"Little Lily, do you remember where he is?"
"Re...remember."
"Lead the way."
White looked very thin, but he was over four meters tall. Riko found it somewhat laborious to support him, and could only serve as a human crutch.
Outside, Kaidou did not intend to play with his subordinates; he was merely observing the surroundings, noting the swordsmen standing guard outside the houses. There were many of them, and they seemed significantly stronger than the average soldiers.
"This seems to be a pretty good place for recruiting soldiers."
As he thought this, a slightly excited voice came from behind him.
"Kaidou, you're Kaidou, right!"
"Hmm? Who are you?"
"White, Blake White, have you forgotten? We were in the same squad in the Voca Kingdom. I was the cook. You used to love the meals I made."
White tried hard to recall some events, finally jogging Kaidou's memory.
"It's you. I still remember the taste of your drunken beef. No one else could quite replicate that taste. How did you end up here?"
Kaidou hadn't expected to meet an old acquaintance from the Voca Kingdom here and was curious about how he had arrived.
"It's a long story that started after you left..."
"Left? Is that how the old man described it? It doesn't sound like his style."
"They called it a defection, but no one believed it. Because of your departure, the Voca Kingdom lost the chance to attend the World Conference.
Without you, the Voca Kingdom suffered a series of defeats, and the enemy even counterattacked to the capital. The old king fled himself.
Later, after failing to pay heavenly tribute, the Voca Kingdom lost its status as an affiliated nation. The army banded together to ensure the country's safety.
But many chose to set sail, including me. By the way, do you remember Utrum? That guy made quite a name for himself."
White mentioned a few names of old acquaintances to Kaidou, all of whom were once his comrades. Utrum had had a particularly good relationship with him.
"I remember. I even saw him last year, but he wasn't interested in joining me. So, why are you in Wano Kuni?"
"Well... we were just fooling around, but then the ship met with a nautical accident. Everyone else died, and I was lucky enough to drift here and survive. That's when I met Riko."
His arrival in Wano Kuni happened a few years ago, similar to many others from the Voca Kingdom who chose to sail, partly inspired by Kaidou, who was once the kingdom's strongest soldier and an idol for many.
Many took to the seas upon seeing Kaidou's wanted poster, but not everyone had Kaidou's strength or luck.
White briefly narrated his experiences over the years to Kaidou, then got to the main point.
"My body can't hold out much longer, Kaidou. For the sake of our past friendship, please look after my wife and daughter... Her name is Riko, and this is my daughter Maria..."
With that, White suddenly began to struggle for breath. He had forced himself to stay alive just long enough to find Kaidou and tell him everything, but now his body was failing him again.
He wasn't afraid of death but was worried about what would happen to his wife and daughter after he was gone. That's why he forced himself to come when he heard of Kaidou's presence.
On the battlefield, Kaidou had always been the most reliable comrade. White hoped Kaidou would remember their past bond and take care of his family.
He couldn't trust the locals of Wano Kuni, as they often called him a monster due to the pair of horns on his head. Only Riko didn't discriminate against him back then and helped tend to the wounds he suffered from the shipwreck.
So, after finding Riko, he sold his treasures to buy her freedom from the courtesan's room, settling down to live there.
"...I understand. I will take care of them."
"Thank you..." With Kaidou's agreement, White suddenly went limp, as if he had lost all his strength.
He had held on because of his concern for his wife and daughter, but now, with Kaidou as their guardian, he finally released the last breath he was holding, with no more strength to continue.
Arceus wasn't present; he had already left with some to the future site of Ghost Island, including Nightin. The female members didn't care about brothels.
Though Queen was there, he could tell White had exhausted his life force. A terminal illness can't be cured by medicine; there was no saving him.
"Here's some wine from the Voca Kingdom. I got it from Utrum not long ago. Have a drink."
"It's really... the taste of home... Kaidou... I'm counting on you..." In a foreign land, he preferred to trust his former comrade-in-arms, Kaidou, even though he was just a cook.
"Don't worry. Go in peace." Kaidou didn't get a response this time because White had truly departed.
"White! White!" Looking at the silent White, Riko couldn't accept the situation.
"Come with me. I promised White I would take care of you. If you don't want to leave... Mandfeish, go and buy the place where she's living. If the money isn't enough, have them ask Orochi for it."
While others went to entertain themselves, Mandfeish chose to stay with Kaidou. With Shaina and Zeraora with Arceus, no one could start anything, so he opted to stay by Kaidou's side.
It's said that the Hundred Beasts planned to further distinguish the ranks of their officers, and he needed to make a good impression.
His ability had earned him a position as a minor officer within the Hundred Beasts Pirates. His Magikarp ability, after training, gave him a body of "iron skin," with the distinctly hardened scales and bones of a Magikarp showing through.
Regular bullets couldn't hurt him, nor could ordinary swordsmen. Only swordsmen at the steel-cutting level could harm him. In this regard, his ability was very similar to Mr. 1 Daz Bonez's Slash-Slash Fruit, though he lacked the same offensive strength.
He couldn't turn his arms into blades, relying mainly on fists. Though not weak, other ability users matched him, with Babanuki as a strong competitor.
Now was the time to make his presence known to Kaidou.
On Kaidou's orders, he immediately led a group, with Little Lily guiding them to the courtesan's room. Meanwhile, Kaidou prepared to give White's body a proper sendoff.
Having stepped onto the battlefield at ten, he'd grown used to death, so White's passing didn't sadden him. After all, he would fulfill his promise to take care of his family, even if, later on, he may have taken that care a bit too far.