"Damn it… everything's been exposed. If I'd stopped Lady Hiyori back then and refused to let her go inside…"
Denjiro dragged his injured leg through the darkness, fleeing for his life with an unconscious Kozuki Hiyori held tightly in his arms.
It was over.
Everything Cain had said earlier remained nailed into Denjiro's mind, every word impossible to forget.
"You know Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors and a former member of Roger's crew? He's my future father-in-law."
"You know the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh, the Pirate King's right hand? He's my teacher."
"You know the Marine Hero who chased Roger all over the world? That's my grandpa."
"You know Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors alongside Kaido and Shanks? According to the outside world, she's basically my mother."
"You know the Whitebeard Pirates? My older brother is the one running them now."
Cain had effectively blocked every possible route Denjiro might have used to seek outside help.
One after another.
Not a single path remained.
And now Denjiro was consumed by regret.
'This is all my fault.'
He blamed himself completely.
If he hadn't kept indulging Hiyori, perhaps she would never have ended up like this.
Perhaps she would never have become an oiran.
Never approached Kurozumi Orochi.
Never recklessly barged into that meeting today and brought death down upon herself.
Denjiro even found himself wondering whether he should have spent more time properly teaching her when she was younger.
Perhaps he should have directed her energy toward revenge instead of indulging her whims and allowing her to learn how to entertain men.
Maybe he should have hardened his heart and taught her how to hold a sword rather than how to pour drinks and smile prettily.
If he had done that—
perhaps none of this would have happened.
Denjiro had spent twenty years walking the road of revenge, only to discover that his greatest enemy had never been Orochi.
It had been his own indulgence.
He took every fault upon himself.
Even now, after a lifetime of loyalty, he still carried all the blame for his master.
What Denjiro didn't realize was that Hiyori had always been like this.
Years ago, when she chose to leave Kawamatsu because she could no longer endure going hungry, she hadn't stopped to consider his feelings either.
She left him nothing but a letter and walked away.
Kawamatsu was later captured while searching for her.
He spent twenty years imprisoned in Udon, surviving by eating poisonous fish.
And Hiyori?
She lived in the Flower Capital, admired by everyone, dressed in luxury, and lacking for nothing.
The samurai's devotion to the Kozuki family was, in the end, blind loyalty.
Ironically, the ones who had left Wano long ago often saw the situation more clearly than anyone else.
…
Meanwhile, out at sea—
"Hey, Izo."
Ace piloted his small motorized boat while towing a simple sailboat behind him.
Without looking back, he called out,
"Let me ask you something."
"If you could choose all over again between Pops and Oden, who would you follow?"
Izo remained silent for a long time.
The sea breeze snapped the hem of his coat as he looked down at the portrait in his hands.
It had been drawn from memory.
A portrait of the younger brother he had left behind in Wano so many years ago, whose whereabouts he still didn't know.
"You idiot."
Izo finally answered, his voice heavier than usual.
"What's the point of agonizing over that now?"
"Cain was right about one thing. Lord Oden was far too reckless back then, and there were plenty of things he handled badly."
"But no matter what happened, he was still my benefactor."
"I'll never forget that."
Izo paused and carefully tucked the portrait back inside his clothes.
"But if I truly had to choose…"
"I think I'd still choose Pops."
"The years I spent with everyone aboard that ship are the most precious memories of my life."
His expression softened.
"I just don't know what happened to my brother…"
Ashura Doji, sitting nearby, took a long drink and cut him off immediately.
"Choose?"
"I wouldn't choose anything."
"I'd obviously stand with Lord Oden. Why would you even need to ask?"
He snorted.
"But Oden isn't in Wano anymore."
"And I have no interest in serving someone just because they happen to carry the Kozuki name."
"I'd rather keep being a Marine."
"At least I enjoy myself."
Ashura Doji was now a Vice Admiral at Marine Headquarters, commanding his own warship and a group of samurai from Wano who had enlisted under him.
In some ways, his life hadn't changed much from when he was a bandit.
He still led a bunch of rough men into fights.
The main difference was that Marine Headquarters now told him where to go, and he received a regular salary every month.
Compared with robbing starving old people and families who barely had enough food to survive, fighting for the Marines actually sat much better with him.
Only the three of them had come this time.
More precisely—
Ashura Doji had slipped away without permission.
The Marines hadn't made any official move.
Shinobu had stayed behind to cover for him.
…
At Marine Headquarters, inside the Fleet Admiral's office—
"What?!"
Sakazuki slammed his fist into the desk, sending ash scattering everywhere.
"He's going to war with Kaido?!"
"Why the hell am I only hearing about this now?!"
His expression darkened.
"Where's Kuzan?"
"What the hell is he doing?!"
"Wasn't he supposed to stay near Cain? Where is he now?!"
Sengoku's voice came calmly through the Den Den Mushi.
"He's with Zephyr."
"Installing Zephyr's new arm delayed things."
"By the time Kuzan got there, Edward Weevil had already escaped."
"So Zephyr dumped all his frustration onto Kuzan."
Sengoku sounded almost amused.
"They're doing rehabilitation training together now and catching pirates on the side."
"That's the situation."
"You decide whether you want to report it to the World Government."
"Damn it."
Sakazuki bit down on his cigar and leaned irritably into his chair.
"I should've known better than to trust you old bastards. All you do is create problems for me."
