The World Government's Attack
(The Karasu Tengu from the previous chapter has been changed to Great Tengu)
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Whitebeard stepped out and faced the inquiring gazes of his many sons.
"Spread the word that our Whitebeard Pirates need an Ancient Species Devil Fruit, within the next few days. If possible, I'll owe him a favor. Let's set sail now for Wano Country."
Whitebeard didn't say exactly what happened, but judging from Pops expression, things must be bad; something had happened in Wano Country.
Whitebeard was fulfilling his greatest promise and making his final effort; if possible, he would naturally try to save Oden's life.
If that still doesn't work, then this time, it will be to see Oden one last time.
The news of Oden's serious illness and near death was kept secret, and only the high-ranking officials of Wano Country knew about it, but this dealt a major blow to Wano Country.
This was just the beginning. On the third day after Oden collapsed, two more samurai fell, exhibiting the same symptoms and facing even more severe conditions. They were also much weaker than Oden in terms of physique.
On the fourth day, there were three people.
On the fifth day, there were three people.
In the days that followed, the entire Capital of Flowers and Wano Country were shrouded in an inescapable gloom.
With the same physical symptoms, people are falling ill every day.
These fallen men are all samurai of the Capital of Flowers. The entire Capital of Flowers is frantically searching for the person who might have poisoned them, and how.
They want to find an antidote.
But it had no effect whatsoever; no clues could be found; all the suspects had been considered; the only people who could have poisoned him were those close to him.
Evil Worm were also searched; as the minister in charge of grain, it would be easy for him to commit poisoning.
But on the third day, suspicion was dispelled because he had been watched by samurai the whole time, and he had done nothing during that time.
Who could have imagined that the World Government would have a three-year timeframe for planning?
There is absolutely no doubt that the person who poisoned the body was a member of the World Government.
In this situation, the news could not be concealed at all, because both Kozuki Oden and the other samurai fell in full view of everyone.
The entire Wano Country was gripped by fear, and even the efforts to eradicate the Nezumi were greatly reduced.
The situation in the Capital of Flowers filled them with worry and fear; who knew the World Government might poison them?
The unknown is what's most terrifying. What poison did the World Government use? What methods did they use? They know nothing.
The most crucial general of Wano Country fell, and one powerful samurai after another fell, including Asura Doji, a trusted confidant and arguably right-hand man, a monster of Wano Country.
In just six days, more than ten powerful samurai fell in Wano Country.
"Hurry up! The Shogun's defenses have been weakened to a minimum. If we don't act now, the Whitebeard Pirates will be in Wano Country." The World Government's intelligence department, having detected the Whitebeard Pirates' movements, urged CP0 in Wano Country.
"The specific time?" Gaia remained calm.
"It's tomorrow, you don't have much time left."
"Okay, understood." After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Gaia began to gather her forces, preparing to take action.
Even traveling day and night, it would take the Whitebeard Pirates seven days to reach Wano Country. During this time, Whitebeard deliberately used the power of vibration to change the ocean currents and increase the speed of their voyage.
It's very disappointing that no one responded to Whitebeard's call. Whitebeard's favors are very valuable, even if they are comparable to those of the Ancient Species, so it's worth considering carefully.
How could Ancient Species possibly be delivered in such a short time?
That's how the ocean is; it's incredibly frustrating. Roger had a terminal illness back then, and now Oden is suffering from an incurable poison.
Marco told him that Oden didn't have much time left, maybe only two or three days, or even less, and he wanted to get there as quickly as possible to see him one last time.
In the Capital of Flowers, many samurai are now so afraid to eat anything that they fear being poisoned, and they have fallen into suspicion of one another, believing that the poisoner is hiding among them.
The general's wife, Toki, and their three children are on their way. They were relocated from Wano Country before the Rat Tide arrived and settled on a remote island near Wano Country.
That island had no name because no one lived there. At this time, it would have had a Daimyo name: Onigashima, the headquarters of the Beasts Pirates.
A small portion of the Wano Country residents who were relocated, approximately 30,000 people, reside on Onigashima.
After receiving news that Oden was dying, Toki, with his child, rushed to the Capital of Flowers under the protection of three retainers, Kawamatsu, Denjiro, and Kikunojo, as well as some samurai.
With time running out, the World Government finally decided to take action.
Long ago, Gaia created a passage connecting the underground of the General's Mansion.
In the basement of the general's mansion, Gaia wore a mask. His unchanging form and mask meant that his identity would be recognized as soon as he appeared.
No two masks are the same in CP0; each mask is equivalent to its code name.
"Remember, I will create chaos first. You will invade the underground immediately and seize the Road Sign Stone, while the other members hold off the attacking samurai."
