Chapter 360: Intelligence Is Coming, A Great Battle Is About to Begin
"Is this the summoned spirit of Jinbeii?" Eric looked at the shark floating on the surface of the sea, hesitating for a moment before extending his palm toward it.
The massive shark opened its blood-red mouth, its dense, sharp teeth sending a chill down the spine. It didn't bite Eric , but instead, spat out a scroll at him before disappearing with a "bang."
Akame curiously asked, "What is this?"
Eric wiped the water droplets off the scroll, opened it, and took a careful look. "This is the intelligence Jinbeii sent about Wano Country and Onigashima."
"Even Jinbeii's summoned shark is affected by this world, growing to such an enormous size." Kurumi clicked her tongue in amazement. She had previously seen the pets summoned by Jinbeii.
Esdeath chimed in, "It's a shame that some people never grow any bigger."
"..." Kurumi, who had been smiling, immediately changed her expression and turned her head to glare coldly at Esdeath.
"Don't be angry," Eric quickly comforted her, "I just like the small and cute Kurumi."
"Hmph." Kurumi's face softened slightly, glancing at Esdeath and teasing her back, "Just because you're tall doesn't mean you're big."
"As long as it's bigger than yours." Esdeath seemed to tease Kurumi on purpose, deliberately puffing out her chest.
While the two were bickering, Miku walked over, puzzled. "What are you talking about? What size?"
With Miku's arrival, the argument immediately stopped.
"Let's go to the meeting room," Eric said, putting his arms around the two women's shoulders and heading toward the cabin.
"Darling, wait for me~" Miku ran up, jumping onto Eric 's back, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. The soft sensation on his back made Eric feel relaxed.
"Is it really that nice?" Noticing Eric 's expression, Kurumi asked in a low voice, placing her hand on his abdomen. "Be honest."
Eric : "..."
She had a charming smile, but once she said something wrong, she immediately twisted his arm.
Miku, with her childlike innocence, asked, "What's wrong?"
Faced with Miku's pure nature, Kurumi couldn't bring herself to use the rough methods she used on Esdeath.
Eric left the three of them in the meeting room and turned to leave, "I'm going to call Chiron and the others."
...
After everyone gathered, Eric opened the scroll. "Jinbeii has gathered intelligence on Wano Country and Onigashima."
Da Vinci used the projection phone bug to enlarge the map of Wano Country.
"Wano Country," Eric introduced, "is a closed-off country that never receives outsiders and never joins the World Government. Even naval ships can't enter the country."
"The residents of this country are accustomed to wearing traditional Japanese clothing, and they call strong swordsmen 'Samurai.' The highest leader of Wano Country is known as the 'Shogun.'"
"The current Shogun is named Kaido, and 19 years ago, when the former Shogun, Kozuki Sukiyaki, was gravely ill, Kaido, along with his ally, Kaido, conspired to kill him."
"Kaido then used his imitation fruit ability to take the appearance of Sukiyaki and appoint Kaido as the acting Shogun. After a while, Kaido, in the form of Sukiyaki, appointed Kaido as the official Shogun."
"Aren't these positions supposed to be inherited from father to son?" Esdeath frowned. "Didn't Sukiyaki have any descendants?"
"Of course, he did." Eric shrugged. "His son, Kozuki Oden, was the vice-captain of the Whitebeard Pirates at the time."
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
Esdeath thought for a moment and said, "No wonder Whitebeard's 16 divisions, there was no captain for the second division."
Akame asked curiously, "He didn't become the Shogun, instead, he became a pirate?"
Kurome lowered his eyes, "What a fantastical family background. He should apologize to those who couldn't get food and went out to sea to become pirates."
Eric scratched his head, "Wano Country is a closed-off nation, and because of its geography, the complex waters make it difficult for ships to approach. Oden wanted to travel the world, thus making Wano open up and become richer."
"Unfortunately, the timing for leaving was wrong. Doing the right thing at the wrong time leads to wrong decisions." Scáthach said calmly, "As a ruler, one must understand that the true duty is to bring happiness to the people."
Kurumi curiously asked, "Did Jinbeii gather all this information? His intelligence-gathering speed is incredible."
