Kuzan's Onigashima Experiences! Enemies Meet!

"In short, Kuzan is one of us now."

Kuzan smiled gently and greeted the Beasts Pirates ' executives in front of him.

Ian formally introduced him to everyone in the Beasts Pirates.

To be honest, Kuzan was also a little nervous at this moment.

This sense of tension was almost comparable to when he officially joined the Marine Headquarters after leaving the recruit training camp.

I wonder if I'll have a pleasant time with my new colleagues.

That's what he was thinking.

"Hmph, a former Marine Admiral? Nothing special."

It was Mr. Barrett who scrutinized him from head to toe and then made this assessment.

Kuzan felt he had nothing to refute regarding his assessment.

After all, when this man was active on the high seas, the position of Marine Admiral was held by Sengoku- sensei.

Now that Sengoku has become Marine Fleet Admiral, his strength is naturally much greater than his own, Kuzan is well aware of this.

"Hmph, you'd better not do anything to betray Ian, or I won't let you off the hook."

The one who gave him the cold warning was Hancock, the Snake Princess, who was said to be one of Ian's two wives.

She is indeed an incredibly beautiful woman; it's said that many newspapers have named her the most beautiful woman in the world.

That bastard Ian is really lucky with women. Not only is such a beautiful woman infatuated with him, but Yamato is also very close to him.

Yamato, spoke up at this moment, "Great! I've always felt it was a pity that we didn't have a proper match last time! Let's have a final showdown later and see who is the most powerful ice user in the world!"

"I surrender."

Kuzan crisply and decisively.

Just kidding, who wants to duel with the big boss's girlfriend?

Doesn't this mean he challenged Celestial Dragons to a duel while he was still Marine Admiral?

Regardless of victory or defeat, there won't be a good outcome, right?

Do you even understand the workplace rules for Marine Admiral?

The ability to handle interpersonal relationships appropriately.

Moreover, this girl is indeed ridiculously strong. Now that she's an ally, Kuzan has absolutely no intention of fighting her.

It's pointless, isn't it?

"Hateful!!"

Yamato was furious.

In any case, Ian introduced Beasts Pirates' officers who were currently on Onigashima to Kuzan.

In fact, Kuzan knew many of these guys, after all, they were all Daimyo figures on the Bounty Poster.

But there was one guy who was very special.

Tesoro.

Although this man has some fame in the world, he appears in newspapers more often as an actor and singer.

Nobody took him seriously at first, but when Ian introduced him, he said that Tesoro was his most important assistant.

This seems to be a very remarkable man, Kuzan thought.

Overall, the meeting with the new colleagues went relatively smoothly.

Basically, no one made things difficult for him.

However, this kind of thing is quite normal.

Kuzan believed he possessed considerable strength, and even if someone wanted to cause him trouble, few in the entire Beasts Pirates were qualified.

After the meeting, Ian asked Kuzan Teach Onigashima so he could get to know the island where he would be staying for quite some time.

Teach had recently gone through something similar, so having him lead the way was indeed the most suitable option.

"The building we are in now is the central hub of Onigashima, the residence of Lord Ian and his officers."

Teach led Kuzan down from the castle tower, saying, "You can choose a room you like here later."

Now, there probably aren't many good rooms to choose from, since I arrived too late.

That's what Kuzan thought.

As you exit the castle tower, you'll see several children fighting in the spacious plaza outside.

The boy and girl who turned into dinosaurs.

A cat-like girl wielding a long sword is engaged in a fierce battle with another boy who wields three swords.

Also, there's a boy with blond hair wearing a strange Battle Suit...

"Dragon?"

Kuzan was completely stunned.

A pink dragon hovered above the square, spewing pillars of blazing fire from its mouth.

Then the blond boy leaped up and kicked the flames away.

That was indeed a dragon, wasn't it?

Aside from the different color and being much smaller, he looks exactly like Kaido!

They can even breathe fire! They can still hold onto clouds and float in the sky!

But how could there be two identical Devil Fruit in the world?

"Hahaha! You got a fright, didn't you?"

Teach laughed heartily, "I was startled when I first saw it too."

"Among all the young people in the pirate crew, Ace is the most special."

"The Devil Fruit he ate was a copy of Kaido's Azure Dragon Fruit."

