As Bob's words fell, Yamato turned her gaze and finally noticed that Onigashima was heading in another direction away from the Flower Capital.
"This..."
Not only was Yamato stunned, but Luffy and the others were equally bewildered.
Their faces were filled with disbelief—no one had expected Onigashima to actually drift towards a different course.
Seeing their reactions, Bob said nothing more and instead turned his eyes toward the distant darkness.
From the moment he arrived on this island, he had harbored the intention of recruiting these rookie pirates into his crew.
Fighting them served two purposes: to test their strength and to subdue them with sheer power.
In this world, fists were always the most persuasive language, especially among pirates.
Without such a battle, these arrogant rookies would never have listened properly to his invitation.
Whoosh!!
Just then, within the dark nightscape Bob was observing, several figures came speeding through the air from afar.
It was Kaido and Big Mom, who had been capturing the World Government's agent outside Onigashima.
Accompanying them were three masked men clad in CP0's uniforms.
"Mamamama!"
"Bob, that punch of yours earlier was earth-shattering—we could feel it even from so far away!" Big Mom laughed heartily, holding a CP0 agent in each hand.
"Huh? The Straw Hat Kid is still alive?!"
Her eyes flickered with suspicion as she saw Luffy standing unharmed before Bob, save for a massive bump on his head.
Then, her fury flared up instantly.
She was determined to kill Luffy, who bore a deep grudge against her.
"Bob, you—"
She turned to Bob, ready to demand an explanation, her temper on the verge of exploding.
But the moment her eyes met Bob's, the words died in her throat.
Her tone shifted abruptly.
"What should we do with these CP0 agents you wanted captured?" Big Mom's voice instantly cooled.
She realized Bob had never intended to kill Luffy.
His earlier scuffle with the brat had just been for fun.
Before Bob could answer, Kaido spoke up.
"Hmph! Kill them of course!"
"They almost got away!" Kaido tossed one of the CP0 agents to the ground and crossed his arms.
Like Big Mom, during the chase, he had noticed these agents concealing their presence.
If not for their Observation Haki, the CP0 agents might have escaped.
Along the way, Kaido had also sensed the rampaging energy surging across Onigashima.
He immediately thickened the flame clouds surrounding the island several times over to prevent it from crashing down.
Then, he steered Oni Island in the opposite direction.
Having followed Bob for over forty years, even without explicit orders, Kaido could guess his commander's intentions.
For Kaido himself, the Wano Project was originally meant to pave the way for Yamato to become shogun and expand the alliance's influence.
But now, it was clear that his beloved daughter Yamato had been aiding Luffy and the samurai all along—she was never on his side.
The idea of making her shogun had been nothing but his own delusion.
Though he couldn't understand why Yamato worshipped the deceased Oden so fervently, even idolizing him!
In Kaido's view, courage was an essential trait for the strong—retreat would never bring one what they desired.
He looked down on Oden.
Despite his strength and the wound he had inflicted on him, he act like a fool and dancing on Orochi palm for years.
And compared to his own commander, Bob, Oden was nothing!
"CP0!"
"I never expected the World Government to have their eyes on Wano too!"
Bob glanced coldly at the three men lying battered on the ground.
Hearing this, the CP0 agents who's thrown onto the ground, kept their heads lowered, not uttering a word.
They had thought their concealment was flawless—watching Bob and the Straw Hat clash from the shadows, gathering enough intel before making their escape.
Yet, Bob had discovered them effortlessly.
"Speak!"
"What is the World Government's purpose in coming to Wano?"
Beside them, Kaido raised his kanabo, ready to smash their heads into pulp at any moment.
However, faced with Kaido's interrogation and the looming threat of death, the masked men remained silent, utterly indifferent.
These elite operatives trained by the World Government had long ceased to care about life and death.
Extracting information from them was nearly impossible—even torture would be futile.
But those present didn't necessarily need to kill them.
There were other ways to make them talk.
They might not even need to speak at all.
"Law!"
"Your turn."
Bob turned to Law, who had mostly recovered his stamina, and spoke calmly.
Hearing this, Law's eyes sharpened instantly.
At the same time, he wondered inwardly.
'How does Bob know I can do this?'
"I can, but I'll need one more person."
"Only then can I pull it off."
Law murmured softly, his gaze shifting to the three masked men.
"That's easy." Bob's eyes flicked towards the lower levels of Onigashima, a faint smirk curling his lips.
*****
Meanwhile, deep below Onigashima...
"That damn Strawhat! Why is he still alive?!"
"Bob can't even finish off a brat—how useless!"
In a dilapidated room on Oni Island, one of Kurozumi Orochi's heads glared furiously at the samurai before him, while his other heads monitored the chaos above, seething with rage.
"And that bastard Kaido! Using me as a pawn!"
The head Kaido had severed was now permanently gone from his Yamata no Orochi form.
For him, it meant one less life.
Once reliant on Kaido for power and influence, Orochi now harbored nothing but venomous hatred for his former benefactor.
"Kurozumi Orochi! Do you really think you still have a chance?"
"Embrace your death!"
The Red Scabbards glared at the grotesque serpent before them, now reduced to only four heads, and roared.
"You think killing me will change anything? Kaido will still wipe you out!"
"Even if I die, I'll drag a few of you down with me!" Kurozumi Orochi's serpentine eyes burned with the fury of a desperate fight to the death as he spoke arrogantly.
Whoosh!!
At that very moment, a fierce gust of wind suddenly swept past Orochi.
A man now stood right beside him.