Akira's words weren't bragging, but confidence, because not only had Blackbeard become stronger, but he had also become very strong. The last fight was just a test. He hadn't brought out all of his strength.
"Are you really confident?" Marco asked in surprise.
Akira nodded, and said, "I'm confident. Just like Pops said, although that guy is strong, and good at scheming, his weakness is also very obvious. He's arrogant, and conceited. He thinks his power is already very strong, and thinks that I can't do anything to him. That's my chance to kill him."
In the Beast Pirates' base, Kaido finished reading the letter that Akira had written to him, crumpled it forcefully, and threw it away.
"A snot-nosed brat who hasn't even grown his hair yet actually dares to ask me for someone?" Kaido shouted with a face full of disdain.
It turned out that what he had received was the letter that Akira had written to him, hoping that he would release Kozuki Oden. However, Kaido didn't put Akira in his eyes at all, let alone release anyone.
"That's right. A snot-nosed brat who's relying on being Whitebeard's son, and inheriting the Whitebeard Pirates barely has some ability. But he actually dares to talk to our boss like that. He's really courting death."
"If you ask me, we might as well take action, and wipe out that Death God, and the Whitebeard Pirates. Anyway, the Whitebeard Pirates aren't anything great after Whitebeard died. What use is a kid who hasn't even grown his hair?"
"...."
The pirates of the Beast Pirates were all very disdainful of Akira. They had always been arrogant, and now that Akira actually dared to write a letter asking them to release someone, it naturally made them all unhappy. Although Akira had some ability, and his bounty had recently risen to 1.3 billion, the Beast Pirates still didn't put him in their eyes.
Kaido snorted coldly, and said, "Don't bother with that brat. What I want to know now is the secret about the Pirate King's treasure. Has that Kozuki Oden still not said anything?"
Kaido had joined forces with the shogun of Wano Country to capture Kozuki Oden for the secret that Kozuki Oden possessed. Even among the Roger Pirates, Kozuki Oden was the one who knew the most, because he had taught Roger the history text. So, he basically knew everything that Roger knew.
What Kaido wanted to obtain was Kozuki Oden's secret. However, even though he had captured Kozuki Oden, Kozuki Oden had never opened his mouth, refusing to tell him anything. This made Kaido very angry.
Although to outsiders, Kaido was an impulsive and violent battle maniac, Kaido also had his own ambitions. He wanted to become the Pirate King, and he also wanted to start a huge war, and other things. What he wanted to know most now was the secret that Kozuki Oden possessed, but he hadn't been able to fulfill his wish until now.
Hearing Kaido's words, the pirates under his command all didn't dare to speak, because no matter what methods they used, they couldn't pry open Kozuki Oden's mouth, let alone obtain any secrets from him.
"What a bunch of useless trash."
Kaido roared angrily, and then shouted, "Bring that guy over here. I don't have that much time to waste."
Kaido was a rather strange person. His thoughts were different from ordinary people. He was the kind of person who would never be threatened by anyone. If Kozuki Oden was unwilling to speak no matter what, he would rather kill Kozuki Oden.
The pirates under his command quickly brought Kozuki Oden over. He was a man covered in scars, looking to be in his fifties. However, he was covered in blood, and his breath was weak. It could be seen at a glance that he had been subjected to inhuman torture.
"Kozuki Oden!"
After seeing Kozuki Oden, Kaido immediately shouted, "Tell me everything I want to know, and I'll let you go."
"You joined forces with traitors to destroy my homeland. Even if I die, I won't tell you," Kozuki Oden said weakly.
If Akira and them were here, they probably wouldn't be able to recognize that this man was Kozuki Oden, because Kozuki Oden had changed a lot compared to twenty years ago.
Kaido had long expected this answer from Kozuki Oden, but even so, he was still very angry. He shouted suddenly, "You're really tough enough. Do you think that asking that brat from the Whitebeard Pirates for help will be able to save you?"
Hearing Kaido's words, the light in Kozuki Oden's eyes flickered. Asking Akira for help was his last guarantee. He wasn't surprised that Kaido knew about it.
Kaido continued, "Let me tell you the truth. That brat has already received your request for help, but so what? Do you know what he did? He actually wrote me a letter asking me to let you go. What a joke. If it was Whitebeard, I might have given him some face, but he's just a junior brat who actually dares to teach me what to do. He doesn't even know how to die."
"Don't count on that brat to save you. You have no choice now. Either tell me the answer, or die."
Facing Kaido's final question, Kozuki Oden still didn't answer. However, he had already given up on himself in his heart. He knew that it was impossible for Akira to save him. However, the reason why he had sent someone to ask for help wasn't really for himself, but for his children. He hoped that Akira could help his children for the sake of their past friendship, and protect their lives. That was enough for him.
"You're really courting death!"
