Gigalith kicked Geodude to the side with one foot, showing no interest in these round rock blocks. After Arceus finished his creation and left, Gigalith looked at the sun in the sky and chose an open area in the mineral landscape.
Although the Udon quarry wasn't entirely made of Seastone, the Seastone was widespread in the mineral veins below, making the surface rocks extremely hard, surpassing normal rocks in hardness.
However, the crystals on Gigalith's claws easily tore through the ground beneath and dug a pit suitable for itself before burying itself there. The crystals on its body exposed to the surface began its sunlight absorption activity.
Things in Wano Kuni didn't stop due to these events. With the imprisoned Imperial Court Guards re-alleging their loyalty, the General's exclusive guard team also reappeared, but this time with a new leader.
Not someone like King or any officer, but a true "ninja," specifically a ninja of the Kouga Style, or to be more precise, a Greninja.
The Three Starter from the Kalos Region - Greninja.
After Zeraora, the second Pokemon created with complete language abilities.
Its overall appearance is a blue humanoid frog, with a slightly dashing aura. However, one must ignore one aspect which might seem awkward—the scarf around its neck isn't an actual scarf but its tongue.
Otherwise, it might feel a bit unsettling.
"Master."
After familiarizing itself with its own body, the appearing Greninja knelt in front of Arceus, and after some minor adjustment, Greninja stood at about two meters tall, making its stance even more elegant.
"Master? Why does it call you that?"
Hearing the way Greninja addressed Arceus, Kaidou felt a bit confused. Though the degree of respect remained the same, Zeraora always used "Lord" or "Your Eminence," making Greninja's address seem slightly strange to Kaidou.
"It's nothing. He is different from Zeraora. He will spend most of his time within Wano Kuni handling certain matters. Hence, he adopted the local customs. As for those Imperial Court Guards, have them meet their new leader."
At this moment, those Imperial Court Guards who chose to switch allegiance were discussing one issue—who would lead them in the future. In the past, the leader of the Imperial Court Guards had always been Fukurokuju.
Whether in terms of the General's trust or his own strength, Fukurokuju was far superior to them.
Compared to their various tools disguised with ninjutsu, Fukurokuju had some real skills, but now that Fukurokuju was dead, naturally, this position became vacant.
They all had their injuries, but were luckier than others.
Jigoku Benten and Daikoku died from a thrashing by a group of Geodude due to directly launching an attack. Small-caliber submachine guns and poisonous smoke prepared by the ninjas couldn't even cause a scratch on Geodude.
Meanwhile, Hanzo died due to the wrathful attack of an Aggron.
He was unlocking for some prisoners when Aggron mistook him to be unlocking for the Dril-Dril Fruit Ability User and thus, unfortunately attracted Aggron's wrath afterwards.
They hadn't learned how to cut steel, hence had no way to deal with Aggron.
Having chosen to switch allegiance, they naturally didn't care about others' opinions; securing better treatment was their focus.
Undoubtedly, being a leader meant gaining more than others, and the Beasts Pirates didn't recruit anew but directly assimilated them, which sparked some ambition in certain people. Currently, the Wind Blade and Raijin brothers were arguing with a woman named Chome over this issue.
Yet before they could reach any conclusion, an air-dropped leader appeared just like that.
His form was somewhat odd, but not surprising.
Yet, such individuals were quite common within the Beasts Pirates due to the presence of a Fur Race member like Zeraora, an animal like Elizabeth, and Shaina in her persistent beast-human form, complementing the overall culture of the Beasts Pirates.
Beasts are mainstream within the Beasts Pirates, with many ordinary pirates donning beast masks or decorations of horns and tusks. This attire was gradually becoming mainstream within the Beasts Pirates, and these Imperial Court Guards were already used to such scenes.
Faced with a parachute leader, naturally, they humbly accepted. Being people who defected, they had no choice in this matter, though some were inevitably discontent.
"Whoever is dissatisfied, we can have a try. The winner becomes the new leader of the Imperial Court Guards."
As a parachute leader, Greninja sought to establish authority, and for such a scenario, making an example is always a good choice. Just the day before, the Beasts Pirates had summarily executed the leaders of the rebellion for the same reason.
But Greninja underestimated these ninjas' patience; they truly excelled in endurance. Faced with his provocation, not a single ninja stepped forward, immediately adhering to his arrangement.
This completely surprised Greninja as he didn't expect not a single troublemaker among these ninjas.
This was also due to the political environment of Wano Kuni; the Imperial Court Guards were the General's personal guard, and throughout Wano Kuni's history, only the Kurozumi Family attempted usurpation, yet that was after the vacating of the General's position.
Before Kurozumi Orochi, no one had actively plotted against the General. Hence, the Imperial Court Guards had more ceremonial roles, with diminishing real combat experience.
Moreover, their principle was to protect the General, regardless of who the General was, a logic that made them maintain their positions across three generations—from Kozuki Sukiyaki, to Kurozumi Orochi, to the current Kozuki Hiyori.
Without an appointed leader, they contested power, but when confronted with a superior threat, they outright abnegated resistance.
Hence, Arceus merely used them as a ceremonial guard to uphold the nominal General's status of Wano Kuni; in truth, they held no real power.
Nevertheless, Greninja's plan proceeded successfully. Though no members of the Imperial Court Guards resisted, there were still those aspiring to the leadership.
On the eve of the General's inheritance ceremony, a woman arrived as a former member of the Imperial Court Guards.
Kuronuma, a Paramecia-type: Ripe-Ripe Fruit Ability User, was originally a member of the Imperial Court Guards serving the Kozuki Clan. After Kurozumi Orochi's coup, the defection of the Imperial Court Guards led her to leave.
She is arguably the only one among the Imperial Court Guards truly loyal to the Kozuki family. Her return was prompted by the news of Kozuki Hiyori's ascendancy, prompting her to come back again.