Chapter 1158: Unconventional Core and Weather Forecast

Chapter 1158 -1141: Unconventional Core and Weather Forecast

“Hey, Red Flag, why are you daydreaming?”

“It’s normal for this kid to daydream, it’s his first time here, right? Last time, he seemed to be thrown into Udon, and it took quite a while for him to compromise. He’s got a pretty tough backbone.”

“Is that so? I only held on for three days. Off you go, Red Flag. It wasn’t easy to come back, so go relax. I know a place where they grill amazing yakitori.”

“Last time you ate over 700 skewers by yourself, the owner got exhausted, you know? He’s probably scared to see you and might just close up shop.”

“Hahaha, well, who made his skewers so small? Besides, he seemed pretty happy counting the money, there’s no way he’d close the door.”

Under Jack’s lead, all his subordinates are workaholics, either fighting or recovering from injuries, rarely having any downtime.

If they wanted, battles on this sea never really ran out.

The regular pirates were chatting and discussing where to drink, and only after a while did they realize Drake was still in a daze.

“What are you looking at, kid?… Oh, it’s Kuzan, huh, no wonder, you both were in the Navy before, meeting an old acquaintance, right?”

“Let’s go, let’s go. It has nothing to do with you. Even if you were close in the Navy, changing your boss isn’t that simple.”

High-level officials can pick the subordinates they have their eye on. If that subordinate belongs to someone else, they can discuss a transfer, but those who already have a boss are different.

Requesting to change bosses voluntarily is considered a slap in the face to the current boss.

“Do you look down on me?”

“No?”

“If not, why do you want to switch?”

Therefore, this kind of thing isn’t realistic at all. Even if someone suggests it, other officials may not accept the person.

Someone sent as a spy might not need to be strong, but they must be mentally resilient, able to withstand torture, and resist temptations. If a spy defects, it becomes a big problem.

Drake’s inner resolve can be considered extremely firm, yet even for him, seeing Kuzan felt somewhat off.

There was already one spy here; if another was being sent, he should have been notified.

Moreover, if they intended for Kuzan to be a spy, then what was the point of bringing him in?

He had suffered a lot to get in here, and Kuzan’s vacationing demeanor was too different from his own.

Drake quickly adjusted himself, initially shocked to the point of spacing out, but there was no excuse not to pull it together.

With the situation unclear, he didn’t engage with Kuzan and instead left with the other pirates. But a new worry also emerged in Drake’s heart.

Does Kuzan know he’s a member of SWORD, and has he truly joined Hundred Beasts? Would his identity be exposed because of this? These thoughts added immense pressure on him.

Drake could only gamble and wait for time to reveal these answers.

…

As Drake was dragged away by a group of pirates to relax, Kuzan didn’t choose to follow. Watching the silent Kuzan, Who’s-Who didn’t know what he was thinking and casually changed the topic.

“That guy’s unlucky, basically no one calls him by his name because of the name’s association. We’ve long had a Drake, and this one is quite favored by King…”

At this point, Who’s-Who seemed to think of something and glanced at the date on his watch.

Nowadays, the high-level officials of Hundred Beasts are all famous, with wanted posters ranking at the top. Not even second-in-command, most pirate captains don’t match up to these high-level officials.

Apart from them, there are plenty of high-ranking officials. To understand the list of high officials in Hundred Beasts, the simplest method is not to gather information but to get Drake’s ledger.

Drake’s ledger, Setsuna’s diary, these two things signify Hundred Beasts’ network and historical development. When history is studied, they will become extremely important historical records.

“That’s quite unfortunate, but this country… for every country on the sea to live like this, that’s the goal the Navy should strive for, right?”

“Coincidentally, that’s also the advocacy of the Arceus Sect, that the Lord’s glory spread across the world to bring shared blessings; that’s the recent doctrine.”

“Doctrine, huh… things are getting peculiar here, but protecting this tranquility… is a pretty good choice.”

Who’s-Who didn’t know what Kuzan was thinking, and Kuzan didn’t bring up Drake much. Despite joining, Kuzan still leaned towards being free, more like finding a support after leaving the Navy.

