At this moment, Izou's eyes grew exceptionally resolute, a distant look in them as he recalled his first disorienting days at sea after leaving the isolated shores of Wano.
He had known nothing of this world beyond its borders; the customs, the food, the very rhythm of life was alien to him.
It was Jozu who had taken him under his wing, a mountain of steady reassurance in a sea of unknowns, patiently guiding him and making him feel like part of a family.
In Izou's heart, helping his brother fulfill a dream was of the utmost importance.
"Great! I'll thank Jozu on your behalf," Ron said with a warm smile.
"With the funds you've provided and the gold we've painstakingly accumulated, the cost for his enchantment is almost fully covered." Ron then added jokingly, "I wonder how he'll react. He'll probably drag you into celebrating for three days and nights, drinking until he passes out, and then wrestling for another three!"
"Right now, I don't dare to see Jozu," Izou laughed, a genuine warmth in his voice.
"If I do, I might really not be able to leave. Ron, please, wait until I'm gone before you tell him."
"Alright, go with peace of mind," Ron said.
"Just keep an eye on Enel. He's probably going stir-crazy by now. Don't let him run around recklessly in Wano." Izou nodded, his expression turning serious once more as he departed to begin his vital mission.
******
Three days later, a river of gold had flowed back to Sky Island.
After careful counting, the recovered treasure amounted to an astonishing sum of over one hundred billion Belly.
Despite this incredible fortune, a consensus was forming among the crew: this couldn't possibly be all of it.
Kaido, the overlord of Wano and one of the Yonko, had to have more.
Then, the latest edition of the World Economic Journal arrived, and the festive mood was shattered by an even more explosive piece of intelligence.
A stunned silence fell over the room, soon broken by a chorus of agonized groans.
"Three hundred billion?! Kaido's brain must have been damage so bad by Pops!" one commander choked out, clutching his chest as if having a heart attack.
"You're telling me we left three hundred billion Belly behind?!"
"Painful! So painful!" another wailed, his face full of genuine regret.
"I thought we'd emptied his entire treasury!"
Inside the meeting room, the division commanders pounded their chests in frustration.
The heavy atmosphere was permeated by the torment of missed opportunity.
"Pops, I think it's best we don't go just yet," Marco said, his brow furrowed with a deep, unsettling concern.
"I have a bad feeling about this, like a trap waiting to be sprung. Why would Kaido, after suffering such a loss, turn around and offer a fortune to fight us? It's too suspicious."
Ron nodded grimly. "He's right, captain. This is indeed strange. Given Kaido's personality, he would never use money as bait. He's broadcasting this to the world because he's desperate for us to show up." A chilling thought crossed Ron's mind, a memory from his past life.
The Marines using Ace's execution to lure Whitebeard into a kill box... this is the exact same strategy.
Whitebeard listened to all of their sound, logical, and perfectly reasonable arguments.
A faint smile played on his lips.
Then, he let out a laugh that shook the very foundations of the island.
"GURARARARA! You boys are right. It is a trap."
He took a massive swig of sake, his eyes blazing with a familiar, indomitable light.
"But if we shrink from a challenge, how can we call ourselves the Whitebeard pirates?!"
The booming words rattled Ron's eardrums.
He slapped a hand to his forehead, a wave of pure, exasperated helplessness washing over him.
He knew that look in the old man's eyes.
It was the unrepentant, thrill-seeking spirit of an adventure fanatic.
This is clearly a pit of fire, Ron sighed inwardly, and he's going to jump right in, laughing all the way down.
That, he supposed, was Whitebeard.
Ron knew it was useless.
No amount of persuasion, no matter how logical, could change Whitebeard's mind.
If the old man chose to back down from a public challenge, it would be a betrayal of his very essence, a contradiction of the principles upon which he had built his legend.
Ron's mind flashed back to the stories, the history he knew.
Before the Summit War, Red-Haired Shanks himself had tried to reason with Whitebeard, laying out all the stakes, and had been firmly refused.
Now, Kaido had laid the exact same kind of open, shameless trap.
If Whitebeard went, he'd be walking into a prepared battlefield.
If he didn't, he'd be admitting to the world that he feared Kaido—an admission Whitebeard would rather die than make.
For a man like him, reputation far outweighed life itself.
Seeing the deep, troubled furrow in Ron's brow, Whitebeard let out a hearty laugh.
"Gurararara! No need for such a long face, kid. With my lightning speed, even ten Kaidos couldn't stop this old man from leaving if he chose to."
A wave of relief washed over Ron, though the concern still lingered.
"We can accept the challenge," he said firmly, seizing the opening. "But not now. We wait. The replication experiment on Kaido's blood will be complete in a few days. Once we have a few dragons of our own, our operation will be that much more secure."
Whitebeard pondered this for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"I can't argue with that logic. Ron, you handle the arrangements. This old man is just here for the fight!"
*****
Two days later, Izou and Enel returned.
They weren't alone.
Dragged between them was a figure so thoroughly beaten that he was barely recognizable as human.
It was Orochi, his once-fine robes blackened and tattered, his face a swollen, bruised mess from which two terrified, resentful eyes peered out.
The crew stared in shocked silence, a new, almost fearful respect for the 'new guy' Enel dawning in their eyes.
This newcomer was absolutely ruthless.
Enel, however, just scratched his head with an awkward smile.
"Sorry, Vice-Captain Ron. I might have gotten a little... carried away."
In truth, the mission had been the most exhilarating experience he'd had since joining the crew.
Constantly suppressed and humbled in sparring matches against the monstrous commanders, he had finally been given an insect he could freely and mercilessly pummel without killing it.
It was a perfect, cathartic release for all his pent-up frustration.
"I-I am the Sh-Shogun of Wano... O-Orochi!" the battered figure slurred, trying to assert some long-lost authority.
Before anyone could react, Enel dashed forward and kicked him flying.
"Insect!" he sneered coldly. "Did I permit you to speak in front of my superiors?"
With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a bolt of lightning as thick as an arm, striking Orochi mid-air.
"AHHHHH!!! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!!!" Orochi shrieked in pure agony as the powerful electric current seized control of his body, making him writhe on the ground.
The lightning seemed to have a mind of its own, relentlessly pursuing him no matter how he tried to evade it.
With a final, piercing scream, he collapsed heavily to the ground.
His right foot twitched a few times, then went completely still.
Enel stared, his eyes wide, the triumphant smirk wiped from his face.
"He's... dead? Just like that?" he muttered, prodding the motionless form with his golden staff.
He had honestly thought the serpent could hold out for at least a few more rounds.
A note of genuine, incredulous disappointment was in his voice.
"No way... he's that fragile?"
--------------------------------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator