Willpower?
Ian really found it hard to believe that Teacher Kai was seriously talking to him.
He really wanted to remind Teacher Kai, did he think he was the protagonist of some shonen manga? That he could just yell about comrades and bonds and suddenly power up?
Wake up. You're the big bad who got punched into magma by a powered-up protagonist.
But before he could say anything, Teacher Kai directly told him to get lost.
It seemed like he really was not joking.
Willpower?
Ian thought back for a moment. This thing really did seem to exist in this world—a force that could actually be used.
Wasn't the Six Powers Secret Technique, Return to Life, about infusing willpower into the body to gain precise control over every part of it? Even hair without any nerves could be controlled.
Hiss.
Now he suddenly understood where Luffy's ridiculous ability to stay alive came from.
It works, everyone! Indomitable willpower really works!
Even when the body itself was already riddled with damage, a powerful will could still drive it into motion.
In that case, it was not impossible to use willpower to give flames physical form.
But how was willpower supposed to be trained?
Teacher Kai had said that as long as he wanted it badly enough, he could do it. What did that mean?
"Ian!"
As Ian pondered, his eyes lit up. The adorable white-haired girl had already jumped in front of him, her eyes sparkling. "Are you done with everything?"
Next, he still had to ask Uncle King about the enemy army's situation, then have Fukurokuju prepare the troops.
But Ian looked at the expectant gaze of this girl.
"Let's go. Hide-and-seek."
"Yay!"
Ian's guess had been completely correct. Barely a minute later, he found Jack behind a staircase, desperately trying to squeeze himself into a cramped space.
He had said it already—what were two guys nearly four meters tall doing playing hide-and-seek?
Only after playing with his three little companions for a while did Ian go find Uncle King. After learning about the three rebellious Daimyo, he went to see Fukurokuju.
"What?"
Fukurokuju was utterly shocked. "Those Daimyo actually dared to start a rebellion?"
Ian gave him a sidelong glance. Fukurokuju's intelligence network really was not very well informed.
"Fugestu Mutsuki, the Shimi Daimyo; Ugetsu Tempura, the Rano Daimyo; and Shimotsuki Ushimaru, the Reigou Daimyo."
Ian said, "The three of them raised their armies at the same time. Their combined force exceeds eight thousand men. They should have already assembled in Udon and are preparing to attack the Flower Capital."
"Those treacherous rebels!"
Fukurokuju was furious. "How dare they commit such an outrageous act of rebellion!"
"Your Majesty Ian, I'll gather the troops immediately. The Flower Capital can muster more than five thousand soldiers, and I have a ninja force of over five hundred men. I'll send them out at once to scout the enemy."
"Go."
Ian nodded lightly.
After all, this was an alliance of three Daimyo. In terms of troop numbers, the Flower Capital alone could not match their combined forces.
But it was more than enough.
At the end of the day, ordinary armies could only serve as background decoration in battles between the truly powerful.
Forget ordinary soldiers—even fighters like the future Onigashima war's King, Queen, Zoro, Sanji, Yamato, and Marco would not matter much.
The only ones who could truly determine the outcome of the war were Teacher Kai and Luffy.
"Yes."
Fukurokuju hurried away.
As the sun set, Udon.
This region lay in the south of Wano Country, a land dominated by mountains.
Although farming and animal husbandry were difficult to develop here, Udon possessed abundant mineral resources. Wano Country's largest mine was located here, and the mineral extracted from it was Seastone!
Wano Country was the world's largest producer of Seastone, and ninety percent of its Seastone came from Udon's mines.
The value of the Seastone extracted here every day was astronomical.
At this moment, smoke rose from cooking fires throughout an expansive camp in a wilderness somewhere within the region.
The armies from the three provinces of Udon, Kibi, and Ringo had already assembled here. After one final rest and reorganization tonight, they would set out tomorrow and charge straight into the Flower Capital.
This place was already very close to the Flower Capital. They only needed to cross the inland river between Udon and the Flower Capital to reach Wano Country's capital directly.
At the center of this sprawling camp, inside a tent.
The three Daimyo from the three provinces were receiving an unexpected visitor.
"It's wonderful that you're still alive, Lady Toki."
The speaker was Shimotsuki Ushimaru, the Reigou Daimyo. "As long as you're alive, the Kozuki Family has not completely vanished."
This man was also a renowned samurai of Wano Country and a descendant of the legendary dragon-slaying swordsman Shimotsuki Ryoma. He had nearly blue hair and looked remarkably lean and capable.
Sitting before him was a woman—Kozuki Oden's wife, Kozuki Toki, whom Ian had believed had traveled many years into the future.
"What exactly happened over these past five years?"
The Shimi Daimyo, Fugestu Mutsuki, a man with face paint and a long, thin sacred rope tied around his forehead, asked in a deep voice, "We had all thought Oden had truly gone mad!"
Kozuki Toki fell silent for a moment, then said, "Orochi took many hostages and used them to threaten Oden. He and Kaido also deceived him, saying that if Oden pretended to be mad for five years, they and the Beasts Pirates would leave Wano Country."
"..."
The breathing of the three Daimyo instantly grew heavy.
They truly wanted to curse Kozuki Oden for being such an unbelievable fool!
This concerned the entire nation. Was this the time for misplaced compassion?
To put it bluntly, so what if a few people had to be sacrificed?
Now, not only would those hostages be dragged into hell, but the entire country was doomed as well.
If the truth had been exposed earlier, how could things have reached this point?
But Oden was already dead, and they could not bring themselves to insult him in front of his widow.
Shimotsuki Ushimaru took a deep breath and calmed himself. He looked seriously at Kozuki Toki. "Then, Lady Toki, what advice do you have for us now?"
"I learned of your actions from one of Lord Kanjuro's retainers and came here immediately."
Kozuki Toki gave the three Daimyo a graceful bow. "Please, all of you, stop."
"You mean,"
Ugetsu Tempura, the Rano Daimyo, a man with prayer beads around his neck and a long, narrow face, asked, "stop?"
"You cannot win."
Kozuki Toki said, "If the enemy is the Beasts Pirates—"
"Enough!"
Shimotsuki Ushimaru barked in a low voice, "I thought Lady Toki might have some profound insight. If we have to wait until victory is guaranteed before acting, then we might as well go play house!"
Kozuki Toki's expression turned agitated. "Lord Ushimaru—"
"Enough, Lady Toki."
Fugestu Mutsuki shook his head. "If one's own country is in danger and one still stands by without doing anything, what kind of samurai is that? What kind of man?"
Kozuki Toki was speechless.
"This may be the best opportunity we will have for who knows how many years."
Ugetsu Tempura said seriously, "Oden may be dead, but Orochi was also killed by Kaido. Kaido even handed the shogun's position to a child. The Flower Capital must be in chaos right now."
"There will never be a better chance. The Beasts Pirates will only grow stronger! Unless Oden can come back to life."
"..."
Kozuki Toki could not find the words.
She could hear the resentment in the Daimyo's words.
Yes. If Oden were still alive, if he had been willing to wait a little longer, if he had not been deceived, would everything have turned out differently?
She sank into grief.
She could not stop them. She could not stop these warriors from marching resolutely to their deaths.
Oden, this is all our fault.
Before you continue