Law counted the number of people and was shocked to discover an even more painful fact. Compared to a while ago, when only Zoro was missing, the number of missing people had directly increased fivefold. Even Luffy, the captain, was gone.
As for Kin'emon and Kanjuro, he did not really care about those two unreliable guys. In any case, he had never expected them to bring any reliable intelligence. Over the past few days, he had already been able to confirm that whether it was the economy or the map, the two of them were operating with information delayed by twenty years.
Although Wano Country's overall framework had not changed, the inside had long since become brand new. If they followed a map from twenty years ago to search for their target locations, it would already be considered lucky if they did not plunge headfirst into the other side's headquarters.
Since they had to gather information again anyway, Law still trusted the intelligence he found himself more. At least no one in the Straw Hats was scheming. Given the way Kanjuro and Kin'emon acted, they might even give some false intelligence in order to misled them.
Zoro's disappearance might have been because he got lost. He could even temporarily accept Luffy not coming back. The biggest problem was that Hercules was gone.
"Um... Hercules is actually a beetle, so it doesn't count as a person."
"That's not the point!!"
Usopp's words only made Law even more distressed. If not for the fact that the most reliable one among this group of people was a beetle, he would not have subconsciously treated Hercules as a person.
Information transmission within Wano Country had a delay. Only the people of the Beasts Pirates could immediately know what exactly had happened in this country.
Although Kanjuro's ability had previously imitated Luffy, the other members, especially people in other regions, did not know what had happened.
They had only heard that someone was causing trouble in Wano Country, and did not know the specifics.
Originally, the Straw Hat Pirates' intelligence analysis should have been handled by Robin, but now Robin was even on the "enemy" side, and the new brain was not here either. That was why Law was so distressed.
"Good. Looks like none of you know where they went. If we don't run into a situation where there's martial law and a manhunt afterward, then they should still be fine. But that means we'll have a new objective: finding traces of these unreliable people.
"For today, let's first summarize the intelligence each of us has gathered and analyze what the prospects look like. I'll start."
Law knew very well that complaining was meaningless. People always had to look forward. The few complaints earlier were just because he really could not hold them in.
"During this time, I've been working at their hospital. Their equipment and such are all world-class, and there are also those inexplicable mysterious medicinal herbs. A few high-ranking officers showed up while I was there. It seems their higher-ups are planning something big."
In the past, Beasts Fruits, as an emerging company, had treated several incurable diseases, including Amber Lead Syndrome. This was also why they had attracted famous doctors from all over the world.
Law had also observed intelligence in this area, but it was only after he personally arrived here that he finally figured out the root of everything.
It was not just the equipment. The doctors here were clearly using wondrous medicines that did not exist in the world at all to target existing diseases. Especially when it came to healing at the mental level, Pokémon had an innate advantage.
However, the hospital's work was very busy. The prosperity of the country had not led to the disappearance of illnesses. Law had only roughly figured out Wano Country's regional distribution and general situation. He had no way of knowing the specific details.
"They also have a project: reverse-engineering a panacea compatible with the human body. I have to say, if they succeed, it would shake the entire world."
"A panacea?! They really have a panacea?"
What Law said was reverse-engineering, which meant that the Beasts Pirates already had a finished panacea. This made Chopper, who heard this key word, incredibly excited.
"I only heard the doctor guiding me mention it once. I don't know what exactly the situation is either."
The Beasts Pirates naturally did have a panacea, but that kind of panacea was medicine created by Arceus. It was only suitable for Pokémon or those who possessed power bestowed by him.
For it to take effect on an ordinary human body, only Arceus himself could transform its structure. However, the general ingredients of these medicines were Berries. Right now, the people in the research department were using the finished product provided by Arceus to reverse-engineer the process.
Only, such a dreamlike medicine was not so easy to crack. Even with the finished product, this was still a complicated process.
"Can you take me to see it? I want to go too..."
"I don't think so. Another piece of information: this country has a large number of creatures called Pokémon. The people of Wano Country call them creations of god and worship them as gods.
"Eggs, flowers, frogs—I saw too many forms of Pokémon. Maybe they have reindeer-shaped or bone-shaped Pokémon, but I'm not sure whether this species has the ability to distinguish outsiders on its own. You're not suited to pretending to be one of this group."
Law had seen all kinds of Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, but he had developed a misunderstanding. Luffy and the others had been saying before that Heracross existed on many islands.
It was because Wano Country had Heracross that they had gradually migrated to other islands, not that Heracross from the outside world had moved to Wano Country. This was one issue Law and the Straw Hats had overlooked.
