Seeing Kuzan here as well, Who's-Who himself felt very conflicted.
He joined the pirates for a simple reason, to save his own life. The World Government couldn't tolerate him, so he had no choice but to embrace the rival faction.
If it weren't for that incident, he might have already been promoted to CP0.
The World Government is the official power, and for most people, working for the World Government is far better than being a pirate.
Now, even the Navy Admiral has made a choice similar to his own, which indirectly proves that his decision wasn't wrong.
But this isn't good news for him. Originally, he was quite special, knowing the system training method from the World Government, but Kuzan's appearance has eradicated this uniqueness.
Who's-Who doesn't know if the current Kuzan is some kind of undercover specialist or has undergone special training, but Kuzan knows Rokushiki too.
Of course, as time passed, more people gradually learned Rokushiki, and the systematic teaching method has been preserved, so Who's-Who's importance slightly diminished.
But having one more person mastering Rokushiki is not exactly favorable for him.
As for Drake... He currently has a very low presence in the Hundred Beasts, Who's-Who barely remembers anything about him, and the skills mastered by a Junior Admiral are fundamentally different from those by an Admiral.
Their expertise differs, and the Junior Admiral class might not have studied Rokushiki intensively. Human energy is limited, trying to excel in everything might lead to achieving nothing.
As for hexagonal warriors... Those are geniuses and monsters. The Three Great Admirals belong to this category of monsters. They don't use it, but it doesn't mean they can't. During their time at the Navy Training Camp, they all systematically learned it, but as they grew, these moves lost their meaning.
Akainu used to be accustomed to using a sword when he first joined the Navy, but as he became an Admiral under the codename Akainu, he abandoned his former weapon, for magma had become his most powerful weapon.
Kuzan, even if joining the Hundred Beasts, wouldn't come to steal my job, it merely reduced a lot of Who's-Who's uniqueness.
Who's-Who, who came from the World Government's intelligence department, is used to scheming, instinctively starts considering these things. It's not that the Hundred Beasts have no conflicts, but here they usually directly resort to fists, saying it straight, and settling it with a fight outside.
The biggest intrigue... is probably the mutual plotting between Yamato and Queen, dragging each other into the water like water demons. From the recent battle outcomes, Yamato has a slight edge, temporarily hiding in a place where Kaidou cannot enter.
If provoked, Kaidou might do something drastic, but until then, Kaidou wouldn't set foot there.
"Speaking of... are you Spitfire? I've heard your name before."
"Being remembered by a former Admiral, that's not easy, right? Should I feel honored?"
Who's-Who stood by, leaning on his weapon like a cane, altering the guard on his dagger's hilt to be larger.
It's a matter of weapon proportion. He's using a short dagger matched with a long sword, and if not adjusted accordingly, the scabbard would bob up and down like a tumbler.
"Speaking of which, Admiral Aokiji, where did you hear of it? Can you satisfy my curiosity? Was it the Wanted Poster?"
"Ah la, la, don't call me that code name now, and where, you're better off not knowing."
"Why? You're no longer an Admiral, are there still secrets to keep?"
Who's-Who values reputation greatly, never liked being compared with Rob Lucci.
He wants to know what the reaction was after his defection. If Kuzan merely saw the Wanted Poster by chance, that would be uninteresting.
"Not really, I remember two instances, one during your prison escape defection, the other... when Rob Lucci was declared dead a few years ago, not long after."
Under Who's-Who's insistence, Kuzan provided an answer. CP9 defection was extremely rare, the World Government's brainwashing was exceptionally effective, and Who's-Who was the only one over the years, driven to desperation.
Hence, the Navy received orders from the World Government to eliminate the betrayer Who's-Who. If Who's-Who hadn't found robust backing, making it too costly to eliminate him, the World Government deemed it unworthy, Who's-Who would've been silenced long ago.
Due to its rarity, Kuzan retained some impression, and with the answer, Who's-Who fell into a gloomy state, realizing he's still a comparative figure.
"It's okay... at least that guy's already dead..."
Who's-Who murmured, seemingly trying to self-hypnotize.
"I told you, it's something you wouldn't want to hear, but you insisted."
Kuzan shrugged and then found a flat spot to set down the sunshade, while the camel behind him laid out a folding chair, setting up a picnic scene for one person and one penguin.
"Wanna join? I happen to have some things to chat with you about."
With that, Kuzan casually made a lounge chair from ice, inviting Who's-Who.
Who's-Who did not refuse Kuzan's invitation. The difference in strength was significant, and even though Kuzan had only just joined without any role, Who's-Who understood that if Kuzan genuinely joined here, he would surpass him soon.
This is also the rule of the Hundred Beasts, judged solely by strength. As long as the members who join meet the strength standards, many things naturally fall into place.
