World Government, Toki, and the Fireworks Festival

Ian sat on the ground, resting for a good while.

His stamina and mental energy were almost completely depleted. Ian was seeing double now, and he could barely maintain his powers.

But at least he had won.

It had been an incredibly tough battle.

Ian sighed.

"Ian!"

A cheerful laugh came from behind him, and then a cannonball immediately slammed into his back, knocking him flat on the ground, even rolling him a couple of times.

"Hahaha! You're done over here too?"

A girl with beautiful white-to-green gradient hair was lying on Ian's back, saying with a grin.

Ian rolled his eyes. Shimotsuki Ushimaru hadn't done as much damage to him as you have.

Although his palm had been stabbed, that was while he was in the form of The Winged Dragon of Ra. In human form, it was at most like being pricked by a small thorn.

"Did you have fun?"

Ian slowly sat up, having rested for a bit. He felt better now.

"Yeah!"

Yamato sat on Ian's back, nodding repeatedly. "I took down so many guys! It was super fun!"

Don't talk about that with the same tone you'd use for having fun at an amusement park.

Ian could clearly smell the blood emanating from Yamato behind him.

This world has gone mad.

Even such young children take pleasure in killing.

What? Am I the same?

Then there's no problem.

At some point, I also became someone who could burn thousands of people to death without any reaction.

"Your Majesty Ian!"

Fukurokuju's voice came from afar.

Ian turned his head. The bald ninja was approaching with samurai and ninjas.

"The enemy forces have been completely annihilated!"

Fukurokuju reported loudly, his tone excited. "Combined with the three rebel leaders you executed, it's our complete victory!"

Ian nodded slightly. If over five thousand men couldn't even deal with less than two hundred samurai, they might as well have all gone to be buried with Kurozumi Orochi.

"Let's go back."

Ian stretched.

The battle hadn't lasted long, but it was indeed very tiring.

Later.

Flower Capital Castle.

"Well done, kid."

Teacher Kai was drunk, another day of daytime drinking. "I heard you took down three samurai daimyo by yourself?"

Ian sat cross-legged on the floor below, his eyelids drooping, looking somewhat listless. His stamina had mostly recovered, but his mental energy hadn't. He raised his right hand, pinched his thumb and index finger together slightly, "I was just a little bit away from being killed, Teacher Kai. Don't have me deal with opponents like that anymore. Can you bear to watch your disciple die at the hands of an enemy?"

If I hadn't been immune to Seastone's suppression, I would have been counter-killed by Shimotsuki Ushimaru.

"Ugh-gh-gh-gh!"

Teacher Kai laughed heartily, as if he hadn't heard Ian's complaint at all. "As the victor, you certainly have the right to boast."

When did I ever boast?

Ian's mouth twitched. It really was just a little bit away. His palm had been cut and was bleeding, and his head was still dizzy.

Both father and daughter don't listen to people at all.

Ian gave up on the fantasy of Teacher Kai not letting him fight anymore and said, "Teacher Kai, I've already dispatched the armies under my command, but there aren't enough people to effectively control the entirety of Wano Country."

The main forces of Wano Country had already been cleared out.

Kuri and the Kozuki Family had been uprooted. Reigou, Rano, and Shimoshi were self-explanatory; the allied forces had just been wiped out by him. As for Hakumai, the Daimyo Shimotsuki Yasuie had also been captured. Although there were still some troops, they couldn't make any waves.

There shouldn't be any major wars anymore.

However, even so, it wouldn't be easy for his few thousand men to completely control Wano Country.

Kurozumi Orochi's actual controlled area was limited to Flower Capital.

Therefore, Ian said directly, "I need the help of the Pirates."

"Guh-huh-huh-huh,"

Teacher Kai burst into laughter. He sat up straight, looking down at Ian with a rather playful smirk on his lips. "Aren't you doing a pretty good job, kid?"

Ian immediately adopted a serious expression. "It's all for the Beasts Pirates."

"Hmph,"

Kaido snorted. "If you need help, go find King. He'll send someone."

"That's good then."

Ian nodded lightly.

With the pillars of the Beasts Pirates leading the way, even if riots broke out while taking over different regions, they could be easily suppressed.

Teacher Kai suddenly spoke again. "Before we return to Onigashima, there's one more thing to do."

Another one?

Ian's eyelids twitched.

Weren't dealing with those Daimyo the last thing to do before going back?

Ian tentatively asked, "What is it?"

He's not going to make me deal with someone else, is he?

There shouldn't be any enemies left in Wano Country.

Teacher Kai took a swig of sake and said rather carelessly, "People from the World Government are coming to talk business. You go and handle it."

"The World Government?"

Ian raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

He wasn't surprised that the Beasts Pirates and the World Government had business dealings.

He already knew about this from reading the manga in his past life. Besides, the three Bravens, Fuga included, were bought from the Government.

It could only be said that the Marines were the ones cracking down on pirates; it had nothing to do with the World Government.

However, Teacher Kai, of all the lessons you've given me, none of them included foreign trade.

"In the past, this was handled by Orochi,"

Teacher Kai said. "Since you killed him, this job will be yours to take over."

Ian's eyes widened immediately.

Wait, Teacher Kai, are we going to be reasonable or not?

Didn't you tell me to kill Orochi?

So you were waiting for me here?

"So, what should I do?" Ian scratched his head.

"You just need to remember one thing: you are my disciple! So, go ahead and do it with all your might!"

