Chapter 162: Choice Of Hana-zō
Kaido’s sudden visit made the canteen kitchen, which had been on lunch break, busy again in an instant.
It had to be said that his own prestige was quite effective among these mid-to-low level pirates.
Even if they were drowsy or even already asleep just a second ago, after Kaido’s shout, these cooks didn’t dare waste a single second and immediately took action.
For a moment, pots, bowls, ladles, and basins clattered nonstop in the kitchen, and soon alcohol and roasted meat were served on the table.
“Haha!”
“Come, drink! This is the island’s specialty alcohol!”
Kaido directly handed an entire wine barrel over to him.
Hana-zō was not polite either, directly picking it up and pouring it into his mouth.
People from the Woka Kingdom basically all had a drinking habit.
“Gulp gulp gulp~ Ha!”
“Not bad, there’s something to it.”
Because he drank too fast, Hana-zō’s face had a bit of flush.
“Hehe, of course!”
“It’s a pity the best 【Snow Wolf Wine】 all went to that guy Whitebeard, otherwise I definitely would’ve let you try it!”
Regarding those few barrels of alcohol, the more Kaido thought about it, the more heartbroken he felt.
Why had he been so impulsive back then to give it directly to Whitebeard? He could’ve just used some inferior alcohol to make do, right?
It was still that after getting good stuff, he couldn’t help but show it off~
Meanwhile, Hana-zō across from him was slightly startled upon hearing Whitebeard’s name.
“Ho~ Whitebeard!”
“These legendary big shots, you can now speak of them so casually! Kaido.”
As a newbie who had just set out to sea not long ago, he had already heard countless times about great pirates like Whitebeard and Golden Lion from various places.
In the eyes of those pirates, these names were clearly the pinnacle of pirates, legendary figures.
And now his old acquaintance was also walking on the path to becoming a legend.
Hana-zō looked at Kaido in front of him, his gaze somewhat complex.
“Uro-ro-ro! What about Whitebeard?!”
“See this brat?”
“Hey! Last time she alone beat Whitebeard’s adopted sons so they couldn’t even lift their heads.”
Kaido patted Aoxi, who was forking a piece of radish with a face full of distress.
“For my Beasts Pirates, whether it’s Whitebeard or Golden Lion, surpassing them is just a matter of time!”
After the last conflict, Kaido had already realized that his pirate crew already had the strength to arm wrestle with other top factions.
Now the Beasts Pirates’ biggest shortcoming was himself; once he could cross that hurdle and reach the same level as Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Roger, and the others…
At that time, his Beasts Pirates would form a crushing advantage over the other sea overlords.
A goal that once seemed so distant was now within reach, and this feeling made even Kaido hum lightly.
However, Hana-zō clearly didn’t think so.
“Ha? This brat?”
“She can take on Whitebeard’s crew members? You’re joking!”
Aoxi’s deceptively weak appearance made it hard for any normal person to believe she could pin down members of those overlord pirate crews.
After all, her delicate features and fair tender skin made her look like some miss who had never done any work.
“Whether it’s a joke or not, you can try it yourself after dinner.”
“Alright, now tell me how you ended up on my territory?”
This was what Kaido truly cared about.
“Eh! Nothing special.”
“Just set out to sea and came to see you along the way.”
Hana-zō picked up a wine glass, poured himself a cup, and began recounting his experiences over the years.
“You know the situation in the Woka Kingdom… After that incident with you, many soldiers lost heart and became disappointed with the royal family.”
Kaido back then could actually be considered a war hero of the Woka Kingdom, having won many wars against other countries for the nation, and he had considerable prestige in the army.
Many soldiers who had fought alongside him also admired him greatly.
And precisely because of this, after the news spread that he had been betrayed by the royal family, the army’s morale plummeted, nearly causing a mutiny.
Although it was eventually suppressed, the relationship between the royal family and the army became estranged from then on, and they started losing more wars than winning against outsiders.
For a poor country that could barely pay the Celestial Gold only by constantly plundering externally, losing the army’s combat power was undoubtedly fatal.
“Things inside the kingdom have long been rotten.”
“For several years now, they’ve been unable to pay that crap Celestial Gold, and the Woka Kingdom has been struck from the World Government’s list.”
“Now inside the country it’s you hitting me today, me hitting you tomorrow… Other countries that were plundered before are taking the chance to retaliate, burning, killing, and looting everywhere, and the Navy no longer cares about that place.”
“The entire country is full of chaos and filth, with no peaceful place.”
“It’s still better to set out to sea~ The sea is peaceful!”
Hana-zō said this and took another big gulp of alcohol, as if trying to wash away all those messy memories.
“I’ve finally figured it out! What crap kingdom! What crap nobles! What crap World Government! All of it is crap!”
“Damn it! This bunch of guys should all be tied to poles and blasted to death with cannons!”
『Ah~ Ah~ Typical middle-aged uncle’s drunken complaints~』
Listening to the passionate rant in his ear, Aoxi, who was carefully picking out radishes and greens bit by bit, grumbled inwardly.
This kind of situation usually starts with cursing all the higher-ups as idiots, then the person grandly gesturing and critiquing the world, and finally some idea guy comes up with fries or something…
Aoxi was all too familiar with it.
Of course, specific situations require specific analysis.
The current situation was that the World Government and those kingdom nobles really were idiots, and the two in front of her weren’t some useless middle-aged greasy guys either.
At least Kaido was truly qualified to shout “How can we fix the world with you bugs?” as a top contender for gold medal status.
He was someone who could really shake the world order in the future.
“Uro-ro-ro-ro!”
“Since you think the same, then join me!”
“Join me to change this garbage world!”
Kaido reached out to Hana-zō again; he really wanted to bring this old buddy into the crew.
“Change the world?”
“Heh~ You trying to become Joy Boy?”
Kaido’s words reminded him of some absurd legend.
“Joy Boy, huh… Haha, I don’t plan to become some warrior of liberation.”
“And no one says only Joy Boy can change the world, right?”
“I’ll use my own power to reshape this world according to my own ideas!”
Kaido had a confident smile at the corner of his mouth, as if stating an established fact.
Looking at such a spirited and vigorous Kaido, Hana-zō fell silent.
He stared blankly at the wine glass in front of him for a good while, but ultimately shook his head.
“Not yet, Kaido.”
“Wait a bit longer. After I’ve personally seen this great sea once over, then I’ll give you my answer.”
Hana-zō was clearly someone with his own ideas.
Perhaps after going around, he’d arrive at the same answer as Kaido, but Hana-zō still wanted to experience the process himself.
