“Stop messing around, go find your brother!”

Ian pressed down on Bonney’s head, turning her towards Ace. Bonney didn’t mind and leaped towards Ace, hugging him tightly!

“What are you doing!?” Ace found himself awkwardly embraced around the neck by Bonney and desperately tried to break free. Earlier, when they had escaped from the prison, Bonney had briefly explained the situation to him. Ace was somewhat skeptical because when he was born, his mother had already passed away, and he was immediately taken away by Garp. So not only did he know very little about the Portgas family, but he also had no understanding at all. Suddenly having a cousin appear was a bit hard for Ace to accept.

Not to mention that this cousin seemed rather wild—a typical tomboy—and didn’t quite fit the image of an older sister…

However, he didn’t exactly reject her either because he had a good impression of his mother’s family. He refused to acknowledge his bloodline from Roger but was willing to inherit the surname Portgas.

Bonney, on the other hand, was quite fond of her younger cousin. Having finally met him, she couldn’t help but stick to him all the time…

Meanwhile, Ian and Fujitora walked over to Queen. During her earlier transformation, Queen’s ninja outfit had been torn apart, and now that she had reverted, there was no way it could return. So after Fujitora took off his cloak and covered Queen with it, Ian squatted down and extended a finger in front of Queen’s long nose to feel her breath, confirming that she was indeed still alive.

In Ian’s Metal Storm, it was like being spun in a washing machine for countless cycles. If it were any other type of Devil Fruit user, they probably would have died. But as a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, coupled with Haki protection, Queen survived. However, at this moment, all the bones in her body were broken, and her once beautiful fiery red fur was riddled with holes. These holes were filled with iron sand, and blood oozed out, turning a dark red color.

It was as if she had been shot hundreds of times with a shotgun—truly a miserable sight.

Nowadays, when Ian makes a move, he doesn’t hold back; his attacks are all incredibly powerful. It’s not surprising that Queen ended up like this. Although Ian couldn’t figure out why she had kept fighting without retreating earlier, regardless of whatever conspiracy she had, the price she paid was not light. Being beaten like this, any plans she had probably couldn’t be carried out anymore.

“If we leave her like this, she might die,” Marco said. “Ian, you have healing abilities; heal her a bit. We still have questions to ask her!”

Ian nodded, reached out over her body, and the glow of the Dual Heavenly Restoration enveloped Queen’s body. Then they saw the iron sand embedded in her body slowly being expelled.

After waiting for a while, Ian canceled the healing ability. He didn’t intend to heal this fire fox completely; as long as she wouldn’t die.

A noisy sound came from the direction of Kyoto. For some reason, even though the battle here had ended, the troops guarding Kyoto were only now arriving slowly.

“Let’s go; let’s get out of here!” Ian wrapped Fujitora’s cloak tightly around Queen, then picked her up and said to everyone, “This is not a good place for interrogation.”

Everyone nodded and followed Ian, quickly leaving the area.

Those samurai and soldiers who arrived at the battlefield looked around suspiciously and soon noisily returned to Kyoto.

In the Tenshukaku (castle tower) of Kyoto, in a messy room, several maids were cleaning up. Although they carefully kept their heads down, their eyes were still full of panic, occasionally glancing at a pool of blood in the corner of the room.

There was still the smell of gunpowder in the room that hadn’t dissipated. A cool breeze blew in through the blasted-open window…

At this moment, the door to the room slid open from the outside, and Wano Country’s strongest samurai, Saijo Yoshifu, walked in. He waved to the maids in the room and said, “You may leave.”

After the maids carefully lowered their heads and left the room, Saijo Yoshifu closed the door, walked to a place in the room that looked like a closet, and knelt down. His entire body was almost prostrate on the ground, and he whispered, “Lord Shogun, I apologize for alarming you…”

With his voice, the closet opened, revealing a hidden room inside. Hanging at the entrance was a curtain, and the silhouette of a person sitting could be vaguely seen behind it.

