Honestly, it was not only Kaido who had never expected Whitebeard to make a move—the Marines had never imagined it either?!
But in the end, why had Whitebeard stepped in?!
A massive intelligence black hole swallowed everyone up. No one, Leo included, could have predicted this.
Kaido did not know that Oden was Whitebeard's Second Division Commander.
Whitebeard did not know that Oden had been killed by Kaido.
The Marines did not know who Oden was, much less that he was one of Whitebeard's commanders, or that Kaido had killed him.
Simply put, if not for Denjiro's actions this time, the war should have ended that simply.
But the intelligence Denjiro had passed on at the risk of his life had indeed served its purpose.
Not every one of the Nine Red Scabbards had gone to sea with Oden. That was precisely why most of them instinctively distrusted outsiders.
Even on this voyage, their only goal had been to find Momonosuke, Kin'emon, and the others who had been lost outside.
The one who wanted to meet Whitebeard was Hiyori Kozuki, the remarkable young woman who had read her father's journal, learned of Whitebeard from his writings, believed it all wholeheartedly, and was willing to stake her life on it.
This daughter of Oden Kozuki seemed to possess qualities completely different from those of her brother.
This everyday all-or-nothing gamble in Wano Country had ultimately ended in Hiyori Kozuki's victory.
When she saw that great old man furiously cleave off Kaido's dragon horn with a single slash, nearly splitting open his chest, she—who had not dared utter a word beneath Kaido's tyranny for more than a decade—finally covered her mouth as tears slowly spilled from the corners of her eyes and spread across her cheeks.
Father, did you see that? That