"Idiot!", Kaido let out two cold laughs, but in the end he still didn't voice his suspicions about the Holy Land.
Some things, knowing them was one thing, but saying them aloud at this moment wasn't much different from openly begging to die.
"If you hadn't gotten involved, would the World Government have even come to Wano? You wanted to help Whitebeard? There were countless ways. Even if you went under the banner of Whitebeard's brother and helped fight at Elbaf, it wouldn't have led to today's result," Kaido said coldly.
"Tch! Without me, the plan to hunt the Five Elders never could have succeeded!", Kozuki Oden lifted his head proudly, as if he considered this his glory.
And in his eyes, that was indeed the case.
Those were the Five Elders.
Even Roger and Whitebeard hadn't managed to kill one, yet in the end he had. Naturally it became his pride.
"Vainglorious fool. Whether the Five Elder lived or died, with Mary Geoise in ruins like that, Whitebeard would never have been blamed," Kaido sneered in his heart.
Was the death of the Five Elder really their achievement? Not necessarily.
Perhaps that particular Five Elder had already been chosen to die.
There were only five seats at the top. If that one didn't die, how could others take the position?
And those nineteen families… weren't they a bit too many? Now only a handful remained, meaning more profit for each. No doubt some in the World Government were secretly rejoicing.
As for the one who died, who cared?
If he had mattered, people would've joined the fight against Whitebeard long ago. Most likely he'd just been some useless pig.
Because he had paid close attention, Kaido also noticed something interesting.
It was said that a month before the Holy Land incident, Rosse had taken all his women away, claiming they were in charge of the Fish-Man Kingdom's migration.
He didn't know exactly who they were, but he was certain: none of the people Rosse cared about had died in this incident.
And also, the intel Dragon obtained supposedly came from Rosse's palace.
Right in the spot Dragon searched, neatly organized translations of the Poneglyphs were conveniently placed, with no one around.
Believe it or not, Kaido sure didn't.
Most crucial of all, with the start of the Great Era of Gods, everyone was going mad searching for Devil Fruits.
As someone with sharpest access to information, and at the time allied with Golden Lion, Kaido knew more.
The world had only two true god-tier fruits.
One was the Nika Fruit. Whoever ate it would be the reincarnation of Joy Boy.
The other, symbolizing the Sea God, had already been eaten by someone in the World Government, and most likely, that person was Rosse.
The Great Era of Gods.
Said nicely, every Devil Fruit user could be considered a god.
But in truth, over time, those two fruits would inevitably be pushed to the highest position.
And the one Rosse represented, under such momentum, had a very high chance of becoming the one true god of the world.
Given the strength Rosse had shown today, Kaido felt his guess was almost certainly right.
Thinking of this, Kaido gazed deeply at Rosse.
Invincible strength alone wasn't terrifying.
Like Kozuki Oden, his strength surpassed Kaido's a little, yet Kaido still had him in the palm of his hand.
But invincible strength combined with the deepest scheming, such a man was terrifying.
This kind of man deserved to succeed.
In the past, Kaido always thought he was such a man.
Only now did he realize, there was someone on this path who had gone far further than him.
Not only much stronger, but far smarter.
He truly wanted to see, in the end, whether this man could break fate's shackles and become the sole ruler of the seas.
But before that, he needed to vent.
'Damn it!'
That idiot Kozuki Oden, the more he thought about him, the angrier he got.
Faced with such a terrifying enemy, Kaido himself didn't dare provoke him. And Oden, how dare he not only provoke him but also jump around recklessly afterward?
"Idiot, and another thing!"
Kaido glared at Kozuki Oden, teeth clenched, "You went to the Holy Land, fine. But afterward, why come back here?"
"Huh? Kaido, are you stupid? If you're still in Wano, of course I have to come back!", Kozuki Oden glared back.
"Couldn't you have just gone to hide with Whitebeard for a few years?", Kaido cursed.
"Then you bastard would've taken Wano for yourself!", Kozuki Oden stomped.
"If I took it, you could try taking it back. We'd compete fair and square. But now, you dragged him here, does that make Wano better?", Kaido sneered.
At those words, Kozuki Oden opened his mouth but froze.
'True enough.'
'And now? Is it any better?'
Compared to Kaido, an opponent he understood, Rosse was far more terrifying.
"And another thing."
Since he'd started, Kaido didn't intend to stop, "Even if you had to fake death, why not at least pretend? Why stay in Wano? You think you're brave? You thought staying would let you control the situation?"
Kaido's lips curled in a cold smile.
He didn't know Rosse's true goal was Wano, and that dealing with Oden was just incidental.
In his view, the only reason Rosse turned Wano into a target was because Oden himself asked for death.
If he'd been the one, he would've exploited such weakness to the end.
"If I didn't stay, he'd just slaughter people at will. Even while I was here, he destroyed Ringo and the Flower Capital," Oden's face darkened.
On this matter, he didn't think he was wrong.
At most he was lacking in strength. But his reasoning? Impossible to be flawed.
He had discussed this plan with his retainers for an entire day, pooling their wisdom before reaching a decision.
With their brilliant minds, it had to be a superb plan.
"Hah!"
"Your being here or not, what difference did it make?"
"If you hadn't been, at least the Flower Capital wouldn't have been lost."
Kaido sneered, already completely resigned.
Nearly ten years of planning, ruined by Oden's stupidity.
This ordeal had given him a harsh warning.
Wisdom was important, but without strength to match, when external threats came, you couldn't protect anything.
"Kozuki Oden, feel guilty for all the people of the Flower Capital who died," Leaving those words, Kaido was charged by Oden with his dual swords, and the two grappled.
Their strengths were similar, but Kaido had better stamina and condition.
So Oden, even as the one to strike first, was countered within a few moves.
Clearly, Oden had mentally collapsed.
No matter what, the Flower Capital was gone, that was something he could not accept.
Watching them fight, Rosse only observed with interest, acting as a spectator.
These days, blaming a temporary teammate really was much easier than blaming the enemy.
After all, you couldn't beat the enemy. But a teammate, maybe you really could beat him.
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