"What, Whitey-chan is surrounded?", At the Oden residence in Kuri, Wano Country, Oden suddenly stood up, his expression solemn as he looked at Inuarashi before him.
The Mink Tribe's Inuarashi had the head of a dog and the body of a normal human. At this moment, standing in front of Kozuki Oden, his expression was extremely grave.
He was also one of those who had followed Oden back then, joining the Whitebeard Pirates from Wano Country.
That period of time was something many of them could never forget in their lifetime.
"Oden-sama, for the sake of loyalty and justice, we should go to aid Lord Whitebeard," Inuarashi said seriously.
"Yes, we must go!", Oden clapped his hands and stood up, but as soon as he did, hesitation appeared on his face, "But if I take people and leave, what if Orochi says I'm not keeping my word?"
Right now, he still needed to go to the Flower Capital to perform the naked dance, otherwise Orochi wouldn't release the hostages in his hands.
The current Wano Country, because of Kurozumi Orochi and Kaido's alliance, was in a state of deep suffering and misery.
If Kaido hadn't promised three years ago that they would leave once the ship was built in five years, Oden wouldn't have been so easy to talk to.
Now, the five-year period had just over one year left.
At this time, he didn't want to cause new trouble.
But back then, he had already broken his promise to Whitebeard. After leaving the Roger Pirates, he didn't return to the Whitebeard Pirates but returned to Wano Country.
This time Whitebeard was in trouble. If he, as a brother, still didn't go, that would really be unjustifiable.
"Oden-sama, leave Wano Country to us. Your dancing in the capital is once a week, missing a few times won't matter," Kin'emon stood up and volunteered to stay behind.
Oden danced naked in the Flower Capital every day, and the people scolded him terribly, even calling Oden 'Idiot Lord'.
Did they not know Oden was doing all this for them?
But deep down, Kin'emon and the others also didn't wish for Oden to keep humiliating himself like that.
"Alright then, this time I'll take Inuarashi and Nekomamushi to rendezvous. Wano Country is in your hands," Oden gritted his teeth and made the decision.
This time, he couldn't let Whitebeard down again.
After speaking, he turned to look at the gentle woman beside him, "Toki, I'll leave Momonosuke and Hiyori to you."
Kozuki Toki had long, jade-green hair that flowed like a waterfall. Her beauty was breathtaking, with features so exquisite they seemed painted, and her eyebrows and eyes carried a gentle and restrained radiance.
She wore a soft pink silk kimono, which didn't conceal her curves, but instead perfectly outlined her graceful figure. The exposed skin at the collar and sleeves was as fair as congealed fat, whiter than frost or snow.
She nodded lightly and said earnestly, "Don't worry, I will take good care of them. I hope everything will go smoothly for you all this time."
Although she said so, in her heart, she didn't know why she had a faint feeling of ominous foreboding.
As if after this departure of Oden, it would bring misfortune to Wano Country.
But soon, Kozuki Toki suppressed these thoughts deep in her heart.
Right now, she didn't have the time to think about such things, the children still needed her care.
"Alright! Everyone, let's depart!"
———
[Fish-Man Island]
At this moment, compared to before, Fish-Man Island had become much more empty.
Among the 5 million residents of Fish-Man Island, those willing and qualified to join the Mermaid Kingdom were fewer than 3 million.
As for the rest, Rosse never intended to wipe them all out.
The other mefolks and fish-men had already fled through various means.
The Mermaid Kingdom was Rosse's future base, but the original Fish-Man Island was still necessary to exist.
Without a comparison, how could the greatness of the Mermaid Kingdom be highlighted?
However, from now on, Fish-Man Island would become a completely lawless area.
When pirates passed through, they could only pray for good luck.
At this moment on Fish-Man Island, the people who had joined the Mermaid Kingdom had already evacuated in an orderly manner. Most of the others had fled in panic, intending to return after the Buster Call ended.
Only a few elderly, weak, sick, and disabled, or those who refused to believe in fate, remained.
At the entrance of Fish-Man Island, a coated battleship stood firmly there, and on the bow stood Gion, Sora, and Otohime.
Behind them stood not only Zephyr, Jinbei, and Nia, those who were originally from Fish-Man Island, but even Rouge, Olvia, and the others were also on board now.
In the near future, the Holy Land was bound to become a battlefield, and Rosse didn't want any harm to come to his women.
At this time, letting the battleship remain coated and wait around the waters near Marine Headquarters was the safest choice.
As long as they were in the sea, Rosse was an invincible existence.
Not to mention, the fish-men and mefolks were still on their side now.
In comparison, the sky occupied by Shiki the Golden Lion actually seemed more dangerous.
"It's about to begin...", Otohime let out a soft sigh. Within her Kenbunshoku Haki's (Haki of the Color of Observation) range, dozens of coated marine battleships were approaching Fish-Man Island.
No need to think, they were the marines sent to execute the Buster Call.
Although Fish-Man Island was now mostly deserted, it was still her homeland. The fact that it was about to become wasteland left her slightly sentimental.
"The Buster Call, huh...", Olvia and Robin's gazes were extremely complicated. In their wildest dreams, they never thought they would have the chance to witness another Buster Call as bystanders.
The most ironic part was, this time, Rosse was actually the one who refused the Buster Call. He had tried multiple times to stop it, but all efforts were in vain, the Buster Call was still to be executed.
Moreover, due to the killing of Saint Arlin, the World Government needed this Buster Call even more to assert their authority.
These past few days, the World Government's face had practically been swollen from being slapped.
Those Celestial Dragons who had gone abroad had long since been recalled.
Splash!
With the sound of turbulent water, dozens of marine warships, each coated in a spherical membrane, appeared in front of the vessel.
"Even seeing the marine fleet under the sea gives off a sense of invincibility...", Olvia looked at the marine fleet with a complicated expression. Just over a year ago, it was the marine fleet that had destroyed Ohara.
And the fleet sent to Fish-Man Island this time was far larger than the one at Ohara.
"Sister Gion, Sister Otohime, I will go with you to meet them on behalf of His Highness. Instructor Zephyr, do you want to meet your old friends?", Sora stood at the bow, turning to look at Gion and Zephyr behind her.
When Rosse wasn't around, Gion was in charge of combat power, while Sora managed the overall situation.
For combat matters, listen to Gion. For everything else, it was all up to her.
Otohime had no objections. The orderliness of Fish-Man Island these days was all thanks to Sora's help.
In her heart, she had already acknowledged Sora.
Gion just nodded slightly, and after some hesitation, Zephyr also nodded calmly.
Although they had taken different paths, since they were old friends, there was no reason not to meet.
At worst, they could just find a chance to have a fight.
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