Roger's presence was overwhelming. The moment he spoke seriously, even Clover was startled—his expression stiffened, lips twitching slightly as he struggled to respond.
At that moment, Valthior smiled faintly and said, "I've been very happy these past years with the Roger Pirates. I've built deep bonds with my companions. I have no intention of leaving this crew, so there's no need to say more, Professor."
Roger immediately broke into a wide grin. "That's right! Valthior is a precious companion to us. If he's unwilling, no one is taking him away from us. Even if we have to stand against the whole world, we won't back down!"
The tense atmosphere instantly eased.
Clover waved his hand with some regret. "In that case, I won't press the matter. Let's continue discussing the exchange. We're willing to share the three Poneglyphs we found in the New World. As for your side—"
Before he could finish, Roger, Valthior, Gaban, and Rayleigh all suddenly paused, their movements halting at the same time.
"The aura of a beast…" Gaban raised a brow. "As expected, Wano still has some real monsters."
"He's getting closer," Rayleigh nodded lightly. "Clearly coming for us."
Douglas Bullet also seemed to sense it, turning his gaze toward the courtyard gate.
Roger grinned. "That last fight was boring. This one, I'll—"
Before he could finish, Valthior pressed a hand onto Roger's shoulder, stopping him.
"No captain's privilege for this sort of thing," Valthior said calmly. "I already said—I hate Wano. Since a beast has come knocking… let me be the one to kill it."
"You're stealing this too?" Roger grumbled, though he made no move to stand.
Valthior didn't reply. He rose to his feet and said, "Leave the Professor and the others' safety to you."
With that, he walked out of the courtyard.
Clover and the scholars were utterly confused, having no idea what was happening. Meanwhile, Roger and the others showed no intention of intervening—they simply picked their chopsticks back up and continued eating as if nothing was wrong.
Bullet looked like he wanted to follow, but Doringo placed a plate of sushi in front of him. "Eat. Don't overthink it."
In the end, Bullet sighed and stayed, devouring the food with his usual ferocity. As a former child soldier, he never wasted a single bite.
...
Outside, Valthior stepped through the gate and found the previously lively street completely deserted.
At the far end of the road, a figure was slowly approaching.
Valthior was already exceptionally tall—over three meters, with the imposing physique of a top-tier powerhouse. But the man walking toward him was even taller, nearly four meters.
He wore traditional Wano attire in orange, a massive rope knot tied across his back, wooden sandals underfoot. His face was grim, killing intent radiating from him.
Valthior didn't need a closer look to recognize him.
Kozuki Oden—the Shogun's son.
Soon, Oden stopped about twenty meters away, his cold, murderous gaze locking onto Valthior.
"Was it you… who killed Yasuie?" Oden asked heavily.
"I don't know who this Yasuie you speak of is," Valthior replied calmly.
"Then I'll be more direct." Oden's hand rested lightly on the hilts at his waist. "The massacre at the port… was that your doing?"
Two of Wano's finest blades hung at his side—Ame no Habakiri and Enma.
One said to cut the heavens.
The other said to pierce hell.
At this moment, Kozuki Oden was twenty-six years old—still three years away from joining Whitebeard's crew in the original timeline. Yet he was already Wano's strongest warrior, not much weaker than he would be later.
His killing intent surged. As his hand settled on his swords, his aura rose sharply, fully displaying the presence of a top-tier fighter.
Valthior felt it clearly… and evaluated it.
Not bad.
That judgment came from experience. Though Valthior had looked somewhat battered in past battles, every opponent he'd faced had been a major figure of the seas.
After his clash with Garp on Linderland Island, he had undergone a complete transformation.
So to him, Kozuki Oden was simply… "not bad."
"Yes," Valthior answered plainly.
That calm, almost dismissive smile pushed Oden past his limit.
Without another word—
He drew his blades!
"Oden Two-Sword Style: Paradise Totsuka!!!"
With a roar, Oden launched forward. The twenty-meter gap vanished in an instant—his slash arriving the moment he moved.
Enma and Ame no Habakiri, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, crossed as they cut toward Valthior.
At the same time, Valthior's eyes shifted—the three tomoe of his Sharingan spinning.
Armament Haki coated his left arm, turning the chain wrapped around it jet black. He precisely intercepted the point where the two blades converged, raising his arm to meet them head-on.
Clang!!!
Steel collided with steel. Their Haki clashed violently, releasing a shockwave that blasted apart the wooden houses on either side.
The ground beneath Valthior shattered instantly under the force of Oden's strike.
But he didn't budge.
Looking at the blades pressed against his hardened chain, Valthior grinned.
"So this is all Wano's samurai amount to?"
With that, his arm surged with strength. In a single motion, he flung Oden back over twenty meters.
Before Oden could even land, the chain on Valthior's arm loosened—
His battle axe, Merciless, swung out like a sea dragon breaking free, tearing through the air with a shrill howl as it smashed toward Oden.
Oden reacted instantly, slashing at the axe—
But Valthior's mastery of the chain axe was already exceptional. With a flick of his wrist, he redirected the force, nullifying Oden's strike.
With a sharp pull, the axe traced a brilliant arc in the air before crashing down again.
Oden's response was just as fast. One strike failed—his other blade thrust forward, the tip slipping precisely into a gap in the chain. With a forceful lift, he knocked Merciless aside again.
Before Valthior could continue his technique, Oden hooked Enma beneath the axe blade and slashed hard—
The axe was sent flying, smashing into the ruins of a wooden house with a thunderous crash, kicking up a cloud of dust.
At the same moment, Oden surged forward again with a furious roar.
Valthior remained calm.
With a sharp tug, the chain snapped taut in front of him. His right hand grabbed it midair, blocking Oden's strike precisely.
At the same time, his left arm pulled back hard—the chain scraped across Oden's blade, throwing off a shower of sparks.
In an instant, Merciless slid smoothly back into Valthior's right hand.
The chain snapped tight, knocking Oden's blades aside—
And Valthior swung his axe down with overwhelming force.
"Forty Tribal Leaders!"