After Morgans left, Kozuki Oden didn't dance naked. Instead, he sat on the tatami, staring intently at the envelope.
His expression was unprecedentedly grave, his eyes sharp with a piercing intensity.
Kin'emon remained seated beside him in silent companionship until Oden reached out and opened the envelope.
"Lord Oden! What does it say?!" Kin'emon burst out.
As if deaf to Kin'emon voice, Oden solemnly began reading the letter.
Yet the moment his eyes landed on the first word, the forced solemnity vanished. With each line, his expression grew more animated.
Tears and laughter.
Rage and sorrow.
He even started rolling around on the floor!
"Roger! So that's how it is! You truly ushered in a new era!" Oden roared "What an incredible life you led! I envy you!"
Kin'emon, watching Oden near-manic behavior, couldn't hold back any longer and grabbed his hands.
"My lord!"
"Kin'emon!" After his hysterical outburst, Oden emotions finally settled. The drunkenness had completely dissipated, and the exhaustion in his eyes was gone. His gaze had never been clearer.
"I will continue dancing."
"W-what?!" Kin'emon paled, about to protest, but Oden raised a hand to stop him.
"Don't rush. Hear me out." Oden voice was firm. "Kin'emon, I said I'll keep dancing—to lull our enemies into complacency. The Kozuki clan can no longer sit idle! Starting tonight! Gather every samurai still willing to follow us! In one year, our chance to reclaim our country will come! And..."
Oden hesitated, his heart heavy, but thinking of Wano as a whole, he clenched his teeth and added.
"Secretly imprison Kanjuro in a seastone cell. He's a spy for the Kurozumi family."
"My lord! How... where did you learn this?"
"Morgans, the biggest information broker in the world. What he delivers... is never wrong." So declared Kozuki Oden.
Yet in his heart, he wondered... Why would a man named Michael help Wano?
***
"Helping Wano is, of course, for the sake of our Marines."
"Hah?" Garp frowned, his face full of confusion. "Wano isn't even a World Government-affiliated nation. What does it have to do with us?"
"Precisely because it's not a World Government-affiliated nation—that's the best reason to help them" Michael stated. "Don't you think it's perfect for a future Marine recruitment base to harbor deep resentment—even hatred—toward the World Government?"
Michael leaned in closer to Garp, lowering his voice conspiratorially.
"The same goes for the Marines, old man Garp. Don't you feel that only a Marine free from the World Government control can truly uphold justice?"
Garp head snapped toward Michael.
But the young man showed no trace of fear—only an amused smirk.
"You know, just for saying that, I could have you expelled from the Marines and thrown into Impel Down!"
"Absolutely! You could do that, no problem!" Michael scoffed.
"If you were a lapdog of the Celestial Dragons..."
Garp expression shifted repeatedly before finally settling into a sigh.
"Why are you so similar to Dragon?"
Michael rolled his eyes.
Like Dragon? No no no, my philosophy and methods were far more advanced than Dragon primitive revolutionary tactics.
"Enough, old man Garp. Haven't you wondered why I'm telling you this? You should know I haven't breathed a word of this even Admiral Sengoku." Michael knew that at this point, Sengoku still hadn't realized the Marine current problems.
He remained the sharpest blade in the World Government hands.
But old man Garp was different—he'd never been one to blindly follow orders and the D. clan seemed to have a natural aversion to the Celestial Dragons.
"So... what exactly are you thinking?"
After calming down, Garp became genuinely interested in Michael ideas.
Regardless of his future plans, the Marine currently faced one critical issue... a drastic reduction in recruitment. Because of Roger final words, countless people were throwing themselves into the seas.
But as pirates.
Many who had been wavering between piracy and the Marine had completely turned to the pirate side after the execution. This was the power of the new era—the Great Pirate Era. Its signs were already showing.
"My idea is to replace quantity with quality." Michael held up four fingers "I've identified four potential recruitment bases worldwide and Wano Country is one of them. The samurai of Wano start at swordsmaster level. There are also plenty of master swordsmen beyond that. And as for Armament Haki... or 'Ryou' as they call it, it's just as fundamental to these warriors as swordsmanship. Tell me, why should we leave such a powerful recruitment base to a pirate like Kaido? Just because Wano isn't a World Government affiliate nation?"
Michael smiled.
The current Kaido was far from his peak strength. He still hadn't reached true "Emperor" level.
After all, even a pre-breakdown Gecko Moria could trade blows with him and regarding Kaido upcoming battle with the Thriller Bark Pirates, Michael had already informed Kozuki Oden through that letter.
If Oden retained even a shred of desire to reclaim his country, he'd seize this opportunity without hesitation.
"Hehehehe ... Right now in Wano, the Beast Pirates and Thriller Bark Pirates are at a standoff. If Kozuki Oden strikes from behind at the right moment... success isn't impossible."
Most importantly, Michael despised snakes like Kaido.
He loathed his cruelty that matched the Celestial Dragons'.
Thinking about those ridiculous "Teacher Kaido" nicknames from his past life... Michael almost laughed.
Scum like that couldn't—shouldn't—exist in the future he envisioned for this world.
In his eyes, even Crocodile and Charlotte Linlin were more human than Kaido.
Though Garp remained silent after Michael speech, he found himself agreeing internally.
At least with Michael's "quality over quantity" approach—that much he could endorse.
"Michael, you just mentioned planning four recruitment bases. Aside from Wano Country, where are the other three?"
Seeing that old man Garp was starting to show interest in the topic, Michael flashed a triumphant smile.
In the future, could there possibly be a better banner to rally under than the Hero of the Marines?