He knew about the SWORD unit and its guidelines but had no intention to reveal it directly. There were some things he still wanted to observe.

Kuzan soon returned to his vacation state, and a broadcast sounded in Wano Kuni.

“Attention, attention, rain is expected today across the nation! Rain expected in 36 minutes and 28 seconds, will last for three hours, please take care to avoid the rain! Note, Pokemon knows to take shelter themselves, no need to worry about them.

Please stay away from Mareep flocks in the rain, and if you encounter a wet Whimsicott, you can contact the local sheriff directly, do not overreact.”

Kuzan looked up at the sun, even with sunglasses the sun was quite glaring. He didn’t understand how the weather forecast here could be precise to the second.

The World Government has weather forecasts, they possess such technology, but it’s usually only concerned with sea weather when the Navy heads out.

Otherwise, most islands don’t have this service; weather forecasts exist only in Mary Geoise and a few countries in the Future Country.

Kuzan was certain no country could predict weather with such precision.

“Isn’t this a bit too accurate?”

“You get used to it. Wano Kuni controls not just land, but weather too. In time, Mr. Kuzan, you will see more interesting things.”

The New World’s weather is notoriously unpredictable, predicting the weather this precisely is almost beyond human effort, but Wano Kuni is different. Here, the weather isn’t naturally occurring but is shaped by Pokemon interference for optimal climate.

In most cases, Pokemon do not interfere with natural weather, but recently Wano Kuni has been quite dry, so for the drought a bit of man-made rain is needed. The broadcast indicates the time for Pokemons’ Rain Dance, so it can be accurate to the second.

“Mr. Kuzan, you better hurry with whatever you’re planning to do. Since the broadcast says there’s over thirty minutes, it won’t be off by a single minute.

After the rain, it will be dark, and whatever you want to do will have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Is that so? I’m going for a walk in the street, feel free to do as you like, Camel, you too, play around here for a bit.”

The camel impatiently waved its hand, following a development path as an iron-blooded tough guy, it hated nonsense, even using a pose that seemed quite cool to the penguin.

Who’s-Who headed towards the direction of the monastery, as a batch of new students needed to attend class, and he was not like Kuzan who could slack off easily.

In order to enjoy life, he also had to complete his tasks well. The impending rain in half an hour couldn’t stop his training.

Rainy days are also an opportunity to temper determination. If someone can’t withstand a little drizzle, they don’t have the qualification to continue training.

“Wait a minute.”

Just as Who’s-Who was about to leave, Kuzan called out to him.

“What’s up, Mr. Kuzan?”

“Well… do you have any money on you? Can you lend me some of this currency? I’ll pay you back later.”

Kuzan scratched his head, a bit embarrassed in his words. It wasn’t his first day here, but when Yamato brought him back, there was a free canteen, and he had no reason to buy anything, so he needed no currency.

Shortly after, he went on a mission to Aeghede. This time he wanted to tour properly, but since Belly wasn’t circulated in Wano Kuni, he could only use gold and silver for transactions. The Belly he carried was just a pile of waste paper here.

“I see, I only have this much, but every area has an exchange office where you can convert Belly to money.”

Who’s-Who handed Kuzan a handful of coins and explained where to exchange money.

For the economy to operate normally, even those from Hundred Beasts have to pay with a discount when buying things. This was a rule set by Arceus.

With this rule, many potential conflicts disappeared.

…

“Drake, I have good news for you.”

In the Flower Capital, King had also completed his task and returned to Wano Kuni. Just as Yamato had said before, thanks to the Navy’s efforts, the number of pirates daring to challenge the New World’s Sea Emperors has sharply decreased.

Currently, there’s no major conflict between the Sea Emperors, and they get along rather harmoniously, so the officers had gradually gotten some leisure time.

After taking care of his matters, King naturally returned to his residence, conveniently giving his subordinate some new information.

“What good news?”

“You’ve got one more target you can borrow money from, and you don’t have to pay it back.”

“Hmm? Is there really such a person?”

