroundings.
Only after confirming that there were no Marines nearby and no hidden spies did he slowly speak.
"Fine. Then I'll tell you why I called Kozuki Oden an idiot."
Cain's voice was cold and hard, every word clear.
"From what I know, when he was young, he fought constantly, got addicted to gambling, spent his time in brothels, and there are even records of him abducting women by force. He once sat there eating oden beside his own father's 'corpse' as if nothing had happened. And you people don't see those actions as disgusting. Instead, you treat them as proof that he was free and heroic?"
"Do actions like that suit someone meant to be a leader?"
"And don't use pirate common sense as an excuse. At that time, he hadn't even become a pirate yet!"
"Besides, even after becoming pirates, have Ace or Luffy ever done anything that ridiculous? Even my idiot brother, who always eats and runs without paying, at least has his friends cleaning up the mess behind him. Sure, he caused trouble when we were kids too, but that was against pirate scum and villains. He never harmed ordinary people."
"And what about Kozuki Oden?"
Cain let out a cold laugh.
"He kept talking about opening Wano's borders, but as the leader of a country, he didn't think about how to communicate with the outside world. He didn't think about the people under his rule. Instead, he turned around, abandoned his country, and sailed off on an adventure. That was what gave Kaido the chance to move in. How ridiculous is that?"
"Think about your Pops, Whitebeard. If he only cared about having fun and abandoned all of you to fend for yourselves, would you still respect and love him the way you do?"
His tone shifted sharply, and Cain looked at Yamato, whose face was filled with shock.
"Yamato, tell me. Before Oden was executed, what was he doing?"
Yamato opened her mouth, but all she managed to force out was a dry, helpless sound.
"I…"
"Don't tell me you don't know. Even if you didn't see it yourself, you must have heard the stories."
Cain pressed forward, step by step.
"He danced naked like a clown across the land of Wano for five whole years! All to exchange it for Kaido's so-called promise to spare Wano!"
"Was that ever possible? He spent all those years as a pirate for nothing! He was actually naïve enough to think he could get peace for a country from a pirate's promise! If that isn't stupidity, then what is?"
"In my eyes, maybe none of you ever truly mattered to him. Roger was never really his companion. Whitebeard was never truly his family. They were just tools he used to fulfill his own dream!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
An angry roar burst from the crowd.
Several Whitebeard Pirates immediately tried to rush forward, only to be forced back by Cain's cold stare.
"Not convinced?"
Cain sneered and continued.
"Fine. Then let's talk only about today's war. How do all of you see it?"
"Ace saw you as family, as comrades. He didn't want you risking your lives to save him, so all he wanted was for you to leave."
"And what about you? You also saw Ace as family and a comrade. Even knowing the road ahead was dangerous, you came without hesitation."
"This war has been full of deadly risks from start to finish, but not one of you backed down!"
"Now look at Kozuki Oden! He clearly had the strength to injure Kaido and leave a scar on him. He clearly had a chance to defeat him! But instead, he chose the most pathetic path possible."
"And even then, he had five whole years! He could have secretly trained and waited for a chance to defeat Kaido later. Taking one step back, even if he couldn't win, he could have asked for help from outside. But what happened? In five years, he didn't leak even the smallest piece of information to anyone!"
"You think he did that to protect Roger and Whitebeard? What a joke! With Roger and Whitebeard's strength at the time, they could have crushed Kaido completely! He could have asked them for help. For family and comrades, that wouldn't have been shameful at all!"
"But he didn't. He didn't choose to trust his comrades. He didn't choose to trust his family. Instead, he trusted Kaido, a pirate full of lies, and believed in some empty promise!"
"That's all there was to it!"
Every word Cain spoke struck straight at the heart, leaving the crowd unable to answer.
He had actually wanted to bring up Harald as well.
Although Cain had not known much information before crossing over, he at least knew Harald was a king worthy of respect.
He had also died in the end, but he had died for his people.
He had truly done everything he could to help his citizens integrate with the world.
His death had come because he failed to see through the World Government's true darkness and was taken advantage of.
In that regard, Oden could never compare to him.
But the words reached Cain's throat, only for him to force them back down.
After all, Shanks was standing nearby and watching.
…
Meanwhile, inside a temporary office, Garp was discussing matters related to the Seven Warlords with Sengoku.
"GARP, WHY ARE YOU ONLY SAYING THIS NOW?! WE JUST REVOKED MORIA'S WARLORD TITLE, AND AOKIJI IS READY TO CAPTURE HIM. WE CAN'T RECALL HIM ON SHORT NOTICE!"
Sengoku's tone was full of helplessness.
"What else are we supposed to do? If it really doesn't work, just let Cain take the position."
Garp scratched his head with a careless expression.
"LET CAIN BECOME A WARLORD? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?! IF THAT HAPPENS, YOU TWO GRANDPA-AND-GRANDSON BASTARDS WILL BE VISITING MARINE HEADQUARTERS EVERY OTHER DAY, AND I'LL BE ANNOYED TO DEATH BY YOU! DON'T FORGET WHY CAIN BECAME A PIRATE IN THE FIRST PLACE!"
Sengoku cursed angrily.
Garp, however, looked completely unconcerned.
"What's there to be afraid of? Back then, Cain left because of that fruit, didn't he? Now that it's already been exposed, the World Government still hasn't come after anyone. Kizaru also contacted Vegapunk's side and said everything is normal."
"So stop worrying about the fruit. If Vegapunk is safe and sound, then he must already have a way to deal with it."
"Besides, with Cain's current strength, he can handle those people from the World Government on his own."
"…"
"And wasn't the other reason we let Cain leave back then so he could infiltrate the forces around the Emperors?"
"Look at the situation now. Isn't it great? The Big Mom Pirates have already publicly announced that Cain is her son. Although this old man refuses from the bottom of his heart to accept something that ridiculous, it still counts as laying the groundwork for infiltration, doesn't it?"
Garp curled his lip, then continued.
"Whitebeard is dead now, and Ace will take over that position. Cain can also speak on that side. Kaido's daughter has already been turned over by Ace, so among the Emperors, Cain has already connected with three of them. If Cain can win over Shanks'…"
Before he could finish speaking, Garp suddenly clamped his hand over his mouth.
"What about Shanks? What is it?"
Sengoku immediately pressed him, then started cursing again.
"That damn grandson of yours really is something when it comes to pulling Emperor-level forces together! Truly impressive!"
"If he really became a Warlord, maybe one day all Four Emperors would be strolling around right above my head, and I'd still be kept in the dark!"
"YOU WANT HIM TO BECOME A WARLORD? ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE!"
"And do you know what that bastard Morgans is calling them?"
"The Rocks Pirates of a new era!"