Bab 137: The Second Kaido
After several years, Kahn returned to Wano Country.
Since Queen's death, Wano hasn't changed much. The pervasive industrial atmosphere from the experimental base described in the original story is gone. Instead, the land now resembles an untouched paradise.
However, this is only true for the environment. Over the years, the citizens of this country have been living in a hell on earth, suffering every day.
In the villages outside the major cities, famine has struck, and the villagers struggle to find enough to eat. Meanwhile, strong men are forced by Kurozumi Orochi's men to toil in the mines. The elders and those who sided with Orochi remain unaffected, with some even taking advantage of the situation to enrich themselves.
The wealth disparity in Wano has become glaringly obvious over the years. If no one comes to defeat Kaido and Orochi, this situation will persist for another twelve years, turning Wano into a true purgatory.
Upon arriving in Wano, Kahn first took Monet and Mary to the Kuri region. He unleashed his unique Observation Haki to search for Shinobu.
After a short while, Kahn retracted his Haki. Having met Shinobu years ago, he had already memorized the signature of her aura. If Shinobu were still in Kuri, Kahn wouldn't need to sort through the various powerful auras one by one like before.
As expected, Shinobu was no longer in the Kuri region.
When Kahn visited Robin and the Boa sisters years ago, Kahn revealed an important piece of information: the whereabouts of Kozuki Hiyori, who was in the Flower Capital. If everything went as expected, Shinobu should be protecting Princess Hiyori, much like Denjiro, one of the Nine Red Scabbards.
So, Kahn took Monet and Mary straight to the Flower Capital.
Before they even reached the capital, Kahn's Observation Haki detected Shinobu's presence and location.
At this time, Shinobu was not guarding Kozuki Hiyori but was living in the Flower Capital, blending in as an ordinary citizen, perhaps searching for a purpose.
Now thirty-seven years old, Aren was in the prime of her life, with a slender, striking figure and a mature aura, far from the short, plump, and unattractive woman depicted in the original story.
"ROOM."
Instead of entering through the main gate, Kahn used Monet's ability to warp them into the Flower Capital unnoticed.
Kahn, Monet, and Mary arrived in an empty alley near Aren's location. Using the surgical field, Monet transferred Shinobu from a nearby building to their side.
"Nin, long time no see."
Looking at the mature woman before him, Kahn smiled and raised his hand in greeting.
"K-Kahn?!"
Seeing the now 22-year-old man, who had not only lost his youthful innocence but had also grown to a height of 1.97 meters, Shinobu couldn't help but widen her beautiful eyes in surprise.
He was initially taken aback but quickly smiled in surprise and said, "It really is you, Your Excellency Kahn! What brings you here?"
"I'm here to ask for your help again," Kahn replied with a smile. He didn't rush to request Shinobu to help him mature the batch of replica soldiers but instead asked, feigning curiosity, "How have you been these past few years? Have you found Princess Hiyori?"
"I have found Hiyori-sama," Shinobu replied immediately, her tone filled with gratitude. "Your Excellency Kahn, I truly appreciate the information and gifts you brought me back then."
"It was just a small effort," Kahn said, his Observation Haki telling him that Shinobu was unaware of the truth. She hadn't discovered the real situation yet.
Kahn subtly signalled to Mary with a glance before saying to Shinobu, "By the way, this time, I want to ask you to help me with something. As a reward, I'll give you a batch of gold."
"Please, Your Excellency Kahn, there's no need for that," Aren quickly responded, shaking her head. "You are a friend of Lord Izo and my benefactor. Compared to the information and gifts you provided, the energy I'll expend is nothing."
"It's different," Kahn insisted with a smile. "Back then, I was fulfilling a friend's request, but now it's a personal favour. And the quantity of what I need to mature at this time is quite large. If you don't accept payment, I'll feel guilty."
"Anyway, just don't resist later. Let Mary take you in, and you'll understand," Kahn concluded.
As Kahn finished speaking, Mary stepped closer to Shinobu, placing her hand on Shinobu's shoulder and smiling, "Miss Shinobu, long time no see. You're as beautiful as ever."
With that, a transparent white sphere enveloped Shinbou, shrinking her down until she flew into a small portal on Mary's body.
Mary then transported Kahn into the space within her body, leaving Monet outside to use the surgical field to exit the Flower Capital quickly.
"Your Excellency Kahn, what's going on here?!" Inside the space, Shinobu stared wide-eyed at the rows of pods containing identical replica soldiers. She looked at Kahn in shock and stammered, "Are these... Are these all humans?"
"No, they're not human; they're robots," Kahn corrected with a smile. "How could there be 2,500 identical humans in this world? They're made from special materials."
Aren was momentarily stunned, then sighed with a complex expression, "The outside world is truly incredible!"
"Nin, please mature them by twenty years," Kahn said, patting her on the shoulder. "This is just the first batch. Over the next two months, I'll bring a few more batches of these robots."
"This is a huge project, so I hope you'll accept my payment. It will not only ease my mind but also improve the life of Princess Hiyori."
Aren, who had been curious about Kahn's identity due to these robots, was suddenly distracted by his words and responded with sincere gratitude, "I see. Thank you very much for your help, Your Excellency Kahn."
No matter what Kahn's true identity was in the outside world, there was no doubt in Shinobus mind that he was an incredibly kind person.
Little did Aren know, Kahn was only kind to those who were useful to him. In all of Wano, Aren was the only one who served a purpose for Kahn.
This was the reason Kahn didn't invite Shinobuto Amazon Lily but instead spent several days preparing to transport the replica soldiers batch by batch and offer substantial rewards.
If Aren knew that Kahn intended to use these replica soldiers to wage an all-out war against Kaido, aiming to become the next Kaido and continue the battle against the Kozuki family, she might wonder how she would feel then.
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