"Do you really not need me to go?" Dylan glanced at Tahir, who had come to him to ask for leave.
Tahir bowed slightly. "Although I have some differences with Boss Nekomamushi due to ideological issues, he has taken care of me a lot since I was a child, and... this is Zou's business after all."
"Hmm..." Dylan pondered for a moment, then took out a piece of paper from the drawer and tore off a corner.
"I asked Shiryu to make a Vivre Card for you. If you don't report back in a month, I will go to Zou to find you."
"Good."
When the three of them walked out of the G-5 base, Pedro and Zepo bowed to Dylan. "Thank you very much."
Dylan nodded and said nothing.
······
1 month later.
Dylan carried Shura out of the office.
"Going alone?" Shiryu and Tom stood up when they saw Dylan coming out.
They were not worried about whether Dylan could face a country alone, but the problem was that the purpose of this trip was not to "destroy the country" but to "save people."
"His Vivre Card is only shrinking, not burning. It seems that he is imprisoned. It's not a big problem. I can go alone. The New World has also been in turmoil recently. Don't be too frequent in your recent 'hunting'. Everything, let's talk about it when I get back."
"Understood!"
Dylan opened his palms, and in his palm, a Vivre Card the size of a fingernail fluttered and flew in a certain direction.
······
Zou.
Whale Forest.
Tahir's feet were tied with two chains and locked in a stone room.
Outside the stone house, Pedro sat cross-legged at the door.
"Tahir, can you really not change your mind?"
Tahir in the stone house didn't seem to hear. He just played with the small folding fan in his hand, but his face had lost the elegance and calmness of the past.
Today is the promised one-month deadline... that man...
...is coming soon!
Outside the stone house, Pedro's face flashed with reluctance and struggle.
He wished he could support and encourage his best friend to pursue his own path and dreams like he did when he was a boy.
During the dozens of days he was guarding here, he had more than once wanted to untie the special chains on Tahir and let him pursue his own "freedom."
But...
This time, for some reason, Boss Nekomamushi and Inuarashi also warned him not to have any other thoughts.
Otherwise, it would bring "catastrophe" to Zou.
Besides, there's that guy next to him...
Pedro looked at Shishilian, one of the Three Inuarashi Musketeers, sitting cross-legged on the other side.
While Pedro was struggling with what had happened to his best friend, Shishilian on the other side of the stone door raised his head and looked at the sky.
"What is that?"
In the stone house, Tahir sighed.
Pedro looked up too.
In the sky, the dense black clouds completely covered the sky above Zou, shrouding the enormous body of Zunesha, as if heralding the end of days.
Pedro's pupils shrank, remembering the rumors about a certain man.
Outside Whale Forest.
"Old cat!"
"Old dog!"
Duke Inuarashi and Nekomamushi looked at each other, then at the thunderclouds in the sky.
When they imprisoned Tahir, he told them about his one-month appointment with "Rairyu" Dylan.
So today, a cat and a dog waited outside Beluga Forest.
They stood facing the strong wind. Behind them, the soldiers of the Mink Tribe were waiting with solemn faces.
"Such a big fuss?"
In the clouds, a lazy voice sounded.
Then a bolt of lightning fell, and Dylan appeared opposite Inuarashi and Nekomamushi.
"Where's Tahir?"
Even though they had followed heroes like Whitebeard, Roger, and Oden, and fought against Kaido, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
After all, they were just ordinary crew members. Although they bore the name of the Red Scabbards in Wano Country, what they were about to face now was a man with the power of a god or demon.
Inuarashi stared at Dylan and said solemnly, "Tahir is a member of Zou; he cannot serve the World Government!"
"Reason."
Dylan looked around calmly but did not find Tahir or Pedro.
"This is our Zou's 'tradition'!"
Nekomamushi's fangs were exposed, and he, who was already grumpy, could no longer control himself. "Humans have no right to interfere!"
"Good."
Dylan lowered his eyes.
Others looked surprised when they heard this sentence.
Is this person so easy to talk to? It doesn't seem to be as described by Pedro and the two bosses...
"Careful!"
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi shouted, Inuarashi drew his sword, and Nekomamushi raised his trident.
"I shouldn't reason with you."
Dylan took a breath and his eyes moved. "Let me see how talented the guys who followed Whitebeard, Roger, and Oden are."
Shura unsheathed his sword, and the black and red blade flew out like a crescent moon.
Although the huge slash was blocked by Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, the power contained within directly shocked them to the point of vomiting blood.
When the others saw this, they unsheathed their sharp claws and prepared to rush forward.
"Stop!"
"Back off!"
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi made noises simultaneously.
