APJ CHAPTER 166 DEN DEN MUSHI WHO SURRENDERED TO THE ENEMY

The talk was brief but it made them realize the other’s identity – Beasts Pirates.

“Their attitude is unfriendly, making it difficult to get in touch with them.”

“Even if it’s difficult, we must get in touch with them. Higher-ups won’t give up on the Seastone trade. We need Seastone products and the unique weapons of Wano Country. Acquiring them through the black market is not only expensive, but also fails to guarantee their quality and quantity. We need a stable supplier.”

“He had gotten in touch with Kurozumi Orochi before. Did we misjudge the internal relations of Wano Country? The relationship between Beasts Pirates and Kurozumi Orochi doesn’t seem friendly.”

“With his personality, it’s not surprising that he angered those pirates.”

“Since they picked up the call, there’s still a possibility for negotiation. Let’s organize their information first.”

After a brief discussion, they realized that they had mistaken the key point of getting in touch with Wano Country.  Previously, they focused on Kurozumi Orochi, but now it seems that Kurozumi Orochi holds little influence in Wano Country, and Beasts Pirates are the ones in control.

Since that’s the case, they have to re-plan their strategy.

Onigashima, after the call was disconnected, many people showed puzzled expressions. They hadn’t expected someone to call, but Arceus had a pirate deliver this message, giving them a false feeling that they are willing to communicate.

And the purpose of all this was not for anything else, but for this particular Den Den Mushi to remember the CP0’s Den Den Mushi on the other end.

“Do you remember your companion just now?”

After hanging up the call, Arceus was communicating with the Den Den Mushi. After being thrown away by the agent, it had almost lost its life. Although it was picked up, under normal circumstances, this kind of Den Den Mushi couldn’t be repaired.

Injured Den Den Mushi are usually abandoned and left to die slowly, but Arceus discovered a new use for this Den Den Mushi. So, he transformed it into Omanyte and replenished its life force with Life Dew.

And the purpose was for eavesdropping. Among Den Den Mushi, there is a type of black Den Den Mushi that enjoys exchanging messages with its own kind, so they are used as eavesdropping devices.

And there are countless Den Den Mushi in this world. To eavesdrop accurately, you need the number of that particular Den Den Mushi, and this phone call provided that opportunity.

Omanyte had already memorized this number. Den Den Mushi understands gratitude as seen from the Den Den Mushi that was moved to tears when it was saved by Buggy during the Summit War.

And this Den Den Mushi also developed such a mentality. They are willing to be used as a communication tool because they sought a master who would take care of their needs. The agent did something outrageous to it, but the Beasts Pirates saved it. So, it wanted to repay them, hence it took on this task.

“Remember.”

Remembering that Den Den Mushi’s wavelength and communicating with it was its mission. Den Den Mushi, whose intelligence has been upgraded, became the eavesdropping commissioner of the Beasts Pirates, specifically tasked with stealing certain information from the World Government.

As for why it could speak, Den Den Mushi could already mimic human voices and understand human language. After being transformed into Omanyte and upgraded, it could even speak human language without making a call.

He did this as a precautionary measure. Lunarians and the current World Government had deep-seated enmity. They may not be currently hostile yet, but it was only a matter of time. Since they would inevitably become enemies sooner or later, it was necessary to be prepared in advance.

“Find a reliable person. Their task will be to take care of it. Understand?”

So, Queen became the caretaker of this new Den Den Mushi. He was already taking care of dozens of Wano Country’s Smart Tanishi, so taking care of one more Den Den Mushi was not difficult.

“All right, if there’s nothing else to discuss, go do your work. Oh, by the way, how are the preparations for fireworks coming along?”

“Everything is ready. We can start anytime, but it’s best to wait for the sky to darken a bit more.”

Although it wasn’t the season for producing fireworks in Wano Country, there were currently numerous weapon factories in Wano Country. Taking some gunpowder from the materials used for making weapons and improving it to use as the raw materials for fireworks posed no problem.

Almost all the fireworks craftsmen of the Udon region were brought to a factory, and their task was to make satisfactory fireworks.

Each firework was labeled with a name. The person who made the most satisfying firework was promised an additional reward of 100 gold coins.

In this situation, everyone exerted their full strength and showcased their expertise.

Tonight, Wano Country was destined to be lively. As the moon rose into the sky, the prepared fireworks were ignited one after another in an open space.

The fireworks in the sky startled Yamato at first, but as the metal powder started burning in the air, the magnificent patterns captivated all of her interest.

Jack and Maria were the same. Although this fireworks display was prepared for Yamato, not only these three children on Onigashima, but people throughout Wano Country witnessed this grand spectacle.

In order to obtain the so-called reward, the craftsmen put forth their utmost efforts. The bigger the firework, the more magnificent the effect, which required increasing the amount of gunpowder and thus reaching greater heights. Even in the farthest Kibi, one could vaguely see the commotion happening on Onigashima.

“Mom, why are there fireworks today?”

“Perhaps some important person is celebrating their birthday.”

“Can I celebrate my birthday like this too?”

“No, Kentaro, we are not that rich.”

In the closed Wano Country, fireworks were actually regulated goods. They were only   released every year during specific times organized by Shogun and Daimyos. Usually, fireworks were only seen during the Fire Festival, New Year, or the day of the Shogun’s succession.

Normally, they could only be seen twice a year at most. They couldn’t have imagined that this grand fireworks display was organized solely because Yamato expressed interest in it. Hence, the Beasts Pirates prepared this fireworks event.

They also took this opportunity to hold a banquet on Onigashima, and Queen was acting as the host with a microphone in hand.

The people on Onigashima were partying, while the common people of Wano Country were enjoying the fireworks. The daimyos from other regions didn’t have much interest in it, but there were two groups of people who weren’t interested in enjoying the fireworks.

First was Kurozumi Orochi. Just as he regained consciousness after being knocked out by Kaido’s Conqueror’s Haki, he heard the sound of fireworks explosions and thought that the Beasts Pirates had broken in. Terrified, he naturally had no mood to enjoy the fireworks, and he further doubted if it was the right decision to invite the Beasts Pirates here.

In Kuri, the retainers of Kozuki Oden also had no interest in enjoying the fireworks, and it all stemmed from Kin’emon.

Although he had been redeemed, he was heavily injured, not just physically but also mentally. At first, he was even afraid to sleep, and it took him many days of recovery to be able to sleep like a normal person again.

But today’s fireworks terrified him once more, worsening his state of mind.