The Failed Appeal

Oden fell ill, poisoned, and fell into a coma; the potent toxins were corroding his body.

With his powerful physique, Oden resisted the corrosive effects of the poison. The toxin, which could have easily killed him, was instinctively resisted by Oden's body.

Even so, within just a few days, the poison could easily spread throughout the body, and at that point, even Kozuki Oden would die.

The World Government dared to bring out this plant because it had tested its power; even someone with a monstrous physique like Oden would find it difficult to withstand.

Those who could possibly withstand it are likely only individuals Kaido of the Beasts and those who shelter the calamities, possessing monstrous physiques and extraordinary regenerative abilities.

In terms of physical recovery, Oden was no match for the corrosive effects of poison.

Moreover, in three years, the Grawlin Plant had spread throughout his body, including his brain and heart, making it extremely dangerous to detoxify him even through Life Return.

Marco concluded that Oden was beyond saving. As the Whitebeard Pirates' doctor, he had discerned a factor damaging Oden's body, possibly poison or something else.

Under the watchful eyes of the other samurai, Marco sighed and shook his head.

He was completely helpless against this poison.

"It's hopeless. Oden's body can resist the poison, but its recovery ability can't keep up with the speed at which the poison corrodes it. At most, my abilities can only buy Oden a little more time."

"Unless..." Marco didn't want to say something so discouraging.

"Unless what!" Kin'emon was already in despair. They had no doubt about Marco's abilities, and there was no point in lying to them.

But those last two words gave him immense hope, along with Asura Doji and others nearby.

"Unless Oden can eat a Zoan Devil Fruit that not only enhances his physique but also grants him powerful regenerative abilities, allowing him to resist and eliminate toxins."

"But ordinary Zoan Devil Fruit won't do; it has to be at least Ancient Species- type, or an ordinary Zoan Devil Fruit with very strong life force recovery capabilities."

"This is the only way I can think of. Since there's no way to cure the poison, we can only place our hopes on Oden himself," Marco said earnestly, his body burning with Phoenix Blue Flame that enveloped Oden's body without harming him.

It helped Oden resist the poison.

If you let your guard down, the toxins will penetrate your system more quickly.

There was something he didn't tell the other samurai, not wanting to discourage them: even with his help, Oden's life would likely only last seven days.

In other words, Oden's life had already begun its countdown.

This is absolutely the worst news imaginable for Wano Country.

"But where are we going to find Devil Fruit? There were a few in the vault originally, but we didn't know what abilities they had, and now the Night Pirates have taken them all." Kin'emon looked rather grim upon hearing about Devil Fruit.

Wano Country also has Devil Fruit User. Besides Kurozumi Orochi, who possessed Mythical Zoan from many years ago, there are also users with special detoxification abilities. That Mythical Zoan was brought from the sea by Kurozumi Semimaru.

They didn't believe that the Devil Fruit they wanted would be among those few Devil Fruit, and besides, they didn't even know what those Devil Fruits were.

Having spent so many years in contact with the sea, even though Kin'emon never left Wano Country, he knew about the diversity and preciousness of Devil Fruit.

Ancient Species and Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit are extremely rare; their appearance on the sea can cause quite a stir, and each one represents a formidable powerhouse.

The most representative example is the Beasts Pirates, which have many Ancient Species Devil Fruit User.

But how could they obtain Ancient Species Devil Fruit? The Beasts Pirates might have a stockpile of it; the Thunder Dragon Fruit is probably still hidden away, uneaten.

Given the hostile relationship between Wano Country and the Beasts Pirates, it's simply impossible for them to obtain the goods. Furthermore, the two sides are so far apart that a round trip would be extremely difficult.

I wonder if the Night Pirates have any, considering they've used so many Devil Fruit before.

Ancient Species Devil Fruit are extremely important to any faction because they can create a core combatant.

What can Wano Country promise?

This is the most frustrating thing.

"Go ask the Night Pirates if they have any?"

"I'll ask my Pops to inquire with the Beasts Pirates. If possible, we'll trade them, but don't get your hopes up too high."

Marco said something, knowing full well that the Beasts Pirates didn't have Ancient Species; if they did, they would have been eaten long ago.

The news quickly reached the Whitebeard Pirates. Upon learning of Oden's serious illness, Whitebeard could hardly believe it. What kind of poison could have rendered a monster like Oden so weak and dying, leaving even Marco helpless?