Inuarashi raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth and said to the others, "This kind of battle is not something you can participate in. The outcome has nothing to do with you..."
Dylan sneered, looking at Inuarashi with mocking eyes that seemed to say: Does it mean it doesn't matter if you say it doesn't matter?
Inuarashi's breath was stagnant. Although they had never left Zou after escaping from Wano Country, they had heard the legends about this man.
He was able to single-handedly defeat the Red-Haired Pirates, who were as famous as Whitebeard.
The clouds in the sky blocked out the sun, and Nekomamushi shook his nose angrily.
"Damn it, if there was a moon..."
"Then I'll give you the moon!"
Dylan raised his hand and waved, the clouds in the sky split into two, and the moon appeared above everyone's heads.
Seeing this, not only did everyone feel no joy, but their mood became even heavier.
Doesn't he care about the "Sulong" form? This man is terrifying.
After exchanging glances, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi both looked towards the moon.
At this point, there is no way out!
As the power of the moon poured into their bodies, the two began to change rapidly. Their bodies swelled, and their fur grew crazily, turning white.
"Ready?"
When their transformation was complete, Dylan chuckled.
The Sulong form is impressive.
"Although samurai should not pay so much attention to personal honor and disgrace, but..."
"Being so understimated will make us angry!"
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi roared simultaneously, rushing towards Dylan with thunder and lightning crackling around them.
"Playing with thunder in front of me?"
Dylan opened his palms forward, then closed them.
The lightning that was originally wrapped around their bodies disappeared instantly.
"Taste my thunder." Dylan raised his eyebrows, and a deafening roar sounded.
The turbulent thunderclouds in the sky shrank for a moment, then two lightning bolts, more than ten meters thick, fell down.
The hair on Inuarashi and Nekomamushi stood up, and their swift charge paused in mid-air.
Before the thunder hit the ground, with Dylan's thought, it exploded in mid-air and turned into countless tiny lightning bolts heading towards the cat and dog.
"Moon Raid!"
Seeing the lightning coming, they had no way to avoid it in mid-air. The cat and dog, with their weapons intertwined, tried their best to counterattack the lightning.
"Cut it? Show me!"
Thunder roared, and large bolts of lightning poured down from the clouds, entangled and mixed with the original huge thunder pillar.
The lightning that was originally scattered around and only as thick as a finger instantly became as thick as an arm.
"Try it and give it a try... Thunder Welcome!"
The lightning converged into a massive ball of light.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi's bodies trembled, even with the power of the moon they couldn't resist it.
"Meow!!!!"
"Ouch!!!!"
Two screams came from the light ball, and the smell of burning hair filled the air.
Boom!
Boom!
The lightning dissipated.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi fell from the sky, reverting to their original forms.
"Ready to fight!!"
The Musketeers and Guardians drew their weapons at the sight of their leaders defeated. Other Minks began to gather thunder and lightning, and some even stared at the moon, preparing to transform.
"Well, it seems that my Shura will taste blood today!" Dylan grinned, and Shura seemed to resonate with Dylan's murderous intent.
"Dylan!"
An anxious shout came from inside Whale Forest.
Tahir, supported by Pedro, quickly ran towards the battlefield.
Seeing Tahir's weak appearance, Dylan raised his eyebrows.
"I'm fine. It's not them who abused me, it's me..."
Tahir reached the center of the battlefield and saluted Dylan, then turned to face his comrades and the fallen leaders.
"Please give me some time."
Dylan raised his chin, signaling for him to proceed.
Tahir walked over to Nekomamushi and Inuarashi and helped them up.
After they calmed down, Tahir sat in front of them.
"Duke Inuarashi, Boss Nekomamushi."
Seeing that they ignored him, Tahir smiled bitterly. "I don't know what promise 'Zou' is keeping, and I don't know what kind of 'promise' our clan has made with history."
"Whether history or legend, it is the past after all. For me, instead of waiting for some 'people' and 'things' to save the world, it is better to participate in it myself."
"Even if I fail in the end, even if I end up becoming a sinner in a certain sense. At least I tried hard and made an effort."
"The Duke and the Boss are both men who followed Roger. Didn't Roger say, 'On this sea, the freest people are pirates?'"
The originally silent Inuarashi and Nekomamushi looked at Tahir in shock.
"How did you know?"
"Someone told me."
Tahir once overheard Dylan say this when he commented on Roger. The disdain on Dylan's face at that time was still fresh in his memory.
"Today...I won't debate with the two bosses whether this sentence is right or wrong. I only want to ask one question."
Tahir raised his head and stared into their eyes.
"Since a pirate is free, why should he stop others from pursuing their dreams? If so, where does that put the word 'freedom'?"
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