What on earth is going on? None of them dared to make a conclusion, so they had to put the situation aside for now. However, this added another worry to Kozuki Oden's mind.
After the familiar dance segment, he unconsciously passed by Hyogoro's house.
"Little Oden, what are you looking at? Why don't you come in?"
A woman with short, curly golden hair greeted Kozuki Oden at the door with a smoking pipe. She was Hyogoro's wife, and like Musashi decades ago, was one of the rare rebellious girls in Wano Kuni.
She eventually married Hyogoro, the boss of the underworld, and changed her lifestyle afterward.
"Ah... no, Hiyori is still waiting at home. I'll head back today."
"Really? That's a shame. Come by and play next time, okay?"
"Hmm..."
Kozuki Oden turned to leave, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure—Kojiro carrying a gift box and entering Hyogoro's house.
Moreover, Hyogoro's men did not stop Kojiro, but instead welcomed him with smiles, which added more suspicion in his heart.
But this was just a very ordinary interaction between Kojiro and Hyogoro. His shopping center encountered quite a few troubles, mostly from petty thieves who were often hooligans.
And if they wanted to manage these hooligans properly, Hyogoro's men were the most effective.
Besides, Hyogoro's men were past the age of fighting and killing, and Kojiro could help some of his old brothers find employment, allowing them a decent livelihood, which was why such interactions existed on both sides.
...
At Peach Blossom Spring Farm, Setsuna opened a drawer, and inside was a neatly arranged row of diaries. Some were still wrapped in plastic, clearly new, while others had covers that were starting to yellow.
That was her very first diary. It had been a long time since she left Zou, and she was no longer that seven-year-old wolf. In almost ten years, she had undergone a tremendous change, though her habit of writing diaries remained.
[December 27, 1500, Sunny
It's almost the 10th year since I left Zou. Zeraora is diligently training every day, but he seems to have encountered his greatest opponent in life—his height.
Setsuna remembers he is already 1.8 meters tall, but recently it seems he has reached his limit and won't grow any taller, reaching only to Setsuna's chest.
Salt-salt is the same, always that big, but they are very cute nonetheless...]
Salt-salt is her Alcremie, much cuter than an ordinary plush toy.
[But this time it's different. This New Year, Setsuna plans to return to Zou. It took a lot for Zeraora to agree to accompany me. Mom should really like him, but Dad, I'm not so sure...]
After obtaining the Life Card from Inuarashi, she found the way back to Zou, but she had been preoccupied with things these past years, so she hadn't had a chance to return. To say she doesn't miss home is impossible.
Like Inuarashi or Nekomamushi, those who forgot their race and country due to brainwashing were a minority. After putting away the diary, Setsuna started packing her luggage. Having managed to go home, she had yet to decide what to do.
Furthermore, her neighbor was unusually quiet today. There was no sound of the generator or electricity because Zeraora was currently on Ghost Island.
"My Lord, tomorrow I'm going to Zou with Setsuna..."
"Then go, it's not like you can't come back. What's there to hesitate about?"
Zeraora seldom bothered him. This time, returning to Ghost Island to say some strange things made him feel a bit unusual.
"I wanted to ask if I should bring some gifts."
His appearance couldn't be described as entirely innocent. Initially, Arceus created him to engage with the Fur Race, but Zeraora is a unique individual.
In his essence, he is fundamentally loyal, but beyond that, he possesses independent thinking. He is a unique Phantom Pokemon, not a marionette.
His initial interactions with Setsuna had a purpose, but almost ten years together, witnessing the transition from strollers to big vehicles, he developed genuine feelings for Setsuna.
Before returning to Zou, Setsuna often discussed her parents, which unconsciously put pressure on Zeraora, giving him the feeling of a son-in-law visiting his in-laws.
Arceus provided him with basic knowledge to develop his own way of thinking in daily life, but this situation was completely outside his realm of knowledge.
For beings created by Arceus, he is their greatest reliance, and that's why he returned here for help.
"Heh heh heh, have you reached that stage, kid? Pick a few things from Ghost Island's Treasure Vault. Hurry up, I'm curious to see what kind of children a cat and a wolf will have. Your kids shouldn't be weak, right?"
Arceus hadn't decided what he should take, but Kaidou offered Ghost Island's Treasure Vault directly to Zeraora.
"But strength is the most important thing. If it doesn't work out, just beat them all up."
Having finally said something sensible, Kaidou then shifted the topic to a bizarre place. Being someone who values strength above all, Kaidou believes that many issues can be resolved if one's strength is sufficient.
The task of choosing items ultimately fell on him. Since the Fur Race doesn't eat furry mammals, most of the items he picked were preserved overseas specialties.
While he was still pondering, he ran into Queen. After learning what was going on, Queen took on the whole task himself.
"Leave it to me, I'm good at this stuff."
"You?"
Zeraora cast a doubtful look. He didn't particularly trust Queen in this area, given Queen often did unbelievable things.
"What's that look? I was quite the charmer when I was young. If I wasn't worried about leaving people spellbound, I wouldn't have gotten so fat. Just leave the gifts to me."
The next day, Setsuna saw Zeraora carrying a massive pack. From the visible part, it seemed to contain many odd things, including some machines and such.
"What are those...?"
"Gifts. That guy Queen said these things would definitely come in handy in Zou, so he packed them up for me."
"You actually didn't need to bring these things..."
"No worries, let's go. The flight is ready."
The leader of the Thousand-Year Dragons landed in front of them. For the Thousand-Year Dragon, it doesn't matter where they spend the New Year. If they were to take a boat, they probably wouldn't reach Zou this year, so they had asked help from a Thousand-Year Dragon.
The back of the Thousand-Year Dragon was quite spacious. Two people plus two big packages didn't affect its flight. Guided by the Life Card, they flew towards Zou against the morning sun...