"Although this country is also home to Minks, those Minks all seem to know each other, so they're likewise unsuitable for you to disguise yourself as."
"I think I can do this."
Chopper transformed into his reindeer form, then said, "You're a doctor. There shouldn't be any risk in just taking a reindeer out with you, right?"
"Remember not to talk."
Law still vividly remembered Kin'emon and Kanjuro taking them out to cause trouble. Compared to that kind of hidden danger, he might as well bring Chopper. Maybe he could even be of some help.
"Mm."
The news of a panacea made Chopper somewhat excited, but the exchange of intelligence continued.
"We also heard information about Pokémon. They seem to be a species unique to this country. Those four-armed Pokémon are super cool."
Compared to Tinkaton's miraculous abilities, Franky was instead more interested in Machamp, a Pokémon with the image of a muscle man wearing only shorts.
"They really are planning something big. The munitions factories are working overtime around the clock, with new bullets hitting the floor every second. If I hadn't finished all that overtime work, it wouldn't have been easy to ask for leave and come out.
I heard the people there say this is the kind of situation that only happens before a great war. They're an Emperor of the Sea. What else is there now that's worth them going to all-out war?"
Franky's understanding was different from the Beasts Pirates' understanding. A pirate's enemies were mostly pirates. Something like going to war head-on with the Marines was far too distant for Franky.
"Of course there is. They're called an Emperor of the Sea, not... an emperor of the world. Pirates' enemies aren't only other pirates.
"Continue. Is there any other valuable intelligence?"
The things he and Franky had gathered were both very general. They could roughly understand this country, but they could not play a role in detailed operations.
"One of the Calamities, QUEEN, really likes sweets, and he seems to have some kind of conflict with their pirate crew's young miss. That pirate miss chased him for an entire night."
"How would you know it was an entire night?"
"Of course because I watched from the side for the entire night. I'm not that moss head. Maybe that guy has already gotten lost all the way to prison."
"Is their young miss pretty?"
"Of course—"
Law's sudden change of subject caught Sanji off guard, and he instinctively gave a reply. By the time he reacted, Law had already gotten the answer he wanted.
"Good. I know why you were able to last an entire night."
Law did not say anything about this. At least Sanji had not gone missing, and he had brought back a little information about an officer.
A string of electric sparks flickered between Law's fingers. This was an ability of the Op-Op Fruit that resembled a defibrillator, but Law used the electric sparks as a lighter and casually lit a cigarette for Sanji.
"Apparently, Kaido really likes watching theatrical performances. Every time there's a festival, he watches two plays."
Usopp, who had infiltrated the theater, and Sanji, who had infiltrated the kitchen, gave their answers one after another. Although some strange things were mixed in, at least it allowed them to understand some things better.
"Kaido likes theater?"
"That's what the grandma in the theater troupe said. I heard that in a while, it'll be Wano Country's festival, and they've specially rehearsed a new play..."
"I understand. Hurry up and find this group of missing people, then return here before our identity information expires. Even if we can't complete the objective, we have to leave this place. Absolutely no mistakes are allowed. Understood?"
Entering Wano Country was indeed very difficult, but if they could not achieve their goal, withdrawing in time was the best solution. There was no benefit in stubbornly dragging things out and getting themselves caught up in it.
"All right, I won't waste any more time. All of you return to your original positions as quickly as possible. Don't let them get suspicious...
"But there's still one problem. Kanjuro is already gone. The disguise on you—"
That layer of disguise had long since naturally broken. Brook had returned to his original skeleton appearance.
"Yohohoho, don't worry. I've already thought of a foolproof plan. Using a prop to cover my face might expose me, but... I can do this."
The remaining skeleton frame of Brook's body collapsed to the ground with a clatter. At this moment, he had already disguised himself as a corpse, then let his soul form drift out of his body.
"I can use my soul to scout the situation around us. That way, I won't be discovered, and I won't even need an ID card."
"..."
Looking at Brook's "ghostly antics," Law realized he had still underestimated this crew. At the very least, their ability to take action was quite remarkable.
At the same time, while their group was openly conspiring in front of the live broadcast screen, someone in Onigashima was celebrating.
"How about it, Ul-chan? Following my bet was definitely the right choice, wasn't it? Didn't we win?"
"Although I did follow your bet, you'd better have some self-awareness about how you actually won. Also, don't call me Ul-chan!"
"Don't worry about the details. Is there anything you want?"
"I haven't thought of anything yet, but are you sure that old man of yours will keep his promise? There won't be any room for manipulation here, right?"
"Impossible. Everything is in accordance with the rules. If he dares to cheat, I'll go complain to Dad!"
