Something Wrong with His Brain, Worn Too Many Green Hats!

"You're right."

Brando did not argue with Haki Crane. He was still in the stage of building favorability.

Once he unlocked the special CG, he would let Haki Crane know just how formidable he was.

Without giving Cobra any chance to speak, he grabbed Cobra's head with his right hand and used the Sharingan to invade his mind and read his memories.

He quickly found the location of the Poneglyph: the secret chamber beneath the mausoleum on the west side of the royal palace, along with the way in.

Brando released his hand, and Cobra woke up. However, his head felt dizzy and heavy, as though he had stayed up for several nights straight.

"You—what did you do?!"

Cobra looked terrified.

Would the secret the Nefertari Family had guarded for so many years be exposed in his hands?

"You useless king, you couldn't even protect your own country and people. Crocodile nearly killed hundreds of thousands of them."

"If I hadn't taken out Crocodile, all of that would have happened. After receiving such a favor, is this how you treat the savior of your country?"

Brando immediately turned the tables on him.

Earlier, he had merely been putting on an act in front of Shukaku. Once he discovered that Shukaku was even more hot-tempered than he was, Brando stopped pretending.

"You!"

Cobra was rendered speechless.

Though he had no concrete proof, he felt that everything Brando said was true, so he could not refute him.

"If my dream weren't just to become a village chief, I would have kicked you off the throne and become king myself, you useless bastard."

"Has the Nefertari Family been full of idiots all these years? You never bothered improving your own strength, just living off your ancestors' legacy in Alabasta. You do nothing useful and spend every day sitting around in this country."

Brando spoke without hesitation.

It would have been understandable if this were a small country like Dressrosa, but this nation had a population in the tens of millions.

The fact that they could not cultivate even a single strong person proved that the country had been living off its past and never intended to strive harder. Then, when a powerful enemy arrived, they could only stand around grieving.

"All of this was to keep the secret and avoid drawing attention from others!"

Cobra still tried to argue.

Being too high-profile would easily attract unwanted attention.

"Then why did Crocodile set his sights on you?"

But Brando's single question left Cobra unable to respond.

"Do I need to teach you how to train people?"

"Just like other countries, find a few promising talents and have them form a pirate crew to go out and make their way in the world. Especially send them to take a trip through the New World."

"Those who return alive will basically have gained some real strength. It's that simple. A lot of countries do it this way."

Brando directly took on the role of a teacher.

That was how the small nations across these seas operated. The Happo Navy of Kano Country, the Kuja Pirates of Amazon Lily, and even the giants had pirate crews. Beard and Dorry were members of one as well.

"To do something like that..."

Cobra felt that it was not very moral. As one of the twenty families that founded the World Government, though they had not become Celestial Dragons, the Heavenly Tribute they had to pay was very small. Alabasta was not particularly short on money.

"Then you useless fool can just wait for someone even stronger to destroy your country, kill your people, and take your wealth. There's seriously something wrong with your brain."

Brando felt that there was no reasoning with a saintly fool.

It was the same back in the village. Once people gained strength, they became obedient dogs for the daimyo. This world was the same, everyone had something wrong with their heads. Had they worn too many green hats or something?

Cobra's face flushed red. He desperately wanted to say something, but he did not know where to begin.

"Go to sleep."

Brando did not want to waste any more words. This guy's mentality had already collapsed. It was time to put him to sleep and leave.

He then punched Cobra in the face, directly putting him to sleep.

"You have gained the recognition of the Will of the Overlord. Your words awakened Cobra, making him understand his own foolishness and weakness, while also helping Cobra enter a sweet dreamland."

"You have obtained the Kekkei Genkai: Magnet Release."

Brando left the room directly, and Igaram outside the door did not notice a thing.

Halfway to the Poneglyph, he received the reward from the Will of the Overlord.

