149 I refuse! 

"I see!" Zoro said after a while of silence.

And when the rest looked at him he elaborated on what he meant.

"In order to get the secret of the world from you retainers, Doflamingo and Caesar who are connected to Kaido were trying to catch you guys!" He said in explanation.

He was finally able to understand why someone like an emperor of the sea would send so many people after them.

Kin'emon nodded at him as he replied back.

"That's right!" He said. But he still had tears on his face.

Then Usopp who was barely holding himself from asking a multitude of questions couldn't take it anymore and finally asked what was on his mind.

"Then… then do you guys know the secret of the world?" He asked them eagerly.

A look of anticipation was on his face.

Just like that time with Rayleigh he was excited to see someone else who might know what the secret of the world was. Perhaps even the one piece treasure.

"Hey!" Luffy at hearing this glared at him making him recoil a bit and try to explain as quickly as possible.

"I-I was just asking them if they knew, I'm not going to tell them to tell us Luffy…" He explained hurriedly. And it was the truth as he really was not going to ask them to tell the secret if they knew it. He had learned his lesson from back then.

Finally at hearing that Luffy turned to the side and forgot about this issue. He focused on Kin'emon again and awaited his answer.

Today had been exciting to him. He couldn't wait to see what other surprises were there. A smile spread on his face as he thought of this.

Meanwhile the moment the samurais heard the words uttered by Usopp… their faces hardened once again.

Kin'emon put his hand on his face for a bit. Before he removed it and started speaking.

"Well… actually we don't know it!" He told them.

"Lord Oden didn't want to burden us with that! As such we don't know anything about that!" Kin'emon told them sadly.

They were grateful to their lord for that!

"However!" Kanjuro then took after his friend and ally.

"Even if we knew, we still would not tell anybody about it! And either way, if we knew, or didn't, we still would be hunted! As such the only option left is to fight!" Kanjuro said.

And his friends nodded their heads.

"That's right!" Kin'emon said. "Although we are defeated soldiers, we still accept our defeat and disgrace! And still, survive to this day for one sole reason!" Kin'emon spoke up heatedly as he clenched his right arm. Determination was visible in his eyes.

"Just because of the words of Lord Oden that are itched in our minds!" he told them all.

And Raizo took after him.

"Those words are the reason we live!" He said.

And was followed by the two rulers of Zou.

"The same here," Inuarashi said.

And Nekomamushi just nodded his head. The same determination shining in his eyes.

"What… what are those words?" Usopp couldn't help himself once again as he asked them.

But this was something all of them wanted to know so they couldn't really blame him. As such they just kept silent and awaited what the response would be.

"Lord Oden left us just one phrase upon his death!" Kin'emon started.

Then him, Kanjuro, Raizo, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi, all looked at the flag drawn upon the wall behind the Poneglyph.

Then in unison, they all spoke one phrase.

"Open up the land of Wano!" They said.

Some of the people there knew what that meant, but some like chopper didn't, so it was explained to them that Wano was a country that was closed to the rest of the world. Which meant that no one can get out, or enter for that matter.

And that if it was opened up they would have to interact with other countries.

Kanjuro then spoke up again.

"It's a pity that we as the shield of Lord Oden, ended up being saved by him instead! We have brought shame to ourselves with that!" He cried tears at this as he bowed his head to the ground.

Ian once again at this stared at him for a bit longer. But even so, he kept silent.

By his side, Elene who was the closest to him, noticed him and looked at where he was staring intently. Only to find Kanjuro.

"What we have to do now is to put our lives on the line, and avenge our master!" He yelled out his determination.

Raizo too yelled out after him.

"We need to kill the current shogun who stole the land of Wano and then open the country that was closed off to the rest of the world!" He said heatedly.

"That is our wish!" Kin'emon said!

"The land of Wano is almost entirely under the control of the shogun and Kaido, who have joined forces! Our friends right now, who are inside are trying to muster dissidents there now, but they are still vastly outnumbered by the enemy's great army! As such, there is no chance for a win!" He finished as he closed his eyes painfully.

"However we have to win! As such to look for someone strong who will fight with us, we set out to see! Our first destination was Zou!" He told them all.

And they nodded their heads as they understood.

"To fight the beast pirates, we needed the help of the Mink people, our closest allies!" Kanjuro finished for him.

Inuarashi nodded.

"Yeah! The special bond between the Kozuki clan and the minks go way back! As such whatever happens, we'll share the same fate!" He told them.

By now everybody there already understood the extent the minks were willing to go for their allies.

"More than anything, the dog and I, are direct retainers of Lord Oden!" Nekomamushi said too.

"We have been prepared ever since the day that Raizo had come here! Our warriors are absolutely ready." He said.

"We have even fought against Jack who is a part of the beast pirates! However, I must say that they are extremely strong, and unless we had used our trump card, the fight would have lasted for a long time, without a clear winner!" Inuarashi said as he bowed his head.

"However the next time, we would definitely do better! We have an ace up our sleeves after all!" Nekomamushi spoke up next and then grinned in pride.

But he did give Ian and Bert a brief look. After all, their ace was actually related to them.

This ace however left them all there wondering what it was. Except for Ian's crew who were responsible for it.

And then Kanjuro, Kin'emon, Raizo, shared a look before they nodded as they looked at Luffy, Law, and Ian.

"We have a favor to ask of you, Ian, Luffy, and you too Law!" and then when he saw that he had their attention he continued.

"I know it is presumptuous to ask this of you after everything you have already done, but I have been impressed by how strong you guys are, and since we are fated to share the same goal and purpose, will you help us fight to kill the shogun of the land of Wano and Emperor Kaido?!!"

"Please!" Raizo said too as he bowed his head next.

And he was followed by Kanjuro who bowed too.

The straw-hats were excited at that. As not only would they have the help of the minks, samurais, but also another emperor.

Kin'emon raised his head and requested once again.

"Please help us!!"

But then both Luffy and Ian said at the same time.

"I refuse!"