I Guess I Have to Make My Move!

No one noticed the glint of defiance that flashed deep in Kanjuro's eyes.

What no one knew was that Kanjuro's drawing skills were actually excellent!

He could easily use his skillful brushstrokes to create incredibly realistic portraits.

However, because he worked under Oden and always drew with his left hand, the final product looked somewhat abstract.

Kanjuro did this entirely because he was actually an undercover agent!

In everyone's mind, Kanjuro's name is Souyu Kanjuro.

But in reality, it was all a facade.

His real name is Kurozumi Kanjuro!

He was a member of a branch family of the Kurozumi clan, and a spy planted by Kurozumi Orochi under Kozuki Oden.

He frequently misappropriated the Kozuki family's combat funds and provided combat intelligence to Kurozumi Orochi.

It can be said that Kanjuro played a significant role in Orochi's eventual rise to the shogunate.

Seeing that the people around him didn't think much of him, Kanjuro pretended to be sad and stepped back to the side.

Oden looked at the dejected Kanjuro and felt a pang of pity.

"Kanjuro, don't be sad. It's not that you're not good enough, it's just that Kaido's standards are a bit too high."

Kin'emon nodded in agreement, speaking up for Oden.

"That's right, that's right, Kaido isn't some kind of stupid idiot with a pointed head."

If you hand over a fake corpse, they'll definitely be able to tell the difference.

But no matter what, Oden had to find a way to meet Kaido's demands.

After thinking for a long time, Oden and the others still couldn't come up with a good solution.

Ultimately, the only option was to stall for time and wait a few more days, since finding someone also takes time.

Over the next few days, Oden sent his retainers to conduct a perfunctory "search" of Wano Country.

Then, using the excuse that "the investigation is still ongoing," they temporarily brushed off Kaido's request.

Meanwhile, Oden secretly dispatched the Nine Red Scabbards to quickly find out which samurai was so loyal that he dared to ambush Kaido!

For such a loyal person, Oden definitely had to find a way to protect him and prevent Kaido from finding him.

Time flies, and three days have passed.

In an unnamed mountain forest somewhere in Wano Country.

Akuta looked into the distance, somewhat bewildered.

He didn't know why, after so many days, the Kaido Pirates still hadn't found him!

In Akuta's plan, given Kaido and Oden's power, his whereabouts should be discovered very quickly.

You should know that when he released the Wano Country citizens captured by Kaido's pirate crew at the mine a few days ago, he didn't hide his identity at all, except for using his shadow to make a hood for show!

In a place as small as Wano Country, wouldn't it be a piece of cake for Kaido's men to recapture all these people?

So after leaving the mine, Akuta became too lazy to wander around.

He was prepared for his appearance to be exposed, and in Wano Country, a place where he knew no one, he didn't want to play Akuta warfare with Kaido's crew.

After leaving the mine, Akuta decided to stay temporarily on a nearby hilltop.

They're prepared to wait for Kaido's men to come, then have a heated fight with them before restarting the game.

But Akuta never expected that three days had already passed.

The Kaido Pirates didn't even bother to find us!

Three days of living like a savage was becoming unbearable for Akuta, who lived in modern civilization.

Here, he couldn't even get a proper meal; he could only eat grilled meat without any seasoning every day, and he was almost numb from eating it!

Since Kaido's men weren't coming over, he took the initiative to walk towards them!

Thinking of this, Akuta let out a sigh of anger.

"Kaido is incompetent; I can't even find anyone. It seems I have to come out of seclusion!"

The next moment, Akuta slightly bent his knees and launched himself forward.

During these three days, Akuta did not just wait.

To pass the time, he did all the development he could at this stage regarding the Shadow Fruit.

As he felt himself becoming more and more proficient in using the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Akuta's lips curled up, and he couldn't help but let out a soft hum.

At this point, Akuta was already proficient in using his "Shadow Mage" technique.

With a mere thought, his shadow would detach from the ground and transform into a pitch-black clone identical to him.

The clone possesses the most basic combat instincts and can autonomously respond to attacks.

Meanwhile, through Akuta's continuous experimentation, he also developed the "shadow-human swapping" technique that he had been longing for.

If Akuta were willing, he could swap positions with his Shadow Mage over a considerable range!

In addition, after incorporating his own fighting style, Akuta successfully developed some other abilities.

Perhaps it is due to the habit left over from the "Nuo" ritual.

Compared to Moria's manipulation of shadows, creating ranged combat styles such as shadow bats and shadow assassins.

Akuta prefers to combine his shadow with his physical skills to further enhance his close combat abilities.

For example, using the thrust of shadow compression to increase his movement speed with shadow bullets.

Shadow armor, which uses shadows to cover the body, increases both defensive and offensive capabilities.

Akuta calmed his breathing while summarizing in his mind.

The development of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit has temporarily reached a bottleneck.

The remaining ones, whether it's 'Fragment Bat', 'Shadow Box', or 'Shadow Revolution', all require more refined control and cannot be mastered in a short time.

As for the final 'Shadow Gathering Place'...

Akuta shook his head, temporarily suppressing the thought.

This skill, which requires incorporating the shadows of others, is something Akuta is not particularly interested in learning.

Akuta's figure darted swiftly through the mountains and forests, heading rapidly towards the location of the mine.

Since Akuta didn't know where Kaido had another base, and he was familiar with the mine area, he decided to go there again!

The Akuta won't work. If he fights again this time, Kaido won't come after him!

Meanwhile, at the Kaido Pirates' mine.

Inside the mine, dozens of laborers captured from Wano Country are painstakingly extracting chunks of ore under the supervision of pirates.

In the open space in the center of the mine, a burly pirate captain was leading his men in a frenzied workout.

"All of you, get the hell out of there! Haven't you eaten?!"

"Look at you guys, so small, and you want to join the Beasts Pirates?!"

Before him, dozens of pirates were doing squats, their legs trembling as they carried boulders larger than a person.

Everyone's face was flushed red, and sweat dripped from their chins like rain, forming small puddles on the ground.

The leader continued cursing for nearly two and a half minutes until all the pirates were exhausted, at which point he shouted with satisfaction.

"Very good! Very energetic!"

The next moment, the leader turned around and walked to the wooden crate next to him, bent down and took out a crate from it.

He yanked open the lid, and inside the box were rows and rows of syringes.

Each syringe was about the thickness of a thumb and contained a dark green liquid, which looked somewhat eerie in the sunlight.

Under the expectant gazes of the pirates, the leader pointed to the box and introduced it:

"This is the Nine Dragons Muscle Strengthening Needle, the latest researched by Lord Plague Queen!"

This contains the power of nine dragons; piercing it will make you stronger quickly!

Come on, one by one, come forward and each of you get a needle!