"Some of this is intelligence he gathered, combined with some secrets I know." Eric continued, "16 years ago, Kaido formed an alliance with Kaido and planned to destroy Wano Country and suppress those who resisted."
"Kozuki Oden also returned to Wano Country at that time and went to confront Kaido. Kaido also arrived and faced Oden. Kaido then used this opportunity to show Oden hundreds of hostages he had captured. He told Oden that every week, at a designated time, he would have to dance naked in front of Kaido's family to atone. Each time, he would save 100 lives, and Oden agreed."
Kurumi sighed, "I already guessed what happened next. It's nothing more than trading time for an unfavorable situation, strengthening the army during this period, and then defeating the legitimate heir, Kozuki Oden."
Miku clapped her hands in applause, "Kurumi, you're amazing! I didn't guess that."
"It's easy to guess the rest when you already know the ending."
"Ah?"
"The ending is that Kaido became the Shogun of Wano Country, and Kaido's Beast Pirates stationed on Onigashima." Kurumi rolled her eyes.
"The events unfolded pretty much as Kurumi said." Eric nodded. "Kaido knew he couldn't compete with the legitimate heir's fame, so he made Oden perform the humiliating naked dance, making the people, who had been hoping for a savior, lose all faith in him, further lowering Oden's reputation."
"Of course, in the end, Kaido didn't fulfill his promise. Oden, because of his naivety, was deceived, and some of his former subordinates no longer trusted the 'foolish prince' and switched sides to Kaido."
"Then Oden led ten subordinates to fight against Kaido, who was in high spirits." Eric sighed, "Because of outside interference, Oden lost to Kaido during the battle."
Esdeath asked, "Outside interference?"
"During their confrontation, Kaido's ally, Kaido, used his ability to transform into Momonosuke and distracted Oden, allowing Kaido to knock him unconscious with a club."
Esdeath was deeply disappointed. "I didn't expect Kaido to use such underhanded tactics."
"This was Kaido's ally Kaido's idea." Eric shook his head. "Although the battle ended, Kaido was still standing, dissatisfied with the process and outcome of the fight."
"Also, Kaido didn't kill his ally, Kaido, who had helped him."
"Since the duel results weren't accepted," Esdeath extended her arms. "Shouldn't they have let Oden recover, and then had a fair fight?"
"You think everyone is like you?" Kurumi sneered at Esdeath's thoughts. "You would intentionally let enemies go, only to have them come back with a vengeance to challenge you?"
"How do you know I would do that?"
"Because you're such a nasty woman!"
"Enough!" Seeing the two about to argue again, Eric stepped in, "Although Kaido is dissatisfied with the battle, he's more of an ambitious tyrant."
"Kaido, who holds a grudge against the Kozuki family, will execute the Red Scabbards with the 'Boiling Cauldron' punishment."
Wendy tilted her head and asked, "What's the 'Boiling Cauldron' punishment?"
"It's when the criminal is thrown into a large pot of boiling water."
"How cruel!" Shirohime covered her mouth, while her doll, Shirotama, continuously comforted her, fearing for her.
Esdeath glanced at them but didn't say the punishment she had researched.
"At this point, Oden actually made a bet with Kaido." Eric shook his head, "He said that if he could endure the boiling pot for an hour, Kaido would let them go. Oden jumped into the boiling pot first, holding up a wooden plank to protect his subordinates, enduring the boiling heat alone."
"Why make a bet with Kaido?" Kuina asked angrily. "Knowing that they're unreliable bastards!"
"Oden was indeed a man, enduring the high temperatures of the oil for an hour." Eric paused, then continued, "In the end, Kaido and Kaido went back on their word."
"Oden did everything he could to throw the remaining men out of the oil, allowing them to escape the execution ground, while he remained in the oil, awaiting the bullet that would end his life."
Some looked admiringly, while others looked disdainful.
"As a leader, he wasn't fit, but he was indeed a brave warrior." Artoria closed her eyes. "I'm sure his subordinates didn't regret following such a lord."
Genos crossed his arms and asked, "So, our next target is these two unreliable bastards?"
"Yes," Eric nodded.
