[V3] - Chapter 60. Legendary Shogun Yumi!
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"…"
"Uncle Kakuzu~ Are we really okay waving such a big flag around like this? Aren't you worried that guy Uchiha Yuto might catch us? To be honest~" Deidara hesitated as he looked at the thoroughly satisfied Kakuzu. "I seriously don't want to go up against that guy!"
Not only is he filthy rich, but he's ridiculously strong too!
"Relax! It's just some trivial matters," Kakuzu shot Deidara a sideways glance and said coolly. "Even if those Marines find out, so what?"
"That's true!" Hearing Kakuzu's words, Deidara thought it over, then nodded with a grin. "Uncle Kakuzu has been around the Ninja World for so many years. Of course we know how this goes! We're in the business world—if something shouldn't be said, we keep our mouths shut!"
"That's not it."
"???"
"He's just offering too little!"
"…"
Deidara stared speechlessly at Kakuzu.
So basically… if those guys had paid more, you really would have been ready to spill secrets about the Ninja World?!
Deidara shook his head helplessly but decided not to dwell on it further. Gazing out at the vast ocean before them, he sighed in wonder. "I never thought there'd be a place like this where money practically grows everywhere~" Then he lowered his head to look at a stack of bounty posters in his hands. "So who should we catch next?" Flipping through them, he paused on two recently issued posters. After thinking for a moment, he smiled. "How about we catch our fellow countrymen? 550 million berries! Two of them together would be 1.1 billion. Other than those so-called Emperor crews, there's barely anyone else on the seas worth that much!"
As soon as he finished speaking—
Kakuzu: …
He stared silently at the grinning Deidara, then looked at the two faces on the wanted posters. Without the slightest hesitation, he snatched up the posters, crumpled them into a ball, and tossed them into the sea.
"Hey, hey! Uncle Kakuzu, what are you doing?" Deidara exclaimed in shock, heartbroken. "That's money, you know!"
"Don't leave worthless bounty posters lying around where they'll get in the way!"
"Uncle Kakuzu… Don't tell me you're scared?"
"Heh!" Kakuzu sneered, scoffing disdainfully. "Back in the day, I fought Senju Hashirama himself. And in the end… he died. I'm still alive!"
"Then why—"
"Before I came to the seas, I swore… I'd never lay a hand on my fellow countrymen!"
"…"
I don't believe that crap for a second!
Deidara gave Kakuzu a weird look but didn't continue exposing Kakuzu's hypocrisy. After all, he was only joking around.
Come on now!
Those two were the God of the Ninja World and the Asura of the Ninja World—monsters who once swept through all of the Ninja World unbeaten!
He wasn't some delusional kid obsessed with challenging strong people just to prove himself.
Right now…
He was perfectly happy just making a bit of money and exploring this new world.
Of course, if things ever got so bad they couldn't survive… well, he'd just have to go back and find his junior sister!
Suddenly remembering something, he said, "By the way! What are we doing next? Didn't they say that Yuto Group was running another event or something? Should we go join the fun? I heard the prize money's pretty high!"
When he finished speaking—
Kakuzu cast a cool glance at Deidara. "Yuto Group's 'bargains' aren't so easy to take advantage of." Then his eyes fixed ahead. "This so-called event… I bet it'll be total chaos! Why go and stick our noses into that mess?"
"That's true! I heard there's going to be some big moves back in the Ninja World too~" Deidara chuckled, shrugging. "Let's just keep traveling! Oh right… at the end of the Grand Line, there's supposed to be a Great Treasure. Do you think we'll ever find it?"
"The Great Treasure?" Kakuzu snorted in disdain. "What's the point of looking for that? Who even knows if it's worth any money!"
"It's the Pirate King's treasure! It's probably worth a ton~"
"Then when someone finds it… we'll just rob that guy."
"…Good point!"
Deidara nodded in sudden enlightenment.
Exactly!
Why waste time searching for the treasure themselves?
They'd just wait and rob whichever pirate managed to find it first. That way, they'd get the treasure and be able to collect a bounty for turning in the pirate.
Double the profits, double the fun!
A huge grin broke out on his face. But then he suddenly froze, staring ahead.
Before long—
Both of them were wide-eyed, shouting loudly, "Hey, pirates up ahead! Stop right there and report your bounty totals!"
