Pirate: Hades! ( One Piece)

Chapter 328: Interlocking Links

Victory on the Udon Frontline in Wano Country was easily achieved, and Udon was completely occupied by the Pirate Alliance Army.

After Kozuki Oden left, even the last Bridge couldn't escape the destiny of being destroyed.

This fully demonstrated the terrifying strength of the Tyrant Dragon Pirates, easily accomplishing what the Pirate Alliance was unable to do.

The results brought by the Tyrant Dragon Pirates' arrival made the Kurozumi Clan feel even more fortunate.

They only regretted not calling Zak over sooner.

And this war was not yet over.

Across Wano Country, the Coastal Area villages and towns in Kuri, Ringo, Hakumai, and Kibi suffered attacks and plunder from Pirates.

"Tyrant Bear" Morant and "The Blaster" Wendigo each led a Pirate Force to attack the Kuri and Hakumai Areas respectively.

The Kuri Area was established relatively recently, with its core centered in the north around Oden Castle.

The south only had a small number of defending Samurai, monitoring the Coastal Area to guard against Pirate attacks from across the sea.

Without high-end combat power, facing the Monster-like "Tyrant Bear" Morant, they were simply unable to resist.

The southern part of Kuri was occupied in a short amount of time.

The Kurozumi Clan took over the rule of the various villages and towns and sent out their Military to begin setting up defense lines.

And the Hakumai Area was even more important.

Besides having the Port of Blade Harbor.

Hakumai also had a Secret Port.

The Secret Port connected to the Waterfalls around the Wano Country Sea Area.

Through a secret passage, one could go directly to the Great Sea without needing to pass through the Waterfall.

Taking the Waterfall route was relatively dangerous.

Accidentally hitting the protruding rock wall on the Waterfall would result in the ship being destroyed and people dying.

And the Secret Port route was undoubtedly more convenient.

It could save a lot of transportation costs.

It was just that the Secret Port's mechanism hadn't been used for a long time and needed some repairs, but this wasn't a problem for the Kurozumi Clan.

Over in Udon.

As soon as Kozuki Oden left, Zak flew eastward.

Before other areas could react, he intended to destroy all the Bridges connecting the Hakumai Area to the Flower Capital and Ringo.

Kozuki Oden couldn't possibly catch up to him, even if he received the news right now.

In this battle, just the entirety of Udon wasn't enough to satisfy his appetite; the southern part of Kuri was merely a bonus, and the entire Hakumai was also what he wanted.

Without the Bridges, who in Hakumai could still stop them?

Zak, along with the force arriving later from the Udon Area, would cooperate with the Kurozumi Clan to annex and occupy Hakumai.

Step by step, everything was interconnected.

Relying solely on strength wasn't true skill; maximizing interests was the true manifestation of ability.

And this was something they learned during their time with the Rocks Pirates, and was further influenced by Hades.

The six Bridges were easily destroyed; no one could oppose them.

The arrival of the Tyrant Dragon Pirates also left Wano Country with insufficient time to strengthen its military power.

The vanguard force led by "The Blaster" Wendigo occupied Blade Harbor.

After the subsequent Pirate Force completely occupied the Udon Area, they all boarded Pirate Ships and headed for the Hakumai Area.

Coupled with Zak's deterrence, in just three days' time, the entire Hakumai Area was occupied by the Pirate Fleet.

The sudden great defeat caught Wano Country somewhat off guard.

The Udon Area and Hakumai Area were completely lost, and Kuri also lost half of its Territory.

This made them fully realize the strength of the external enemies and also feel immense stress.

Because what had now targeted them was a dragon.

Wano Country's "Sword God" Shimotsuki Ryuma once had a legend of slashing a dragon, and this was even just an insignificant part of Ryuma's legend.

But now, Wano Country had long since weakened.

Kozuki Oden, who had the greatest potential, was still continuing his growth.

Four hundred years ago, how prosperous Wano Country was!

How many external enemies and World Nobles were driven out and defeated by Wano Country.

Hakumai's Samurai Troops were even known as the "Iron Wall".

Because at that time, Hakumai was the only Port connecting to the outside World.

Even now, Hakumai's Samurai Troops were the strongest among all the Daimyo.

The Vassals and Samurai under Kozuki Oden had not yet received instruction in etiquette; in the past, they were bandits and wandering individuals, and couldn't even be considered Samurai in Wano Country.

Such losses were very heavy.

The surviving captured Samurai were all sent to Udon for mining.

The hard ore was difficult to dig without a certain level of strength.

These Samurai were the best candidates for mine slaves.

In the Flower Capital, the overall atmosphere was very heavy.

This time, the attack by the foreign Pirates raised their sense of crisis to its peak.

And they didn't know what to do next.

In the invaded Kuri, the Residents all fled towards Kibi and the Flower Capital.

In the past, Kuri was known as a lawless area of chaos.

Although Kozuki Oden had developed Kuri, under the influence of the Kurozumi Clan, Kuri had never truly experienced peace.

Even in the Ringo and Kibi Areas, which had not yet been invaded, some Residents began to head towards the Flower Capital.

Perhaps only in the Flower Capital could they feel safe.

This crushing defeat was like a sudden wake-up call.

The entire internal situation of Wano Country became chaotic.

The originally favorable situation was severely damaged.

However, they wouldn't surrender so easily.

"Shogun, what should we do?"

Although Hakumai was occupied, the Hakumai Daimyo, Shimotsuki Yasuie, had not sacrificed himself.

He was in the Flower Capital during the great battle, and by the time he received the news, it was already too late.

"Maintain full alert, and make an effort to become stronger."

What kind of method could Kozuki Sukiyaki possibly have?

Looking at the smoke rising from the incense, his heart was filled with helplessness.

"If they truly want Wano Country, to avoid causing too much slaughter, we will surrender."

"All they want is Wano Country's mineral resources; we can just give it to them."

"If they intend to wipe us out, we will go into hiding under assumed names, or leave Wano Country and return after we possess sufficient strength."

A true man knows when to yield and when not to.

As the Shogun of Wano Country, Kozuki Sukiyaki had clearly made the worst possible plan.

Facing a powerful enemy, minimizing losses was the most important thing.

"Let's send away a batch of the seed first.

I have a way to contact Kōzaburō; it's something he left behind before he left.

I thought I'd never need it in my life, and I don't know how he's doing now."

Shimotsuki Yasuie said seriously.

Regardless, they did not wish for their Family's bloodline to perish.

Especially the Kozuki Clan, whose only core members were Kozuki Oden and Kozuki Sukiyaki.

"Kozuki Oden, when the time comes, you will take the seed and leave.

Return after you have become strong enough."

They could sacrifice themselves, but Kozuki Oden absolutely could not.

He was the Shogun's son of Wano Country, the hope for Wano Country's future.

"Father."

Kozuki Oden was a little anxious; he was unwilling to leave just like this.

But looking at Kozuki Sukiyaki's eyes, filled with hope, he swallowed the words he wanted to say.

He had always wanted to go to sea and also hoped for Wano Country's opening the country, but he didn't wish for it to happen this way.

(end of chapter)