Chapter 196: The Traveler From The Past
Just as Kahn captured Vegapunk and Slug Island, things started to unfold for him in both places.
The first place, of course, was Fish-Man Island, located 10,000 meters under the sea.
With the "Cross Family" gaining more and more power, and Wanokuni hiding the Pluton, a weapon capable of destroying an island with a single shot, Kahn didn't concern himself much with Shirahoshi anymore.
Compared to Shirahoshi, Vegapunk, with his treasures such as the Seraphim, Artificial Devil Fruits, and Replica Devil Fruits, was the true valuable treasure.
Of course...
Even though he wasn't paying much attention to Shirahoshi, Kahn didn't want her to form a bond with Luffy.
So, before taking any action, Kahn specifically sent Hancock to bring Shirahoshi back.
With the help of Bacura and Viola, Kahn was confident that Vander Decken IX, hiding in the deep dark sea, wouldn't be a problem for them.
Kahn sent Hancock, who was arrogant toward everyone except for him and her sisters, to Fish-Man Island to bring Shirahoshi back and make connections.
Due to Kahn's interference, Nami was filled with hatred towards him.
As long as Jinbei was eliminated, Kahn believed Nami's resolve would strengthen, and her ability from the Golden-Golden Fruit would awaken.
Because of this, Kahn didn't want to make alliances with the Ryugu Kingdom before dealing with Jinbei, as it would hinder Nami from taking action.
As for whether forcibly bringing Shirahoshi back would result in the downfall of the Whitebeard Pirates?
Kahn didn't care about that either.
The Summit War never happened, and Whitebeard had lived two years longer than originally.
Kahn, who had no interest in the title of the "World's Strongest Man," was prepared to fight Whitebeard if necessary.
If Whitebeard didn't know when to back down, Kahn wouldn't hesitate to use the so-called strongest pirate crew as a stepping stone for the "Cross Family" to rise to the top of the world.
By capturing Vegapunk, Kahn had essentially gained the power to change the world.
Once he fully absorbed Vegapunk's knowledge, Kahn would become a figure capable of altering the entire world's fate.
At that point, Kahn's luck would be on par with that of the Child of Destiny or the final villain.
Whether it was Whitebeard, Shanks, Monkey D. Dragon, or even Imu and Luffy... Kahn wouldn't consider any of them a threat.
So, after giving Hancock the task of retrieving Shirahoshi, Kahn, confident in her abilities, didn't focus on what was happening there. Instead, he had Monet reassemble Vegapunk and ordered Sasuke to deactivate the puppet status, allowing Vegapunk's memory to be fully accessed.
Through Vegapunk's memories, Kahn discovered how the scientist had distributed his brain to his clones, and he began directing Monet to surgically reattach the brains of the remaining six clones to fully retrieve all of Vegapunk's knowledge.
Vegapunk's complete brain held such vast knowledge that even Kahn's Haki capacity couldn't read through it all at once.
However, now that Kahn had completely taken over Warhead Island and had a magnetic field shielding device in place, he no longer feared being discovered by the World Government. He wasn't as anxious as before when it came to reading and absorbing Vegapunk's memories.
Kahn planned to have Monet decapitate Vegapunk and use his head as a library until all of the knowledge could be fully absorbed and digested.
While Kahn was busy with this, Hancock succeeded in capturing Shirahoshi.
Interestingly, Hancock didn't kill Vander Decken IX. Instead, Baccarat followed Kahn's instructions. She merely touched the weapon at the gate of the Hard-Shell Tower and made a gesture of prayer. At that moment, Vander Decken collapsed, and the bubble protecting the Shirahoshi mark in his hand shattered instantly.
With the bubble bursting, Vander Decken IX's dreams of taking Poseidon, one of the three Ancient Weapons, for himself were dashed.
Shortly after Hancock forcibly took Shirahoshi, Vander Decken IX, desperate, allied with Hody Jones and the New Fish-Man Pirates. Together, they launched an assault, aiming to kidnap Shirahoshi before Neptune could call for help from the Whitebeard Pirates.
Coincidentally, the Straw Hat Pirates, having just arrived at Fish-Man Island, found themselves involved in this battle. They saw it as a perfect opportunity to test their growth from the past two years against the New Fish-Man Pirates.
Meanwhile, another location linked to Kahn was an uninhabited island in the New World.
It wasn't that Kahn had a direct connection to this island, but the people who appeared there were linked to him.
Five individuals—Momonosuke, Kin'emon, Raizo, Kanjuro, and Kikunojo—had just travelled from the past. They were sent forward in time to the year 1522 of the Sea Circle Calendar by Kozuki Toki, using her Time-Time Fruit ability.
However, after their arrival on the island, the five were left confused.
Their time travel had subjected them to a strange force—a conceptual power called *memory erasure*. They had forgotten certain individuals, such as Kozuki Hiyori and other members of the Nine Red Scabbards, except for the two who remained with Zunesha.
But the confusion didn't last long.
While they had lost some memories, they still remembered Kurozumi Orochi and Kaido as their enemies, ones they were determined to defeat.
However, the daunting realization was that Kaido's power and influence had grown significantly over the twenty years they had skipped.
Determined, Kin'emon and the others decided to take young Momonosuke to gather information on the Beasts Pirates.
Upon reaching the island and uncovering the information they sought, they were left in shock.
"What… what happened?!"
"Kaido… was defeated?!"
"Wano was taken over by a force called the *Cross Family* eleven years ago?"
"Cross Kahn, the 'World's Strongest Creature,' actually defeated Kaido, whom even Lady Toki couldn't take down?"
"The youngest Emperor of the Sea, the richest man in the world, and the uncontested ruler of the underworld… During the twenty years we were gone, this kind of figure rose to power in the New World?"
As they held the old newspaper, Kin'emon and the others were left speechless, glancing at each other in bewilderment.
"What should we do now?"
Sensing their confusion, eight-year-old Momonosuke, with a determined look in his eyes, declared, "I will reclaim Wano!"
Hearing this, Kin'emon and the others were immediately filled with resolve.
"We will definitely help you, young master!" they swore with conviction.
However, Kin'emon, with a serious expression, added, "But with our current strength, we can't reclaim Wano from those who defeated Kaido."
"We should head to Zou and join forces with the Mink Tribe and the moving elephant master."
Kikunojo then suggested, "In that case, I'll return to Wano and see if I can gather any information to help us."
"Let's split up, then," Kin'emon agreed.
With that, just like in the original timeline, the group decided to divide into two teams.
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