Sengoku's warship was stopped before it could even enter the Udon port.
It wasn't targeted at them specifically — just a routine inspection. Nowadays, Udon port was practically Inazuma's customs checkpoint, so naturally, all kinds of checks were extremely strict.
"Marines? Do you have an entry permit?" The person in charge of inspection was one of the samurai who served under Orochi.
After Orochi's death years ago, these men had reinvented themselves and followed Higurashi to Hakumai. Some of them had joined Hakumai's fleet for overseas trade over the years, while others stayed in Hakumai and worked alongside the Kannagi to maintain Hakumai's security.
"Here are the entry documents." Sengoku produced a document.
The samurai examined it carefully, confirmed it was not forged, and then returned it. These things were like invitations to Big Mom's Tea Party — you needed a way to verify authenticity, otherwise they'd be pointless.
Inazuma's verification method actually worked through network signals between Den Den Mushi. The Den Den Mushi Smartphones, now widespread throughout Inazuma, could confirm authenticity through information exchange between Den Den Mushi.
Inazuma's Den Den Mushi, cultivated under Saya's care, had already formed a massive scale. The variety of Den Den Mushi Smartphones was even distinct from regular Den Den Mushi and Den Den Mushi Snails.
It could be said that traditional Den Den Mushi and Den Den Mushi Snails had been phased out in Inazuma. The existing Den Den Mushi Smartphones not only integrated calling, recording, and broadcasting functions, but also possessed both eavesdropping and anti-eavesdropping capabilities.
Anti-eavesdropping was easy to understand — just as Den Den Mushi and Den Den Mushi Snails couldn't understand each other's languages, the Den Den Mushi Smartphone's language was also vastly different from both.
But what was interesting was that the Den Den Mushi Smartphone was actually a product combining both, so it could eavesdrop on both in return.
Sengoku and Garp knew nothing about these things.
Although the Marines also raised some Den Den Mushi, their relationship with the Den Den Mushi was purely one of mutual benefit. The Den Den Mushi got food and suitable living conditions, the Marines got convenient information transmission — and so their cooperation had continued to this day.
But Inazuma's Den Den Mushi had been completely domesticated by Saya, who possessed the Mochi-Mochi Fruit.
Therefore, both of them were quite interested in the Den Den Mushi Smartphone in the samurai's hand.
"Sir samurai, what is that thing in your hand? Is it also a Den Den Mushi?" Sengoku asked.
"This is a Den Den Mushi Smartphone — an enhanced version of the Den Den Mushi, you could say. If you're interested, you can buy one on Hakumai's commercial street," the samurai replied casually.
Actually, Ren genuinely hoped the Marines would buy more Den Den Mushi Smartphones from him. That way, the Marines' movements would practically be completely under his control.
With Saya — the being the Den Den Mushi worshipped as a god — these Den Den Mushi Smartphones would never betray whoever bought them. They might even turn the enemy's Den Den Mushi Mother against them, and when necessary, could directly cut off the enemy's communications.
But Sengoku probably figured that someone else's cultivated Den Den Mushi weren't reliable enough. Plus, even though the Den Den Mushi Smartphone integrated multiple functions, he figured he could just carry a few different function Den Den Mushi and get the same effect. So in the end, he didn't actually purchase any Den Den Mushi Smartphones when leaving Inazuma.
After the inspection was complete and everything checked out, the ship carrying Sengoku and Garp sailed into Udon port.
"Unlike Water Seven, they use an elevator to transport people up?"
Water Seven's method of entry involved adjusting water levels to directly lift ships to the top. That massive engineering project had only been completed in the last few decades.
Udon port's history was far more ancient, and this so-called "elevator" looked much more primitive.
"Just dock the ship directly in the port," the samurai said.
Above Udon port lay Hakumai's maple forest, and the surrounding area wasn't water — so transporting the ships up as well would be an incredibly foolish move.
This also prevented these people from infiltrating Inazuma's inland sea. After all, within Inazuma, vessels of any kind were under extremely strict control.
Inazuma's inland sea encompassed every province except the Flower Capital. The long coastline was unfavorable for control, so they simply restricted all vessels from sailing in the inland sea.
Not to mention that the inland sea itself concealed enormous secrets, and with a monster like Dvalin living there, it wasn't suitable for fishing or developing a fishing industry either.
After the two arrived in Hakumai, they were immediately captivated by the golden glow of the maple forest before them.
Although most islands in the Grand Line had fixed seasons — and autumn islands weren't as numerous as winter or summer islands — they still weren't rare. But few places had year-round carpets of red leaves like Hakumai did.
Even in autumn, once the red leaves had fallen, only bare trees remained.
Before the two could even marvel at the scenery, they spotted a heavily armored army slowly approaching. Among the army, a purple-haired woman was being carried in a palanquin made of redwood.
"This must be Hakumai's daimyo, Miss Kurozuki Shinjo," Sengoku spoke first.
After all, Hakumai had been open for so many years — the Marines could still obtain this much intelligence.
However, Shinjo was different from Yukiko and the others. She wasn't wanted for being associated with Inazuma. In fact, the Marines' attitude toward Inazuma was somewhat similar to how they treated the Happo Navy from the Flower Kingdom.
The Happo Navy was the Flower Kingdom's armed force, and the Marines considered them pirates. The current Happo Navy leader, Blue Gorilla, had a bounty of several hundred million and was a major pirate.
But the Flower Kingdom itself was a nation recognized by the World Government.
As for Inazuma, the World Government obviously wouldn't recognize it. Inazuma wasn't a World Government affiliate nation and refused to pay the Celestial Tribute. The reason for their peaceful coexistence could only be attributed to their wariness of Inazuma's strength. But the Marines' attitude toward Inazuma was indeed identical to how they treated the Flower Kingdom.
"This must be Marine Admiral Sengoku, and Marine Hero Garp? I didn't expect both of you to come to Inazuma together — could it be that you represent the Marines in declaring war on the Shogun?"
Shinjo cracked a small joke to ease the atmosphere.
After all, there was no way the Marines would show up in Hawaiian shirts and floral prints to start a war.
"Not at all — our cooperation with Inazuma has been extremely pleasant. This visit to Inazuma was because we heard the scenery here is very beautiful, so we plan to hold a Marine team-building event here. Right now it's just the two of us — the others will arrive in a few days."
Honestly, no one would believe that excuse, but Shinjo didn't press further. She simply wished them a pleasant stay and planned to host them at Hakumai's Kurozuki Daimyo Residence.
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