Drum Kingdom, no, it should now be called Sakura Kingdom.
The country the Straw Hats passed through when they first entered the Grand Line two years ago. It's the hometown of their ship doctor, Tony Tony Chopper. Though poor in national power (scratch that), it's renowned for its incredible medical expertise, long considered a holy land by those seeking healing and treatment.
Although the previous king Wapol's "Doctor Hunt" policy had nearly wiped out the nation's medical talent, after Luffy defeated Wapol and the Sakura Kingdom was reestablished, the country had gradually gotten back on track over the last three years.
But compared to destruction, reconstruction is like climbing to the heavens.
Even today, the Sakura Kingdom has yet to fully regain its reputation as a medical holy land. As a result, it tends to stay out of the spotlight.
"Immediately notify the nearby branches, contact the Sakura Kingdom!"
"Yes, sir!"
Of course, something as minor as requesting medical assistance wouldn't require high-ranking officers to act personally. Fleet Admiral Akainu gave the order, and Rowen nodded, taking out a special Den Den Mushi only the Commander of the Assassination Force could possess, and relayed the message.
"Let's hope… they don't disappoint us,"
Murmured Vice Admiral Tsuru with a solemn expression.
She quickly gathered her thoughts and got back to the main topic: "Waiting for Aokiji to wake up and tell us the answer is an option, but I fear we may not have enough time. The priority now is to decode the cipher he left behind."
"3, 6, 7… What exactly do those numbers mean?"
The two most qualified people to answer that, former Assassination Force Commander Chaton and current Commander Rowen, glanced at each other and both frowned and shook their heads.
The Assassination Force rarely used simple number codes, because unless the decoding method was extremely elaborate, they were far too easy to crack.
So the fact that Aokiji left a code like this already suggests, it couldn't be that simple.
"I've cross-referenced every old cipher we've used. These three numbers don't correspond to any known information; they're completely out of place."
Chaton, puffing on his cigarette, looked dead serious, his usual grinning face replaced with cold solemnity and fury.
Aokiji's near-death state was a disgrace to all Marines. This is a blood debt that must be repaid!
Rowen nodded in agreement.
"I double-checked on the way here, too. They don't match any cipher currently in use by the Assassination Force either."
"So… it's unrelated to the Assassination Force and not from any previous cipher systems?"
Tsuru rubbed her temples in frustration.
"That bastard… just what the hell was he trying to say?"
"Maybe… It's not as complicated as we're making it out to be."
Suddenly, Vice Admiral Momousagi spoke while holding her pet Kompira, her tone thoughtful.
"Hm? Go on," Said Akainu, glancing at her.
"Yes, sir!" Momousagi stood up and addressed her colleagues, brushing her hair behind her ear.
"Admiral Aokiji left us three numbers. Clearly, he wanted to convey something. And upon seeing them, our first instinct was to assume it was a cipher. So we immediately compared it against known codes and tried to decipher it."
"But as we've seen, that approach has gone nowhere."
"Have you considered this, a true cipher isn't just a random string of digits or symbols. It typically involves a complex decoding system with predetermined rules and often requires reverse encoding to figure out which symbol corresponds to which number."
"Under those circumstances, I don't think Admiral Aokiji had the time or mental bandwidth to create something that complex."
After all, among the Admirals, Aokiji was the most idle one. Even Kizaru held the post of Scientific Force Supreme Commander, while Rowen held dual roles as Aircraft Force and Assassination Force Commander.
Aokiji, with no formal unit under his control, likely wouldn't be familiar with so many code structures.
Tsuru's eyes lit up.
"That's a good point. Maybe we've been overthinking this all along."
"If it were Rowen who left the code, his deep familiarity with the Assassination Force would make leaving an elaborate cipher second nature. But Aokiji…"
Given his personality, simplicity would've been more his style.
"Even so, that's not necessarily good news." Rowen exhaled a smoke ring and added: "At least ciphers follow patterns. They can be traced and decoded. But if this isn't a cipher, then the range of possibilities becomes endless!"
Three eggs?
Third battleship?
Sector Three?
It could be anything.
"Still, it's a lead, no matter how weak." Akainu made the final call.
"Scientific Force is not to let its guard down. Use any method necessary to investigate! And based on this logic, we'll start our search from Aokiji's immediate surroundings."
Then he swept his gaze across the conference room, his tone solemn.
"After this incident, I believe it's clear to all of you,
This war will spare no one. Danger is always close at hand."
"So abandon any illusions or wishful thinking."
The room fell into heavy silence.
Then came a solemn salute.
"Yes, sir!!"
Wano Country, Flower Capital.
