"Are you sure you don't want us to drop you off at Wano Country directly?" Roger looked at Kozuki Oden's group as they prepared to disembark. Since their homeland lay in the New World, they would be the first to leave the ship.
Kozuki Oden held his two-and-a-half-year-old son, Momonosuke, in his arms. Beside him walked a beautiful woman, who cradled their infant daughter, Hiyori, who was only a few months old.
"No need. I'm going to stop by Inazuma first."
Kozuki Oden had no idea about the upheaval that had engulfed Wano Country in his absence. He still believed that no one had discovered his secret departure.
In his mind, slipping in through the Hidden Port would be too risky. It would be better to meet with Ren first — and he could deliver the Devil Fruits he had collected along the way.
"Inazuma? It's hard to believe that the leader of Inazuma came from the same place as a weirdo like you." Both Rayleigh and Gaban spoke at the same time.
After so many years of sailing together, they knew all too well just how erratic Kozuki Oden could be. The man had a habit of doing incredibly foolish things. By contrast, Ren — who had not only founded Inazuma but carved out a place for himself in the New World — had even made Shiki look foolish.
"Now that I think about it, we've been sailing all this time and never actually crossed paths with him," Gaban remarked. "He must be one hell of a powerhouse, right?"
"Strong as a monster. The very first year I set out to sea, he took me down in a single move." Kozuki Oden laughed.
He might have been naive and foolish, but he was not without redeeming qualities.
"Though these days, beating me wouldn't be so easy."
And so, Roger and his crew saw Kozuki Oden off on the final leg of his journey.
Ren received them at the island port.
Setting Oden aside, Ren held a fairly favorable impression of the Pirate King's crew. His first encounter with Roger had been mutually pleasant.
Kozuki Oden presented the Devil Fruits he had collected over the years. There were quite a few Zoan-type fruits among them — no Ancient Models, but one Mythical Zoan stood out.
— Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Tanuki.
Combined with the two Special-class Devil Fruits he had obtained from Big Mom's territory, the haul was substantial enough to noticeably improve Ren's attitude toward Oden.
Roger and his crew did not linger on the island. After hosting a farewell banquet, they prepared to set sail. Before departing, Oden tried to convince Shanks to accompany him to Wano Country for a while, but Shanks declined.
"Hey, Ren — when are we heading back?" Once Roger's ship had faded from view at the harbor, Kozuki Oden turned to Ren. Even a man like him, after so many years away from home, could not help but feel the pull of nostalgia.
"If you're ready, we can go right now." Ren met his gaze, his expression turning serious. "Oden, I didn't want to say this in front of the others, but the situation in Wano Country right now is... not good."
"Not good? What do you mean?" Oden froze, the smile on his face vanishing in an instant.
"The Shogun of Wano — your father, Kozuki Sukiyaki — passed away from illness several years ago." Ren spoke, feigning an air of grief.
In truth, Ren felt absolutely nothing toward Kozuki Sukiyaki. Their only "meeting" had been when Kurozumi Higurashi had gone in Ren's place.
But the news clearly hit Oden like a physical blow.
"What on earth is going on!"
"I only learned about it later myself. Apparently it was a lingering complication from the early days when he forged the Supreme Grade Swords. It's complicated."
Ren sighed.
"Get your things ready — I'll explain the rest on the way."
Then, gathering Oden's retainers along with his wife and children, he led them aboard a vessel he had prepared in advance.
It was a good opportunity — Ren had been planning to bring back Amatsuki Toki as well.
The young woman had been pining for Wano Country for ages.
Toki was only in her mid-teens at this point. After Ren had rescued her from the waters off Wano's coast, she had followed him with absolute devotion.
Oden's son, Momonosuke, was only two and a half, but he was already showing signs of becoming a hopeless lecher. The moment he laid eyes on the beautiful Toki, his face twisted into a positively indecent expression.
He stretched his little arms toward Toki from across the deck, wriggling so hard he nearly broke free of his mother's grip.
Toki found the brat thoroughly obnoxious and instinctively recoiled.
Once they were underway, Ren finally laid out the full story for Kozuki Oden.
"Because you were absent from Wano, the Shogun passed the title to the retainer he trusted most — a man named Orochi."
"After taking power, Orochi began with a show of competent governance. But his true nature surfaced quickly."
"He claimed he was only holding the position temporarily and would return it to you upon your return. Behind your back, however, he seized control of the Hidden Port and sealed off all information."
"Why would he do something like that!" Oden seethed.
"I don't even care about being Shogun! If he had done a decent job, I'd have let him keep the title. But to think he would..."
"In short, after taking power, Orochi quietly built his own forces and even colluded with pirates from overseas. He is now terrorizing the people of Wano with a brutal regime."
Ren continued.
"When I received word of what was happening, I tried to reach out to you. But the navigators from back then were long gone, and the Roger Pirates had no fixed base."
"Every time I sent people to find you, you had already moved on."
"But... if you knew about Orochi's scheme, why didn't you stop him!" Kinemon demanded hotly.
In his eyes, since Ren was also a daimyo, he was duty-bound to serve the Kozuki clan. Defending Wano and protecting the Kozuki bloodline should have been his natural obligation.
With Inazuma's military power, there was no way Orochi could have acted so freely if Ren had intervened.
"I've already given up on Wano Country." Ren was not offended. He simply stated the fact in a mild tone.
"You understand this, don't you, Oden? Right now, I am nothing more than a pirate. I have no ties to Wano."
"Inazuma is my base of operations."
"The people of Wano are waiting for you — not for me."
Kozuki Oden nodded slowly. He understood what Ren meant.
Pirates were not heroes. They could not be expected to act out of selfless altruism.
Even Oden understood this fundamental truth. If Ren intervened now, Wano Country would inevitably fall under his control.
"Actually, if you became Shogun, that might not be so bad." Kozuki Oden looked at Ren earnestly.
"Even if you say that, the people of Wano would never accept it." Ren shook his head.
Though, in truth, that kind of legitimacy was easy enough to engineer. After a generation or two, the people of Wano probably would not even remember who the Kozuki clan were.
"So this time, I'll only smuggle you back into Wano in secret. The rule over Nine-Ro Province remains mine for now, but I have no intention of harboring you."
"There are still plenty of people waiting for you in the other provinces. If you can rally all the samurai, you might actually win."
"I understand." Oden nodded. "But if I fail — this country, I leave in your hands."
"I believe, at the very least, that you have what it takes to be a proper Shogun!"
[
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