There is no seniority-based order, no need to curry favor or offer gifts. At most, you have to endure a couple of rounds with Kaidou, and your specific position is decided based on how many hits you can take or how quickly you recover after being struck.
It's challenging not to be instantly killed by a single hit from Kaidou.
Who's-Who did not sit on the ice chair. Kuzan's ability could prevent the ice from melting, but it was uncomfortable to sit on it. Who's-Who was not someone with ice-based abilities.
So he simply sat on the ground beside it, wanting to hear what the former Admiral had to say and also took this opportunity to witness a bizarre acrobatics performance.
"Click~"
With a flick of the camel's wings, the ice chair created by Kuzan was split in two. The part touching the ground was discarded, while the upper half was turned into shaved ice under the swiftly flapping wings.
After arriving on Ghost Island, it seemed the camel had put its skill points into the kitchen.
It now skillfully mastered the slicing of sashimi and the making of shaved ice. However, due to the limitations of its body structure, it was only interested in some simple cold dishes that required knife skills.
Looking at the shaved ice and the different sauces placed in front of him, Who's-Who found Kuzan increasingly incomprehensible.
"CIPHER POL and the Navy are two separate departments, but... do you guys in the Navy live so leisurely? My superior back then was a useless layabout, and even his leisure didn't compare to yours."
Kuzan's movements were too practiced. The speed of Empoleon making shaved ice was negligible, but Kuzan was like an oversized salary thief.
"Not entirely. At least now, it's more relaxing than before. Being an Admiral isn't a laid-back job. If anything, being a Vice Admiral is slightly easier."
Kuzan and Kizaru were more relaxed compared to Akainu, but they still had regular assignments. Apart from capturing pirates, what Kuzan disliked the most was guarding Mary Geoise.
Nothing major ever happened there, but the Heavenly Celestial Dragons made him nauseated.
Compared to Admirals who had to take on certain tasks, Navy Vice Admirals had more freedom, especially someone like Garp, whose overpowered strength had a strong halo effect.
Kuzan always felt that his current life resembled the life Garp had back then, and now he was experiencing this sense of leisure.
The safety of Wano Kuni was no different than Marinfanto; ordinarily, no one could invade such a place.
Strong military power provided protection, residents lived peacefully, and the tranquil streets made people feel relaxed, while there was no presence of detested World Nobility.
"I don't understand the life of your Navy, so Mr. Kuzan, you didn't just call me over to treat me to shaved ice, did you?"
The ice created by the Devil Fruit tasted no different from regular ice—it was merely formed by frozen water, and Wano Kuni's air quality was quite good. As long as one avoided the unfiltered toxic gases of Weezing, it was clean.
Pure ice blocks with Berry juice could be considered one of Wano Kuni's specialties. With better conditions, one could also add Miltank milk and Combee honey, and when adorned with Alcremie cream, it was high-end cuisine in Wano Kuni.
If taken outside, it would be a rarer special provision. Tesoro had perfectly mastered the art of hunger marketing with this.
"There's nothing particularly special. I just wanted to ask you, what's your evaluation of this country?"
"Evaluation? I've undertaken many missions and visited countless countries, whether in an official capacity or undercover; I've never seen an environment like this.
I've been to Mary Geoise; even comparing there to here, it pales in comparison.
If I had to say anything, everything here is good. It's just not like a country governed by pirates. There are many different things beyond the world...."
Not just Wano Kuni, the former home bases or hometowns of the Four Emperors were also not bad. Wano Kuni could be said to be at the pinnacle of people's welfare, while in Whitebeard's Sphinx Island, ordinary people lived a simple life.
There wasn't great wealth, but life was peaceful and safe, and there was even more to say about Red Hair's frequent stops at Elbaf, known as the world's strongest nation. It's not an exaggeration, although Cake Island's price of taking one's lifespan was a bit steep.
However, compared to the chaotic seas outside, Cake Island's happiness index surged. As long as Charlotte Linlin didn't go mad, everything was negotiable.
"It's not like a country governed by pirates... That's quite a fair assessment. The king here is Kozuki, right? These royals seem to have no presence."
"The royals here? Indeed... Mr. Kuzan, I believe I saw an acquaintance of yours."
"An acquaintance?"
"Yes, his presence is so insignificant that I didn't think of it until just now. He should qualify as a renowned person, after all, the 'Fallen Navy Junior Admiral'."
Who's-Who raised his hand and pointed to the side.
Not far away, Drake, who finally returned to the main island with Jack's ship, was looking in Kuzan's direction. From his actions and expressions, it was easy to tell that he seemed to have been somewhat stunned.
Hearing rumors and seeing them firsthand were two different things. When Drake observed the former Admiral leisurely sunbathing and eating shaved ice on pirate territory, the faith in his heart was shaken.