Chapter 27 - The Clown And War?
Yamato looked at Izo with killing intent. "No one is taking Hiyori anywhere." Her voice was cold. Was he kidding? Why would she hand over her best friend to this guy?
Ragnar's voice also sounded. "She does not belong to anybody, nor is she an item you want us to hand over."
"Yeah, Hiyori is part of the Beast Pirates, and no one is taking her. If you want to take her by force, then it's gonna be an all-out war between the Whitebeard Pirates and Beast Pirates," Yamato said.
Thunderclouds filled the sky as the wind started getting chaotic. Rumble... Crackle! The Whitebeard Pirates fell silent. Even Newgate looked at Ragnar and Yamato in silence.
'Are they really Kaido's kids?' The question popped up in Newgate's mind. He already knew the three of them were close, but to involve the entire Beast Pirates?
The same question was in the others' minds. Izo sneered. "You think your empty words will make us afraid? You are too naive. Do you think Kaido would go to war just because you say so?"
Newgate and Marco felt a little awkward. Ragnar's mouth twitched. His old man? Oh, please. That guy only needed a reason to start a war. He would come running if he knew this.
Newgate and Marco were also thinking the same. That guy was a madman. He would definitely start a war. Of course, they didn't really know just how strong the Beast Pirates were now.
With the Wano samurai following Ragnar with absolute loyalty, Kaido would be more than ready for a war. And with King, Ragnar, and Yamato, the Beast Pirates had a good chance of making the Whitebeard Pirates suffer a little.
"You think the Whitebeard Pirates are afraid of the Beast Pirates?" Jozu said unhappily.
"Brats, who are you trying to scare by using Kaido's name?" Thatch was also unhappy.
Many Whitebeard Pirates felt the same way. How could they, the unofficially acknowledged strongest crew, be intimidated by a war against the Beast Pirates?
"Brats, you are too early to threaten this old man. Do you think I'm afraid of a war?" Newgate also asked threateningly. The grudge over Oden's death was already between Kaido and Newgate.
The only reason they weren't tearing each other apart was because a third party might take advantage of the war and cause chaos in their territories.
"Hiyori is Oden's daughter, and Oden was my brother, so she is also my child," Newgate said directly. Before, he did not know Hiyori was alive or that she was in Wano.
But now that he knew, he wanted to meet her and know if she had joined the Beast Pirates willingly or had been forced. If she had been forced, Newgate was determined to take her back.
But he already knew the chances of Hiyori being forced were very low. Still, he wanted to meet her and also let Izo confirm it.
Ragnar snorted. "So what? She is that clown's daughter, then what? She isn't some property you can just come and claim as yours. She is one of us, whether you like it or not."
"Y-you—!" Izo turned red in anger. How dare this brat call Lord Oden a clown?
Even many Whitebeard Pirates who knew Oden became angry. People who had sailed with Oden, like Marco, Jozu, and others, also looked at Ragnar with hostility.
"Brat, watch your mouth!"
"Who are you calling a clown, you bastard?!"
"Then I would like to know if she thinks the same," Newgate said as he looked at them. He was also displeased, but meeting Hiyori was more important.
Yamato put her Takeru back and crossed her arms. "Her answer will be the same."
Ragnar didn't say anything. He just turned his head toward the approaching Beast Pirates' ship, then turned back toward the Whitebeard Pirates. "Then ask her."
Ragnar and Yamato had absolute confidence in Hiyori. She would never leave Wano or the Beast Pirates.
Izo glared at Ragnar. "You bastard! You think you can just call Lord Oden a clown and act like that?!"
Yamato snorted. "What are you gonna do? What's wrong with calling a clown a clown?"
Ragnar also looked at Izo in disdain. "That guy was a clown, a failure of a king. You want me to respect him? A guy who abandoned his entire country to be a pirate."
Newgate and Marco's mouths twitched. They couldn't retort about the last part. Oden had indeed left Wano to become a pirate.
Izo was burning with rage. He looked only one step away from snapping and attacking Ragnar.
Ragnar looked at him with a devilish smile. "Even Ashura acknowledged it. Why couldn't you, Izo?"
The words struck Izo like a bolt of lightning. Crack! His face lost all its color. "N-no way! Ashura is one of the Akazaya, a retainer of Kozuki Oden—"
Yamato rolled her eyes. "What Akazaya? He is already one of the Shadow Guards, working for Raggy."
Izo's face turned deathly pale. "N-no! Ashura will never work for—"
Before he could deny it, Ragnar's voice echoed, "Ohh, I almost forgot. Denjiro and Hayaguro, they are also working for me, by the way. And let's not forget that Tenguyama Hitetsu, also known in Wano as Kozuki Sukiyaki, father of Kozuki Oden. He also now lives an ordinary life, helping in the factories of Wano to supervise weapon production."
"He even offered his Nandai Kotatsu, which is resting in my room in the Shogun Castle of the Flower Capital."
Izo felt his entire world collapse, but he shook his head. "Lies! Everything is a lie! They will never work for the Beast Pirates!" Izo shouted in denial.
Yamato waved her hand dismissively. "You think we need you to believe us? Even if you don't believe us, so what? It's not like we are losing anything. Just because you don't want to accept it doesn't mean reality will change."
"Izo, it's enough," Newgate suddenly stopped Izo. He felt powerless. He knew Izo was angry at them, but this wasn't the time. And looking at the situation, if he didn't stop him, Izo might just faint from frustration and rage.
"But, Pops—" Izo turned toward Newgate.
"Pops is right, Izo. No need to bicker with brats, yoi," Marco said.
"Yeah, don't mind those brats."
The Whitebeard Pirates encouraged him.
But the atmosphere between both crews remained tense.
Rumble...
Thunder echoed across the darkening sky as Ragnar's massive body hovered above the sea. Yamato stood on his head with her arms crossed, glaring at the Whitebeard Pirates without the slightest intention of backing down.
On the other side, Newgate's crew watched them carefully.
One wrong word...
One wrong move...
And this meeting could truly turn into war.