A Sudden Change

Swain burned the letter.

He then learned that only Issho was currently stationed at Hachinosu.

The letter did not mention whether Big Mom had made a move, so he guessed that she most likely had not.

Otherwise, these guards would not have been sitting around so leisurely. They would have gone to the front lines to fight the soldiers sent down from Cake Island.

Therefore, Charlotte Linlin would definitely choose this moment—when both Swain and the Red Earl, the two strongest fighters, were away—to launch a surprise attack.

And as for the so-called negotiations, she was probably the only one shameless enough to propose them.

Swain had Norton and the Nine Red Scabbards jointly guard the place. One was responsible for resisting external threats, while the other handled internal security.

That was why Katakuri had never expected Wano Country to send so many powerful fighters.

Shouldn't it have been Hachinosu, the political core, or Gran Tesoro, a nation of prosperity?

Yet it was a backward samurai country that had dispatched heavy forces to guard the place.

In truth, Swain had not done this entirely to resist external threats. More importantly, he wanted Norton to watch for any rebellion within Wano Country.

After all.

He had once heard a rumor that Wano Country itself was a gigantic weapon—an Ancient Weapon!

Naturally, he treated it with extra caution. He had simply never expected that it might one day be used to repel foreign enemies.

At the time, Luo used Swain's authorization to order Blair to remain on standby and protect the safety of Gran Tesoro.

Issho's task was to protect the outskirts of Hachinosu and make sure none of Big Mom's soldiers had slipped into the city to cause trouble.

After finishing these arrangements, he went to reinforce Norton.

Once Katakuri was