Ever since Vista and Oden reached an agreement, Oden had become much more willing to guide him.
“That’s not how you use a flying slash!” “Oden Moonlight Slash!” Standing atop the whale-shaped bow of the Moby Dick, Oden rapidly swung Enma, its blade pitch-black beneath a coating of Armament Haki.
An enormously exaggerated flying slash cleaved through the sea ahead.
Vista stood behind him, staring dumbfounded at the ocean.
He had witnessed even more terrifying attacks from Whitebeard.
Whitebeard’s slashes seemed capable of destroying the world—not only the sea, but even the sky appeared to split apart.
They were far more powerful than Oden’s attack, but they were different.
The difference was not in power, but technique—something only swordsmen could truly understand.
Vista could not learn to reproduce Whitebeard’s attacks, but what Oden was teaching him was something he could master.
Vista was about to ask a question when Oden’s ears suddenly twitched, his keen hearing detecting something in the distance.
“A woman!” Oden shouted and leaped straight from the bow into the water.
He swam rapidly into the distance and vanished in an instant.
He had not seen a woman in more than half a month, so he was exceptionally sensitive to them at the moment.
As for Whitey Bay, after briefly interacting with her, Oden had concluded that although she was beautiful, she was not actually a woman.
He suspected that she was in the same situation as Izo—a man dressed as a woman.
As for the bulge on her chest, he believed it might be some kind of abnormal growth.
Because of this, Whitey Bay had always treated him coldly, and their relationship was extremely poor.
“Uh…” Vista stared blankly in the direction Oden had disappeared.
“Change course!
Follow Oden!” Whitebeard immediately ordered after sensing what had happened.
“Nekomamushi, Inuarashi, does Oden always get this excited over a woman?” Marco asked incredulously.
“Mm…” Nekomamushi and Inuarashi answered in low voices, clearly ashamed.
“Hahaha!
Oden truly is a passionate man,” Teach said with a chuckle.
The mobility of powerful individuals was truly astonishing.
Silvers Rayleigh could swim through the Calm Belt, and although Oden was somewhat inferior to him, he could still cross the treacherous waters of the New World.
Oden quickly found an island, along with the woman whose voice he had heard.
However, it took the Moby Dick much longer to find him.
When everyone finally caught up, Oden was standing with his hands on his hips, carefully examining a woman.
She had delicate, beautiful features, but she looked nervous.
Holding a sword in her hands, she stared intently at the towering Oden.
A group of human traffickers had surrounded her moments earlier, intending to capture and sell her.
A woman of such beauty was rare.
Afraid that fighting might damage her appearance and lower her value, they had tried to deceive her instead.
As a result, she was now wary of everyone.
“Woman, are you from Wano Country?” Oden asked curiously.
He was extremely familiar with her clothing.
It was the same style as his own—the clothing of Wano Country.
“No… not exactly.
Who are you?
Did you come to save me?” the woman asked hesitantly.
She had watched Oden cut down the traffickers surrounding her as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.
“My name is Kozuki Oden, and I’m from Wano Country!
I was aboard the ship when I heard you calling for help, so I swam all the way here…” “Huh?!
Where are Whitebeard and the others?” Oden suddenly realized that he had not told anyone where he was going.
The moment he heard a woman’s voice, he had excitedly leaped from the ship.
Sweat immediately poured down his face.
He had only recently joined Whitebeard’s ship.
What if they became separated and he could no longer find them?
“Are you really from Wano Country?” the woman asked excitedly.
Only then did she notice that Oden’s clothing was the same style as hers.
Naturally broad-minded, Oden quickly cast his worries aside.
“Yes.
It took a tremendous amount of effort, but I finally managed to leave Wano Country aboard someone else’s ship,” he said proudly.
Then his expression fell.
“I thought I would see exotic clothing after reaching the outside world.
I never expected to find someone dressed like this…” “Uh…” “My name is Amatsuki Toki.
I’ve wanted to go to Wano Country ever since I was little.
Could you take me there?” “What?!
No!” Oden looked disgusted and refused without hesitation.
He had only just managed to leave Wano Country.
He would not return now, even if it killed him.
“Do you have to look so disgusted?” Toki complained loudly.
Although Oden had easily killed those people right in front of her, she was somehow not afraid of him.
Despite this being their first meeting, she felt that he was someone she could trust.
“I only just managed to leave Wano Country, and my adventure is about to begin.
In any case, I’m not taking you back!” Although Oden liked women, he would not allow a stranger to interfere with his plans.
As the two spoke, Marco descended from the sky.
“Oden, is this the woman you found?” Marco looked at her curiously, privately marveling at how extraordinary she was.
She had managed to lure Oden away with nothing but her voice.
“Is he your companion?” Toki asked softly, shrinking slightly behind the much taller Oden.
She only felt a sense of familiarity with Oden.
First, he had saved her.
Second, his clothing reminded her of Wano Country.
After what she had just experienced, she remained wary of everyone else.
“Yes, he’s my companion.” “Marco, how did you find me?” Oden asked excitedly.
He had already prepared himself to begin an adventure on his own.
“If Pops didn’t have such a wide range of Observation Haki, we really wouldn’t have found you.” “Whitebeard really is—” Bang!
Oden’s words were interrupted by a heavy punch.
“The greatest taboo aboard a ship is acting alone without informing anyone!” Whitebeard suddenly appeared behind Oden and punched him on the head, flattening his round topknot even further.
“If there’s a next time, I’ll show you just how heavy your big brother’s fist is!” “Oden, who is she?” Teach asked.
Judging by her Wano-style clothing, Teach thought she should be Oden’s future wife, Lady Toki—the woman capable of traveling through time.
The future!
Just thinking about it filled him with anticipation.
Would he succeed in achieving his ambitions?
Supreme authority.
The power to control the lives of others at will.
Possession of everything in the world.
The mere thought made his blood burn.
“I don’t know,” Oden replied casually while picking his nose.
“What?!
Didn’t I introduce myself?” Toki complained.
She then bowed to everyone and introduced herself properly.
“My name is Amatsuki Toki.
You can all call me Toki.” “I want to go to Wano Country.
Please, could you take me there?” “No!” Whitebeard and Oden answered simultaneously, both wearing expressions of intense disdain.
Neither of them wanted to return to Wano Country.
They had already been there once, and new adventures awaited Oden ahead.
Whitebeard, meanwhile, still had new sons to gather.
Neither man was willing to waste time on a woman they had only just met.
“Ah…” Toki looked dejected at first, but then she asked expectantly, “Then may I stay with you?
I can do anything!” She was a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user who possessed the Time-Time Fruit.
She had already traveled through time several times in her attempt to reach Wano Country.
Now, she had finally encountered someone from Wano, and he was a man she felt she could trust.
“You may,” Whitebeard agreed readily.
She was only one woman.
She was unlikely to cause any serious trouble, so he did not care.
Moreover, he could tell that she had a favorable impression of his brother Oden.
It was fortunate that Oden could not live without women.
With Toki around, he might finally stop pestering Whitebeard all the time.