At the dock.
True to his principle of "don't cause trouble, don't fear trouble," Shimotsuki Kozaburo had already put away most of his samurai pride the moment he met Kaido.
A subordinate of Ares… how terrifying. Every pirate here is strong in his own right, but to this Kaido guy, defeating them would be as simple as waving his hand.
Just his presence alone is enough to crush the courage out of these pirates.
If I really clashed with him, I might not win.
From his brief observation, Kozaburo could already tell how frightening Kaido's strength was.
"So Wano has stayed closed off from the world… was it really just to protect Wano itself?" Kozaburo could not help thinking of this.
That thought in turn reminded him of a legend passed down in Wano.
The man they worshipped as the "Sword God" Ryuma.
He was a great swordsman who had never known defeat in his entire life.
Hundreds of years ago…
The dragon-slaying swordsman Ryuma repelled countless pirates and World Nobles who came coveting Wano's treasures, defending the country time and time again, until the entire world knew the phrase:
"There are samurai in Wano Country!"
Back then, Wano had another name.
The Land of Gold.
It drew in wave after wave of pirates blinded by greed and treasure, but they were all cut down by the dragon-slaying swordsman Ryuma.
He became the guardian deity of Wano Country.
To this day, his remains and his sword are still enshrined in Wano, a shrine built in his honor.
Whenever a festival comes around, many people still go to Ryuma's shrine to pay their respects.
Thinking of this, Kozaburo felt a twinge of emotion.
Maybe that is why Wano shut itself off… otherwise the country would constantly be attacked by pirates.
If not for overwhelming strength…
Who knows what Wano would look like now.
At least before he left, most of Wano had still been tranquil and peaceful, relatively stable.
At that moment, Wang Zhi and Silver Axe walked toward him.
Wang Zhi greeted him with a smile.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Ares's partner, Wang Zhi."
"This here is Silver Axe."
Kozaburo nodded in return.
"My name is Kozaburo. I have seen your faces on wanted posters before, and I have heard other pirates mention your names. They all say you are powerful pirates, high-ranking officers of the Rocks Pirates."
That bit of praise made Silver Axe's grin bloom like a flower.
"So you are a samurai from Wano, huh? Then tell me…"
"Are your women pretty? And are they… soft and tender?"
"…?"
Kozaburo stared at Silver Axe in stunned silence, completely blindsided by the question.
Once he came back to himself, he still answered honestly.
"The women of Wano are indeed very beautiful. But as for the outside world, I'm not familiar with it yet, so I don't know how you define beauty."
He had only just left that closed-off land of Wano and immediately ran into a pirate crew.
After learning that Ares might be a descendant of the Tengetsu family's daimyo, Kozaburo had hurried straight for Hachinosu. He did not know much about the outside world at all.
Silver Axe rubbed his hands together and waggled his brows.
"Of course beauty means big up top, round back there, and skin white as snow…"
He had never actually seen a woman from Wano.
Before he could finish, Wang Zhi, face dark as ink, body-checked him out of the way.
Four words flashed through Wang Zhi's mind:
Utterly losing face.
Wang Zhi let out an awkward chuckle.
"Silver Axe just really likes women. And he has been a little… traumatized recently. I hope you won't take offense."
Just mentioning what had happened recently was like stabbing a knife in Silver Axe's heart, dragging up memories he very much wanted buried.
His face went a sickly shade of green, like a man reliving a personal nightmare.
Kozaburo chuckled dryly.
"It's fine. Mr Silver Axe seems like a very… passionate man."
After all, men like Silver Axe were not exactly rare in Wano either.
Their culture even had dedicated courtesans and geisha for that.
Wang Zhi brought the topic back.
"You said earlier that Ares looks very similar to someone you know. But when we first met Ares, he was on a small island here in the New World, not in Wano."
"So we wanted to understand a bit more."
Kozaburo kept his polite smile.
"There is a lot to it, and it is hard to explain in a few words. It would be better to wait until Mr Ares arrives, then I can speak to him directly."
Wang Zhi nodded.
Silver Axe, however, used the pause to sneak in again.
"Kozaburo, about that previous question "
"…"
Kozaburo instantly ran out of words. After a moment, he managed,
"That… is not an easy question to answer."
Silver Axe put on a lewd grin and chuckled.
"It's fine. I'll take you out for some fun tonight. Tall, petite, curvy, slim, you name it, it'll be there. You can tell me the differences then, yeah?"
"T-that… that might not be appropriate…" Kozaburo's expression tightened, sweat starting to bead on his forehead.
He really had not expected Silver Axe to be this "enthusiastic". They had barely exchanged a few words and this man was already trying to drag him off for… "health services".
"What is inappropriate about it? We're all men here. Being pirates is about enjoying life," Silver Axe declared, completely unbothered by any awkwardness, clearly determined to drag Kozaburo into muddy waters.
Wang Zhi could tell this guy was very interested in the women of Wano. He was probably hoping to use Kozaburo as a stepping stone to understand, or even…
Deeply understand.
He had Kozaburo so embarrassed he did not know where to look.
Fortunately…
Ten or so minutes later, Katakuri arrived at the dock with Tengetsu Ares in tow. The kid pointed ahead with a small hand.
"Look, big bro Ares, that one next to Wang Zhi and Silver Axe is the samurai from Wano."
Ares's presence instantly drew Kozaburo's gaze.
That massive, muscular frame stood out even in a crowd.
Not to mention, when Ares appeared, the surrounding pirates instinctively moved aside, opening up a clear path before him.
Seeing Ares with his own eyes, Kozaburo's expression turned slightly dazed.
He could not help but murmur a single word.
"Similar…"
By now, Ares had already walked up to Kozaburo. He loomed over the nearly two-meter-tall samurai, looking down from above.
He got straight to the point.
"Samurai of Wano, who came all this way, will you show me your swordsmanship?"
Those bright, sharp eyes locked directly onto Kozaburo.
"I can."
Kozaburo nodded, then added,
"But before that, there are some things I wish to ask you. I hope Mr Ares will grant me this request."
Wang Zhi cut in.
"Let's talk inside the skull castle. Kozaburo has been waiting here quite a while already."
Everyone agreed with the suggestion.
The group headed into Hachinosu together.
They took care to host Kozaburo properly, and Whitebeard and Golden Lion Shiki "invited themselves" along, homing in on the smell of alcohol like cats on fish.
At the same time…
They were quite interested in Wano as well.
After a few rounds of drinks…
Kozaburo set his cup down and finally asked,
"Mr Ares, if I may be so bold… could you tell me your father's name?"
"Tengetsu Junichiro," Ares answered honestly.
The moment he heard the name, Kozaburo shot to his feet, unable to contain himself.
"That's it!"
"Yes, that is the name of the Tengetsu family's daimyo!"
His eyes grew misty as he smiled, lost in old memories.
"Back then, when the Kurozumi family tried to seize the position of shogun of Wano…"
"It was the Tengetsu clan who sacrificed many lives to wipe out the Kurozumi line."
Kozaburo wiped the corner of his eye and laughed through the lingering emotion.
"To be able to meet a member of the Tengetsu family again… I am truly fortunate."
Ares, on the other hand, looked puzzled.
"I…"
"I'm from Wano Country?"
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