"What?"

Kuzan was completely dumbfounded.

He wasn't unaware of the fruit.

On the contrary, he personally handed the replica of that Azure Dragon Fruit to Ian back then!

But he truly never imagined that the fruit could actually grant someone the ability to transform into a dragon!

Wasn't that fruit a failure? Now, looking at it, where exactly did it fail?

Etc!

So, Ian not only knew about the existence of that fruit all along, but he even knew that the fruit had been successfully conceived?

A guess involuntarily surfaced in Kuzan's mind.

Could it be that Ian was already acquainted with Dr. Vegapunk?

Was it all part of their scheme?

Hiss!

Kuzan couldn't help but gasp. If that was the case, then Ian was far too terrifying. He was only thirteen years old at the time.

"They are all remarkable children."

Teach, unaware of Kuzan's inner thoughts, simply explained to him, "Ulti and Page One are siblings who joined the Beasts Pirates at a very young age. Lord Ian personally went to bring them back."

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but sigh.

When Lord Ian went to pick up the siblings, that marked the beginning of his feud with the Whitebeard Pirates.

Lord Ian had already shocked the world back then, but probably no one could have imagined that he would reach this level now.

"Zoro and Kuina are children that Lord Ian brought back from the East Blue, and both of them are training to become the strongest swordsmen."

Teach continued, "Sanji is the third son of the Vinsmoke Family, the pinnacle of the Vinsmoke Family's technology, a true natural monster."

"Then there's Ace. Just think about why Lord Ian gave him that fruit to understand how talented he is."

"Oh dear, they all seem so amazing!"

Kuzan sighed softly.

These children are indeed considered monsters among their peers.

"Oh, right, there's also Little Uta, you should be very familiar with him, shouldn't you?"

Teach grinned. "But she's recording right now."

"Uta?"

Kuzan laughed too, "No matter which island in the New World, you can hear her singing every day."

"Even around the world, countless people risk being investigated by their governments to listen to her live stream on time."

"It's said that the girl was the Red-Haired boy, but some things happened, and she came back with Lord Ian," Teach said.

"Red-Haired?"

Kuzan was surprised again, "That Red-Haired Shanks actually has children?"

I've never even heard of such a thing before.

The two chatted as they walked.

Teach thoughtfully showed Kuzan the different areas inside Onigashima.

Commercial street, dormitory, restaurant, Queen's workshop, Kozuki Sukiyaki's forge.

Kuzan wasn't very interested in any of that; what interested him most were the ostentatious and overly flamboyant beastmen on the island.

Are they all artificial Devil Fruit User?

He couldn't help but ask.

It's no news that the Beasts Pirates have created Artificial Devil Fruit.

The Beast Giant under Ian's command had already terrified the entire world.

But Kuzan hadn't expected there to be so many.

On Onigashima, you can see a man-made Devil Fruit User almost every few steps.

Teach's tone was tinged with melancholy, "New Artificial Devil Fruit ripen every month. To this day, the number of artificial Devil Fruit User under Lord Ian's command is in the thousands, including a large number of giants."

Kuzan couldn't help but click his tongue in astonishment.

Although he is an artificial Devil Fruit User, he is still a Devil Fruit user.

An army of thousands of ability users—what an astonishing force!

"That's not all!"

Teach added, "Queen has also developed a special potion that can drive controlled beasts and artificial Devil Fruit User into a berserk state, further enhancing their power."

"It is said that, based on this, the power amplification of artificial Devil Fruit User has surpassed that of true Zoan users."

"..."

Kuzan was at a loss for words.

The Beasts Pirates are much stronger than he imagined.

Having witnessed the awe-inspiring Devil Fruit User, Kuzan was no longer surprised by encountering giants and even the Bravens on Onigashima.

The two traveled from inside the island all the way to outside the island.

"The underwater world of Wano Country is the territory of Fish-Man and mermaids,"

Teach cautioned, "So you must never use your abilities carelessly; there might be villages of Fish-Man and mermaids hidden beneath the surface of some sea."

"The Wano Country now has hundreds of thousands of Fish-Man and mermaids settled there, making it almost like a second Fish-Man Island."

The Beasts Pirates and Fish-Man Island are indeed completely intertwined.

