Ian sat on the ground, resting for a while.
His physical and mental strength were nearly exhausted, and he was seeing double. His abilities were barely holding on.
But at least he had won.
It had been an extremely grueling battle.
Ian sighed.
"Ian!"
A cheerful voice came from behind, and before he knew it, a cannonball struck his back, sending him sprawling to the ground and rolling twice.
"Hahaha! Did you finish up over here too?"
A girl with beautiful white hair that faded to green was perched on Ian's back, giggling.
Ian rolled his eyes. Shimotsuki Ushimaru hadn't done as much damage as she had.
Although he had been stabbed in the palm, it was in his Winged Dragon form; in human form, it was akin to a minor prick.
"Did you have fun?"
Ian slowly sat up. After resting for a bit, he felt better.
"Yeah!"
Yamato, sitting behind Ian, nodded vigorously. "I took out so many guys! It was so much fun!"
It wasn't something you should describe with the same tone as a day at the amusement park.
Ian could clearly smell the blood on Yamato from behind.
This world was insane.
Even such young children found pleasure in killing.
What? Am I the same?
Well, that's no problem then.
Since when had he become indifferent to burning thousands of people alive?
"Ian-sama!"
Fukurokuju's voice came from afar.
Ian turned around to see the bald ninja, accompanied by samurai and ninjas, approaching.
"All the enemy troops have been wiped out!"
Fukurokuju reported loudly, his tone excited. "Adding the three rebel leaders you defeated, it's a complete victory for us!"
Ian nodded slightly. If more than five thousand people couldn't handle less than two hundred samurai, it would be better for them all to die for Kurozumi Orochi instead.
"Let's go back."
Ian stretched lazily.
The battle wasn't long, but it was definitely tiring.
Soon.
"Well done, kid."
Kaido, drunk and clearly having spent another day drinking during daylight hours, said, "I heard you took down three daimyos by yourself?"
Ian was sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking a bit dazed and worn out. He had nearly recovered his physical strength, but his mental energy was still low.
He raised his right hand, pinched his thumb and index finger together slightly, and said, "It was close, really close. Kaido-sensei, next time, if you come across such opponents, please don't send me. Do you really want to see your disciple die at the hands of the enemy?"
If it weren't for the fact that he was immune to Seastone's suppression, he might have been taken down by Shimotsuki Ushimaru.
"Hahaha!"
Kaido laughed heartily as if he hadn't heard Ian's complaints at all. "As the victor, you certainly have the right to brag."
Ian couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated. He had indeed come close to dying, with his palm already bleeding from the battle. His head was still spinning.
Both father and daughter were completely ignoring what others had to say.
Ian gave up on the hope that Kaido would prevent him from going into battle in the future and instead said, "Kaido-sensei, I've already sent out all my troops, but we still don't have enough personnel to effectively control the entire Wano Country."
The main fighting forces of Wano Country had already been wiped out.
In the Kuri Region, the Kozuki family had been completely uprooted. As for the areas of Ringo Region, Udon Region, and Kibi Region, they had just been defeated by the allied forces under his command.
The last stronghold, Hakumai, and the Daimyo Shimotsuki Yasuie had been captured. Although there were still some troops remaining, they couldn't cause much trouble now.
The major wars should be over.
However, even so, controlling Wano Country with just a few thousand troops was not going to be easy.
The area actually controlled by Kurozumi Orochi was limited to the Flower Capital.
So, Ian directly said, "I need the help of the pirate crew."
"Heh heh heh heh,"
Kaido suddenly burst into laughter, sitting up straight and looking down at Ian with a smirk that was quite mocking. "Aren't you doing quite well?"
Ian immediately responded with a serious expression, "It's all for the Beast Pirates."
"Hmph,"
Kaido snorted, "If you need help, go find King. He'll send someone."
"That's good to know."
Ian nodded slightly.
With the top pillars of the Beast Pirates leading the way, even if there are disturbances while taking over different regions, they can be easily suppressed.
Kaido suddenly spoke again, "Before returning to Onigashima, there's one more thing to do."
Another one?
Ian's eyelids twitched.
Wasn't dealing with those daimyos supposed to be the last thing before heading back?
Ian cautiously asked, "What's the matter?"
It's not going to be another task for me to handle, is it? There shouldn't be any more enemies left in Wano.
Kaido took a sip of his drink, seeming somewhat indifferent, "The World Government is coming to discuss business. You'll need to handle the communication with them."
"The World Government?"
Ian raised an eyebrow, "Me?"
He wasn't surprised that the Beast Pirates had dealings with the World Government.
He knew this from reading the manga in his previous life, and the Three Yonkos were also related to the government.
It can only be said that the Marines are the ones dealing with pirates, not the World Government.
But, Kaido-sensei, none of the lessons you gave me included foreign trade.
"In the past, this task was handled by Orochi,"
Kaido said, "Since you took him down, this job falls to you now."
Ian's eyes widened in shock.
Wait, Kaido-sensei, are we still talking about fairness here?
Wasn't it you who asked me to take down Orochi? And now you're just waiting for me to take over?
"So, what should I do?" Ian scratched his head.
"Just remember one thing: you are my disciple! So, just go ahead and do it!"
What does "just go ahead and do it" mean?
**********
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