Manaphy didn't care about the life or death of Vander Decken IX; the Dragon Palace Kingdom could handle him however they wanted. To him, he was just a clown, and he wouldn't stoop to argue with clowns.
Hody Jones, at least, caused some significant impact, making things look terrible from all sides, but now Vander Decken IX hadn't made any impact and was caught by a group of miners.
In the past, Swamperts used to deal with rocks deep under the sea. This time, they showed mercy by not turning them into fish cakes. The situation on Fishman Island was largely settled, and Mandfeish was also returning to his territory.
But before leaving, he promoted their security locks to the Dragon Palace Kingdom.
It was a wonderful fingerprint lock made by Queen; it would electrocute anyone with the correct fingerprint. The keyhole under the fingerprint keypad was the actual way to unlock it.
According to Pierman's report, Hody easily stole the Dragon Palace Kingdom's national treasure by posing as an ordinary soldier, proving that the security here needed urgent strengthening.
After seeing this ridiculous anti-theft measure, Neptune purchased several of these boxes.
Meanwhile, as Mandfeish was leaving, Tiger gathered some of his former subordinates to form his own Fishman exploration team, naturally including Ah Long, which temporarily crushed his dream of going on the Ferris wheel.
...
On Ghost Island, the Hundred Beasts Pirates recently gained a new member - Who's-Who. While the second generation of the Hundred Beasts went sightseeing everywhere, Who's-Who also successfully returned from the East Sea, bringing back the King of the time's head as his submission.
Through this event, he officially joined the Hundred Beasts Pirates.
Jack led his direct subordinates on several missions, and after that, his subordinates respected him more because they found out that Jack was not very amiable.
In previous battles, he showed what brutality meant, a stark contrast from his usual self who played with Alcremie.
"Big Brother Jack is so scary..."
"Yeah, he didn't leave a single captive from that pirate group, which isn't like the usual rules."
In the cafeteria, a few pirates assigned under Jack whispered about the events.
"Shh, Lord Mandfeish held a wedding on Fishman Island recently, and those guys delayed Big Brother Jack for several days, causing him to miss it, how can he not be angry?"
The close relationship between Jack and Mandfeish was a well-known fact among the pirates stationed on Ghost Island.
"I don't think Big Brother Jack has calmed down yet, want to spar with him?"
Recalling Jack's terrifying demeanor before, the people around the table shook their heads and shifted to another topic.
"How do you know so much?"
"Of course, it's insider information, this stuff is quite effective."
With the aid of alcohol, a group discussed the gossip within the pirate crew, such as a recent unfortunate guy who got too close to a drunk Kaidou and received a strike from him, but after recovering in the hospital, he seemed to have awakened Armament.
Zeraora's family hadn't decided on the child's name yet, and according to rumors from the purchasing department, Setsuna recently bought some cat teaser sticks, leaving people wondering what he wanted to do.
And who was the lucky guy who received Divine Grace from Arceus? Yamato had been moving significantly more dirt recently. Somebody even founded a Uta fan club, etc.
There was freedom of speech within the Hundred Beasts, and praising other pirates was okay as long as no insulting words were spoken.
Meanwhile, in the Flower Capital, Denjiro and others sensed a strange atmosphere.
The Grand Tesoro's trip had long ended, and everyone had returned to Wano Kuni, but Kozuki Hiyori seemed to have changed strangely since returning.
They couldn't pinpoint what was strange, but it felt that she had become very different from before.
Both in her attitude towards the Hundred Beasts and her responses to them, this was true.
During the familiar visiting hour, the one visiting Hiyori this time was Denjiro, and apart from reporting to King, there were no other restrictions; no body check was required.
"Lady Hiyori, greetings, have you been feeling unwell recently?"
"No, I haven't felt unwell. There's nothing lacking here, even if I do get sick, there are many excellent doctors here."
Originally, the General's Mansion's doctors in Wano Kuni could handle most ailments, let alone the fact that the Hundred Beasts had doctors and geniuses from all over the world.
"Lady Hiyori, if I may be blunt, you seem... a bit off lately."
"That's just your imagination, Denjiro, but I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"Do you care about me, or is it the Kozuki name attached to me?"
Kozuki Hiyori asked this question calmly, her tone devoid of much emotion, as if they were simply chatting. But Denjiro sensed something was off.
In the past, Kozuki Hiyori wouldn't ask such questions.
"Lady Hiyori, what are you saying? Of course, we care about you. You are Lord Oden's..."
Denjiro instinctively explained this, but halfway through, he realized something was wrong. The explanation seemed unsuitable.
"Heh, I knew it, it's all because of Father. I don't mean anything else, I'm living well, that's all for today, I'm a bit tired."
"I take my leave...."
Denjiro knew it wasn't appropriate to continue the conversation now, so he chose to depart first. But as he was about to leave, Kozuki Hiyori suddenly spoke again.
"Brother Momonosuke, he should be doing well, right?"
...
Denjiro left feeling quite troubled, Kozuki Hiyori's words made him feel as if she had entered a rebellious phase, and he couldn't quite grasp her thoughts. In fact, Kozuki Hiyori was just feeling a bit unbalanced.
Although she was born overseas, she returned to Wano Kuni quickly and didn't have much knowledge of the outside world.
Previously, she didn't feel anything since Momonosuke, who escaped, must also be having a tough time.
But this journey gave her new ideas; life outside didn't seem as terrifying as she imagined. With enough money and status, even Heavenly Celestial Dragon scum could live decadently.
At this time, she misunderstood Momonosuke's situation, and she started to question Kozuki Toki's decision to leave her behind and send Momonosuke away.
Being also children of Kozuki Oden, why could Momonosuke live freely while she was heavily restricted by her status?
The name Kozuki became a shackle, whereas the enemies gave her the chance to go out.
Apart from the minor incident with the Heavenly Celestial Dragon, she felt the outside world was wonderfully alluring, and while she was suffering, Momonosuke might be enjoying life. As she realized this, it was hard not to feel unbalanced.