Inuarashi and Nekomamushi still didn’t return directly to Oden Castle. Instead, they stayed outside for a few days until the injuries on their bodies healed before returning to Oden Castle.
The incident on Kuri’s beach naturally reached Onigashima.
“Setsuna and those two Minks got into a fight?”
“Yes, Zeraora also intervened in the end, but the impact of that incident was limited, Lord Sacred Beast. Additionally, there is another important matter.”
Shayna pulled out a single document from a stack of papers and handed it to Arceus. This is the order in which the Beasts Pirates handle internal affairs: matters related to the plates have the highest priority, followed by matters concerning crew members.
Who fought with whom, whether anyone broke any rules, and so on. However, this particular incident was somewhat unexpected.
“Kojiro was almost assassinated in the Flower Capital?”
As the current exclusive merchant of the Beasts Pirates, he was considered one of them. Ever since Kin’emon’s subordinate who caused trouble last time was captured and sent to the mining site, no one had bothered Kojiro.
With the backing of the Beasts Pirates, Kojiro’s business in the Flower Capital flourished, and he had even begun expanding to other regions of Wano Country.
The market share within Wano Country was limited, and previously, Kojiro’s family business had been taken over by others due to their decline. But now, with his resurgence, not only did he regain what was lost, but he also expanded into a broader market.
He possesses many things that are not found in Wano Country, and his family was considered an old and renowned business in Wano Country. Leveraging this reputation, his family had even surpassed their previous status, although their numbers have not been replenished, and the main family still consists of only him.
One could say that the entire merchant guild relied solely on Kojiro. If he were to disappear, the vast guild would undoubtedly be affected.
“What happened to him? Is he seriously injured?”
If Kojiro had already died, the report would have stated that he was murdered, but since it wasn’t, it means he is still alive.
“Ummm…no. Not only has he not sustained any injuries, but he also managed to kill his opponent and even captured two survivors. He is currently outside, and it seems he wants to see you.”
“Bring him here.”
Outside Onigashima, Kojiro had already become familiar with the pirates there. He was currently among the crowd, recounting the events of the previous night.
“These guys dared to murder in the Flower Capital. Thanks to my family’s little Kai. After my family’s decline, aside from a few elderly people who continue to follow me, this dog is the only one left.” Kojiro said as he rubbed the head of the large dog in his arms.
It was an ordinary Shiba Inu, seemingly quite old. He had raised it since he was young, and now they even slept together at night.
“Those people moved so stealthily, but unfortunately for them, their scent was detected by little Kai. Not professional at all.”
“More importantly, how did you manage to kill that guy? Those guys were quite skilled.” One of the pirates, with a bandage wrapped around his shoulder, asked him. They are the group of pirates who follow Kojiro.
However, the peaceful times had made them lax in their vigilance, which allowed those people to sneak in. Punishment was inevitable now, but since Kojiro is fine, the punishment wouldn’t be too severe.
That was also what made them curious. After all, those people had some skills. They were all people who had survived numerous battles, although they hadn’t reached the level of officers, they were proficient in close-combat techniques.
Even they had been injured, which demonstrated the strength of those assassins. Especially when they saw Kojiro struggling to row a boat that day, they always had the impression that he was a weakling.
“Well, you know why I’m the only one left in my family, right?”
Although they had become familiar with each other, they refrained from interrupting and simply waited in silence for Kojiro’s answer.
“It’s because I can fight. Don’t underestimate me; I can use Iai. In fact, my family used to be of the samurai lineage, and we had quite a few strong warriors. According to my grandfather, our previous surname was Sasaki.”
In Wano Country, commoners do not have surnames. Only the samurai and nobles possess surnames. The fact that Kojiro used to have a surname implies that his family name has been stripped away.
However, that is their complex family history, something these pirates weren’t interested in.
“So, should we call you Sasaki Kojiro?”
“No, no, no. That surname is in the past. I want to create a new one, an era that belongs to me, Kojiro.”
“Well, aren’t you amazing? But can you show us your Iai technique?”
“Um, let’s forget about that. It’s too dangerous.”
Although he boasted about his skills just now, in reality, he only knows that one move. The assassin didn’t expect Kojiro to be sleeping with a sword in his arms, which led to his swift demise with a single strike.
Legend has it that his ancestor was a master swordsman who could effortlessly strike down swallows in mid-air. That move was known as “Tsubame Gaeshi”. However, after all these years, he hasn’t seen anyone in his family capable of using it.
He is indeed the most skilled fighter in his family, but that was relatively speaking. Compared to true powerhouses, he didn’t amount to much. Last night, he had already exceeded expectations in a life-or-death situation.
It was fine to boast verbally, but if he were to act on it, he might inadvertently make a fool of himself.
However, the pirates weren’t about to let him off the hook and continued to tease him. Just then, Shayna appeared.
“Follow me. Lord Sacred Beast wants to see you. And the rest of you, why are you all just idling around? Go do whatever you should be doing!”
“Yes!” The appearance of the Discipline Head put an end to the pirates’ slacking off. Kojiro was brought before Arceus, while the captured individuals were sent to King.
“What do you want to say?”
“Well, Lord Sacred Beast, I believe I have performed adequately during this period.”
“You are indeed excellent in the field of business. So, what is it?” Apart from the goods and background support at the start, Kojiro relied mostly on himself later on, transitioning from a peddler pushing a cart to reopening the trade guild, all within a short span of time.
He also put great effort into gathering the scattered refugees displaced by Orochi, and the results were visible.
“So… may I make a small request? If those people can attempt an assassination once, there might be a second time. I feel that my situation is somewhat dangerous, and I’ve heard that you have a method to make someone become stronger quickly.”
The members of the Arceus Cult went all out in publicity so Kojiro also learned about the legends surrounding the Beasts Pirates.
However, some of those stories seemed far-fetched, to the point where the intelligence-gathering CP9 believed it to be a brainwashing technique employed by the Beasts Pirates. They suspected it was a smokescreen released by the Beasts Pirates to cover up Queen’s technology.
“So, you want to obtain an ability?”
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