Kuzan sighed inwardly.

However, he quickly put this thought aside, because he saw many beautiful mermaids dancing gracefully on the sea.

If these beautiful mermaids were to appear on the seas ruled by the government, they would probably attract a large number of human traffickers immediately.

Everyone knows that these merfolk are the Celestial Dragons ' favorite slaves.

But here they are able to live freely and comfortably.

It's truly remarkable.

After touring the Onigashima, Teach brought Kuzan back to the castle tower to report to Ian and see if he had any other plans.

They had just stepped onto the castle tower when a roar suddenly came from outside Onigashima.

A massive azure dragon flew in through the eyes of the Onigashima skeleton, reaching all the way to the top of the castle tower.

"Oh! Boss Kaido is back!"

Teach said.

Kuzan certainly knew it was Kaido, but besides Kaido, he also saw someone else.

The Azure Dragon landed on the terrace at the top of the castle tower.

As Teacher Kai returned to his original form, the two people he brought back also landed lightly on the ground.

Kuzan saw the black-haired girl.

My heart was instantly overwhelmed by an extremely complex emotion.

As the black-haired girl looked around in surprise, she suddenly saw him as well.

Visibly, a look of terror appeared on the girl's face, and she instinctively backed away.

"What's wrong, Miss Robin?"

Dragon noticed Robin's fear and instinctively asked her what was wrong.

"They were probably scared."

Ian stepped onto the terrace.

He smiled at Teacher Kai and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Kai."

"Hmph, don't send me to do these boring things again!"

Teacher Kai snorted and walked in.

He was very unhappy about this business trip.

They didn't even have a proper fight; they just wasted time traveling.

"Long time no see, Dragon. How have you been?"

Kuzan watched as Ian walked up to Dragon and began exchanging pleasantries with him.

If he were still a Marine, he probably would never have imagined that a friendship could exist between the Beasts Pirates and the Revolutionary Army.

Is this really not a joke?

"Let's go, let's have a good talk."

Kuzan saw Ian leading Dragon inside.

Just as they were about to go inside, Ian turned back to Kuzan and said, "Kuzan, give your old acquaintance a good welcome."

An old acquaintance?

I never imagined that I could use such a term to describe my relationship with this young woman.

Kuzan sighed and strode heavily toward the girl.

"You, how did you get here?"

Robin looked wary, and his body was even trembling slightly.

She would never forget the utter despair this man had brought her in Ohara eleven years ago!

"Oh, it's about finding new employment after being laid off,"

Kuzan said quietly, "It's not easy for a middle-aged unemployed person to find a good job again."

"So, the former Marine Admiral once prided himself on justice has now become a pirate?"

Robin's words were full of sarcasm.

"That's really harsh,"

Kuzan, then said earnestly, "Young lady, since Ian says we're old acquaintances, then as an old friend reuniting after so long, I'll tell you some good news."

Robin didn't speak, but just watched him warily.

However, this wary girl was completely disarmed by just one sentence from Kuzan.

"Sauron is still alive."

Kuzan said.

"..."

Robin stared at him blankly.

The girl, who had been hailed as a genius since childhood, now felt her brain wasn't working properly.

That short sentence plunged her into utter bewilderment.

It wasn't until more than ten seconds later that she belatedly realized what had happened. Her eyes began to well up with tears, and her voice trembled as she asked, "What did you say?"

"Sauron is still alive,"

Kuzan seriously, "It's in the war-torn country of Elbaf! He brought all the information collected by the scholars of Ohara there."

"It's not just you, Nico Robin, the legacy of Ohara still exists in this world."

"If you doubt the truth of this matter, you can ask Ian later. He also knows about it and has received information about ancient technology from Sauron."

The girl couldn't hold back her tears.

"Is Sauron still alive?"

"No matter what, that guy is my good friend. How could I just kill him?"

Kuzan, "I'm really sorry about what happened back then. The orders I received were only to eliminate the scholars. I didn't know it would end up like that."

"But in hindsight, erasing the scholars was the worst idea ever, though I didn't realize it at the time."

"If you want revenge, then you should properly assist Ian. Whether you want revenge against me or the World Government, there is no one more suitable than him."

The girl's gaze towards him suddenly became incredibly complicated.