Given time, he could definitely collect the Ancient Species, but what he lacks most right now is time.

Whitebeard couldn't possibly stand by and watch Oden die.

After a few moments of silence, he dialed the Den Den Mushi to the Night Pirates, since he didn't have a way to contact the Beasts Pirates and could only obtain information through the Night Pirates.

The Night Pirates obtained contact information for various top-tier forces during the swordsmanship tournament.

"What's the matter?"

Whitebeard's Den Den Mushi Teach.

"Give me Kaido's number, I need to speak with him. Also, Teach, do you have any Ancient Species Devil Fruit left?"

At this point, Teach quickly understood the implication; it must be related to Wano Country.

Something must have happened to Oden; only then would Whitebeard be in such a hurry.

Considering the World Government's plan, the toxin has now broken out, and Oden's life is in danger. He may need Ancient Species Devil Fruit to be cured.

Oden's death was one of Teach's objectives; otherwise, why would he have watched the World Government's plan unfold?

The Night Pirates certainly possess Ancient Species Zoan Devil Fruit. Besides obtaining a Spinosaurus Fruit and Parasaurolophus Fruit from the Celestial Dragons' treasury, they have also collected one over the years: the Ancient Species Dragon-Dragon Fruit its Scythe Dragon form.

The quantity appears to be small, which seems inconsistent with the Night Pirates' ability to collect Devil Fruit.

But this is the norm at sea. Ancient Species are very rare and not easy to collect. Many people would not give away such precious Devil Fruit, but would eat them themselves or have them collected by others.

After all, on the high seas, strength is the most important factor.

This is common on the high seas; every Devil Fruit is precious, and even the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates have difficulty collecting them.

Enemy forces will not allow them to grow stronger; if they want to obtain the precious Devil Fruit, they will need to seize them with the support of intelligence.

"I'm sorry, the Night Pirates don't currently possess any Ancient Species Devil Fruit." Teach politely declined, and Whitebeard didn't press further. Whether the Night Pirates had Ancient Species Devil Fruit or not was a matter he didn't want to dwell on.

Asking questions will only complicate matters.

From his own perspective, Teach wouldn't lie; the Night Pirates have always had a good relationship with Wano Country.

However, judging from the power dynamics of both sides, the Night Pirates and Wano Country have a potential hostile relationship.

In response to Whitebeard's request, Teach gave Whitebeard the Beasts Pirates' number, leaving the rest to Whitebeard and the Beasts Pirates to handle themselves.

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Teach revealed an amused smile, casually toying with the three Devil Fruits in his hand.

A Mythical Zoan, Inu Inu no Mi (Inu Inu no Mi), Okuchi no Makami form.

A Mythical Zoan Human- Human-Human Fruit in Karasu Tengu form.

A demon-type fruit, the Human- Human-Human Fruit, in its Great Monk form.

Wano Country was a treasure trove for Teach, possessing many high-quality Devil Fruit. However, after the disaster, all the Devil Fruit were collected and sent to the Night Pirates as important trade goods.

These three Devil Fruits are just three of them; the total number of Devil Fruit is close to twenty.

Previously, they were unaware of Devil Fruit and had not deliberately collected them. After learning about them, they naturally began to search for them and, upon discovery, were sent to the general's mansion.

Needless to say, the Okuchi no Makami is a powerful Mythical Zoan with the ability to sense good and evil. It also wields the power of extreme cold, the power of ice and wind, and can easily create blizzards.

The reason why the Great Monk Form is called a Youkai type is like a different variant species in the Zoan.

Based on their abilities, the Vampire Fruit and the Werewolf Fruit are classified as either immortal or longevity fruits.

This is also based on the yokai legends of Wano Country.

The most powerful ones can be called Mythical Zoan, but it's impossible for all of them to be Mythical Zoan. If they were, there would be far too many Mythical Zoan types in Wano Country, at least several hundred, which is impossible.

Their abilities vary in strength; the stronger ones are called Mythical Zoan, while the weaker ones are classified as Yokai.

For example, the Karasu Tengu, being Human-Human Fruit, inherently provides a significant boost to its user.

It also wields a powerful black wind, the wind of death, which is more destructive and terrifying than ordinary winds, making it perfectly qualified to be classified Mythical Zoan.

While the Great Monk Ability isn't top-tier, only comparable to that of Ancient Species, it's still considered a powerful ability.