“Thank you for your efforts, Yoshifu!” A deep voice came from behind the curtain, asking, “Have the soldiers and samurai who pursued the assassin returned?”

“Yes, Lord Shogun!” Saijo Yoshifu straightened up and replied, “According to your instructions, the soldiers and samurai delayed for a while before arriving at the battle site. They did not encounter or clash with the other party.”

“That’s good! Wano Country cannot make any more enemies now…” The Shogun behind the curtain sighed and said, “Black Dragon Ian of the Four Emperors personally came to rescue his people, which was somewhat unexpected. Since he refused your invitation and didn’t want to see me, it’s not wise to provoke him further…”

“Lord Shogun!” Saijo Yoshifu asked in confusion, “I can understand not clashing with the Dragon Hunter Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates, but why let the assassin go? If I’m not mistaken, the one who tried to assassinate you was Queen the Plague of the Beasts Pirates! This…”

“Even if we capture her, what then?” The Shogun behind the curtain sneered, “You understand Kaido’s intentions. Capturing Queen the Plague would only give him an opportunity to tear up the alliance and an excuse to attack Wano Country!”

Saijo Yoshifu gritted his teeth, knelt down again, and advised, “Lord Shogun! With all due respect, since you know Kaido’s treacherous ambitions, why do you still take such a huge risk to cooperate with him!? This time, Queen the Plague’s assassination has already cost the life of a body double. If they don’t give up…”

“Hmph! Of course, I understand! But I have no choice!” The Shogun snorted coldly, “The world thinks I’m unjust for acting against the Kozuki family, but who understands how much trouble Kozuki Oden’s ideas would bring to Wano Country!? I am the Shogun of Wano Country; I must protect the entire nation, not just the Kozuki family. For the sake of the country, I had to sacrifice them!”

“Lord Shogun…” Saijo Yoshifu listened to his resolute tone and didn’t know what to say.

“Enough, you may leave!” The Shogun behind the curtain said, “Since you are an old acquaintance of the Dragon Hunter Pirates’ Vice-Captain Fujitora, don’t give up your efforts. Try to connect with Emperor Ian through him, understand?”

“Yes… I will do my best!” Saijo Yoshifu knelt down again, then got up and left the room backward.

After the room was empty, a weary sigh came from behind the curtain. The Shogun of Wano Country seemed to be talking to himself, “Oden, Oden, why don’t you understand! As a family of stone masons who carved the Poneglyphs, instead of keeping a low profile, you were fixated on opening the country. What kind of bewitching potion did Pirate King Roger give you? Is the truth of history really that important? Even if you want to convey the truth to the world, have you considered whether the world is ready!?”

“Wano Country has been closed off for so many years, which has also protected you and your family for so long. You’ve come to this point; it’s your own fault. So… don’t blame me!”

This self-talking monologue became firm towards the end, as if the Shogun of Wano Country had once again confirmed that his actions were correct.

At this moment, a “brrr brrr” sound suddenly came from the room. The Shogun behind the curtain rummaged through his clothes and took out a strange-looking Den Den Mushi (Transponder Snail).

It turned out to be a special black-and-white Den Den Mushi!

In Wano Country, there has never been a culture of Den Den Mushi communication, but who would have thought that the highest ruler of Wano Country would have such a strange Den Den Mushi?

Picking up the receiver, the Den Den Mushi stopped ringing. Instead, it mimicked the appearance of the person on the other end of the line. From its transformed appearance, the person on the other side seemed to be a bald old man wearing round glasses…

“…” The Shogun on this side remained silent after picking up the receiver.

However, the other side didn’t seem to mind. The Den Den Mushi transmitted a voice asking, “Lord Tokugawa Izumi, I heard you were subjected to an assassination attempt!? Are you alright?”

“Hmph!” The Shogun of Wano Country, Tokugawa Izumi, snorted and mocked, “Five Elders, your World Government is really everywhere! You got the news in such a short time?”

The person talking to the Shogun of Wano Country was actually one of the highest authorities of the World Government—the Five Elders!?

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read