"Several years have been spent preparing for this moment; let's strive to complete the task within five minutes."
It sounds easy, but Gaia is very serious. She has been preparing for several years for this short task that will only take a few minutes. If all goes well, it can be done in a few minutes.
If something goes wrong, the mission could very well fail, which is unacceptable to the World Government.
If no miracle occurs, Kozuki Oden's death is a foregone conclusion, and he has successfully dealt a heavy blow to Wano Country.
Now, only one task remains: to retrieve the Road Sign Stone.
They had planned everything perfectly.
At this time, the defenses beneath the General's Mansion were extremely weak, and no one even cared about the existence of the Road Sign Stone anymore; the power of the Capital of Flowers was scattered.
If time allows, they can catch Wano Country off guard, seize the Road Sign Stone before their forces can gather, and successfully evacuate.
"Yes!"
The earth shook violently, and the entire ground suddenly rose up, transforming in a short time into a rock giant over a hundred meters tall.
He conjured a massive Warhammer in his hand and slammed it down on the general's mansion.
Also appearing were agents dressed in suits or cloaks.
His first move was a fierce attack, Shigan and storm kicks to strike the surrounding warriors and the general's mansion, causing massive damage in the first instance.
The sudden turn of events prompted all the samurai to react quickly.
"World Government!"
"They've finally made their move!"
As the figures appeared one by one, intense hatred flashed in the eyes of the many samurai. Wielding their katana, they charged forward, fending off the attacks of these agents, and clashed together in battle.
The commotion was so great that it could be heard throughout the entire Capital of Flowers, and samurai from even further away continued to arrive.
Under Gaia's control, sharp spikes rose from the ground. Some quick-reacting warriors dodged in advance, but many were still a step too slow and were killed or seriously injured by the spikes.
"Snort!"
"Damn it, how dare they show their face again!"
The appearance of World Government agents caused enormous destruction, which enraged many samurai, who unleashed a barrage of powerful slashes into the sky.
The massive rock giant was instantly dismembered, demonstrating the swordsman's formidable strength.
But it was no use. The rock giant was controlled by Gaia, and its body was hidden inside the rock giant. If Gaia couldn't be hurt, it was completely useless.
Gaia can re-form by expending physical energy.
The rock giant's body is extremely hard, comparable to steel, and is formed from compressed mud and rocks. The power it unleashes is unmatched by Pica, another Devil Fruit User.
Although the two are somewhat similar in ability.
In just a few seconds, the rock giant, who had collapsed, was restored to its original state by a strange power.
The giant rock hammer slammed down, directly destroying the general's mansion and a large number of buildings.
Marco appeared, transforming into Phoenix, carrying the unconscious Kozuki Oden as he dodged the blow.
"Phoenix Brand!"
Phoenix Blue Flame condensed on his claws and slammed into the hammer handle like a seal. The powerful force split the hammer in two.
"Hmm?" Gaia noticed Kozuki Oden and saw his unconscious state. He immediately had an idea. If he could just get rid of Kozuki Oden, that would be the best outcome.
The current goal is to tie down Wano Country's forces and draw away their main strength. As long as the objective is achieved, anything is acceptable.
He easily conjured a hammer and unleashed a powerful blow at Oden.
In order to protect Oden from harm, a large number of samurai targeted Gaia, launching continuous attacks to restrain Gaia's movements.
Just like with Bullet, we have to dismember Bullet, weaken his strength, and at the same time let him keep regenerating to buy time.
Gaia didn't care about the physical exertion, as she slowed down the movements of many warriors.
Both sides share the same goal.
Meanwhile, Gaia was secretly monitoring the underground activities.
As Devil Fruit User, the earth is his eye, giving him an extremely wide range of perception. Although he cannot accurately perceive information, he can sense the location and number of people by observing the vibrations of the ground.
Using Gaia's ability to control the ground, these agents who were preparing to steal the Road Sign Stone were sent directly underground without alerting the warriors on the surface.
As Gaia had predicted, the Road Sign Stone was poorly guarded, with only four warriors. The other warriors and stronger forces were drawn to things on the ground.
How could just four samurai possibly withstand so many agents, especially since they were merely Swordmaster?
After a brief struggle, they all collapsed in pools of blood.
Upon arriving at the cage constructed of Seastone, one can see a red rock several meters high inside, covered by a black cloth that obscures the Ancient Script on it.
"It's up to you now," said the lead agent.
The agent with the weakest aura nodded. He wasn't a CP0 agent; his participation in this operation was mainly due to his special abilities.
