Wano Country, Kuri Inland Sea.
The large composite speedboat slowly sailed toward the distant shore.
On the deck of the Leviathan, a large but hunched man was being gawked at.
"So ugly, so perverted!" The emotionless girl Sato Sakura commented, then turned her gaze to Tama. "Mother is out picking up kids again."
Ace, squinting his eyes as if something had occurred to him, reached out and patted Sato Sakura's calf. "You can set your own terms. You can call Tama 'auntie', and Tama can call you 'big sister'!"
The moment the words left his mouth, a giant fist whistled back, punching Ace and sending him tumbling into the sea.
Sato Sakura snorted coldly, then withdrew her smoking fist. She pulled down the hood of her cloak to cover her face, sat down to the side, and stopped talking.
Tama timidly glanced at Sato Sakura, her face scrunched up, afraid to speak.
"Don't be scared. She means no harm!"
Seeing Tama like this, Leviathan also walked over, reached out, and rubbed her head, then took her to the cabin to rest.
Shiki, sitting cross-legged on the steps with his two swords crossed, withdrew his gaze from appraising Orochi and snorted coldly. "Heh, the noble clans of Wano have truly fallen, to actually let a Kurozumi like you climb to the position of Shogun?"
Stung by Shiki's words, Orochi jumped up again. Black serpent shadows twisted and grew, revealing his mythical beast body as he roared at Shiki: "You damn outsiders! Why do you have to stick your noses into Wano's affairs?"
"Hmm?"
A cold light flashed in Shiki's open eyes. His feet moved slightly, but he sat back down on the steps.
Then, seven of Orochi's heads slid off his neck, the severed edges extremely smooth. The single remaining serpent head was frightened into a human-like fear.
"Kid, watch your tone. When I was in the underworld, your Kurozumi were still dogs to the Kozuki!" Shiki, his face full of impatience, held his cigar in his mouth, scolding Orochi into silence.
Ace, soaking wet, climbed up from the gunwale. Seeing Shiki's burning anger, he tried to stop him: "Shiki-senpai, stay your blade!"
Hearing the voice, Shiki's gaze shifted. When it fell upon the sword at Ace's waist, his anger seemed to subside somewhat.
He used his ability to float, grabbed Orochi's uncut head with his Haki-coated hand, and slammed it onto the deck.
The pain and the immense physical consumption caused by his ability's regeneration made it impossible for Orochi to maintain his mythical beast form. He slowly shrank back to his human form.
"Worthless!" Shiki clicked his tongue. "Write the abdication edict immediately. Then go wherever you want."
"You promise that if I give the position to that girl, you'll let me go?" Orochi knelt on the ground, gasping for breath. His spite and madness were well hidden by his kowtowing.
It was just giving up the position of Shogun. As long as he was still alive, everything could be regained.
After all, he still had the Kurozumi surname. In this hereditary, never-ending Wano, that would always preserve a chance for him to become Shogun.
He could just find a more powerful pirate later to satisfy their appetites and take the position back. After all, the interests given away to buy off the pirates didn't have to be paid by him.
"I guarantee it on the name of Golden Lion!" Shiki crossed his arms, his coat and cigar smoke fluttering in the wind.
Knowing that pirates of their caliber disdained lying, Orochi relaxed. He stepped forward, took the paper and pen prepared by the winged tribe soldiers, wrote a document of abdication, and handed it to Shiki.
Having obtained the document, Shiki ignored everyone else and rushed into the Leviathan's cabin.
Not long after, he flew out of the cabin carrying a young girl.
"Wah! This girl's been caught! Leviathan-nee, come save this girl!" Tama, held by the scruff of her neck, struggled in Shiki's hands, calling out Leviathan's name.
An angry Leviathan emerged from below the deck, black mist flowing around her as the sound of chains scraping echoed. "You old bastard, what are you doing?"
"Didn't your captain say to hand the girl over to me?"
Shiki grinned, raising his hand to lift Tama to his face, meeting her gaze. "Kid, from today on, you are my disciple!"
This proclamation, like a meteor crashing to earth, caused a huge explosion and impact in everyone's hearts.
It made the ready-to-strike Sato Sakura, Ace, and Leviathan stumble, their mouths twitching as they crashed to the ground.
"Ah?" x3
Shiki's gaze swept over the three dazed Higanbana Pirates' members. His mood was as refreshing as a morning greeting the new year wearing new underwear.
Didn't they know the flower language of talent is: first come, first served!
Take this little one while she's young, take her as his disciple, and train her in his own image.
In the future, with Wano's military and government united, a solid piece, it could become his absolutely secure stronghold, and even a launch point to advance upon the world!
"I don't want to!"
The girl's voice was clear and bright, her tone firm in refusing Shiki.
"Ah? Why not!" Shiki's mouth gaped, his eyes staring blankly.
Sure enough, confusion doesn't disappear... it just transfers from one person's face to another's.
"I'm already Big Sister's disciple. I don't want to become a disciple of an old man like you!"
Held in mid-air, Tama flailed her arms and legs, sticking out her tongue at Shiki.
"What?" Shiki was as if struck by lightning.
'Damn Haruno Sakura! Was this also within your calculations?'
'She had predicted that I would predict her possible prediction and had already taken this child as her disciple ahead of time?'
The three on the Leviathan watched Shiki's face cycle through different colors. Sato Sakura simply pulled out some snacks to share with the other two, contentedly becoming popcorn-eating spectators.
Shiki in the sky racked his brains for a long time. "Hey, Kurozumi kid, you don't want Wano to continue in this chaos, do you?"
This netizen of Wano... oh no, this underworld figure of Wano, returned to his old trade, threatening Tama with skilled words.
In almost an instant, the young girl's firm expression wavered upon hearing Shiki's words. Her eyebrows knotted.
"Tsk tsk, dirty adult!"
Sato Sakura, nibbling on potato chips, slightly raised her head and covered her lips elegantly with her hand in an affected manner, her compassionate, world-weary gaze sizing up Shiki.
"Indeed!"
Ace and Leviathan tilted their heads, their eyes teasing, showing the annoying, smug grins of little brats.
"You three! That's enough!" Shiki, his anger born of shame, made him roar at the three on the Leviathan below.
Then, a several-hundred-meter-long golden slash shot out, but was blocked by a rising shadow from beneath the sea.
The shockwave rippled at the point where the two attacks collided, causing the sea to become tempestuous. The exploding pillars of water blocked the view of Leviathan and the others.
Although they couldn't see Shiki, the three loudly chirped without backing down:
"He's angry!" / "Hit the nail on the head!" / "How cute!"
More and more veins popped out on Shiki's head, but he used great willpower to turn his head toward Tama.
"So, what's your decision? This is your only chance."
Tama's watery eyes trembled. She showed the reluctant expression of a wife forced to go to her boss's house while her husband was away on a business trip.
"I... I accept..."