Kikunojo’s arrival completely disrupted the situation on the battlefield. Originally, Izou had not gained any advantage in the battle against Delia, so after Kikunojo arrived, his situation naturally took a turn for the worse.
Delia’s kick was dodged by him, but the Iron Tail that followed struck his shoulder, the star-shaped tail shimmering with a metallic gleam.
Its special shape allowed it to function like a nail hammer, and even with Haki’s defense, the force of Iron Tail penetrated his body. Judging by the feedback from his body, it had cracked his shoulder blade.
“It seems you two are acquainted, this just got interesting.”
Based on her understanding of Kikunojo, he had never left Wano Country, and Izou was dressed similarly to Wano Country’s attire, so the answer was obvious; Izou was born in Wano Country.
Combined with Kozuki Oden’s past adventures, this person must have some connection with the Kozuki family.
But this didn’t make Delia relent. With her claws crackling with lightning, she reached out towards her opponent, but a flaming longsword intercepted her attack. It was Fossa, who had been engaged in combat with Combe moments before.
Facing Whitebeard’s division commander, although Combe could hold him for a while, if Fossa wanted to leave, he had no way to stop him.
Sensing the unusual situation here, Fossa quickly forced Combe back and rushed to provide support.
“Izou, what’s wrong with you?”
Because Combe’s strength was not enough to threaten him, Fossa had been observing Izou’s fight. At first, it seemed normal, but with the appearance of that masked man, everything about Izou became abnormal.
“That’s my younger brother.”
“What?! I see, you deal with that woman, and I’ll deal with your brother.”
“No, things are not as you think, have you forgotten about my country…”
Fossa originally thought that Izou couldn’t make a move because of his younger brother, which was not uncommon. It’s not unheard of for siblings to have one join the Marines and the other become a pirate.
So Fossa thought that as long as they swapped opponents, this matter could be easily handled, but Izou’s thoughts were far from simple.
Back then when the Whitebeard’s ship landed in Wano Country by accident after encountering a disaster at sea, it was at that time that Izou followed Kozuki Oden onto the Whitebeard’s ship.
Although Fossa was also an old member of the Whitebeard Pirates, he had never encountered Kikunojo before and was unaware of Kikunojo’s situation at the time.
Although Kozuki Oden did not return to the Whitebeard Pirates, they simply assumed that Kozuki Oden had returned to become the Shogun. And Kikunojo, as a retainer of the Kozuki family, would never abandon the Kozuki family to join another force.
Unless it was Kozuki Oden who led them to do so, but if Kozuki Oden continued to sail, he would definitely choose to return to the Whitebeard Pirates. This situation only signifies one thing: trouble in Wano Country.
Moreover, in the Underworld market of the New World, the Beasts Pirates sold a large number of Seastone products and weapons, and Wano Country was known as the most definite source of Seastone. When these pieces of information were combined in Izou’s mind, it casted a shadow over his heart.
This made it impossible for him to calm down and fight.
“You mean Oden.”
“No, Oden-sama is so strong, there’s no way anything could happen to him. Let’s retreat. This island is no longer important. We need to bring back the information we have to tell Pops.”
There is no point in fighting to the death here. It is more important to gather information. If Oden was fine, it meant their speculations were all wrong, and they could just attack this place again.
But if Oden was really in trouble, judging from Kozuki Oden’s strength, it was something they couldn’t handle anymore.
In this regard, Izou and Fossa reached a consensus, and following their orders, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates who had just arrived here also began to retreat.
Delia wasn’t a Blessed One who is good at detaining people, and she couldn’t overwhelm these two division commanders either. In the face of their decision to retreat, she was left with no choice but to accept it.
Although she tried to pursue them, as they gradually approached Whitebeard’s territory, she ultimately chose to give up.
“Sister Delia, we…”
“Retreat. Temporarily abandon this island and withdraw to our territory. This situation is a bit unexpected.”
She could roughly guess why Izou chose to retreat. Getting involved with someone at Whitebeard’s level was not something she could handle; it was a task better suited for the higher-ups.
When the ship was returning, Delia made a call to King.
“Hey, Boss, there’s a bit of trouble here.”
“Hmm? Do they attach such great importance to this island?”
“Not really, boss. That’s not the main issue. This time, among the people sent by Whitebeard, there was that Izou. His relationship with Kikunojo doesn’t seem ordinary. He may have deduced something regarding Wano Country. I think this needs to be reported to Lord Kaido.”
“I understand. You bring your people back first.”
“Got it.”
Although the exposure of this matter had a certain connection to Kikunojo, King didn’t pay much attention to it. After all, some things couldn’t be kept hidden forever. The fact that the Beasts Pirates used Wano Country as their main base was not a secret; many people in the World Government were aware of it.
Whitebeard might be unaware for now, but if he really intends to find out, he could easily piece together this information. Moreover, it’s not the same as it was several years ago.
After hanging up the phone, King took a run up and soared into the sky, flying towards Onigashima. Some things couldn’t be explained over the phone. He needed to discuss this matter face to face with Kaido and Arceus.
“So, you’re saying Whitebeard already knows about the situation here, is that it?”
Kaido tossed Yamato aside, a routine part of his training and a source of despair for Yamato. For some reason, the stronger she became, the less human Kaido seemed.
“Currently, it’s just speculation, but it’s highly probable.”
“Good.”
Arceus saw it very clearly. Kaido’s lips curled up. Faced with the future, all he felt was excitement.
“Too bad it’s a bit too soon; otherwise, we could have launched a full-scale war.”
As Kaido’s strength gradually grew, his horizons also broadened. His enemies were no longer just some pirate crews, but the World Government, which had the entire Marine at its disposal.
Besides becoming the Pirate King, he also wanted to overthrow the existing order and establish his own new order.
He wasn’t afraid of a full-on war with Whitebeard, but now is not the time. That wouldn’t serve his interests.
The full-scale clash between the two major pirate crews would disrupt the existing balance of the New World. As a participant in the war, his interests would inevitably be harmed. Whether it was the World Government or Charlotte Linlin, who has a cooperative relationship with him, they probably wouldn’t just sit back and watch.
Then Kaido began his transformation. Choosing not to engage in a major battle didn’t mean he wouldn’t fight; he was not the type to simply take beatings without retaliating.
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