At this point, he glanced at Marco and said, “I heard that the Kozuki family has ties with the Whitebeard Pirates… but you’re too late.”

“Our information was delayed!” Marco spread his hands and said, “Initially, only Ace, the second division commander, and Izo, the sixteenth division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, came to Wano Country. We thought it was just an ordinary internal conflict, but no one expected the Kozuki family to be involved…”

Hidakira nodded and said, “Now, those outsiders who helped the Kozuki family have basically been captured during the suppression campaign. According to the information I’ve received, some were directly executed by the Beasts Pirates, but indeed, some have been imprisoned!”

“Oh!? Then where exactly are they being held?” Ian hurriedly asked. “Also, is Kaido still in Wano Country?”

This is why, even though Ian had Ace’s Vivre Card, he still decided to first find someone to inquire about the situation. While the Vivre Card could lead Ian to Ace’s location, who knew who was guarding the place where they were being held?

You must understand, the Beasts Pirates are aware of Ace and Fujitora’s identities. If, after capturing them, they set up a trap waiting for Ian and his companions to walk into, that would be disastrous!

If Kaido himself was guarding them, wouldn’t that mean Ian would have to fight Kaido first!?

Of course, according to Hawkins’ divination, Ian’s trip would be relatively smooth, meaning the chances of meeting Kaido might not be high. But even if they didn’t encounter Kaido, what if the shogun of Wano Country dispatched troops to guard Ace and the others? These things were unpredictable…

Hearing Ian’s question, Hidakira shook his head and said, “Don’t worry. In fact, you came just in time. I have just received the most accurate information.”

Hidakira picked up his teacup, took a sip, and continued, “The Kozuki family was utterly defeated in this battle. Their Tenshukaku was burned down, and the family head, Kozuki Oden, was captured. It’s said that he stayed behind voluntarily to be captured to allow his retainers to escape. Unfortunately, although the shogun didn’t kill him, he handed him over to Kaido! This was about five days ago.”

“However, for some reason, Kaido kept Oden alive for five days, seemingly interrogating him about something. Whether he got the information or not, Oden was killed by Kaido last night!” Hidakira said this with a face full of regret and resentment.

“Originally, Kaido planned to execute all the outsiders who helped the Kozuki family, but… later, the shogun took some of them away!” Hidakira looked at Ian and the others and said, “I had been wondering why the shogun did this, but after seeing you, I finally understand. Perhaps the shogun himself is worried about provoking two Emperors!”

Ian nodded. He thought the same. Kaido, that lunatic, might not care, but as long as the shogun of Wano Country had some sense, he wouldn’t dare to casually harm members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates or the Whitebeard Pirates!

Unless he’s tired of living!

This is also why Ian wasn’t too worried about Ace and Fujitora’s situation—that’s the deterrent power of the Four Emperors!

“So, Ace, Fujitora, and Izo were taken away by the shogun?” Ian asked.

“Yes! The shogun requested them from Kaido and has them currently imprisoned in the capital. As for the exact location, it might be in the ‘Heavenly Prison’!” Hidakira said. “As for Kaido himself, for some reason, he has left Wano Country!”

“Hmm? He left?” Ian was stunned. This seemed a bit different from his impression.

Originally, in history, after Kaido killed the Kozuki family’s head, he seemed to have stayed in Wano Country. Could it be that because of his own actions, there was now a deviation?

Something doesn’t seem right. Since he discovered Ace and Fujitora, how could Kaido not guess that the Dragon Hunter Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates would come to rescue them? With his madman personality, he might be eager to fight Ian and Whitebeard again. How could he just leave like that?

Unless he really got some information from Kozuki Oden, so he left?

As Ian was speculating, Hidakira continued, “Not only did Kaido leave, but two of his ‘Three Calamities’ also left with him—’Drought’ Jack and ‘Wildfire’ King. The only one left in Kuri is ‘Plague’ Queen.”

“Only one left? The Beasts Pirates have almost mobilized their entire force!” Marco said in confusion. “What exactly happened?”

Ian could guess that ‘Drought’ Jack probably went to hunt down the escaped retainers of the Kozuki family, including the heir, Momonosuke. But as for the unseen ‘Wildfire’ King and Kaido’s departure, Ian couldn’t figure it out.

“The information was brought back by the ninjas of my family,” Hidakira said regretfully. “Unfortunately, when he returned, he was seriously injured. Regarding this part of the intelligence, he only had time to say that someone called ‘Heavenly Yaksha’ appeared, seemingly to deliver a message to Kaido. Before I could ask him who that was, he died…”

“Heavenly Yaksha!?… Donquixote Doflamingo!?” Ian understood but became even more puzzled. “He appeared too? To deliver a message? What message?”

At this moment, a sudden ‘purururu’ sound rang in the room.

The ninjas responsible for guarding were all startled and stood up, searching for the source of the sound. Naya and Hidakira were also curiously listening.

As a result, they saw Ian take out a ringing Den Den Mushi from his pocket.

“This… what is this? A snail?” Naya asked curiously.

“Oh, this is a Den Den Mushi!” Ian replied with a smile. “A very peculiar creature that can communicate with people from afar. By the way, it seems your Wano Country doesn’t have Den Den Mushi…”

“I’ve seen outsiders use them…” Hidakira said, but his eyes were still tightly fixed on the Den Den Mushi in Ian’s hand.

Not only him, but even the ninjas were the same. Ian had no choice but to answer the call under the curious gazes of the group.

“Hello, is that Ian? Hello… hello… can you hear me?” When the Den Den Mushi opened its mouth to speak, Princess Naya’s eyes sparkled brightly.

But Ian and Marco’s expressions became serious because the caller was none other than Whitebeard himself!!

This Den Den Mushi was a specially enhanced version. Due to the long distance and the harsh weather conditions in the New World, ordinary Den Den Mushi would experience signal interference, which is why Ace and Fujitora didn’t carry Den Den Mushi before. But this time, when Ian and Marco came, the Whitebeard Pirates specially prepared this signal-boosted Den Den Mushi for them to carry.

Now, the old man finally called…

“It’s me!” Ian answered, holding the receiver. “I can hear you clearly, Pops. Go ahead.”

“Have you arrived in Wano Country? How is the situation? Are you alright?” Whitebeard asked over the phone.

“No problem, everything is going smoothly. Just wait; it won’t be long before we bring Ace and the others back!” Ian said.

“That’s good!” Whitebeard said. “However, if possible, please hurry!”

“Did something happen?” Ian and Marco exchanged a glance and asked.

“It’s not a big deal… but…” Whitebeard hesitated for a moment, then finally said, “It’s the Soul-Soul Fruit! Big Mom’s Devil Fruit has reappeared!”

“Wha… what!?” Ian was stunned upon hearing this and uncertainly asked, “Pops, could you say that again? What was that?”

“You heard right! It’s Big Mom’s Soul-Soul Fruit!” Whitebeard said. “After you killed Big Mom, the Soul-Soul Fruit was reborn, but no one expected that this Devil Fruit would reappear to the world so quickly…”

A sudden flash of insight struck Ian’s mind, and he remembered Doflamingo’s appearance!

Damn! Could it be that Doflamingo came to Wano Country to inform Kaido of this news!? Kaido suddenly leaving Wano Country—could it be because of this Soul-Soul Fruit?

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