CHAPTER 147: CHAPTER 147: KURI’S AMIGASA VILLAGE

Upon hearing Kozuki Oden’s words, Tiger wasn’t upset. He understood that Wano had been closed off from the world for so long that their information was completely outdated — some of them hadn’t even seen other races!

"Call me san! I’m a Fish-Man from Fish-Man Island. There are loads of different races out there — Longarm Tribe, Longleg Tribe, Snake-Neck Tribe, even the Tontatta and Giants..."

Fisher Tiger felt like an expert showing off in front of Kozuki Oden. These Wano samurai were like bumpkins, and his pride swelled with satisfaction.

The samurai listened seriously, even some small-time retainers took notes, as if they were about to write these tales into their journals for future personal biographies!

...

Meanwhile, the samurai forces of the Flower Capital’s Shogunate were growing increasingly frantic. The son of the Shogun, Kozuki Oden, had boarded a foreigner’s golden flying ship and was heading straight for the lawless region of Kuri!

By the time they arrived, even the shadow of the Golden Ark was gone. All they found were angry residents whose rooftops had been smashed through by Kozuki Oden. The soldiers were soon surrounded by them, all demanding compensation.

Forced to gather information from the residents, the samurai reported everything to Shogun Sukiyaki — and dutifully recorded the damages for reimbursement by the Shogunate.

The finance officials at the Shogunate were furious — the hundred catties of gold that Brook had handed over had barely warmed their hands before they had to shell it out as reparations. And it still wasn’t enough — they even had to dip into their own reserves.

When Sukiyaki heard that Oden had escaped aboard a foreigner’s Golden Ark, he frowned deeply. This was bad. He couldn’t even contact them — these foreigners didn’t carry Den Den Mushi.

With no other choice, he sent a message to the Daimyo of Udon, Ametsuki Maiken, ordering him to confirm Oden’s safety as soon as possible. At the same time, he dispatched a team of elite samurai toward Kuri to assist Ametsuki Maiken in bringing the "brat" back home. He could only hope the foreigners weren’t planning anything dangerous.

Still, he believed the warriors aboard the Golden Ark wouldn’t allow Kozuki Oden to be harmed so easily.

...

The Golden Ark set off from the Flower Capital, passed over Udon, and headed toward Kuri’s Amigasa Village. Brook had originally planned to stop in Udon and pay a visit to Daimyo Ametsuki Maiken for some rest, but Maiken had already left by the time they arrived.

The Hell Pirates had spent the whole day recruiting in the Flower Capital and didn’t set off until evening. Maiken, who had departed at noon, still couldn’t outrun Brook’s flying ship.

The warriors of Udon, having never seen a golden flying vessel before, mistook them for invaders and unleashed a volley of arrows. Forced to avoid a full-scale misunderstanding, Brook decided to bypass Udon entirely and head straight to Kuri.

Since Wano didn’t use Eternal Poses, they had only rough directions to follow. Fortunately, Hyougoro and the scrappy samurai they’d picked up acted as their guides.

Flying through the night as usual — staying above land — the Wano samurai gawked at the ship’s self-glowing Lamp-Dials as if witnessing a miracle. They were still at the stage of lighting candles, after all.

By noon the next day, they had reached the outskirts of Amigasa Village.

The ragged villagers looked up at the Golden Ark with wide eyes full of greed. Even though Amigasa was relatively peaceful, the people here were still products of chaotic, lawless Kuri.

Without Kozuki Oden’s management, bandits ruled the land. Amigasa might have been poor and backward, but that didn’t mean it lacked a criminal element.

...

"Alright, let’s make this our base!" Brook declared.

He chose Amigasa Village as their center of operations — it was the closest settlement to Udon’s Seastone mining fields.

At his command, the warriors leapt from the Golden Ark to the ground below.

Kozuki Oden, practically bouncing with excitement, eagerly followed them down. Brook didn’t stop him — the gangs and bandits around Amigasa were weak compared to the real strongholds at Kuri Castle and Mt. Atama.

The Hell Pirates also disembarked, showing off their overwhelming power. Golden Lion Shiki took the lead, releasing a wave of Conqueror’s Haki that instantly flattened countless bandits and gangsters.

The defeated warriors and black market thugs like Hyougoro’s men had no choice but to act as laborers, tying up the bandits as prisoners.

"Tch, boring! I didn’t even use any strength and they’re already on the ground," Shiki sneered, chewing on his cigar as he floated in the air, his wild golden hair whipping around like a lion’s mane. He looked like some tyrannical demon god, forcing the entire village to bow under his overwhelming aura.

The villagers and surviving bandits, thinking a major underworld power had arrived, all surrendered to save their lives — not that there was much worth plundering here anyway.

The real prizes lay elsewhere — there was a small gold mine near Kuri Castle and a medium-sized silver mine near Mt. Atama. That’s where the true warlords and bandit bosses went to stake their claims.

Amigasa Village had nothing but forests, mountains, and scrub. Even farmland was scarce. It was only marginally better than the infamous Okobore Town, which served as a dumping ground for Wano’s garbage and scavengers still flocked there, hoping to find hidden treasures among the trash.

...

"Brook-sama, the terrain here is terrible. It’s impossible to build a prosperous town in a place like this..." Hyougoro couldn’t help voicing his doubts. Why start here when Brook could easily seize Kuri Castle instead?

"It’ll happen. Everything will come in time!" Brook said, smiling confidently.

With the Gura Gura no Mi and Fuwa Fuwa no Mi powers — which could reshape entire landscapes — even mountains could be leveled flat if needed.

Besides, Amigasa was close to Udon’s Seastone mines. If not for the strong loyalty of Wano’s people to the Kozuki Clan, Brook would’ve seized the mines already. He needed skilled Seastone craftsmen, not endless bloodshed.

Now, with Golden Lion Shiki and Whitebeard no longer holding back their strength, the Hell Pirates unleashed their full might. They conquered Amigasa Village easily and began clearing huge plains between Kuri and Udon using their abilities.

The bandits and ruffians were drafted into labor under shipwright Tom’s orders, helping to build a new stronghold. The thick forests were cut down by Brook’s swordsmen and floated away with Shiki’s power.

...

As the new city rose, Redfield led the ragtag samurai and Hyougoro’s black market thugs, sweeping their way toward Kuri Castle to extend their control.

Meanwhile, Ametsuki Maiken finally caught up with Brook and his crew. Previously, Maiken had been searching for Kozuki Oden around Kuri Castle, thinking that was the obvious destination.

He hadn’t expected Brook to hole up in the middle of nowhere — Amigasa Village of all places!

Still, he was able to confirm that Kozuki Oden was safe and sound — and that Oden had formally apprenticed himself to Brook. Maiken immediately reported all this to Shogun Sukiyaki.

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