BOOM!!!
A tower several dozen meters tall was smashed to rubble under the horrified gazes of countless samurai and attendants. A massive, sky-darkening shadow fell as the azure-blue Dragon crashed into it.
Kaido, coiled amid the debris and shattered stone, raised his head and unleashed scorching breaths into the sky, venting his fury in a blazing storm.
Hearing the noise, Orrick arrived but didn't rush to intervene. Instead, he turned and asked:
"What happened? Why is Kaido rampaging?"
"What else? It's because of this…"
Kurozumi Orochi replied gloomily and pulled out a newspaper.
For the people of Wano, newspapers were a rare novelty. Because of certain well-known reasons, no News Coo dared deliver papers here. Even Morgans had strictly forbidden his subordinates from interfering with Wano, fearing they'd draw disaster upon themselves.
Yet despite that, Kurozumi Orochi still managed to get his hands on a paper, proving that even though he ordered the country closed off, he wasn't as out of the loop as he appeared.
"Crushing Defeat! The End of the Undefeated Legend!"
No flashy gossip or filler stories, just a front and back page filled with one explosive article, featuring a dramatic photograph of Kaido, missing an arm, streaking across the sea.
The article briefly summarized the Hundred Beasts Pirates' attack on Zou Island to set the stage, then spent thousands of words describing Kaido's defeat in vivid, almost theatrical detail, singing endless praise for the Marines.
Flattery and humiliation in equal measure, Marine glorified to the heavens, Kaido trampled into the mud, reduced to a laughingstock.
"That bastard Morgans… does he have a death wish?!"
Orrick's brows knitted tightly.
Sure, they feared the Marines. But Morgans? Just the boss of the World Economy News?
To openly humiliate Kaido like this, it was a direct slap in the face!
Was Morgans really not afraid of dying?
Still, now wasn't the time to deal with him. Orrick glanced over the paper one last time, then tore it to shreds with a cold snort.
"He's not entirely wrong. The Azure Dragon is a cunning opponent, yet you let him provoke you with a few words and walked right into the trap! You thought you were invincible and paid the price!"
"You bastard!!"
Orochi immediately sensed danger, and sure enough, the moment Orrick spoke, Kaido's massive, ominous head lowered slowly, his maw filling with terrifying flames gathering for a blast.
BOOM!!
"Oh crap, I'm gonna die!"
Kurozumi Orochi didn't dare hesitate. His body rapidly transformed, one head, two, three… Eight terrifying serpent heads, each one nearly the size of Kaido's dragon head, surged forth and rose sky-high.
But in the blink of an eye, the blazing torrent engulfed him completely, and his anguished howls echoed in all directions.
RUMBLE RUMBLE!!
Half the Flower Capital was flattened by that one attack. Thick smoke billowed outward, obscuring everything from view.
THUD!
A charred serpent head fell to the ground, giving off the scent of roasted meat. But soon after, its blackened skin began to bulge and rupture, and fresh, slimy scale armor broke through from within.
"Kaido, you damn bastard! Trying to kill me too?!"
Eight sets of cold, reptilian eyes glared hatefully at the azure-blue Divine Dragon. Kurozumi Orochi, teeth clenched in agony, twisted and writhed as all eight of his heads showed expressions of pain, ghastly and terrifying to behold.
Suddenly, he froze. His gaze locked onto the figure that had silently appeared beside Kaido's head, and his tone faltered.
Orrick, standing on air itself, reached into Kaido's temple with a hand that ignored the dragon's legendary scale armor, slipping through like a phantom, without shedding a single drop of blood.
And Kaido didn't move a muscle.
He stood frozen, eyes dull and lifeless, like he had fallen into a trance.
Seeing this, Orrick spoke calmly:
"There's no shame in failure. No one is born invincible…
But someone who can't face failure, who refuses to accept it, who throws everything away in despair, no matter how powerful they are, I'll call them one thing only…"
"Trash."
"Are you trash, Kaido?!"
FWOOOSH!!
A pair of vertical pupils suddenly burst open, gleaming with clarity. The haze in Kaido's gaze quickly vanished.
Satisfied, Orrick slowly withdrew his hand and gently descended to the ground.
BOOM! BOOM!
The forms of two massive beasts vanished into thin air. Kaido dropped to one knee, his figure finally stabilizing.
Clutching his severed left shoulder, a regal and defiant aura once again returned to his face.
"Hmph! You're right, Orrick…"
"This debt… I'll personally collect it!"
A short distance away, Kurozumi Orochi gulped and looked at Orrick with lingering fear.
"What a terrifying man…"
(End of Chapter)
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