Amid the noise, the two of them excitedly discussed what they wanted. The other officers did not react too strongly either. A loss was a loss; they had only joined in for the fun of it, so there was nothing much to regret.
Aside from Queen, the most disappointed person was Delia.
"Ah, seriously, I was just that little bit away!"
"Worororo, there's nothing to complain about. Didn't you bet on that Straw Hat? It's not like I can't count it as you winning half. Do you have any wish?"
While Delia was complaining, Kaido had already finished his "teaching" work and returned to Onigashima. To Kaido, Luffy's all-out attacks did not even count as a massage. Apart from dirtying his clothes, there was not the slightest bit of injury on Kaido's body.
However, he was in a pretty good mood right now. Luffy's exposure had more or less been caused by Kanjuro and the others, which counted as skirting the edge of the rules. That was why Kaido said this.
"Of course. Boss Kaido, can you lend me some money?"
Not far away, King, who had just found the Rage-Rage Fruit in the Reverse World and was planning to put the fruit into the warehouse, suddenly stiffened. He nearly had an intimate encounter with the doorpost beside him.
"Delia, you..."
The corners of King's mouth twitched a few times. He felt that he had been too lax with her usually. If he had known this would happen, he should have curbed this bad habit of hers.
"Borrow money? Worororo, you really are persistent. I thought it would be something else."
Kaido did not take this matter to heart and casually reached into his pocket.
"Then I'll—"
Kaido had just been about to agree to Delia, but the feeling at his fingertips made him take back the words he had not yet spoken. At this moment, Kaido suddenly realized that his pocket was empty.
[How long has it been since I last touched this thing called money?]
When Kaido went out, it was basically always for battle. Only the journey back when he was searching for the plates had been able to make him calm down a little, but it still did not change the fact that he fought. Marine supply ships, the dining halls of pirate ships—these were all the ways he replenished himself.
Even when there were occasions where money had to be paid for something, there was no need for him, the Governor-General, to personally pay. Even in Wano Country, people who saw him would not ask for money, but would instead take the initiative to offer things to him.
Something like money had long since become unrelated to Kaido. Even if he was willing to lend it, a penniless person could only take out an IOU.
"Then I'll agree, did you think I was going to say that? Wait for the next opportunity!"
Not only did Kaido pull a reversal, he also casually took the wine jar beside Delia, leaving Delia frozen in place. She felt as if Kaido had tricked her.
Thud!
With a muffled sound, King's fist had also already hammered down onto Delia's head.
"Borrowing money from the Governor-General? You really are something. This is your wish?"
"Boss, Governor-General already agreed earlier. He's clearly the one refusing to acknowledge it. I'm innocent!"
"I don't get it. Just why are you so obsessed with this thing?"
"Mm... I don't know. I can't really explain it either. It feels like a kind of instinct. I feel like if I can add Lord Kaido's name to my debt list, it'll definitely be worth bragging about in the future.
"If it won't work this time, I'll just look for another opportunity later."
Holding the bump on top of her head, Delia had not given up on the idea at all.
"You... forget it. Next time you have this plan, tell me in advance, so I can arrange someone to take over for you for a while."
"Why? Wait, Boss, explain yourself! Don't copy the Governor-General and speak in riddles!"
King left halfway through his sentence and did not give Delia an answer at all. Already left with a head full of question marks by Kaido, she immediately chased after him, wanting to get a definite answer.
Only, under the night sky, she could only see a mass of flames getting farther and farther away before finally disappearing into the horizon.
Meanwhile, Kaido, having resolved his own embarrassment, also returned to his room to begin the process of sleeping off his hangover. Only Yamato and Ulti were still discussing what they should ask for.
Under the night sky, there were still many people hurrying on their way. For example, the other members of the Straw Hats planned to return to their posts before daybreak. At this time, the cross-region transportation within Wano Country had already stopped operating. Even with well-built roads, it was still no small challenge for their traveling speed.
In order to shorten the distance, Nami and Franky chose to cut straight through. At this moment, they were crossing the Flower Capital.
With the development of the economy, Wano Country's nighttime economy had also begun to rise. Going out at night was no longer as rare as it had been decades ago. However, while hurrying on their way, they encountered a supernatural incident.
"Franky, did someone just run past us?"
"Seems like it. And that person... looked a little familiar."
"If it's him, then he should pass by here again very soon."
The two stopped in their tracks. Sure enough, in less than twenty minutes, a sweating body once again appeared from an alley at the side.
"Zoro! It really is you. What's going on with you? We agreed to gather, so why haven't we seen you even once?"
