Redemption...
Does the Demon Lord possessing Kozuki Oden represent... redemption?
Shanks frowned. Based on Kozuki Oden's actions, he couldn't see any sign of that.
Kozuki Oden caused so much slaughter in Wano Country, and he represents redemption?
Does that make sense?
However, it's already ridiculous enough for a demon to have a symbol of redemption.
But Kozuki Oden himself cannot represent that Demon Lord. He is merely the Demon Lord's 'incarnation,' a sacrifice, just like Barrett back then.
Taking on the commission from Li, Shanks fell into deep thought.
Water From Afar is homeless, but he often returns to the Christian headquarters. I just need to keep an eye on that place, but...
What did the information Li mentioned mean?
Broken its mask? Gathering?
Shanks shook his head. The information was too vague; he had no idea what it represented.
But then again, this was a message passed to Water From Afar, so it should only be understandable to him.
The information known at Water From Afar's level must be significant. I am ultimately not from that world.
Anyway, I just need to help Li complete this commission.
Shanks returned to reality from the Giant Hall and then walked out of the room.
He returned outside, placing one hand on the railing, looking out at the vast, endless sea, his gaze seeming to pierce through layers of veils.
"Luffy, I look forward to seeing you again."
...
While Shanks and Roger were making their deal, in the East Blue, Luffy had already arrived at the so-called Orange Town.
Just like Cocoyasi Village, the residents here had been driven away by Gato. The entire town was silent.
"It's not dark yet, perfect time to round them all up," Nami urged the two to charge in. Without her saying it, Luffy had already stretched his arm, grabbed the railing, and used it to propel himself forward.
Zoro glanced at her strangely, not understanding why she was so excited, but he still ran out.
Nami was right, demons cannot fight in the sun. This is the greatest weakness of Gato's forces!
Otherwise, those tireless demons could be troublesome if there were too many of them.
However, he didn't know that after the two of them left the ship, Nami smiled.
Those two idiots, they both know demons are not suited for daytime combat. So, how could there be no preparations in the demons' territory?
Nami leisurely walked down, hoping they would have been dealt with by the time she arrived.
On the way, Nami had already sent out their information. Gato should be ready, right?
As expected, just as he thought this, alloy barriers suddenly rose from all around Orange Town. Tall barriers curved inwards, quickly blocking out the sunlight.
They reacted so quickly?
Zoro frowned, looking at the disappearing sunlight, and he couldn't help but speed up.
Luffy, however, had already used his Rubber-Rubber Fruit ability to fly ahead from the start. In an instant, he had knocked out dozens of people, but now he couldn't advance further.
Because after darkness fell, a demon appeared before him, a demon who was not weak.
Upper Rank Four. His rank could be seen in his eyes.
"I thought the Marines found us. I didn't expect it to be some audacious pirates who came from who knows where."
The door to a room opened, and a short man walked out arrogantly. He looked at Luffy and shouted, "How dare you intrude into Upper Rank's territory? You're not afraid of death!"
"You're Gato, right?" Before Luffy could speak, Zoro interjected, "Take us to Muzan quickly. I don't have time to waste on a small fry like you."
"I can't pretend I didn't hear that." Suddenly, a man wearing a clown costume with a white skull emblem on his forehead walked out again. He put his hands on his hips and said arrogantly, "Hunter Zoro, you're the small fry in front of this lord!"
"Clown?" Luffy looked at the man who suddenly appeared and asked, "Is this a circus?"
Because he didn't see any Upper or Lower Rank markings in Buggy's eyes, he was human, not a demon.
As expected, the clown loudly declared, "This lord is the famous Captain Buggy the Clown! You trespassers will be left here forever to become food for the demons!"
"A bunch of noisy guys," the Upper Rank Four said dismissively. He looked at Luffy with his eyes full of an urge. He could feel that the blood of the man wearing the straw hat was extremely delicious. Just smelling his body's scent almost made him intoxicated.
He could barely contain his inner urge, and saliva was about to drip from his mouth. He wanted to eat this kid's flesh; it must be the most delicious thing in the world!
"Die, kid!"
His body moved faster than his consciousness. His instinct could no longer suppress his desire for Luffy.
"No matter if it's an Upper Rank or a clown, I'll knock them all flying!" Luffy also shouted, and punched the Upper Rank. But the Upper Rank Four's body was as hard as steel. After being hit by Luffy, he charged forward, pushing against the force.
Meanwhile, Zoro had also clashed with the clown Buggy, but he found this guy to be the type he had the most trouble dealing with.
Because...
After he slashed, the guy could actually split apart directly?!
"I am the Split-Split Man who ate the Chop-Chop Fruit. Swordsmen like you are powerless against me, hahaha!" Buggy laughed madly.
He had not been turned into a demon. After all, he was an intern on Roger's pirate crew; he still had some dignity.
However, he had agreed to cooperate with Gato. It was difficult to survive as a pirate in the East Blue, so he had no choice but to throw himself at Gato to make a living.
Of course, being with a group of demons still made him uncomfortable, but he had witnessed their strength. He felt that if he betrayed them, there would be no good end for him.
And coincidentally, the Gato Group also needed some pirates to carry out search missions during the day. So, Buggy just muddled along. Compared to Shanks, who was making a name for himself in the New World, his life could be described as nothing short of desolate.
Although he had been living in Gato's group for several years, he was still very confident when facing Zoro because...
His Devil Fruit ability was exactly what countered these swordsmen!
Nami, who was following at the very end, couldn't help but curl her lip as she watched Zoro and Luffy get into a prolonged battle.
She thought they were so amazing, but they couldn't even handle the Gato Group?
And they want to deal with Kibutsuji Muzan like this?
How naive!
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