" Captain Roy, is something the matter?"
Keep an eye on two people for me.
Roy got straight to the point.
" Kyoshiro, and the green-haired girl next to him."
Jin frowned slightly.
" Kyoshiro?"
That newly emerged underworld boss from Kuri?
"Is a loan shark worth your personal attention?"
"He's not just a yakuza boss. His real name Denjiro, and he was one of Kozuki Oden's retainers."
And the girl beside him— Kozuki Hiyori, Kozuki Oden's daughter.
A hint of killing intent flashed in Jin's eyes, and a rare fluctuation of emotion appeared in his usually calm eyes:
"Remnants of the Kozuki Family? Should I send someone to deal with them?"
"Don't do it."
Roy's tone was resolute.
"Just keep an eye on them. They'll make their move soon. Once Straw Hat Luffy lands in Wano Country, these remnants of the Kozuki Family will inevitably gather."
Then we can catch them all in one fell swoop, saving time and effort.
Jin nodded without asking any further questions.
He knew that there was a reason behind every decision this man made.
Since he says he won't move for now, there must be a reason for that.
"Also, don't tell Kaido about this for now."
Roy added,
"With his fiery temper, if he finds out, he'll definitely rush over and ruin my plans."
A very rare twitch appeared at the corner of Jin's mouth.
"Clear."
He turned and left the hall, his black wings flashing past the doorway.
After Jin left, Roy sat alone in the main hall, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.
This was his habitual gesture when he was thinking, a rhythm that was neither too fast nor too slow, each movement like turning an abacus bead in his mind.
Kozuki Hiyori, the only surviving descendant of Kozuki Oden, has now come into his sights.
He could have arrested her right now.
With the forces of Onigashima, capturing a princess who is powerless to even kill a chicken would be a piece of cake.
He could even kill her outright, completely severing the Kozuki Family's bloodline and depriving the remaining members of their last hope.
But Roy didn't do that.
Killing Kozuki Hiyori will only drive the remnants of the Kozuki Family even more insane.
Kin'emon, Denjiro, Raizo, and other retainers will break into smaller groups, hide deeper, and rebel more fiercely.
By then, Wano Country will be a powder keg, and one of them could explode at any moment.
But if we keep Kozuki Hiyori as our banner, using her as a rallying point to gather all the remaining rebels, and then at the very last moment when she thinks she's about to succeed—
A cold smile crept across Roy's lips.
He stood up and walked towards his room.
The days ahead for Luffy are long, and there's still much he can do.
Kyoshiro and Kozuki Hiyori just two new pieces on the chessboard; how to use them and when to use them remains to be seen.
It all depends on how the situation develops in the coming period.
Outside the window, a waning moon hangs in the night sky over Onigashima.
The moonlight spilled onto the sea, shattering into countless silvery-white fragments.
In the distance, inland in Wano Country, lights flickered faintly in the night.
That's the direction of Kuri, the place where Kyoshiro and Kozuki Hiyori are hiding, and also the beach where Straw Hat Luffy is about to land.
Roy stood by the window for a while, then drew the curtains.
"Keep yourselves hidden. When the time comes, I will come looking for you myself."
········
Above G-1 Base, a vast expanse of golden electric grids cascaded down.
Tesoro stood in mid-air, hands in his pockets, looking as relaxed as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.
Golden arcs of electricity exploded from his body, pouring down on the naval positions like a torrential rain. Each bolt of lightning precisely struck a gun emplacement, an ammunition depot, and a communications device.
Explosions rang out one after another, flames shot into the sky, and the naval soldiers hid behind the ruined fortifications, not daring to even raise their heads.
"Another communications tower has been shot down!"
A communications soldier held the equipment that had been burned to scrap metal, his expression more grim than if he were crying.
"This is the fourth set of communication equipment we've replaced this month!" his superior gritted his teeth. "Every time it's repaired, it gets bombed. Do those bastards on Hachinosu have eyes and ears here?"
He guessed right.
With the amplification of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Tesoro's Observation Haki allows him to accurately sense the operating frequencies of all electronic devices in the entire base.
He could clearly perceive where communications had been restored and where radar had been restarted, as clearly as a lighthouse in the night.
Then a bolt of lightning struck.
But soon a beam of light flashed inside the Marine Base.
Only the roar of Lightning and the sound of beams of light cutting through the air remained in the sky.
Apart from Tesoro, Bullet, who jumped from the flying Sky Island, landed directly in the plaza of the Marine Base.
With a simple punch, the Conqueror's Haki Inazuma wrapped around his fist tore through the air with a piercing explosion.
The terrifying force of the punch instantly destroyed the buildings in front of the base, leaving the plaza in a mess.
"Hehe! Marines, come and fight!" Bullet retracted his fist and grinned.
Before the words were finished, a figure enveloped in Armament Haki attacked from the side.
Bullet's pupils contracted, and he crossed his arms to block.
The iron fist slammed into his arm, and the shockwave spread in all directions, directly collapsing several already crumbling buildings in the vicinity.
Bullet was propelled backward by the immense force, sliding more than ten meters, his feet carving two deep furrows in the ground.
" Garp!"
Bullet shook his arm, which was numb from the shock, and his smile became even more sinister.
"Old man, you've finally decided to come out!"
Garp stood in the center of the ruins, his navy cloak fluttering in the sea breeze.
His hair was much whiter than it had been two years ago, and the wrinkles on his face were deeper, but his fists remained as steady as two mountains.
" Bullet, can't you just stay put on Hachinosu?"
"You're always causing trouble for the navy; you're really wearing my old bones down."
Garp grinned, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth—he wasn't entirely unharmed from the collision.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Bullet pushed off with his foot and lunged at Garp again.
The two engaged in a primal hand-to-hand combat amidst the ruins, each punch creating a shockwave that sent rubble and debris flying everywhere.
There were no fancy moves, no Devil Fruit abilities to interfere; it was just pure fist-to-fist, Haki- to -Haki.
On the other side, the western side of the battlefield.
Fujitora stood with his eyes closed on a relatively intact open space, his Cane Sword pointing diagonally at the ground.
The gravitational field around him was constantly distorting, and the rubble on the ground floated up slowly, defying the laws of physics, forming a slowly rotating stone ring around him.
Opposite him, Hawk Eyes carried the Black Blade Yoru, his golden eyes as calm as a stagnant pool.
" The World's Greatest Swordsman."
Fujitora said in a deep voice,
"Although I cannot see, I can sense—the sharpness of the Black Blade in your hand is more dazzling than any light."
You flatter me.
Hawk Eyes's voice remained as cold as ever.
"I'm also very interested in your gravity swordsmanship."