What does 'do it with all your might' mean?

Even after leaving Teacher Kai, Ian was still pondering this question.

Does he mean I should just name my own price?

As soon as he stepped outside, Yamato, who had been squatting in the corner counting ants, turned around with a look of surprise. "Ian! Are you done talking with Dad?"

Although this girl was already very close to Teacher Kai, she wasn't very interested in serious matters.

"Yeah."

Ian nodded. "Have you decided where you want to go play?"

They had agreed that after he finished his business, they would go play together.

"Maria said there's a fireworks festival in Flower Capital tonight! Let's go watch it together!" Yamato's expectant eyes sparkled. "I've never seen fireworks before!"

Fireworks festival?

Ian knew about this. Fukurokuju had reported it to him.

After all, this fireworks festival was to celebrate the enthronement of the new King and the victory in the war.

"Okay."

Ian readily agreed.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen fireworks in a long time either.

He wondered what fireworks in this other world would be like.

Night soon fell.

In the southern part of Wano Country, Port of Stealth.

Although this country was in isolation, it wasn't without channels of external communication. Otherwise, the Beasts Pirates wouldn't have been able to conduct transactions with the World Government.

Port of Stealth was this channel for external communication.

This port connects to a massive cavern beneath Wano Country, and its waterways lead directly outside the high walls surrounding the nation.

A giant elevator allows passage between Wano's interior and the outer sea, though changing ships is a bit of a hassle.

This port was occupied by the Beasts Pirates many years ago. Now, while the Beasts Pirates have concentrated their forces for a decisive battle with the Kozuki Family and haven't had time to reinforce their numbers, a group of samurai has seized it.

The samurai waited under the cover of night, and a woman arrived.

"Lady Toki! You've finally come. Princess Hiyori is already asleep on the ship; she's been crying for you to come back."

"Thank you for your trouble."

Under the moonlight, Lady Toki bowed solemnly to the samurai. "You've fulfilled my rather rude request."

The samurai shook their heads. "This is Lord Kanjuro's order. We are samurai loyal to him."

One samurai asked, "Lady Toki, what's the situation with Lord Ushimaru and the others?"

Lady Toki paused for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't know, but the results should be coming soon."

The samurai nodded. "Then we wish you a safe journey."

Lady Toki's expression turned somewhat bitter. She could sense a hint of disdain on the samurai's faces.

She understood. After all, she was about to leave the country.

"What are your plans?"

Lady Toki asked solemnly.

The samurai replied calmly, "Lord Kanjuro is still imprisoned in Flower Capital. As his samurai, we cannot abandon him."

"We've disbanded the army, but we've gathered all the samurai of Hakumai. We'll act as soon as we ascertain Lord Kanjuro's exact location."

Lady Toki fell silent.

What could she say?

Tell the samurai that going to Flower Capital would be a suicide mission?

How could she say such a thing to brave warriors who were ready to die?

In the end, she said nothing.

Lady Toki entered the Port of Stealth, took the giant elevator down to the port below, and boarded the ship the samurai had prepared for her.

She was about to leave Wano Country.

To save this country, the people of Wano alone were no longer capable of it.

Although she felt immense shame and deep regret, now, she could only rely on the strength of others.

The Kozuki Family had brought this country to ruin, so no matter what, they had to save it!

Lady Toki, under the bright moon, set sail for the sea.

Under the same moon.

Flower Capital.

BANG!

A muffled sound, a spark shot into the sky, then exploded into countless stars.

These countless stars continued to bloom, and in an instant, the sky was filled with twinkling constellations.

And these constellations weren't confined to one area; above the entire Flower Capital, countless sparks shot into the sky one after another, blooming into brilliant fireworks.

Countless stars dimmed, and in the blink of an eye, countless more bloomed – fiery trees and silver flowers, dazzling and brilliant.

"So pretty! It's so pretty!!"

Above the main keep, on the horizontally extending large tree branch, Yamato jumped up excitedly.

This was the highest point in all of Flower Capital, and there was no better viewing platform. The fireworks display for the entire city was laid out before her eyes.

It was indeed beautiful, the entire city resplendent, as if a dream had descended.

However...

Ian thought, Flower Capital is full of wooden buildings. If this causes a fire, who will put it out?

Yamato, of course, didn't have the dampening thoughts that filled Ian's mind. The young girl simply tilted her head back, her round face and golden eyes reflecting the twinkling stars.

Only when the fireworks ceased did she sigh with satisfaction.

"I will absolutely never forget this day!"

Yamato clenched her small fists and declared loudly.

"If you like it so much, we can do it a few more times."

Ian said casually.

Just kidding, you, Brother Ian, are now the second most important person in Wano Country. Holding a fireworks festival is just a matter of saying the word, right?

"No."

However, Yamato stuck out her tongue at Ian. "If I watch it too often, it won't be worth remembering anymore!"

Oh, so you understand delayed gratification?

I underestimated you.

"I really want to grow up quickly!"

Yamato clasped the back of her head with both hands, sighing uncharacteristically, "Then I can do all the things I want to do! Go to all the places I want to go!"

"Grow up?"

Ian, however, simply put his hands in his pockets and said calmly, "That's not a good thing."

"How can you say that!"

Yamato looked at Ian in surprise, "When you grow up, you can do whatever you want! Ian, don't you have anything you want to do?"

Things I want to do?

It's the end of the month, please vote for me!!!