Esdeath raised a question, "Did Whitebeard never consider avenging Oden?"
Having never met Whitebeard, Erza curiously asked, "Why do you think that?"
Esdeath leaned on her chin, "Considering how Whitebeard treats his crew like family, he wouldn't remain indifferent. He must have wanted to avenge Oden."
"Maybe," Eric shrugged, "But Wano is hard to defend, and Oden is already dead. If the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beast Pirates fully clash, more family members will die."
"Given these considerations, Whitebeard hasn't moved against the Beast Pirates. He's being cautious."
"Should we invite the Whitebeard Pirates to help with the Beast Pirates?" Chiron suggested, "The Whitebeard Pirates have many strong fighters, and with Wendy's Float-Float Fruit, they can easily fly across the complex waters."
"Good idea," Eric refused, "But after we conquer Wano, how will we divide the spoils and territory?"
Chiron nodded, "That's an issue."
"Also, the Whitebeard Pirates' Sixteenth Division captain, Izo, was once Oden's subordinate. If he asks us to return Wano, then… we'll be facing the Whitebeard Pirates again."
"It was a miscalculation on my part."
"Should we bring back Ulquiorra Cifer and Kaku to assist in battle?" Kurome raised his hand. "Kaku aside, Little U's strength is strong!"
In the Devil's Triangle, Kaku sneezed, "Achoo!"
"No, there are too many people on the battlefield," Eric didn't accept Kurome 's suggestion. "Besides, Wano has secret dealings with the World Government. If we encounter CP0 there, the plan to infiltrate the Seven Warlords would fall apart."
"By the way, Cat Viper and Duke Dogstorm were also Oden's subordinates. They were captured by the numbered ones during a civil war in Wano but managed to escape back to the Furry Kingdom. From there, their relationship soured."
Eric gave a meaningful glance to Kurumi and Esdeath, and the two clever women naturally understood he was talking about them.
Esdeath assured, "Don't worry, I won't act recklessly on the big matters."
Kurumi raised an eyebrow, "As long as she doesn't start trouble first, I won't provoke her."
Eric sighed heavily.
"Why does Kaido hate the Kozuki family so much? Why does he want to destroy Wano?" Chiron accurately grasped Kaido's likes and brought up his opinion again. "We should use this."
"Kaido's grandfather was one of the five great daimyo of Wano Country, but due to excessive thirst for power, he was unfortunately assassinated by the other factions' daimyos and died by disembowelment."
"The Kaido family became the most shameful family in Wano. Everyone despised them. Kaido was greatly discriminated against as a child and, under the guidance of his grandmother, Kaido, began to plan, vowing to take everything back from the Kozuki family."
"He didn't just want to kill the Kozuki family, but he also wanted to destroy all of Wano. That's why the country is filled with oppressed commoners."
Eric grinned, "Once we kill Kaido and Kaido, we can step in as heroes and become the new rulers of Wano."
Akame tilted her head and recalled, "This plot feels so familiar."
Genos answered, "Isn't this the same scheme that Doflamingo used to usurp the country?"
Perona commented, "I barely managed to keep quiet!"
"In any case," Eric 's voice cut across the others, "We'll save the oppressed commoners and give them a prosperous life, and everything will be fine."
Everyone agreed, "That's true."
"But," Scáthach raised an objection, "Killing Kaido is no easy task. I've heard that he's been captured several times, but no one has been able to kill him."
Eric : "How about we knock him out and stuff a Devil Fruit in his mouth?"
Everyone: "..."
"I was just joking," Eric scratched the back of his head. "To be honest, I don't think anyone can defeat him. As a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, Kaido's physical strength and vitality are off the charts."
"Let's not worry about Kaido for now, let's go over their armed forces."
Eric continued, "Our main opponent is the Beast Pirates, but Kaido also has quite a few armies."
"The Beast Pirates have the Three Disasters, Flying Six, ten Beast Pirates, and over ten True Fighters, totaling around 15,000 combat members. Kaido's army consists of 5,000 samurai and 5,000 ninja, totaling 10,000 soldiers. Combined, we have 25,000 armed forces."
(END CHAPTER)
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