Arriving at the gate, he held a stone in his hand and extended it towards the lock.
A strange force acted upon the stone.
The stone's shape changes, penetrating deeper into the lock.
The Shape-Shape Fruit is his ability to change the shape of other objects, such as turning a stone into a key based on the shape inside a lock.
It can even help people with plastic surgery, breast augmentation, and body shape changes, all of which can be perfectly accomplished through the power of the Shape-Shape Fruit.
The key they created easily opened the Seastone gate, and the two non-ability user agents entered the cage, carrying the heavy Road Sign Stone away from it.
Gaia's eyes narrowed on the ground. He knew he had achieved his goal, and the World Government's losses were not significant due to the attention he had drawn.
At this point, he gave up on creating further chaos.
The entire massive body vanished, leaving a huge crater in the ground. This was a signal; upon seeing it, the other agents abandoned the battle and jumped into the crater.
The ground, meanwhile, engulfed the agents and quickly returned to flat land.
The attack just vanished? It feels somewhat unreal.
Seemingly realizing something, Kin'emon's expression changed. "Oh no, let's go check underground." With that, he quickly ran towards the underground area of the general's mansion.
Upon arriving at the location where the Road Sign Stone was hidden, the tightly closed gate was now open, and what was guarded inside had vanished. Outside, on the ground, lay the corpses of four samurai.
The World Government has achieved its goal: the Road Sign Stone has been stolen, something Wano Country wanted to protect.
This made it impossible for Kin'emon to face his lord. Due to their confidence in their strength, Wano Country did not leave behind any rubbings, which means that Wano Country has truly lost this Road Sign Stone unless it is taken back from the World Government.
The World Government personnel certainly haven't left Wano Country yet, but Kin'emon knows that it's practically impossible to retrieve the Road Sign Stone.
I felt incredibly frustrated.
Oden has awakened; after such a long slumber, he has been stimulated by the intense sounds of the battle.
His body was extremely weak and he could hardly move, but he was still conscious.
He knew his body was in terrible shape, riddled with holes, and he couldn't possibly last two more days.
Kin'emon returned with bad news, but Oden was not disappointed.
He was such an optimistic person that in the final moments of his life he tried his best not to think about things that would make him sad.
There's no point in complaining about the loss of the Road Sign Stone now. As someone who knows everything, Oden firmly believes that person will appear, even if the World Government takes it away.
I inquired about the current situation in Wano Country and explained what needed to be done next.
The ministers standing nearby nodded with tears in their eyes, writing down what Oden had said.
They knew that their lord (vassal) was speaking of his final affairs; Oden possessed this kind of charisma that made his subordinates believe him.
For the rest of the time, under Marco's care, Kozuki Oden remained conscious and persevered.
He persisted in waiting for his wife's arrival, and he persisted in waiting for the Whitebeard's arrival.
The first to arrive were Toki and her three children.
Upon arrival, I saw the Capital of Flowers in ruins, dilapidated and in a state of destruction.
The oldest Kozuki Hiyori, and her lifespan is very similar to that of Kozuki Toki.
The remaining two children were born to Toki after Momonosuke's death.
The second son Kozuki Sosuke, and the third son Kozuki Nobunaga. Although they are still young, they are quite mature, being in their early teens.
"Father." Hiyori's eyes were filled with tears, as were her two other sons.
How could they accept the impending death of that once towering man?
"We will definitely restore Wano Country to its glory and avenge you." Sosuke bit his lip, large tears streaming down his face, and said firmly. Although he was still young, he understood some things very well, such as who their enemy was, who had brought Wano Country to this state, and who had poisoned it.
Sōsuke lived up to expectations, inheriting Oden's powerful swordsmanship talent. He was much more composed than Oden was in his youth and was the next shogun of Wano Country.
When asked about his child, Oden simply smiled, offering neither criticism nor encouragement. He was very pleased with his child's confidence and hoped that his child could grow up on his own.
"Little Shi, please tell your father that you will be taking care of the child from now on."
"Yes!" Toki was also very sad. Everything was fine before, but now she was facing this result.
The Evil Worm disappeared along with the World Government's departure, and now Wano Country knows that the Evil Worm were World Government spies who poisoned food.
Nowadays, no one dares to eat the food in the Capital of Flowers; they are waiting for food from other places to be shipped over.
As long as they don't eat these foods, they don't need to worry about poisoning.
This is why Hiyori's arrival was not hindered; she also carried the future of Wano Country and the Shogun's son.
"You all go out first, I want to rest for a bit. Let me know when Bai Ji arrives." He wanted to cherish the remaining time and absolutely couldn't close his eyes, especially since his health was deteriorating.