After the war, Wano Country gradually returned to calm.
It was useless to be unsettled.
One Kaido left, only to be replaced by someone even more ruthless.
"Move!"
Within the Flower Capital, the Beast Pirates were escorting the captive samurai, consolidating them at a specific location for containment.
Among the detained, the former member of the Three Calamities from the Beast Pirates, the Drought, stood with arms crossed, watching them move, silent.
Besides Kaido transforming into Sage, nothing had changed for the rebellious forces of Wano Country; a despair that suffocates.
The deepest despair isn't falling into an abyss, but having hope rise only for it to be cruelly shattered.
"Oh! Good brother!"
Weevil hurried over, his eyes lighting up upon seeing Jack, then patting his shoulder, "You're here!"
"Hmph!"
Jack snorted coldly, turning his head, "Get lost, I don't want to talk to you."
He was doing fine, and had indeed adhered to the agreement with Weevil, as they awaited Sage and Kaido's clash to determine a winner. But once Ghost Island was destroyed, Weevil's phone rang, and without hesitation, he launched a surprise attack on Jack.
Jack wasn't prepared at all and could not believe Weevil's treacherous move, receiving a heavy blow that knocked him out cold.
Even now, a bandage wrapped around the back of his head; how could he show a friendly face to this guy?
"Huh? What's wrong, brother? Are you unhappy? Want some juice?"
Weevil tilted his head, offering the half-drunk juice to Jack.
His brain couldn't conceive that his actions were the cause of all this.
He was merely following the orders of the Big Sis; whatever the Big Sis says is right.
"No drink?"
Seeing Jack ignore him, Weevil took a swig of the remaining juice, smacked his lips, then glanced at the captive samurai, "So good..."
"What's good?" Jack sneered.
"Kaido's dead, that's good."
"You want to fight?!" Jack's eyes instantly flooded with blood-red fury.
"Eh? I don't want to fight. We're comrades now, so naturally, there's no need for battle."
Weevil chuckled foolishly, "Kaido's dead, and you resemble Kaido. My old man died, and I resemble my old man. We're indeed good brothers!"
"You..."
Jack glared at Weevil, blinked, pondered for a while, and then nodded, "Makes sense! Never mind, I forgive you!"
Though he couldn't understand it at first, disbelief clouded over Kaido's brother's death, but he was bound to honor the wager between Sage and Kaido's brother, eventually joining in later.
Moreover...
Who could blame him for flattering him as akin to Kaido's brother?
"Who do you think I am?! I will definitely become like Kaido's brother, then challenge Boss Sage!" Jack shouted boldly.
Sage granted them the power to challenge him.
That's why they quickly found their footing; he didn't forcibly demand allegiance, instead granting them the opportunity for rebellion.
After all, Kaido's brother had indeed met his end at Sage's hands, and surely, there's bitterness left unavenged.
Ulti was also clamoring to challenge Sage, to offend in retaliation.
But before the battle, there's still work to be done.
"Hurry up, move quickly!"
The pirates brought the samurai to the edge of a deep pit in the Flower Capital, stopping only then. Upon seeing the pit, some samurai showed despair, others sobbed in anguish, while some faced imminent death with fearless determination.
"Push us into the abyss, huh? If we die, then we die, but this resistance..."
One samurai bellowed, "As long as the tyranny exists, resistance will never cease!"
Saying this, he shut his eyes, ready to be the first to plunge into the abyss.
Thud.
Yet as he dropped, a distinct sound echoed, as if hitting something solid, opening his eyes to find the abyss before him extending out as a rocky surface.
The extending stones morphed into a humanoid form, a face protruding, gradually digging inward, bit by bit filling the pit.
It was Jean Bart.
The pit created by Sage wouldn't be filled with manpower unwarranted; it's simply too deep to fill manually, relying solely on ability.
Jean Bart's Stone-Stone Fruit was unmatched for such tasks.
Nearby the captive samurai, amidst the uncleared ruins, a few others hid, witnessing the scene.
"What shall we do?"
An aged samurai inquired, "No sight of Lord Momonosuke."
"But these people, they need rescue."
A blue-haired, braided warrior with a villainous face clenched his teeth, declared, "I'll draw their attention, while you assault! As long as we stir confusion, we can free them!"
"Denjiro..."
Kin'emon frowned deeply, "If you do this, then you..."
"No problem!"
Denjiro laughed lightly, "Consider it penance, for I've served under Kurozumi Orochi, committing deeds I'd rather not recall."
As he spoke, he gazed at the others.
Besides Kin'emon, there was Kikunojo, Raizo, Ashura Doji, Kawamatsu...
Only they remained.
Kanjuro, must be Kurozumi Kanjuro, the traitor.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi had already fallen.
The Nine Red Scabbards weren't whole, and even with Kaido deceased, a formidable foe had arisen anew.
For the sake of Wano Country...
For rescuing Lord Momonosuke!
Denjiro grasped the hilt, body shifting.
"What are you all doing here?"
With his imminent charge, suddenly a crisp voice echoed from above.
The sound startled everyone, instinctively lifting their gaze skyward.