"Looks like… you do have some sense of awareness."
Michael nodded.
He had never actually met the former Kozuki Oden in person; everything he knew came entirely from his previous life's knowledge of the manga.
But even based on those old impressions, Kozuki Oden might have had many flaws.
However, there was one thing…
He always kept his word.
"And you're not even going to ask me how exactly I want you to repay your debt?"
"Things like that are always decided by the creditor anyway… I'm not curious at all." Kozuki Oden shrugged. "But… would it be possible to wait until I resolve this new national crisis before repaying the kindness you showed me all those years ago?"
"I'm not in any hurry… After all, Wano still has its uses to me. I obviously can't let Kaido get his way."
Michael certainly still had expectations for Wano.
Because the country had not yet ended its isolation, all of its unique technologies had never leaked out.
And as the nation with the largest reserves of Seastone, Wano was also unparalleled in forging and refining techniques.
Not only could they process Seastone down to the size of a nail, they could even control the purity—enough to strip an ability user of their Devil Fruit powers without preventing them from doing hard labor.
With forging techniques like that, Wano was absolutely indispensable when it came to manufacturing precision weapons.
Otherwise, Kaido wouldn't have set his sights on conquering Wano back then.
Now, due to the development of the SMILE Fruits, Kaido's entire crew had grown significantly stronger, and that was exactly why he once again set Wano as his invasion target.
With the power of his subordinates rising dramatically, naturally stronger weapons needed to be placed on the agenda too.
After all, Wano didn't just have Seastone—its various metal resources were also extremely abundant.
It wasn't an exaggeration to call it a strategic must-have.
"Wano… its uses?" Kozuki Oden looked at Michael. "Don't tell me… what you want is the whole country of Wano?"
"I have no interest in a closed-off, xenophobic country."
"Then what did you mean just now?"
"I'm not interested in the country, but I am very interested in what the country can do." Michael said, pointing at the ground. "Including the thing hidden beneath all of Wano."
The moment Michael said this, Kozuki Oden's breath instantly halted.
The next moment, a tremendous wave of Conqueror's Haki burst out of him.
Michael wasn't surprised; he released his own Conqueror's Haki in return.
When the two clashed, black lightning crackled through the air around them.
And the people of the Flower Capital watched in shock as the sky… split open.
They of course had no idea that this was a phenomenon caused by a clash of overwhelming Conqueror's Haki.
But as one of the people involved, Kozuki Oden's face turned slightly pale.
Because he realized that in that brief clash of Haki…
He had been pushed back.
But what he didn't expect was that Michael wasn't surprised at all—he even looked at him approvingly.
"Not bad at all, Kozuki Oden. You're much stronger than I imagined."
"As expected of the former Second Division Commander of Whitebeard."
But thinking about it, it made sense. With the power Oda had assigned him, there was no way Kozuki Oden would be weak.
Putting aside his powerful Conqueror's Haki…
He also possessed the same ability as Roger—"hearing the voice of all things."
The current Kozuki Oden might not have fully reached a Yonko-level peak, but he wasn't far off.
Of course, compared to peak Whitebeard and Michael, there was still a sizable gap.
Even among the Yonko, power levels couldn't be mentioned in the same breath.
After that, Michael clapped his hands and said, taking the lead:
"Sit down, Kozuki Oden."
"Let's talk about the specific details."
...
"As for Wano, we're determined to take it this time."
On Raijin Island, the fully assembled Alliance of Villains had finalized their next objective.
Whether it was Kaido and Gecko Moria's obsession with Wano, or the others' greed for Wano's resources, the vote to conquer Wano again passed unanimously.
And since both Kaido and Moria had invaded Wano once before, they stated with one voice: Wano was easy to defend and hard to attack. Unless they had an overwhelming power gap, storming it head-on would be very difficult.
Therefore…
"We must go all-out. You lot better not hold back…" Kaido swept his gaze across everyone. "Time is extremely tight right now. We need to take Wano as fast as possible to maximize our growth."
"I have a question…" Ochoku from Hachinosu frowned. "Don't forget—Edward Newgate is Kozuki Oden's old friend. And in the last few years, the Whitebeard Pirates have built their own nation… If those two join forces… we won't stand a chance."
The moment he finished speaking, everyone nodded in agreement.
There was no helping it— even without Michael existing in this world, the name Whitebeard alone was a massive mountain pressing down on every pirate.
Unshakeable.
But Kaido and Blackbeard Teach exchanged a glance and revealed identical sinister smiles.
Clap.
Kaido clapped, and his subordinates immediately activated a Den Den Mushi projector.
The image that appeared was Whitebeard Jr., Edward Weevil, lying in a dungeon, barely clinging to life.
"We don't have to worry about Whitebeard."
"Even though they're strong, gathering all their forces and rushing to Wano would take a long time…"
"As long as we move fast enough and seize Wano immediately, then even if the Whitebeard Pirates mobilize everything, with the natural terrain advantage and a hostage in hand, they'll have no choice but to retreat in disgrace."
...
After everyone left Raijin Island to return to their own territories to gather forces, only Teach—who had just defected from the Whitebeard Pirates—remained.
"You're not leaving, Teach?"
"Why should I leave?" Blackbeard chuckled. "Zehahahaha… I haven't met your real collaborator yet."
"You… are quite smart." Kaido glanced at him. "Seems your uniqueness isn't just that you don't need to sleep."
Never sleeping—that was Blackbeard's strange trait.
Equivalent to living twice as long as a normal person.
"You flatter me."
Kaido didn't continue the topic. Instead, he stood up and headed toward a remote area of Raijin Island.
Blackbeard followed him to the cliff at the back of the island.
There, many unmarked ships were unloading cargo in an area untouched by lightning.
"What are these things?"
"Dyna Stones. Ever heard of it?"
"…Isn't that stuff a banned weapon? Where did you get it?"
Kaido laughed.
"If it's a weapon banned by the World Government… obviously you have to get it from the World Government."
Then he looked toward the edge of the cliff, where an old man with a head full of white hair was sitting.
His beard and hair curved like a crescent moon…
"Teach, come meet the leader of the God's Knights…"
"Saint Figarland Garling."
-----------
Fanfic is finished. 583 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg