Camel impatiently waved its hand. Developing itself along the path of a tough, iron-blooded guy, it hated pointless chatter, even striking a pose that looked "cool" in the eyes of the penguins.
Who's-Who, meanwhile, headed toward the monastery. A new group of students needed lessons, and he wasn't like Kuzan, who could slack off whenever he pleased.
If he wanted to enjoy life, he had to properly complete his duties. He couldn't stop his training just because it will rain in half an hour.
Rainy days were also an opportunity to temper one's will. If you couldn't even endure a little drizzle, you had no right to continue training.
"Wait a second."
Just as Who's-Who was about to leave, Kuzan called out to him.
"What is it, Mr. Kuzan?"
"Uh… do you have any money on you? Lend me some of the local currency, I'll return it to you later."
Kuzan scratched his head, his words tinged with embarrassment. It wasn't his first day here, but back when Yamato had first brought him over, there was a free dining hall, and he hadn't thought about buying anything, so he had no need for currency at all.
Shortly after that, he went to Egghead on a mission. This time, he wanted to explore properly, but within Wano Country, Berries weren't in circulation, and people could only pay with gold or silver. The Berries on Kuzan were nothing but a pile of wastepaper here.
"I see. Well, this is all I've got on me, but every region has an exchange office. You can change Berries for money there."
Who's-Who pulled out a handful of coins and handed them to Kuzan, while also explaining where he could exchange money.
For the sake of the country's economic stability, even members of the Beasts Pirates had to pay discounted prices when shopping. This was a rule set by Arceus.
With this rule in place, many potential conflicts simply disappeared.
"Delia, I've got some good news for you."
In the Flower Capital, King had already finished his mission and returned to Wano Country. Just as Yamato had said before, thanks to the Marines' efforts, the number of pirates daring to challenge the New World's Emperors of the Sea had sharply decreased.
At present, there weren't any major conflicts among the Emperors of the Sea, and they were relatively harmonious in their dealings. That meant the officers had gradually gotten more free time.
After settling his affairs, King naturally returned to his residence, and along the way, brought his Vice-Captain some new intel.
"What good news?"
"You've gained another person you can borrow money from, and this one's money doesn't need to be repaid."
"Huh? There's actually such a person?"
"Drake. If you borrow from him, you don't need to worry about repaying him as Boss Kaido intends to make use of him. I won't say more, you should understand what I mean."
Drake's identity circulated only among the highest-ranking officers, but Yamato was the only exception. She didn't know about it.
Neither Kaido nor Arceus trusted her careless personality, so there was no need to notify her about this.
Having Drake follow Jack was partly because of this as well. It's reasonable for someone with a reckless persona to do anything. An undercover agent like Drake is more likely to overthink and make a wrong move the more they think, so it's best to have him follow someone who is hard to figure out.
Hearing King's words, Delia wasn't excited; instead, she questioned him.
"Boss, did you drink too much? Why would I borrow money from myself? And why did you call me 'he'? Do you have a gender identity issue like Kiku?"
"Its Drake the Red Flag. You're getting bolder, daring to talk to me like that now?"
Having the same name always led to awkward situations like this, especially when facing someone with nerves of steel.
"Don't sweat the details. Still, I don't like debts left unpaid. If I borrow money, I always pay it back; that's my life principle."
"Your life principle also includes borrowing endlessly with no end in sight, doesn't it?"
"No, no, that's different! How can you call money that's already been repaid a debt?"
"In any case, I've given you the opportunity. Whether or not you make use of it depends on you."
Faced with Delia's strange life principles, King didn't say anything. After all, he couldn't exactly force Delia to not pay back the money.
If she really had such an idea, most people wouldn't be able to do anything either. In the world of pirates, greed was the norm. Pirates who slaughtered each other for treasures were countless.
Whether through coercion or bribery, Delia had plenty of ways to amass wealth, but she still chose borrowing as her method. It was precisely because of this habit, combined with her generous personality, that her network of connections was so wide.
Drake had no idea that he had been targeted once again for no reason, just like Queen had no idea what kind of madness Kaido was caught up in this time.
As the bells marking the hour rang, the rain fell right on time. Drizzling raindrops pattered down on Queen's head, while Kaido stretched and loosened his body nearby, looking as if he had already sobered up.
"No way… don't tell me my sense of pain have been damaged?"
After moving his limbs a bit, Queen didn't feel the slightest pain. But the ground full of craters around him was proof enough that Kaido hadn't held back in their fight. This made Queen start to doubt himself.
Pain is not a pleasant sensation for the human body, but it is a protective mechanism that warns people to stay away from danger. Only when you are alive can you know what pain is; if you can no longer feel pain, life has usually ended.
"Don't overthink it. I was just trying something new. Making someone feel pain is easy, but going all out and still not making them feel pain, now that's the hard part."
Rayquaza had defeated both Groudon and Kyogre in a single strike, making them obediently return back to their respective territories. Dragon Ascent's power was immense, yet Groudon and Kyogre hadn't suffered too much damage.
On one hand, it was because of their incredibly tough hides. On the other, it was because of Rayquaza's control over its power. Inspired by that, Kaido intended to further improve the control over his strength.
Before, he could only guarantee not killing his opponents. Now, he wanted to try pushing further, to the point of not even causing them pain.
Feeling himself from head to toe, Queen confirmed that nothing was wrong with his body. Hearing Kaido's explanation, joy welled up in Queen's heart.
"As expected of Boss Kaido, your strength has improved once again. Next time you need, I'll come help you."
If training in the future was like this, he wouldn't even fear doing it eight times a day. After all, if it didn't hurt, the worst part was just getting dirty.
"There won't be a next time."
"..."
"This method may be a breakthrough, but it's not satisfying at all. I've sobered up, so let's start round two. This time, it'll be in the way you're familiar with. Be ready."
If he could, Queen really wanted to take back what he had just said. But opportunities always vanish in the blink of an eye. Beneath the curtain of rain, on the muddy ground, that all-too-familiar sound echoed once more.
"Croak."
"Croak."
Not only Kaido and Queen were caught in the rain, Kuzan was also walking through the streets in the downpour. The large parasol he had brought earlier had a handle thicker than a rifle barrel, and carrying such an oversized umbrella was more trouble than simply getting drenched.
Meanwhile, right in front of him, a few dark-blue frogs were practicing splitting bricks with their bare hands.
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