Monsters vary in strength; the weakest are only comparable to ordinary Zoan Devil Fruit.

He was wondering who could eat these Devil Fruits? Okuchi no Makami and Karasu Tengu for now.

If Black Wolf Peter hadn't eaten the artificial Dragon-Dragon Fruit, he would have bestowed this Devil Fruit upon him.

The Night Pirates now have quite a few pets: Mobius and Wos keep two Orochi, and Mog Radon keeps a "gentle" shark.

Lafitte also kept a few white pigeons.

To be honest, Teach never intended to feed the Devil Fruit to humans; at least, he felt it was more suitable for animals.

For this type of Human-Human Fruit, feeding it to animals could offer good development potential.

He quickly came up with an idea: to give the Devil Fruit to Ares, Ares possessed the ability to make good use of Devil Fruit.

Sarika, being his only personal attendant, was still relatively few for Ares.

There probably won't be any problems now; it's always good to have a strong subordinate.

Ares is now focused on training, as combat is no longer as effective at improving his abilities; in contrast, the rigorous training under strong gravity is a greater way to enhance his skills.

His monstrous physique far surpasses Teach's ability to withstand gravity.

Teach doesn't care whether it's Kaido, other forces, or even the Navy, he'll train for a while before going to fight.

Ares is already the World's Strongest in terms of sheer power, possessing truly overwhelming strength, racial talent, and the amplification after consuming the Golden Horn. He has a great advantage against both Big Mom and Kaido.

Even when bound by Seastone Handcuffs and chains, he could break free.

In other words, nothing can restrain Ares at all; he can run away whenever he wants.

The Human-Human Fruit will be most effective when given to a powerful beast.

On the other side, Kaido was quite surprised to receive a phone call from Whitebeard.

"What's up, Newgate?" Since Whitebeard called, it meant something was up, Kaido didn't mind listening.

"Kaido, you still have Ancient Species Devil Fruit, right? Give them to me, and I'll return two to you later." Whitebeard didn't hesitate and stated his purpose directly.

Kaido was immediately tempted, glancing at the core members to the side, including Jin, Krell, and the others.

Krell shook his head slightly, indicating that Kaido refuse.

"I'm sorry, Newgate, what you say is very tempting, but unfortunately I can't give you what you want. I've already distributed it to my men during this time." Although I didn't know why he was being refused, I figured I could trust Krell's advice.

Kaido politely declined, and the Den Den Mushi was hung up as soon as he finished speaking.

Being turned away twice in a row left Whitebeard feeling uneasy and somewhat anxious, but he had no other choice.

Just like Kaido said, he doesn't have Ancient Species Devil Fruit. If he says he doesn't have any, then he doesn't. Even if he did, he wouldn't give them to him.

Forcing them would only alienate Kaido, changing the nature of the conflict and potentially triggering a major war between two top-tier powers.

That left him with no choice; even if the Big Mom Pirates had it, they wouldn't give it to him.

This was not good news for him, and he felt somewhat powerless.

"Krell, why did you refuse? No one has eaten that Thunder Dragon Fruit yet. With Whitebeard's reputation, he'll definitely bring back two Ancient Species Devil Fruit," Kaido asked, looking at Krell.

"Whitebeard's credibility can be trusted, but the rarity of Ancient Species means they aren't easily obtained. This process could take ten or even more than a decade, which is far too long. Who knows what might happen in the meantime? Besides, the Whitebeard Pirates didn't have any Ancient Species users; the birth of the Phoenix was an accident."

Krell shook his head and explained, "This shows that Whitebeard doesn't have that much ability to acquire rare Devil Fruit. If it were the Night Pirates, we would definitely agree."

"That's just one point. What's important to note is why Whitebeard needed Ancient Species Devil Fruit?"

At this point, everyone present was deep in thought.

"Given Whitebeard's usual style, he wouldn't do something like this, which means it's very important. The only thing that can be connected to this right now is the upheaval in Wano Country."

"Consider the function of the Ancient Zoan. Besides enhancing strength, it's also about their powerful regenerative abilities. Such an urgent need suggests that someone may have suffered an incurable and fatal injury and needs to rely on their abilities to recover. In any case, since it's related to Wano Country, we cannot agree to it."

It's hard to imagine that Krell could come up with so much in such a short time, based on just a few words from Whitebeard.

The other members immediately understood and agreed with Krell's words.

Why would they help their enemy?

There's no need to give Whitebeard face at all.