Izou's happiness did not last long, because aside from his younger brother, he also saw an officer of the Beasts Pirates.
"Kiku, what is going on?"
"Big Brother, it's a bit complicated. If possible, can we find a quiet place to talk?"
Looking at the surrounding pirates, Kikunojo seemed unwilling to discuss this topic here and instead gestured for Izou to move to another location.
"There's an island nearby. Let's go there."
This is the difference between rookie pirates and veteran pirates of the New World. In the Grand Line, ordinary navigation tools are completely useless. To reach the next island, one must rely on a Log Pose.
Veteran pirates have plenty of Eternal Pose in their possession. Without needing to store the magnetic waves, they can directly head to their destination.
The island Izou mentioned had weak magnetic waves, which was why the Log Pose of the pirate ship earlier had pointed to another island.
...
"Alright, we can talk now. The people on the ship won't be able to hear our conversation."
Izou did not understand why one of Kaido's officers was out alone with his younger brother, nor could he figure out what had happened to Kikunojo during this time. He simply stared at Delia with a wary expression.
Even though one of her eyes was wrapped in bandages, she was still an extremely troublesome opponent in his eyes.
"There's no need to be so nervous, big brother~ This time, I'm not here to fight you. To be precise, we are temporarily allies. After all, my injury was caused by your traitor."
"Wait, who are you calling big brother?"
"Isn't it you? You're Kiku's older brother, aren't you? In that case, calling you that doesn't seem like a problem."
"Stop!"
Because of Kikunojo's presence, they didn't start a fight. However, there was a lot of information in Delia's words, and Izou found it hard to accept for a moment.
"Kiku, what exactly is going on?"
"Big Brother, it's not what you think. I mainly wanted to borrow Den Den Mushi from you. Also, Miss Delia's injury was caused by that Blackbeard..."
Stopping Delia from spouting more nonsense, Kikunojo quickly explained what had happened earlier.
"That Teach... is he really that strong?"
Kikunojo's explanation caused Izou's expression to darken. He didn't like Delia, as they were enemies, but he acknowledged her strength. None of the single-digit Numbers of the Beasts Pirates were easy to deal with, and the top-ranking officers had recently been making quite a name for themselves.
Blackbeard being able to injure Delia, who was ranked No. 4, far exceeded Izou's expectations of him.
Originally, he had thought that Blackbeard was only able to kill Thatch because of a sneak attack. But now, it seemed that this matter was far from simple.
"That guy stayed on your ship for so many years, and you still didn't figure out his true strength? If it were Boss Queen, he would've dug up even his ancestors' information."
"Kiku, this is a rare opportunity. Why don't you just come with me? Don't go back to Wano Country for now—come with me and return to Pops' side."
Izou tried to persuade Kikunojo to return to the Whitebeard Pirates with him.
In Izou's eyes, Wano Country was currently a den of tigers and wolves. If Kikunojo could leave, it would naturally be for the best. However, Kikunojo's thoughts were different from Izou's.
"Sorry, big brother, I can't leave with you right now."
"Why? You don't have to worry about anything..."
"No, big brother, I have my reasons. I can't just leave with you like this. If possible, please lend us a Den Den Mushi."
...
Seeing the resolute look in Kikunojo's eyes, Izou ultimately chose to respect his younger brother's decision. He trusted his brother and believed that he wouldn't insist on something without reason.
After leaving behind a Den Den Mushi, Izou took his crew and departed from the island, continuing to pursue Blackbeard and Ace based on the information Kikunojo had provided.
Meanwhile, Delia dialed a familiar number.
"Hello, hello, Boss? Have you been resting well lately?"
Among the senior officers, King was the only one whose personal Den Den Mushi number she had. With her Rotom device damaged, King was also the only person she could contact.
"Get to the point."
"Uh... I ran into a bit of an accident here. Can you quickly send a doctor over? Preferably a surgeon or an ophthalmologist to do some temporary treatment."
"Wait."
King's response was extremely concise. After just two words, he ended the call, yet it also let Delia witness the speed of the Beasts Pirates.
About four hours after the call ended, two Dragonite appeared in the sky above the island. Following the direction of Vivre Card, they carried two doctors from Onigashima along with medical equipment and arrived at her location.
If not for the equipment and doctors, the Dragonite could have arrived even faster.
After performing some temporary treatment, the Dragonite carried them back to Onigashima, cutting Delia's vacation short.
...
After returning to Onigashima, Kikunojo and Delia temporarily went their separate ways to handle their own matters.
Kikunojo went to report to Kozuki Hiyori, while Delia was taken directly to King by the Dragonite.
"Boss, long time no see."
Delia greeted him with her usual cheerful smile, completely unfazed by his unpleasant expression.
"Useless."
"Hey, hey, Boss, saying that hurts my feelings. Is this how you welcome your dear subordinate?"
"Cut the crap. Making a troublesome person like you Vice-Captain was definitely my biggest mistake. You're well aware of what's on the Sacred Mountain. Everything has been arranged for you, so go and get yourself treated."
"Uh, Boss, how about I go a few days later?"
Earlier, those doctors had exaggerated the severity of her condition, making Kikunojo anxious the entire way back.
She wanted to take advantage of her injury—an opportunity like this wouldn't come twice.
"What do you think?"
Seeing King looking like he was about to draw his sword, Delia stopped messing around and turned to head toward the Sacred Mountain.
At the same time, King also left Flower Capital's palace and went straight to Onigashima.
With Arceus and Shayna not around, the only one on Onigashima was Kaido, who was idly watching a kabuki performance. When he saw King arrive, he immediately tossed a wine jar his way.
"Boss Kaido!"
"King, come drink! These guys put together a new play, and it's actually pretty interesting."
To cater to Kaido's interests, Wano Country's theater industry had flourished over the years, leading to a surge in new classic plays.
"No thanks, Boss. I need to head out for a while. Please assign my current tasks to someone else for now."
"Hmm? Something happened?"
"Nothing major, but my subordinate ran into some trouble outside. I need to go settle the scores for her."
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