"Franky? Nami? Great, I finally found you. Listen to me, there's something wrong with this country."
Having rarely managed to see his companions, Zoro solemnly grabbed the two of them by the arms and walked to the side.
Zoro's extremely serious expression made Nami and Franky think that he had discovered something major, so they immediately walked with him into the nearby alley.
"What did you discover?"
"Is there some trouble? Is someone following you?"
"No, it's some mysterious power in this country. It's like something has trapped me inside a circle. No matter how I walk, I can't get back to the place where we gathered at first. All night today, I tried to leave this place, but I always ended up back where I started.
"I heard the old man at home talk about a kind of yokai that makes people get lost. It must be that kind of yokai causing trouble."
Zoro even began talking about the yokai legend he had heard from Hyogoro. Only, the more he talked, the more helpless Nami and Franky's expressions became.
"Zoro, admit it. You're directionally challenged. You just simply got lost."
"I'm not directionally challenged!"
"Sure, sure, you're not. Tell me the intelligence you collected, then describe where you're working now. We'll come find you when the time comes."
Nami did not want to argue with Zoro over this issue. After all, the fact that Zoro was directionally challenged was something even Luffy would occasionally agree with. There was no need to doubt it at all.
"This country is really strange. Apart from the circle that keeps people from getting out, there are also ducks that are especially good at fighting."
"Let's go, Franky. He didn't collect any useful information."
"Oh, coming.
"Zoro, be careful on your own. Luffy and Hercules are also missing tonight. We don't know what happened."
"Try it yourselves and you'll know. After a while, you'll definitely loop back too!"
Zoro trusted himself very much. After getting new information from Nami and Franky, he was no longer impatient. He simply sat cross-legged on the spot and waited for them to loop back. And this wait lasted until dawn.
"Sir, Sir, Sir~fetch'd!"
A team of Sirfetch'd doing morning training ran across the street with orderly steps. A Sirfetch'd that had already mastered Black Leek was their leader.
"Sir~fetch'd!"
When it passed by here, it saw Zoro still waiting here and immediately waved its wing to signal the other Sirfetch'd to stop.
"Sir~fetch'd?"
Zoro could not understand what this Sirfetch'd was saying, but he could roughly sense the meaning.
[Could it be... that I really got lost?]
On the road back to the dojo while following Sirfetch'd, Zoro doubted his sense of direction for the first time in his life.
Meanwhile, in Udon, the prisoners also welcomed a new day.
In the solitary cell, Luffy slowly woke up. At this moment, his head had already been wrapped with layer after layer of bandages. That blow from Kaido's kanabo had not been a joke, but a real Thunder Bagua.
Although it wasn't a full-power Thunder Bagua, it was still more than enough to take out Luffy in one hit. The fact that he woke up within a single night was a testament to his extraordinary talent.
"Hercules? Hercules, where are you!"
The first thing the dizzy Luffy did after waking up was search for Hercules' whereabouts. Then he saw the completely unharmed Hercules appear in front of him, even carrying a pickaxe and a backpack full of food.
"Hercules! Great, you're okay. Let's hurry up and leave. No, wait, I've already been locked up!"
The handcuffs on his hands and the cage in front of him reminded Luffy of his current situation, but Hercules was free, and had even put on prison guard's clothes.
"Heraaacross."
Hercules sounded somewhat embarrassed. After all, tricking a fool came with a sense of guilt. Seeing that Luffy still cared about it after waking up made it feel even more helpless.
"Hercules, you?"
"Heraaacross."
"You're saying you were born in this country? The person who gave you life lives here? But didn't you not want to come back here before?"
"Heraaacross! [That's because I knew that coming here would definitely turn into this! He is the creator of all Pokémon. Pokémon will not become enemies with Him, so that's why I didn't want you to come here!
"Lord had given an order, so it wasn't convenient for me to talk about this. In the end, it still turned into this.]"
Hercules spoke for a long time in one go, without considering whether Luffy's brain capacity could remember all these things.
"I see. Then I'm really sorry. If I made you become enemies with your family, that must be really troubling."
Facts proved that Luffy's way of thinking was also different from ordinary people's. Even Hercules, who had been with him for a long time, had not expected this.
"So the person who gave you life is really powerful? Stronger than that monster yesterday?"
"Heraaacross! [Of course.]"
"I see..."
Somewhere Hercules could not see, Luffy had already imagined something strange: a beetle the size of a small mountain sending Kaido flying with one charge. That was what he had just thought of.
In his understanding, Arceus, who had created Hercules, naturally ought to be a beetle too.
"Heraaacross! [Surrender, Luffy. After joining this place, we can still travel like before!]"
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