Beasts Pirates’ Pokémon Center, the monastery of the Arceus Cult, Mogura Port—one of the external ports, Squirtle’s firefighting squad, and several supply warehouses were all established here.
Foreign doctors and technical personnel, as well as the residential area for the families of the Beasts Pirates, also lived here. Their stronger spending power indirectly drove the development of this region.
“By the way, even now, Wano Country is still in a semi-isolated state. Why are you interested in the Shogun here?”
Over the past several hundred years, Wano Country had been completely closed off. Only a very small number of people ever slipped out, and occasionally some goods flowed outward. Aside from that, Wano had no contact with the outside world.
Even after the Beasts Pirates arrived, any external exchange here was still carried out indirectly through them.
Kuzan didn’t understand why Red Hair would take an interest in this place. No matter how he looked at it, Shanks shouldn’t have any connection with the Shogun here.
“It’s something from a long time ago. They probably wouldn’t recognize me anymore. I just came to take a look.”
Kozuki Momonosuke and Kozuki Hiyori were both born on Whitebeard’s ship, but when Roger borrowed Oden from Whitebeard, Lady Toki also boarded Roger’s ship with Momonosuke and Hiyori.
In the end, when Lady Toki fell ill, it was Roger’s ship that sent them back. Shanks knew Oden’s two children, which was why he wanted to see how they were doing.
But just as he said, he only came to take a look. For Shanks, the balance and order of the world were more important than any individual.
“Still, this place is… quite different from what I remember.”
Shanks remembered it as a xenophobic land. According to what Oden had said back then, whether Fish-Men or Minks, they were treated the same as monsters in Wano Country.
But on the land of Hakumai, Shanks saw many different things.
Minks and Fish-Men were mixed among humans, and the shop owners nearby warmly received them.
A four-armed Machamp carried supplies, a Bisharp walked into a nearby swordsmith shop for some grooming, and in an open space he even saw a giant wild boar snoring.
“That one is called… Emboar, right?”
Shanks had some impression of Emboar; after all, it appeared quite often. But unlike the Emboar in the outside seas, known for conquest and expansion, the Emboar here was even being used as a slide by children.
These were the marks time had left on Wano Country.
As Pokémon became more closely integrated into people’s lives, Wano gradually grew accustomed to intelligent beings with different appearances. Pokémon had even completed the transformation from monsters to guardian deities.
A newsboy delivered newspapers along the street, and several Farfetch’d walked together into a fertilizer shop. Seeing Pokémon taking out money to purchase goods, Shanks felt as if his worldview was being reshaped.
“These animals… aren’t they a bit too intelligent?”
“Animals? Here, they’re revered as deities. Their official name is Pokémon. Their intelligence is no less than that of humans, and here they’re treated the same as humans.”
“Wait… then do these Pokémon include beetle-like ones?”
“There are beetles, yes. I think they’re called Heracross. They rarely appear on the streets and spend most of their time drinking tree sap. Have you seen them outside?”
“I have. And I think I understand some things now.”
Uta had mentioned Kabu’s abilities to him more than once. Back when Uta and Luffy had formed a friendship with the two Heracross, Shanks had also been there. At the time, he only thought those beetles were unusually intelligent; such creatures were rare.
But now that he had come here, some things that once made no sense suddenly had answers.
“Don’t underestimate these creatures. They’re governed by the same laws as humans. Humans who attack them will face serious punishment.”
“Protected animals?”
“It is protection, but I think it has a dual meaning. More about protecting humans, actually.”
Pokémon were not helpless livestock to be slaughtered. They could fight, and to ordinary people, Pokémon were far more dangerous than humans.
Even seemingly cute Pokémon like Miltank and Chansey were no exception. Whether it was Miltank’s Rollout or the bombs thrown by Chansey, both could make a person suffer greatly.
And if one were to anger Arceus, their creator, the consequences would be even more terrifying.
“You seem to be pretty popular here.”
Along the way, Shanks noticed many people greeting Kuzan. During his stay in Wano Country, besides lazing around in the sun, Kuzan would occasionally act as a helpful citizen.
Apart from those with little conscience, people generally treat others the way they are treated. When others are kind to them, they will naturally reciprocate; if nothing else, at least greeting them when they meet is the proper thing to do.
Even without deliberately hurrying, Shanks and Kuzan maintained a relatively fast pace. As they chatted casually, they had already entered the Flower Capital.
“Come to think of it, does the Beasts Pirates have some kind of festival recently? Someone told me that if I have the time, I could stay and attend a ceremony.”