“Drake, if you borrow money from him, you naturally won’t need to consider repayment. Anyway, Brother Kaidou has plans to use him, so I won’t say more. As long as you understand what I mean.”

Drake’s identity is information circulated among the top officers, except for Yamato, who is unaware of this.

Neither Kaidou nor Arceus trust her carefree personality, so there’s no need to inform her of unnecessary matters.

Having Drake follow Jack also takes this into account. Having a muscle-brained personality makes all his actions reasonable, while an undercover agent like Drake tends to overthink and misinterpret, so it’s better to have him follow someone unpredictable.

Listening to King’s words, Drake wasn’t excited but rather skeptical.

“Brother King, have you had too much to drink? Why would I borrow money from myself, and why do you keep using ‘him’? Do you also have a gender dysphoria like Kiku?”

“The pronunciation of ‘Drake’… is just like that red flag. I see you’re getting bolder, daring to speak to me like this?”

Having the same name often leads to awkward situations, especially when it involves someone with a thick-skinned personality.

“Don’t mind the details, but borrowing without repaying is unacceptable to me, borrowing money must be repaid, it’s my life principle.”

“Does your life principle also include endlessly borrowing without end?”

“It’s different, it’s different. Once money is repaid, it can’t be called borrowing.”

“Anyway, the opportunity has been given to you, it’s up to you to make the most of it.”

Confronted with Drake’s peculiar life principle, King didn’t say anything further. He couldn’t force Drake not to repay.

If she really had that idea, most people wouldn’t be able to do much about it. In the pirate world, greed is the norm, with countless pirates slaughtering each other for treasure.

Whether extorted or bribed, Drake had many ways to amass wealth, but she still chose borrowing as her method. It was precisely because of this habit and her forthright personality that her connections were extensive.

…

Drake wasn’t aware that he was inexplicably targeted yet again, just like Queen didn’t know what had triggered Kaidou again.

As the bell tolled, marking the time, the rain curtain fell on schedule, with drizzling raindrops falling on Queen’s head, while Kaidou was stretching nearby, seemingly sobering up from the alcohol.

“No way, could it be… my pain nerves have been damaged?”

After stretching his body a bit, Queen didn’t feel any pain, yet the surrounding ground, full of dents and holes, clearly showed that Kaidou hadn’t held back during the fight, causing Queen to doubt himself.

Pain isn’t kind to the human body, yet it’s a protective mechanism, using pain to remind people to steer clear of danger. Only by being alive can one know pain and suffering. Not feeling pain usually means life is nearing its end.

“Don’t overthink it, I’m just experimenting with some new things. Inflicting pain is easy; exerting full force while causing no pain is the challenge.”

Rayquaza slew both Groudon and Kyogre in one strike, forcing them back to their territories. The power of the finishing blow was formidable, yet neither Groudon nor Kyogre was severely impacted.

It’s partly due to their tough skin and thick hides, but also Rayquaza’s mastery over its power, inspired by this incident, Kaidou decided to further increase his control over his strength.

Previously, he could only ensure not to kill, but now he aimed to achieve the level of causing no pain.

Feeling from head to toe, Queen confirmed there were no problems. Hearing Kaidou’s explanation, Queen thought only with joy.

“As expected of Brother Kaidou, your strength has broken through again, let me assist you next time you need help.”

If future training is like this, he wouldn’t mind being hit eight times a day, as long as it doesn’t hurt, it just might be a bit dirty.

“No need for next time.”

“…”

“This way there’s progress, but it’s not satisfying at all, the alcohol’s worn off, let’s start round two, this time using a method you’re familiar with, be prepared.”

If possible, Queen would have taken back his earlier words, but opportunities are fleeting. Under the curtain of rain, on the muddy land, the familiar sound rang again.

….

“Ribbit.”

“Ribbit.”

Kaido and Queen weren’t the only ones caught in the rain, Kuzan also walked through the street under the downpour. He initially carried a large sun umbrella, with its handle thicker than a gun barrel, toting such an umbrella was less convenient than just getting wet.

In front of him, a few deep blue frogs were breaking bricks with their bare hands….