“Pochi, is it here?”
“Growl.”
A large dog, over a meter tall, sniffed the traces below, then gave an affirmative response. It looked no different from an ordinary wolfhound, with a mix of gray and black fur, two distinct black stripes on its back, and a pair of slightly menacing red eyes.
The Bite Pokémon, Mightyena, are the Pokémon which are now heavily deployed in the security force of Wano Country, and they are currently on the hunt for thieves.
As the weather grows cold, not only do the number of people going out for work increase, but some idlers also begin to take action.
Humanity is a collective. Even the most beautiful places can have blemishes. It’s possible to find good individuals within a group of evil people, but the probability of doing so is quite small.
Following the Mightyena, they continued to chase forward. Among a group of four or five people, there is only one Mightyena, not because there weren’t enough Mightyena, but because only the pirates leading these groups have gained the approval of a Mightyena.
Mightyena is wild by nature, and taming them is not an easy task. However, once tamed, Mightyena will strictly follow their trainer’s commands.
At this moment, they were tracking the target along the scent left by the other party.
Although the deep snow had covered their tracks, they still left behind their scent.
Departing from Flower Capital, Mightyena led them to the bridge in Ringo, where the snowy ground still retained the footprints of other Mightyena.
“Howl!”
The Mightyena named Pochi raised its head back and let out a howl, followed by responses echoing around. Mightyena, as a species, is a pack animal just like wolves, and ten is the ideal team size.
Whether it’s hunting or anything else, this number maximizes the team’s effectiveness. In the security team, they play the role of police dogs, with Pochi serving as the captain of the police dogs, and this howl is its way of gathering information from its kin.
Based on the information sent back from the howls, Pochi quickly led the security team to corner the thief in a snow cave.
This is just a glimpse of the changes in security within Wano Country. These petty thieves will be caught soon enough. Mogura Port is heavily guarded, and ordinary people simply can’t get out. The giant Magikarp below the waterfall is not just for show either.
Because the environment outside Wano Country’s sea is too comfortable, the evolution of these Magikarp is much slower than in the open sea. Many of their descendants have already evolved into Gyarados, but the massive Magikarp were still the same as before.
Within the limited area of Wano Country, these individuals will be caught sooner or later.
In Flower Capital, Shogun Kozuki Hiyori woke up from her sleep. Attended by numerous people, she dressed neatly and began a new day. Following the agreement with King, within the palace, she stands at the pinnacle of power, but her orders could not reach beyond Flower Capital.
Apart from serving as a mascot during the annual ritual, the influence of the Kozuki family within Wano Country has reached its lowest point in history.
“Hiyori-sama.”
“You may leave; I want to be alone for a while.”
“Yes.”
The two maids respectfully withdrew, leaving her alone in the room. She gained some power but lost her freedom. To leave the palace, she needed King’s approval, and if he was in a bad mood, everyone in the palace would be on edge.
In the palace, King had a notorious reputation. And the idea that was established back then was also slowly affecting her. Why was Momonosuke sent to the future, while she had to stay here?
Although Kozuki Toki was worried about being wiped out at that time, the current her could not understand that.
While she pondered about life, the maids that had left arrived before King, truthfully reporting on the situation of Kozuki Hiyori. Over the years, there had been an increase in personnel in the palace. Although these people outwardly showed respect to Hiyori, behind the scenes, they only obeyed King’s arrangements.
And these people shared a common point – their surname was Kurozumi.
Kurozumi Orochi carried a heavy burden of blame, and all the criticism was directed at the Kurozumi family because of him. Coupled with the rebellion of the Kurozumi family in the past, both old and new grudges were brought to light, making Kurozumi a pariah in Wano Country.
Even if some were just distant collateral branch of the family, they still faced discrimination, especially from the old and young who remained loyal to the Kozuki family at heart.
The Kurozumi surname made their survival within Wano Country problematic. In this situation, to survive, some members of the Kurozumi family made a choice: to completely surrender to the Beasts Pirates.
A large number of such people entered the palace of the Flower Capital, gradually disappearing from the sight of ordinary people in Wano Country, and forming a trend of confrontation with the old ministers in the palace who were loyal to the Kozuki family.
The former retainers of the Kozuki family lived nearby. According to the rules, they had to request permission to meet Hiyori.
Although it wasn’t as formal as submitting an application three days in advance with a response within a week, verbal consent was still required.
For example, the one who came today was Kikunojo. Kawamatsu and Denjiro were currently forced to carry out missions outside.
Kaido gave them a chance; as long as they surrender, they could change their situation. However, they were all unwilling.
Even Denjiro is the same. Due to many changes, Kyoshiro did not appear, and he did not have a chance to conceal his identity, so he didn’t want to pretend to surrender.
“Okiku, is it your turn today?”
“Please maintain some distance.”
“Don’t be so shy. Big sister isn’t afraid of you, so what are you afraid of? If you don’t come over here, I won’t pass along any messages for you.”
Dad once said, to defeat magic, one must use magic. Transgenderism is the same; when dealing with a transgender person, one must use even more powerful magic, such as an unreasonable female rogue.
There are many such people within the crew, like the woman in front of Kikunojo, King’s deputy, Delia.
She was a girl with pink braided hair, sporting a scar on her face. However, she paid no attention to it and continued to tease Kikunojo, whose pretty boy looks were attractive to women.
For example, Delia was interested in him, but it was a bit difficult for someone who identified themselves as a woman.
Most of the deputies within the Beasts Pirates are of the same gender, making many things more convenient. For instance, there’s Amalee, who follows Shayna, and Pierman, who follows Mandrell.
King is currently the only exception. Delia, who is quite carefree, gets along well with him. They even exchange some insights and experiences on interrogation.
In a somewhat coerced situation, Kikunojo was taken advantage of by Delia before getting the opportunity to meet Hiyori. However, he felt that as Hiyori grows up, the smile on her face has been decreasing for some reason.
Meanwhile, on the small floating island, several Ohara scholars were excitedly looking at an egg in front of them.
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