The rain had stopped on time, and Kuzan returned to the alley, only to see a group of people and Mightyena looking troubled as they surrounded the ice sculpture.
Kuzan's ice was quite solid, showing no signs of melting even after being washed by rainwater for so long, instead increasing the ice spread.
"Mr. Kuzan, could you please unfreeze this guy? We need to take him to receive his punishment."
Ordinary citizens couldn't recognize Kuzan, but those belonging to the Hundred Beasts would never forget this face.
"Punishment? I thought you only had the death penalty."
"Mr. Kuzan, you're joking. We have a complete legal system, and honestly, sometimes the death penalty is too lenient for some bastards."
"Can I go see it?"
"Well..."
Elsewhere, Kuzan could go as he pleased, but they planned to send this guy to the Udon Quarry. No one could restrain Kuzan there, even with loads of Seastone Weapons and special attribute Rock-type Pokemon; Kuzan was a problem.
They were worried Kuzan might cause a big scene there. Wano Kuni's military might was enough to suppress subsequent issues, but they would have to bear responsibility for triggering the event.
"It's fine, take him with you. If anything happens, I'll take the blame."
"Yes! Ghost Princess-sama!"
Yamato had already left the hot springs. Her informants outside told her that Kaidou was busy exchanging insights with Queen, keeping him too occupied to seek her out for a while.
This information was passed by Blisseys through Beautifly, absolutely reliable for Yamato, which is why she left after the rain stopped and happened to pass through here.
With Yamato's guarantee, they had no worries anymore, and they just carried the man toward Udon.
Even though Kuzan had unfrozen him, his consciousness didn't immediately return. Not everyone possesses a monster physique that regains consciousness right after being ice-sealed.
In Udon, Kuzan saw the place most resembling the Pirate Realm in the entirety of Wano Kuni.
Guards kept watch from above, observing the surroundings, while people inside continuously labored under the guards' coercion.
"Babanuki! Come out and take the new prisoner, we're sending over another scum!"
Inside the Udon Quarry, Babanuki in Slaking form shivered before reverting to human form and heading to the door.
Having acquired the ability for so many years, Babanuki had gained more mastery over the Slaking ability, discovering added benefits alongside the convenient Gun-Switching Mode for combat.
If he rested in his transformed state, his sleep quality would skyrocket.
No matter the environment, he could fall asleep anytime, never experiencing a stiff neck.
After waking, he'd feel refreshed and all fatigue would vanish, an essential remedy for shirking work.
...
"Ghost Princess-sama, why did you come here personally?"
"I came here accompanying this guy for a look, no need to mind us, just carry on as usual."
Yamato pointed at Kuzan behind her. Aside from keeping an eye on Kuzan, she wanted to continue using her Ice Substitute plan. Kaidou had zero interest in Kuzan, which made her feel like a failure.
The strategy she had painstakingly devised turned out to be useless, as Kaidou didn't fall for it.
Before Queen exhausted his limits, Yamato was safe, bringing along Kuzan was simply double insurance, preventing Kuzan from causing trouble and guarding against Kaidou's ambush.
The process afterward was simple: life imprisonment.
He claimed it was only a drunken blunder and he held no real intent, but this statement didn't reduce his sentence, it increased it instead. Here, the most disbelieved phrase was "drunken error."
Kaidou was an example, his drunken antics were absolute nonsense; he clearly had such thoughts while sober but unleashed them unrestrained under the influence of alcohol.
The Hundred Beasts were ultimately a mix of divine and human governance; besides the rules, personal emotions also influenced judgments.
Yamato disliked such people, using drunkenness as an excuse further added to her repulsion.
Seeing his mistress displeased, Babanuki naturally enforced the harshest standards.
Furthermore, Kuzan spotted a very familiar Pokemon — Croagunk — right here.
He saw the group of Croagunks lined up behind the man, each Croagunk poked him hard while passing, injecting venom into his body through the poison jab on their fingertips.
The diluted venom was a superb remedy for back pain, but a hefty influx of venom into the lower back was entirely different; Croagunk's venom wasn't lethal, but could paralyze the nerves.
The recent lineup of Croagunk injections ensured that his criminal instrument would fail permanently.
"Your innocent personality can endure watching this?"
"Why wouldn't I endure it? None here are innocent, either guilty of wrongdoing or attacking our territory, all deserving their fate... Wait, who are you calling innocent?! Explain clearly!"
"My apologies, I spoke carelessly, but this term signifies straightforwardness and sincerity, it's actually a positive description."
"I don't believe you! Are you picking a fight with me?"
In that moment, it seemed the Kaidou's blood in Yamato had awakened, she appeared ready to duel Kuzan directly.
Meanwhile, a similar situation was occurring on other islands.
...
At the front of the New World, in Mandfeish's territory, cannon fire thundered across the island with coastal artillery unleashing firepower at enemies daring to provoke them.
Nothing unusual about any of it; first, they used firepower coverage, if cannon fire couldn't handle the enemies, Genesect would step in, and if the foes could even defeat Genesect, Mandfeish himself would face them.
Yet the biggest problem was with those operating the cannon.
It wasn't seasoned gunners but Mandfeish's daughter Melo, who was only 7 years old this year. Not even Mandfeish understood why his daughter liked this activity.
"Fire at area B3!"
"Nyuu, understood."
Melo held a large telescope, observing pirate ship locations ahead, then relayed her command to nearby Hachi.
The surrounding areas were already mapped out, cannon data were calibrated, and once the area was determined, angle adjustments could be quickly made.
Hachi's six arms swiftly operated the facilities within the cannon, completing tasks single-handedly that normally required three people — angle adjustment, loading, firing.
Watching the explosive artillery, Melo's eyes gleamed with excitement, seemingly relishing the moment.
Mandfeish was different, the gaze from Rushaka behind him felt like needles poking his back.
"Feish, do you have anything to say?"
"No... I don't know either, I have no idea when Melo grew fond of this."
Mandfeish believed he raised Melo properly; she behaved normally, yet she awakened such an interest this year.