"Blame Garp."
Sengoku immediately dumped the responsibility elsewhere.
"This has nothing to do with me."
Then his tone changed.
"More importantly, you should start thinking about what happens after Kaido loses."
Sakazuki raised one eyebrow.
"You seriously think that brat can beat Kaido?"
"Why wouldn't he?"
Sengoku sounded genuinely puzzled by the question.
"The lot of us helped train him."
"Don't underestimate that kid's potential."
"What he showed during the Summit War was the result of only a few months of concentrated training."
"Another year has passed since then."
Sengoku paused.
"He's probably even more terrifying now."
Sakazuki exhaled smoke through his nose.
"I still can't believe you old men thought sending that bastard undercover as a pirate was a good—"
"Hold on."
Sengoku suddenly interrupted him.
"I've got another call coming in. Give me a minute."
"…Damn it."
A vein twitched on Sakazuki's forehead.
"He ignored me again."
Silence came from the other end for a while.
Then Sengoku returned, sounding noticeably more relaxed.
"Never mind."
"We don't need to interfere this time."
"New information just came in."
"If Kaido is actually defeated, he'll be imprisoned directly in Wano."
"The Beasts Pirates won't completely collapse, but they also won't be allowed to continue causing trouble."
"That should stabilize the global situation."
"The balance among the Four Emperors won't shift too violently."
Sengoku continued,
"And the Beasts Pirates will be placed under the supervision of Kaido's child."
"Yamato is allied with Cain."
"In other words, the Beasts Pirates will effectively be dismantled as an independent force."
"They'll retain the name, but little else."
"You can basically treat them as part of Cain's camp."
Sakazuki fell silent.
Then he spoke slowly.
"I think I understand now."
"Huh?"
Sengoku sounded confused.
"Understand what?"
Sakazuki removed the cigar from his mouth.
"According to you…"
"The Beasts Pirates go to Cain."
"If Cain defeats Big Mom, Totto Land effectively becomes his territory too."
"The remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates are led by Fire Fist Ace, and if he ever feels like abandoning his Warlord title, he could easily move under Cain's banner as well."
"The Red Hair Pirates aren't much of an issue. They're practically an iron-wall crew with only a handful of core members."
Sakazuki's expression darkened further.
"But just looking at the forces that could end up surrounding Cain…"
He tapped the desk.
"Are you people trying to make that 'Rocks Pirates of a New Era' nickname real?"
"What kind of monster are you actually trying to raise?"
"Are we?"
Sengoku asked calmly.
"Aren't you?"
"No."
Sengoku answered without hesitation.
"…Damn it."
Sakazuki inhaled deeply through his cigar.
"Fine."
"We'll leave it like this for now."
"I won't report this to the World Government."
"But one thing is nonnegotiable."
"Once everything is over, I'm sending someone to Wano to take Kaido into Impel Down."
"Hey, Sakazuki."
Sengoku immediately objected.
"Aren't you worried someone might intercept the transfer? Hey—"
Click.
The call ended.
Sakazuki's anger clearly hadn't disappeared, but this was the only practical solution for now.
After thinking for a moment, he called Aramaki.
The man had recently been promoted to Admiral under the codename Ryokugyu.
"Aramaki."
"You've been to Wano before. You know the place."
"This time, you're going there to bring Kaido back."
"Huh?"
Aramaki froze.
"Me?"
"Yes."
"No, no, no!"
He rejected the mission instantly.
After what happened during his previous trip to Wano, Aramaki had absolutely no desire to set foot there again.
And now the Fleet Admiral wanted him to arrest Kaido?
Was this some kind of punishment?
Even if Sakazuki wanted to torment him, there had to be limits!
"This is a covert operation."
Sakazuki's voice left no room for negotiation.
"You cannot refuse."
"And you cannot tell anyone."
"Not even the World Government."
"If you do, you're fired."
"NOOOOOOO!!!"
…
Back in Wano—
after handing Kozuki Hiyori's situation over to the Beasts Pirates, Cain gave Yamato a simplified explanation of what happened.
Kyoshiro had openly protected Hiyori while dressed like an assassin.
That alone made it obvious that Komurasaki had been hiding something.
Calling her an infiltrator wasn't exactly unreasonable.
Yamato was reluctant to accept it.
But with a full-scale confrontation against Kaido about to begin, discovering the truth about Komurasaki at this exact moment still left her feeling uneasy.
Fortunately, Yamato didn't dwell on it too deeply.
As for Kyoshiro—
his face had been covered the entire time, and Yamato never recognized him.
So when he disappeared afterward, she didn't even realize anything unusual had happened.
The group soon sat down and formally began discussing how they would deal with Kaido and the Beasts Pirates.
Once the basic arrangements were settled, Cain also informed Garp of the plan.
Not long afterward, a doctor knocked on the door.
After receiving Yamato's permission, he entered and bowed before everyone.
"We've completed the examination."
"The results are ready."
Yamato immediately leaned forward and covered her stomach.
"Well?"
"Well?!"
"After Cain said all that earlier, my stomach started growling."
"Is there actually something wrong with me?"
The doctor looked uncomfortable.
He knelt and lowered his head.
"Shogun…"
"You've simply been eating too much undercooked food for too long."
"You have some indigestion…"
He hesitated.
"…and mild malnutrition."