After all, Wano Country was destined for servitude. What harm could come from becoming Pirate King along the way?
To conquer is just, to conquer is right!
Uh... setting the goal too high at once could lead to trouble.
First, he needed to figure out the fastest way to invade Wano Country.
He didn't have time to wait for Oden to set sail and for Orochi to invite Kaido.
As he'd said before, if he followed the original plot, there was no point in transmigrating.
And Noro didn't want to wait. Every moment he could enslave them sooner was a moment gained.
Wano Country's main forces were Oden, the daimyo, and the samurai.
A headache!
Oden and Kaido were both 25, but Oden could clash with Whitebeard right after landing in Wano Country, even if Whitebeard held back.
But that was the peak Whitebeard. Kaido could, at best, fight Oden to a draw.
Some of the Nine Red Scabbards might still be young, but figures like Ashura Doji and Kin'emon were already in their twenties, in their prime.
If he were to invade, the entire Wano Country would unite. It wasn't realistic to fight with just him and King.
And there were countless samurai. He needed to assemble a crew that could match them.
Oden joined the Whitebeard Pirates at 29, then the Roger Pirates at 33. That left four years before he joined the Whitebeard Pirates.
Time was short, the task was heavy!
He and Kaido had to grow stronger in those four years. King needed some pressure too.
As a member of the Lunarian race, hailed as gods, he didn't even have Conqueror's Haki.
Honestly, after watching the anime, Noro was disappointed in King's strength!
The Beasts Pirates had to conquer Wano Country before Whitebeard landed there.
If Oden befriended Whitebeard and Roger, anything could happen.
"King, what do you think Noro's thinking about?" Kaido whispered, sidling up to King.
King looked up at Kaido, then at Noro, lost in thought before the stone tablet.
He had no idea what Noro was thinking, but he offered his guess.
"I don't know. Mr. Noro looks very serious. He's probably thinking about how to develop the Beasts Pirates and change the world."
Kaido nodded in agreement, "I think so too."
Noro snapped out of his thoughts and said to the two, "Let's load the gold onto the ship."
With that, he spread his wings and flew away.
Kaido and King exchanged glances, wondering what Noro was up to.
Too much to worry about. Time to load the gold.
The two excitedly loaded the gold onto the pirate ship, while Noro flew to the skies above Birka.
He transformed into the Tengu Serpent, his massive form casting a shadow over the small island.
Before the puzzled residents of Birka could look up to see what was happening,
The Tengu Serpent in the sky opened its maw, spewing a thick purple mist that blanketed the entire island.
Poison was a Tengu Serpent's natural ability, and combined with the power to ride the clouds, it could spread the poison quickly in mist form.
Noro wasn't here to kill them. The poison wasn't lethal, it was a soporific.
Under Noro's command, the entire island began searching for a fruit with strange patterns.
Birka was a tiny island, with a population of less than a thousand. With the entire island mobilized, they quickly found the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and delivered it to Noro.
Along with it came the blueprints for the Ark Maxim.
Noro put the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the Ark Maxim blueprints into his small bag.
He needed to find a Space-type Devil Fruit.
This was too inconvenient. He was still carrying his halberd, and there was a mountain of gold on Skypiea he couldn't take.
Once the gold was exchanged for money, he'd ask around in the black market. The timeline was still early. Brulee might have eaten the Mirror-Mirror Fruit, but the Door-Door Fruit and Castle-Castle Fruit should still be available.
He had plenty of money now. The average price of a Devil Fruit was 100 million. He'd offer five times, ten times, fifty times that. He refused to believe he couldn't buy one!
Back in Shandora, Kaido and King had packed the pirate ship to the brim.
Noro facepalmed. Those two idiots!
How to describe it? It was like filling a bowl with rice, then putting another bowl on top, upside down.
And they still wanted to add more.
Under their reluctant gazes, Noro unloaded most of the gold from the ship.
Then, Flame Clouds lifted the pirate ship, and the group returned to the Blue Sea.
Noro was cautious. He wouldn't sell all the gold at once.
The golden city of Skypiea still existed. Selling too much at once would raise questions.
On the way back to Water 7, the Beasts Pirates stopped at islands and sold some gold, selling off a total of 10 billion Beli.
Stepping onto the soil of Water 7 again, Kaido carried the chests of Beli, his back straight.
Kaido was big, so the chests he carried were big too. 1 billion Beli per chest.
King was assigned to guard the ship.
Actually, Kaido should have guarded the ship, but he insisted on coming along, and King didn't want to expose himself too much.
Whatever, it was the same.
In the first half of the Grand Line, there were few who could use Haki. It was almost impossible to hurt a Lunarian.
The two arrived at the black market, found the same boss, and Kaido grinned, proudly opening the chests, looking every bit the nouveau riche.
The boss looked at the chests, bigger than himself, filled with Beli, his face splitting into a flowery grin.
They were so powerful, they'd robbed 1 billion Beli in just a few days.
After counting the Beli and confirming the amount, the boss bowed almost ninety degrees, fawning,
"Honorable guests, I'll arrange for the Adam Wood to be delivered right away. Where would you like it sent?"
Noro nodded slightly, "To the best and biggest shipyard in Water 7."
"Yes, sir, no problem." The boss waved over an employee, gave him some instructions, and the employee ran off to arrange for the wood to be transported.
"Honorable guests, is there anything else you need? We have everything here. If we don't have it, we can find it for you."
The boss maintained his bowing posture. Making money wasn't shameful.
Noro smiled calmly, "I do have something I want."
"Please, tell me."
"I want two Devil Fruits: the Castle-Castle Fruit and the Door-Door Fruit."
The boss looked troubled, "We don't have those, but I can try to ask around in the underworld."
Not having them was expected. Noro didn't mind, smiling, "Alright, then I'll trouble you, boss. If those two fruits appear, please be sure to notify me as soon as possible. Price is no object."
"Yes, yes."
The boss nodded repeatedly. These were his best customers, his gods of wealth.
"Oh, right, honorable guests, there will be an auction here in a week. You might want to check it out for anything you need."
"Good, then boss, get us some good seats."
"Of course, of course."
===
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