Kenji left half of his personnel to guard the warship, while the otherz followed him deeper into Wano Country, their target: Flower Capital.
Kuzan also followed along.
Originally, he had been sent flying by Whitebeard's Tremor Punch and couldn't get up, with cracks even appearing on his skin, seemingly on his last breath.
But as soon as he heard they were heading to the capital of Wano Country, he immediately got up, as if afraid of being left behind and missing out on a rare foreign trip.
Kenji truly had something special when it came to "saving lives and healing injuries". A single sentence from him could "resurrect" a person on the verge of death.
As for Kenji himself, he could roughly guess part of the reason for Kuzan's "full recovery":
"Heh, it's also my fault. I mentioned the Wano Country courtesans and oiran too many times to this kid on the way, which led to him having the 'risk of being revived'…"
Now that Kuzan had followed along, Kenji couldn't be bothered to say anything more.
When he led his team to depart, the Whitebeard Pirates in the distance did not move, only remaining in place, watching with wary eyes.
Perhaps due to the distance, those Whitebeard Pirates clearly had little interest in this group of Marines.
Whitebeard also didn't come out to block their path, perhaps to deal with Oden, or perhaps he never intended to confront the Marines.
The Marine personnel finally successfully crossed the coast and entered the deeper forest on land.
At this moment, the group was traversing a dense forest without a map.
Towering trees were everywhere, their dense leaves obstructing the view, making it impossible to see more than ten meters ahead.
Traversing this labyrinth-like forest might seem to lead Kenji astray, but it was highly unlikely for Kenji to get lost.
After all, he came prepared!
In fact, Kenji, relying on his Observation Haki, could clearly detect the location of Flower Capital. Since it was the capital of Wano Country, he just needed to see where the most people were.
Although he didn't know the safe route to Flower Capital, he didn't need to, he would just force his way through.
However, this made it difficult for the Marine team following behind. Many times, as they walked, they would find themselves at a dead end like a cliff.
Kenji could easily cross, but the other Marine personnel had to figure out a way.
Fortunately, they were all elites from headquarters, not weak in strength, and after some effort, they eventually managed to keep up with Kenji from a distance.
When the group finally arrived outside Flower Capital, except for Kenji and Kuzan, all the other Marine officers and soldiers were covered in dirt, and some of their clothes were torn.
"Hey, look at you guys, you managed to get into this state just by walking!" Kuzan sneered, mocking them.
But soon, he seemed to think of something, a calm smile appeared on his face, and he nodded, saying, "Perfect, having you as a comparison will better highlight my strength."
At this moment, the Marine personnel following behind Kenji and Kuzan were all dirty and ragged, hardly looking like Marines. They looked more like a group of attendants following a nobleman.
And compared to Kenji, Kuzan looked even more like that noble young master. Hunched over with slumped shoulders, a mischievous smile on his face, a perfect template of a good-for-nothing young master.
"Hmm, entering that street should mean we've arrived at Flower Capital, right?" Kenji gazed at the bustling streets within the city in the distance, where cherry blossoms floated down from the sky.
When the group finally reached the vicinity of the street, a team of armored, samurai-dressed guards suddenly rushed over and blocked the road.
"I am Shimotsuki Ushimaru, captain of Shogun Sukiyaki's personal guard!" A samurai, who seemed to be the captain, stood at the front of the team.
He coldly said, "You are all foreigners, aren't you? Flower Capital is currently holding the Festival of the Heavenly Gods, and foreigners are prohibited from entering!"
"Oh?" Kenji raised an eyebrow at the words, smiling and nodding.
"Better late than never… This should be one of Wano Country's three great festivals, right? Just in time to see what this year's oiran looks like…"
Opposite him, Ushimaru frowned upon hearing this, his gaze gradually turning unfriendly.
At this moment, Kenji flipped his palm, and a piece of gold landed in his hand.
"I remember, your Wano Country festivals generally don't exclude outsiders, do they?" Kenji said, playing with the gold coin, gesturing.
"Besides, we're not poor."
Ushimaru's eyes were sharp, and he was about to refuse and reprimand them.
Just then, Kenji suddenly threw the gold coin.
Whoosh—Bang!
A golden light flashed before Ushimaru's eyes, and he instinctively reached out, accurately catching the gold coin.
Then, his entire body vibrated violently, his figure instantly blurred, achieving a two-dimensional animation effect in a three-dimensional world.
The vibration lasted for several seconds before finally subsiding.
At this moment, Ushimaru's eyes became much clearer. He looked deeply at Kenji opposite him, his eyes filled with shock,
"You… who exactly are you?" Ushimaru asked in a deep voice, his tone no longer aggressive.
"My name is Kenji, hmm, you probably haven't heard of me…?" Kenji hadn't finished speaking when he suddenly saw Ushimaru opposite him show a look of realization.
"Ah, this? So my reputation is that big now? Even a closed-off country knows my name?"
Kenji was greatly surprised. He was very certain that this was his first time in Wano Country, and he had never seen these samurai in person before.
He guessed it was probably because he had continuously fought against Legendary Pirates during this period, gaining too much prominence.
However, Ushimaru's subsequent words directly overturned Kenji's guess and left him feeling somewhat complex… or rather, quite speechless.
"So you are that Kenji…" Not only Ushimaru, but the other samurai present also looked over, and surprise appeared on everyone's faces.
A moment later, he withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and said apologetically, "My apologies! Actually, I heard about your deeds from returning personnel…"
"Returning personnel?" Kenji paused at the words, suddenly realizing.
"Returning personnel from Wano Country are either samurai or… courtesans?"
"Hmm, there are few Wano Country samurai outside, and I haven't dealt with them, so it can only be…"
Realizing this, Kenji immediately became speechless.
Good heavens, he thought he had made a name for himself through his strength, but it turned out to be another kind of strength?
But fortunately, the strength to visit pleasure quarters could still be considered a form of strength.
"Hmm."
Kenji had no other choice at this moment. He forced himself to maintain a calm demeanor, waving his hand nonchalantly and saying, "Since you know my strength, then, am I qualified to participate in the festival?"
Ushimaru exchanged glances with the other samurai present, and then they all smiled.
"You are considered an old friend of our Wano Country, you are certainly qualified."
With that, the group of samurai made way, and Ushimaru even wanted to help introduce Kenji to Shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki.
However, just as Kenji took a step and hadn't walked a few meters, a loud shout suddenly came from behind.
"You guys, stop right there!"