Seeing that Kozuki Oden was unyielding even in death, Kaido became even more angry. He immediately stopped holding back, directly ending Kozuki Oden's life. At the same time, he ordered his subordinates to search for all the things that Kozuki Oden had left behind in Wano Country, as well as Kozuki Oden's son who had escaped.
The entire Wano Country was now under Kaido's control. Although he didn't directly participate in the control, with his strength and power, even the current ruler of Wano Country could only choose to cooperate, and didn't dare to disobey.
The matter of Wano Country didn't affect the distant Whitebeard Pirates. After Akira integrated all the forces under the Whitebeard Pirates, and re-divided them, the temperament of the entire Whitebeard Pirates Alliance had undergone a great change in a short period of time. Everything was developing in a good direction.
At the same time, Akira also had people constantly monitoring the movements of the Blackbeard Pirates. Since that battle, the movements of the Blackbeard Pirates had become increasingly large, constantly sweeping through the territories that had previously belonged to the Whitebeard Pirates. Except for a few places that dared to resist, most of the territories didn't dare to resist, and were taken under Blackbeard's command.
However, it was precisely because of Blackbeard's actions that many wavering forces had re-established contact with the Whitebeard Pirates. Compared to the cruel Blackbeard, these forces would rather depend on the Whitebeard Pirates, because as of now, the Whitebeard Pirates, under Akira's leadership, didn't have a weaker momentum than Blackbeard, and were even more popular.
The most chaotic place in the New World now was the territory that had previously belonged to the Whitebeard Pirates. These territories now, except for some places that had publicly announced their secession from the Whitebeard Pirates' jurisdiction, the other places were occupied by the Whitebeard Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates. Among them, the Whitebeard Pirates occupied about 60%, and the Blackbeard Pirates occupied about 40%.
The Whitebeard Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates had now become the most powerful forces under the remaining three emperors. The new pirate emperor would inevitably be born from one of these two sides. So, the eyes of the world were focused on the Whitebeard Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates. Everyone wanted to know which side would achieve the final victory.
"What's Blackbeard been up to lately?"
After a period of time, Akira hadn't received a reply from the Beast Pirates. He knew Kaido's opinion. However, he didn't think too much about it. This matter was destined to have no result. After all, Kaido was one of the four emperors, and also belonged to the kind of person who was extremely tough. It would be a ghost if he could be threatened.
Akira could accept this kind of result. He could focus all of his attention on the Blackbeard Pirates.
"That Teach guy doesn't know if he's gone crazy. He's been frantically looking for ability users lately, killing a lot of ability users who have eaten Devil Fruits."
Many of the Whitebeard Pirates were very confused about Blackbeard's actions, not understanding why Blackbeard wasn't thinking about dealing with them, but had transferred his target to other forces.
Marco and the others didn't know why Blackbeard was doing this, but Akira knew very well. He sneered, and said, "Blackbeard is trying to hunt for the abilities of ability users. He's doing this because he's not confident in dealing with me. That's why he's doing this."
Akira knew very well that Blackbeard must have known that it would be difficult to defeat him after fighting him once, which was why he was looking for ability users everywhere, hunting for their abilities.
Akira naturally wasn't worried about Blackbeard's thoughts. He felt that Blackbeard was wasting his time doing this. The Yami Yami no Mi and Gura Gura no Mi abilities had already reached the peak of the pirate world.
Just look at Whitebeard. With just one Gura Gura no Mi, he had already become the strongest man in the world. What's more, Blackbeard now had one more Yami Yami no Mi. With the two abilities combined, as long as he unleashed all of them, his future would be limitless.
But this guy Blackbeard was good. Not only did he not choose to develop his abilities, but he went to hunt for the abilities of other ability users. Did he really think that having more abilities would greatly increase his strength? In Akira's opinion, this was simply wanting more after already having enough.
Speaking of abilities, Akira also had a new understanding of his Zanpakutō. Since obtaining Tensa Zangetsu last time, the system had had a problem, because no new Zanpakutō had appeared again.
The Zanpakutō that he currently possessed had all completed Bankai, but there were no new Zanpakutō. Moreover, the system had also fallen into a deep sleep. According to the last mission issued by the system, it would only be activated again when he became the strongest in the world.
The strongest in this world wasn't just the strongest in terms of strength, but also had to be the strongest recognized by the whole world. So, this was a very distant thing for Akira.
Although he was somewhat regretful about the system's sleep, and that there were no new Zanpakutō that could be unlocked, it actually made Akira breathe a sigh of relief. Actually, when the system was there, although he could have many Zanpakutō that could be unlocked, it still took time to find them.
Moreover, the Zanpakutō that he currently possessed were all Zanpakutō with very good abilities. As long as he could use them well, they definitely had the potential to become the strongest in the world.
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