Enemies Sharing A Toast I

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Chapter 148: Enemies Sharing A Toast I

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"I'll be there," Yovan responded, listening to the location before hanging up, biting his fingers right after until they bled, "Ahh, Misfortune." He mumbled.

"What happened?" Kalifa asked with a frown, things surprising happening when it comes to Yovan's misfortune were certainly not to her liking. In fact, it brought a somber atmosphere to the crew.

"I don't know exactly what happened... I'm confused," Yovan stroked his chin in thoughtfulness, "I know, however, that the Marines know something, and their call to me was likely a set up."

"But how?" Kalifa questioned as she glanced at the rest of the crew, The only possible scenario seems to be the existence of a traitor among them. However, she was almost certain that was not the case.

Kalifa and Viola were closely working together to keep an eye on Nico Robin as the former specifically didn't trust her at all, so she relied on Viola's powers to keep an eye on her.

And she knows Viola regularly exchanges information with Yovan through her powers, so he definitely trusts her and knows all of her actions... So how?

"Papa, are you sad? Here, take a cookie," Pudding like always jumped on his lap and fed him a cookie, many cookies in fact.

The more time passes, the closer she gets with Yovan, especially as she got to know him more to the point that she doesn't hide her third eye anymore.

She used to hide only to show it to Yovan as a surprise, closely watching his reaction, seemingly still self-conscious about her third eye, but never, not once had she seen the reaction she was afraid of.

Just like now, he'd let out a chuckle before caressing her hair, eating the cookies with a lovely expression, her cookies were that lovely, "You don't have to worry... None of you have to worry."

Yovan couldn't help but shake his head as he looked back at his crew. He was so preoccupied with contemplating the impossibility of the situation that he forgot about cheeking up on his crew.

They looked confused, their expression especially somber for Bege told them all about it, all about the last Misfortunes, what Yovan had to go through as a side effect of his Devil Fruit.

He has been there since the first misfortune, so he knows, and he had seen Yovan's transformation from start to finish.

"What's with your expressions?" Yovan asked with a sigh of annoyance, "What have I told you before? All that matters is to survive. Only then can we try again, and we shall succeed. No matter what had happened, as long as well live, we will eventually prevail, so cheer up."

"Aghh, that's not what's annoying me," Laffitte shook his head, "I had so much hope. I was looking forward to our misfortune, like, Imagine I die."

"Huh?"

"..."

They waited for him to say something else, but no, that's where he stopped. There was no explanation, just inexplicable unstable words.

"Anyway, cheer up, something bad happens, but whatever, let's have some fun, some more training," Yovan said as he jumped to his feet, Antarisa seriously nodding in agreement. She has been converted.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"We've made enemies of the beast pirates, Big mom pirates, now the World Government and the Marines, so many things must change, and we must be better," Yovan murmured with a smile.

He made enemies of so many more people, yet he couldn't help but smile despite most of his plans going to naught due to the unknown misfortune.

He had planned to use his influence as a Warlord to take over some of the Whitebeard's territory, but that's no longer possible. In fact, many of his plans are no longer viable.

Sengoku said that the 'Raid' on the Pantheon will happen in a month, and he informed him of the location of the meet-up, so that's a month to prepare.

He also contacted Morgans for news, but he said that nothing of significance has happened, but Yovan was certain that something misfortunate did happen, the Marines likely just kept it a secret.

He wasn't sure about many things, but he was certain of something. If the Marines were preparing to exterminate him, then they definitely have counter to his known ability, including his scattering.

So the world witnessed one of the strangest months in history as the Strangers invaded the beast pirates, literally. Just as the beast pirates repaired Onigashima, Yovan found himself back.

It just wasn't Yovan alone, but all of the Strangers, except some had different goals for as the monster that's Yovan fought the beastly dragon in the sky, Viola and Pudding had a different task.

"Is this the place, mama?" Pudding asked with curiosity.

"This is definitely the place," Viola nodded as she eyed the house, a nice house with the signature architecture of Wano Country.

The two were in Amigasa Village in Kuri, a region in Wano country, relatively far from Onigashima, but even from afar, they could see the colossal dragon high in the air.

That's why the village was silent, none of its inhabitants outside. No one dared to leave out of fear, so Viola excused herself by lifting her toned left leg and kicking the door open.

She did knock before, but it was clear that whoever is inside didn't want her there, thus they didn't respond. She wasn't about to take a no for an answer, not with the importance of her task.

They found two individuals before them, an old man guarding a little girl, "Who are you? And what do you want from us?"

The thing giving away his age most was his long white hair that reaches down to his back as his face was hidden by a red mask.

"May we have a word with you, alone if possible?" Viola asked gently.

"Tama, go, go to your room, listen to me," The old man whispered to the little girl, sending her away.

"Speak," The old man said as he glanced at the thing on Viola's shoulder, or rather, it was a crow, a dark strange crow for it didn't seem to be alive. The thing made him wary.

"I'm one of the Strangers, and I was sent here by the Stranger himself to ask you for a favor, Sir Kozuki Sukiyaki," Viola stated with a smile, witnessing the old man's eyes constricting before widening in shock.

Stating his name was so shocking to him in fact that his hand instinctively went to the hilt of his sword, ready for the worst, perhaps even ready to shed blood.

"Relax, you know you don't want to do that," Viola advised as she noticed the crow on her shoulders flaring his wings, also ready to act, something the old man noticed.

Sukiyaki did relax, shaking his head as he took off his mask, showing his wrinkly frowning face, "I don't know how he knows, but please keep it a secret." He begged.

The old man was Kozuki Sukiyaki, the former shogun of Wano Country. He is the father of the late daimyo of Kuri Kozuki Oden.

Around three decades before the present day, he was deposed from the shogunate and imprisoned by the usurper Kurozumi Orochi.

Escaping sometime after Oden's execution 20 years ago, Sukiyaki went into hiding under a false name.

"We won't," Viola assured him, "As long as you do your part... We want all you know regarding the Poneglyphs... That and how to read them for you know the ancient script, no?"

"You! Impossible!" The old man firmly shook his head, somewhat shocked that they know.

The Kozuki family is actually the family that invented the Poneglyphs, thus they naturally know how to read them.

And as a member of the Kozuki Family, Sukiyaki is a philologist who inherited his ancestors' skills and knowledge to read the Poneglyphs and write its language.

"Please reconsider," Viola gently said, "Nothing good will come out of refusing. My Captain will find out one way or another, so isn't it better to make friends? Allies?"

Sukiyaki furrowed his brows, asking, "Your Captain works for the World Government. He's a Warlord, that I know."

"Does he?" Viola asked back with a smile.

"N-no," Sukiyaki was confused, but he knows that any research regarding the Ponegylphs is a crime... Yovan Night seems to be ambitious, disregarding the World Government's laws.

"I..." He was confused, fearful, and uncertain for he knows that there would be consequences to refusing the request, something as simple as telling the World Government about his location and what he knows.

"Here," Viola took a step closer and handed him a piece of paper, "That's a gift from the Captain."

Sukiyaki took the paper, looking at it for only a split second before letting it fall to the ground, his hands trembling, sweating profusely, and his eyes zoned out in shock.

He knows a lot, so the information written on that frail piece of paper shocked him beyond belief.

"What... You, hwai..." The old man stumbled his steps as he picked up the paper again and threw it into the fire, watching it burn with twitching eyes.