Truly—
This place was paved with gold!
…
On the Other Side.
With the advance of the NWTO, at this moment, the Four Seas were gradually being covered by Yuto Group's network.
Under the impact of this new form of communication, countless people across the seas were astonished.
This thing…
It not only let you make calls—it could actually be used to buy things?!
It was simply unbelievable!
Meanwhile, on the side of the Yuto Group…
They were also busy preparing for the upcoming Wano Country Grand Festival.
Ever since Yuto Group set up operations there, completely against everyone's expectations in Wano…
The tragedies people had feared did not continue. Although everyone was still working, the hours had gone down from 007 to 996.
And what's more—
People actually got paid for their work now. Overtime came with overtime pay. Yuto Group even cleaned up hazardous waste inside Wano and established the Yuto Group Academy so that all the children could attend school there.
This… this… this…
It was truly an enormous blessing!
The people of Wano were moved to tears, deeply grateful in their hearts toward Yuto Group and toward Shogun Yumi.
Perhaps…
Yuto Group's defeat of the Beasts Pirates… was the fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by the legendary Nine Red Scabbards~
Everyone kept recalling the image of the "Giant of Light" who had appeared on the horizon back then… Finally, they had awaited the arrival of a savior!
No wonder even Hiyori-sama had relinquished the honor of the Kozuki Clan, passing the title of Shogun on to someone else.
The only regret was…
All this time had passed, and they still hadn't seen their new Shogun—Shogun Yumi!
That really wasn't very fitting for loyal subjects, was it?
Of course, for someone who could defeat the fearsome Beasts Pirates and drive Kurozumi Orochi from power, Shogun Yumi must surely be a formidable and imposing warrior.
Only such a powerful figure would be worthy of winning the favor of Hiyori-sama!
Indeed.
When many people heard that Hiyori-sama was staying with Shogun Yumi, they felt nothing odd about it at all. On the contrary, they thought… "A beauty deserves a hero. It's perfectly normal!"
So they all sincerely offered their blessings.
However…
As for Hiyori-sama herself…
She was rather troubled, staring at the three little girls in front of her.
Yes.
They were adorable!
She wanted to pinch their cheeks!
But…
Who could have imagined that among these three… that shy, bashful little girl would actually turn out to be the new Shogun of Wano?!
When she thought of all the rumors outside, Hiyori felt helpless. She wondered if, when the people of Wano finally saw their new Shogun… their hearts would utterly break.
Of course.
As the teacher of Shogun Yumi and the other two, Hiyori believed she still had to educate them properly, so that when the time came, Shogun Yumi could stand before all the people and display the dignified presence of a true Shogun!
So…
"It's time for class!" Hiyori said sternly, adopting her teacher's authoritative tone. "Yumi-sama! Asuka-sama! Karin-sama! Please listen carefully in class!"
"No~ We already had class this morning!" The usually extroverted little Asuka instantly leapt forward, hugging Hiyori with a cute, smiling face. "I'm so tired~ Sister Hiyori, won't you take us to see the cherry blossoms instead?"
As soon as she finished speaking—
The other two little girls also let out soft whimpers, snuggling into Hiyori's arms. The sight made Hiyori feel helpless.
But seeing their pure, innocent smiles, she could only sigh and nod her head in the end.
Indeed…
The responsibilities of a Shogun were still far too heavy for these three children!
Even now…
Hiyori still couldn't fathom what exactly was going through Yuto Group's mind, appointing children to serve as the Shogun.
Didn't they understand that these were just kids?!
As for the position of Shogun of Wano… she and her father had never cared about it that much.
So long as Wano could open its borders and regain its freedom, it didn't matter who served as Shogun. Otherwise, her father wouldn't have handed over the shogunate to Kurozumi Orochi back then.
Of course, no one could have anticipated… that Orochi would turn out to be a demon.
Hiyori gazed seriously at the three little girls, speaking again with stern resolve. "But… starting tomorrow, you must pay proper attention in class, understood?"
"Mmm~" x3
The three little girls quickly nodded their tiny heads. "Sister Hiyori, you're the best!"
"Good girls!"
Just as Hiyori finished speaking—
Suddenly, White Zetsu popped up, grinning broadly. "Boss! Princess Shirahoshi is here!"