“Much more important than a festival. Personally, I suggest that even if you don’t have time, you should make some. If you miss this ceremony, you’ll regret it.”
Kuzan knew what Shanks was referring to. Whether in the past or now, this event held the deepest significance for the Beasts Pirates.
Countless officers had gained their power from it, and then went on to make their names known across the seas.
“Is that so? Then I really should take a look.”
“You’ll understand what it means when the time comes. But making it public for outsiders to watch… a major move is finally happening.”
Kuzan looked up at the blue sky, his thoughts swirling. He had arrived earlier than Shanks and understood better than anyone what the Divine Blessing Ritual truly meant to the Beasts Pirates.
In the past, it had always been a semi-secret event, but as time passed, it gradually began to step into the public eye. Shanks was far from the only one invited to observe.
“Mama, the Beasts Pirates have sent a messenger, inviting us to attend an event.”
“Hm? What event?”
“They didn’t say, but it seems to be something very serious.”
Katakuri handed an invitation to Charlotte Linlin. Seeing that the date was only two days away, Linlin frowned.
“Two days? What is that brat Kaido up to? There’s no way to reach Wano Country in just two days.”
“Mama, they’ve specially sent people to receive us. According to them, we only need to send participants, and they’ll take care of the rest.”
“Mamamama~ how confident. Katakuri, leave the matter of cake to Perospero. You go in person. I want to see what Kaido is up to.”
“Yes, Mama.”
Katakuri followed the Beasts Pirates’ messenger out, then entered a large carriage. This time, however, it wasn’t Corviknight carrying it, but Dragonite.
Due to the distance, the Beasts Pirates had deliberately changed the “driver” to ensure timely arrival.
Not only Whole Cake Island, Dragonite appeared in other places as well.
On Gran Tesoro, Tesoro was directing Stella and the others to pack their luggage. He wasn’t just attending the ceremony, he was even planning to send his family back to Onigashima.
In Tesoro’s view, Onigashima was now the safest island. Only by sending his family there could he feel at ease.
At the same time, on Fishman Island, Neptune also received a letter.
“An invitation to attend a ceremony…”
Looking at the invitation personally delivered by Manaphy, Neptune’s expression became serious. Not only him, but also Otohime, Shirahoshi, and the princes such as Fukaboshi were on the invitation list, even Jinbe was included.
“This is an invitation personally sent by our lord. If you don’t go, our lord will be displeased.”
“Neptune, there’s nothing to worry about, right? We’ve already made our choice. The World Government is now our enemy, and even New Fishman Island has been moved over there. We have no way back.”
“I know, I’m just a bit worried about what will happen to Fishman Island’s safety if we all leave, and Merfolk can’t move freely to Wano Country’s location.”
Otohime’s reassurance eased Neptune somewhat, but it didn’t solve his problem.
He was old enough, but splitting a tail was a privilege of female merfolk. Male merfolk didn’t have that ability. As a king, he couldn’t possibly crawl his way to attend the ceremony.
“Relax, relax. I’ll protect this island. You can go without worry. I guarantee nothing like what happened at Mariejois will occur.”
Manaphy gave a thumbs-up, indicating the island could be safely left to him, then continued, “And don’t worry about transportation. Since my lord said so, everything must already be arranged. Just go with peace of mind.”
On Amazon Lily, Hancock also received an invitation.
“Hancock, you must pay attention during this ceremony. It could even affect the future of the Kuja. Do you understand?”
“Granny Nyon, what exactly are you trying to say?”
“The Beasts Pirates didn’t relocate Kuja here out of charity. We are essentially their subordinate crew. You can be arrogant before your captain, but you cannot be willful. Otherwise, it will be detrimental to our future development.
You are the Empress of Kuja, representing the entire Kuja tribe. Hancock, do you understand what I mean?
Even if it’s just to avoid putting Olga in an awkward position, you need to change a bit.”
“I… understand.”
Amazon Lily, Whole Cake Island, Fishman Island—these famous islands all received invitations. But they were far from the only ones.
The territory occupied by the Big Mom Pirates was called Totto Land, consisting of 34 islands under her direct control—not mere affiliated territories flying her flag.
As the largest pirate crew on the seas today, the Beasts Pirates’ territory was even larger. There were 121 inhabited islands under their rule, with 11 of them having established kingdom governments.
Similar to the affiliated nations that had joined the World Government, these kingdoms also relied on the Beasts Pirates, using their military strength to secure a foothold in the New World.
And today, the kings of these lands all received such an invitation, inviting them to attend this ceremony.
This was a statement—a way to eliminate unstable factors in the rear before the war began.
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