"Another Kekkei Genkai. It seems the Nefertari royal family is close to the Celestial Dragons, so their rewards are quite valuable. Still, this is not a Kekkei Genkai from a branch of the Ōtsutsuki Clan."

Brando was quite satisfied with the reward. After all, Magnet Release was highly versatile and could be used for flight, forging weapons, and more.

At the same time, he unlocked dual transformations for Lightning Nature and Earth Nature, since Magnet Release was a Kekkei Genkai formed from the combination of those two natures.

Brando

Bloodline: Mangekyo [Sasuke], Uzumaki bloodline

Kekkei Genkai: Magnet Release

Chakra: Shadow Level Yang Nature, Yin Nature, Fire, Wind, Lightning, and Earth dual transformations, Water Nature.

Ninjutsu: Three-Body Technique, Shuriken Manipulation Technique, Lightning Release: Cell Activation, C-Rank Fire Release Compendium, Great Dragon Fire Technique, Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, Phantom Flash Step, Rasengan, Iai: One Flash, Shadow Clone, Rasenshuriken, Water Prison Technique, Water Cannon Bullet, Multi-Size Technique, Partial Multi-Size Technique

Tailed Beast: Shukaku

Summoning Beast: Banlei [Sea King]

Taijutsu: Soru, Geppo, Hakoku, Supreme Kingdom

"Given my current strength, I should be able to trade a few moves with a true Super Shadow Level powerhouse. I should be able to beat Six Paths of Pain, the gatekeeper of the Super Shadow Level, right?"

Brando felt that his current strength was becoming rather terrifying.

After leaving this place, he planned to find somewhere to test his combat power.

Soon, Brando arrived at the site where the Poneglyph was kept. It was pitch-black everywhere, so he directly used Fire Release to light the oil lamps stored in the secret chamber.

"So this stone records the secrets of this world?"

Haki Crane controlled the sand beneath its tiny body, circling the Poneglyph once.

It discovered that it could not understand any of it. It did not even know the writing of this world, much less the script on the Poneglyph.

Brando also used the Sharingan to begin deciphering the information on the Poneglyph.

However, because he lacked enough reference material, he could only understand a few characters. He still did not recognize the rest, so he merely recorded the information.

Shukaku then gave it a try, condensing a Mini Tailed Beast Bomb and directly attacking the Poneglyph.

"It really can't be destroyed."

Seeing that the Poneglyph remained completely unscathed, even Haki Crane was somewhat surprised.

Brando also gave it a try, using Rasenshuriken. Likewise, he could not damage the Poneglyph.

With nothing else to look for, Brando and Shukaku left directly. However, the explosions from the Tailed Beast Bomb and Rasenshuriken caused quite a commotion. Once Cobra woke up, he immediately came over to check on the Poneglyph.

When he saw that the Poneglyph was still there, he breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he could only pray that Brando would not expose the secret.

"The target has appeared!"

"But... why is he floating in midair?!"

MR.3 looked through his telescope at Brando sitting atop a mass of sand in the distance, unable to understand what he was seeing.

The people of Baroque Works had been monitoring Brando. Once they confirmed the direction he was heading, they set up traps in advance and waited for him to arrive.

Miss Merry Christmas was a Zoan-type Mole-Mole Fruit user. She had dug many tunnels beneath the desert, all prepared to ambush Brando.

But now, they had not expected Brando to not even walk.

"Then we'll crush him head-on!"

MR.1 stood up, his gaze sharp.

"That's right! I have to avenge Boss!"

MR.2 Bon Kurei wore an expression of deep grief and hatred.

Only MR.3 did not really want to fight. He just wanted to split up and run.

"Looks like someone has their eyes on me."

Brando sat atop the sand controlled by Haki Crane, sensing the disturbance below.

The people of this world had no chakra, so the Uzumaki Clan's sensing abilities were greatly weakened. However, his sensitivity had still increased considerably.

At the same time, Brando activated the Sharingan and took in everything below at a glance.