Chapter 143: Assassination List! Ten Years of Waiting
But since Whitebeard Newgate had already said that much.
Lotte had to take Kaido's factor into consideration as well. Otherwise, if Charlotte Linlin and Kaido formed an alliance ahead of schedule.
It would have some impact on his plans.
Lotte pondered.
He looked toward Whitebeard Newgate and continued calmly.
"Hm, Kaido, huh? Don't worry—I have my own ways to deal with him."
"By the way, how strong is that girl now?"
"The current leader of Shadow."
Whitebeard showed a helpless expression upon hearing Lotte's question.
"To be honest, I don't know the exact strength of Shadow's current leader. When it comes to pure disguise, she's definitely top-tier."
"But judging from the recent assassination list."
"Her strength has already surpassed that of a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral."
Everyone knew that while the Whitebeard Pirates were currently one of the top pirate crews on the seas, Shadow's scale was only second to the very best.
It was only because they lacked sufficiently powerful top-tier experts
That they hadn't yet been ranked by the World Government as one of the absolute greatest threats.
"Assassination list?"
Lotte immediately looked puzzled upon hearing this.
In his mind, Shadow should primarily focus on gathering intelligence.
Assassination was just one means to achieve intelligence goals.
It wasn't like they were playing Assassin's Creed.
Whitebeard Newgate nodded slightly and explained to Lotte.
"Ever since you disappeared, World Government and Marine Headquarters officials have frequently been targeted for assassination—including many Devil Fruit users and high-ranking officers."
"But no one has ever caught the assassin."
"Later, Roger and I discussed it and guessed that nine times out of ten, it was the person you entrusted. Otherwise, there'd be no reason to provoke the World Government."
Over these ten years,
Nearly a hundred World Government and Marine Headquarters officials and executives had been assassinated.
Not long ago, even an old Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral
Had been killed by the assassin.
What shocked people even more was that many of these killings happened inside Marine Headquarters and fortresses.
This proved the assassin's infiltration and stealth skills were extraordinary.
Naturally, Marine Headquarters and the World Government had thoroughly investigated.
But in the end, they still found nothing.
Hearing Whitebeard Newgate's words.
Lotte was momentarily stunned. Then a warm feeling surged in his heart.
These ten years,
That girl had still been waiting for him.
And her strength had undergone earth-shaking changes. Perhaps not on the level of monsters like Kaido, but still extremely impressive.
In that case, he absolutely could not die easily.
With this thought clear in his mind.
Lotte looked at Whitebeard Newgate, took a deep breath, and continued.
"Hm, I understand."
"Once I finish handling things here, I'll head back."
"By the way, Whitebeard—are you interested in taking Kozuki Oden aboard? In terms of pure strength, he's pretty good."
Lotte said with a playful smile.
Whitebeard Newgate gave him an annoyed pat on the shoulder.
"That kid isn't someone you've already set your eyes on? And haven't you noticed—he may be strong, but he's a total troublemaker."
"I already have enough problem children on my ship."
To be honest.
Kozuki Oden's talent and strength were indeed tempting.
From any angle, even among top pirate crews, Oden's strength stood out.
Moreover, he looked so young.
Even if his personality was a bit wild, it was still a minor flaw compared to his strengths.
But when Whitebeard thought of the troublemakers already on his ship, adding another Kozuki Oden…
Just imagining it gave him a headache.
Moreover, that Kozuki Oden was a daimyo of Wano.
Trying to whisk someone away from Wano was truly audacious.
Lotte pouted.
"To you, one Kozuki Oden wouldn't cause much trouble, right?"
"Even destroying all of Wano wouldn't be impossible for you now. When it comes to being a monster, we're about the same."
After the earlier battle with Whitebeard Newgate.
Lotte had confirmed that the current peak Whitebeard's shockwave and tsunami range could probably destroy all of Wano without issue.
During their fight earlier.
He had already deliberately limited the scope—otherwise, that coastline would have been ruined long ago.
Whitebeard's mouth twitched.
About the same?
Though he was very confident in his strength, he wouldn't believe such words.
Back then, Lotte had only needed two short years to nearly catch up to the decades of hard work he and Golden Lion Shiki had put in.
Truly infuriating when comparing people!
But though the original Wano arc version of Kozuki Oden was indeed quite unreliable.
Lotte had the Three Tomoe Sharingan. As long as he planted a suggestion, Oden could become a reliable combat asset for him.
Now wasn't the time to be picky.
Lotte pondered slightly.
Meanwhile, inside Wano Country, lights still burned brightly.
After the Red Scabbard Nine tied up Kozuki Oden to force him to rest and recover, they gathered together to discuss the events of the day.
Izou recounted everything that had happened during the day.
This made the Red Scabbard Nine's expressions turn extremely grave.
"That masked man actually defeated Lord Oden head-on. In terms of threat level, this is the first time such a powerful outsider has appeared."
"And that Whitebeard Pirates group."
"The aura coming from them was also incredibly strong. With just the few of us, there's no way we could stop them from taking Lord Oden out to sea."
Izou took a deep breath, his face looking ugly as he spoke.
For the Red Scabbard Nine, Kozuki Oden was undoubtedly the future shogun of all Wano. After finally repairing the father-son relationship.
And solidly securing his position as daimyo of Kuri.
All that remained was some time before he succeeded Sukiyaki's position—it was practically guaranteed.
The others exchanged glances and sighed.
Kin'emon gripped the hilt at his waist tightly, hesitating as he spoke.
"Should we… inform the shogun about this?"
As his words fell.
The rest of the Red Scabbard Nine immediately opposed.
"Right now, the shogun and Lord Oden have only just repaired their father-son relationship. If this causes another rift, it would be disastrous."
"We just need to keep watch over Lord Oden."
"Anyway, once those outsiders finish repairing their ship, they'll leave obediently on their own."
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