Once Imai arrived at the Kozuki clan's grand estate, he gave a brief summary of the events that had transpired within the Shogun's castle.
Upon hearing the figure of one billion Berries, even though the Kozuki clan was one of the preeminent families in Wano Country, Kozuki Oden could not help but feel a sharp pang of financial agony. In the end, to preserve the Kozuki clan's standing within Wano, Oden had no choice but to "break wealth to avoid disaster."
It was a supreme humiliation. To put it simply, it was like being slapped across the face and then being forced to pay the person who hit you while thanking them for the privilege. However, one must remember that besides the policy of isolationism, another tenet of Wano Country was to "offer everything to the Shogun."
With various reasons compounding, Oden was compelled to cough up the money.
"As for the final delivery of the funds, I won't make it difficult for you; I'll have our own people send it."
Imai threw a few final mocking remarks at Kozuki Oden before turning to leave. Seeing his political rival fall into a financial crisis brought him genuine, heartfelt joy.
Oden and his followers originally thought this was merely a stroke of bad luck, a loss of fortune that could be slowly earned back. Their only other takeaway was to command their subordinates to be doubly cautious when engaging future invaders. Beyond that, they thought the matter was settled.
But neither Oden, Imai, nor the Shogun of Wano could have imagined that this incident, which they believed to be over and done with, would soon bring a catastrophic crisis upon Wano Country.
…
Loli A departed the area, heading deeper into the latter stages of the New World. Meanwhile, back in his own territory, a rising rookie pirate crew was approaching.
"The Spade Pirates?"
Aboard the Red Force, which had been remodeled and fitted with new sails to serve as a guard ship for Arderay, Ivalis repeated the name of the pirate crew after hearing his subordinate's report.
"Yes," a member of the Golden Hair Pirates explained. "A rookie crew currently making a huge splash. Their captain, 'Fire Fist' Ace, has been at sea for less than a year but already has a bounty near 300 million and possesses a Logia-type ability. He is currently at the entrance of our sea territory, hoping to see the Captain."
"A super rookie wanting to see the Captain... for what?"
"I don't know. According to him, it's a 'visit,'" the crew member said, shaking his head.
"Fine, let him in."
Ivalis glanced at Cavendish, who was swinging his sword nearby while complaining impatiently, and granted Ace's "application."
Dozens of nautical miles away, on the Spade Pirates' ship...
Ace sat at the stern, dressed in a light yellow short-sleeved shirt. He was frowning as he read a newspaper from a few days ago. The lead story was about Sabo succeeding the late Warlord Bartholomew Kuma as a new member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Ace found it completely incomprehensible. Since setting sail, he had hardly seen any news regarding Sabo, but firmly believing he wasn't dead, Ace hadn't gone out of his way to look. He never expected that Sabo would stay silent only to shock the world with such a bombshell.
To suddenly appear in the news as a member of the Seven Warlords... given how much Sabo loathed the Government, how could he possibly become a Warlord?!
"Captain, the Immortal Pirates' ship has moved aside. We can enter now."
At that moment, a member of the Spade Pirates walked up behind Ace. Ace tossed the newspaper aside; there was no point in dwelling on it until they actually met.
"Alright, let's head out!"
In an instant, the worry on his face vanished without a trace. Like his Devil Fruit power, his presence seemed to brighten the entire crew.
Even so, a crew member asked worriedly, "Captain, are you really going through with this? The opponent is Alucard the Immortal. Not long ago, he made the Government suffer two major defeats in a row, and even now, they haven't found a way to save face."
"I've wanted to meet him for a long time. Don't stop me. Besides, I'm not here for a fight," Ace said, pressing a hand against his hat.
After several hours of navigating deeper into the territory, an island finally came into view. It was Arderay, the base of the Immortal Pirates.
As the Spade Pirates made landfall, a group of people was already standing there, blocking their path.
"You guys are..."
Ace blinked. Behind him, a subordinate cried out in warning, "Captain! That's Ivalis, captain of the Golden Hair Pirates and one of Alucard's main subordinates... and there's Benn Beckman..."
The crew member introduced several key members of the Golden Hair Pirates to Ace in one breath. When his eyes swept over Cavendish, whose face was practically glowing with the expectation of 'Quickly, announce my grand name!', the Spade Pirate officer blinked and said hesitantly: "I'm not sure who that curly-haired small fry is?"
"HEY!! YOU BASTARD!!!"
Cavendish's eyes rolled back in rage. However, compared to Ace's 270 million Berry bounty, his own, which hadn't even broken 50 million yet, really didn't carry much weight.
At this thought, Cavendish cast a resentful glare at Ivalis. If this guy hadn't made him practice those boring fundamentals all day every day, he would have been a superstar by now, at least he wouldn't be overshadowed by "Fire Fist" Ace.
"I know you. Former executive and First Mate of the Red Hair Pirates," Ace said, looking at Ivalis and Beckman.
This sentence caused the faces of the Golden Hair Pirates behind Ivalis to darken. Although Ivalis had gained immense prestige within the Immortal Pirates, his past as an executive for the Red Hair Pirates was still treated like "dark history."
"That's right."
Ivalis nodded candidly. He was never ashamed of his past; on the contrary, he viewed it as a precious treasure and never denied the time he spent with Shanks. (Though, the plan to rescue Luffy before Shanks died was... admittedly a bit of a blunder.)
"So, what does 'Fire Fist' Ace want here?" Ivalis asked, head held high.
"I want to pay a visit to the legendary Yonko," Ace said, thumping his chest.
Behind his sunglasses, Ivalis's eyes flickered, and the corner of his poker face twitched into an almost invisible smirk. "I like your spirit. You've got guts."
But his next sentence made Ace's face fall. "But unfortunately, the Captain isn't here right now."
Ace looked dejected, but the crew members behind him looked mostly relieved. Unlike Ace, they had no desire to meet that "Immortal Demon."
"Well, since fate brought us together, how about we hold a banquet?" Ace suggested out of nowhere, startling his own subordinates once again.