Chapter 458: Kozuki Oden Joins the Roger Pirates
"Oh? Kozuki Oden has joined the Roger Pirates."
"The Roger Pirates clashed with Marine Vice Admiral Garp again, resulting in a stalemate, and the Roger Pirates' whereabouts are unknown."
Hades had already received the news when the incident occurred.
Hades wasn't surprised by Kozuki Oden joining the Roger Pirates.
Roger's sincerity, personal charisma, and the Poneglyphs were enough to move him.
More importantly, there was a sense of mission.
The Poneglyphs Roger had collected for years couldn't be deciphered by anyone, yet he recognized them, and they were the Secret Script passed down through generations of the Kozuki Clan.
Wandering the Great Sea, Kozuki Oden had seen many things besides adventuring and improving his strength.
If you were to ask if he had a specific goal, he actually didn't.
Wano Country was under the rule of the Tyrant Dragon Pirates, and it was impossible to say he didn't want to expel the Tyrant Dragon Pirates.
Kozuki Oden hoped for Wano Country's "Opening the Country", not to be under such closed-off rule.
But he truly had no way to achieve this.
Once war broke out, the Subjects of Wano Country would be affected.
Looking at it this way, maintaining the status quo was better; at least it wouldn't get worse.
The history of the Void Century, the unknown, and Roger's sincere invitation held great attraction for him.
Coupled with Roger's overwhelming combat strength, he gained his recognition.
However, what Hades didn't expect was that Kozuki Oden joined the Roger Pirates so early.
Although it was a bit unexpected, it had no influence.
In his opinion, it was bound to happen sooner or later.
Kozuki Oden was the last important piece for the Roger Pirates to become the Pirate King.
Perhaps he wasn't the only one who could read the Poneglyphs; the scholars in Ohara were also researching them.
However, Kozuki Oden knew the whereabouts of two Red Road Poneglyphs.
One was in Wano Country, and one was on Uso Island.
Adding the rubbing already obtained from the Big Mom Pirates.
Only the Red Road Poneglyph on Fish-Man Island remained.
It could be said that if they were faster, the Roger Pirates could have conquered the Grand Line and become the Pirate King even earlier.
Of course, this also conveyed a message: the Roger Pirates had added another powerful combatant.
This was not good news for any faction.
The young Kozuki Oden, even if he couldn't compare to the Three Giants of Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban yet, his strength was very close.
Especially for the World Government and the Marines who had just targeted the Roger Pirates, it was clear they needed to re-evaluate the Roger Pirates' overall combat strength.
Hades had been keeping attention on the Roger Pirates' whereabouts.
Soon, Hades confirmed that the Roger Pirates did not plan to obtain those two Road Poneglyphs first.
Instead, they were approaching the Former Half of the New World, seemingly planning to return to the First Half of the Grand Line by passing through Fish-Man Island.
Hades felt a slight sense of crisis regarding the Road Poneglyph left on Fish-Man Island.
Although the Road Poneglyph on Sky Island, which recorded the 'Sea King (Weapon)', was in his hands, without the clue from Sky Island, he wasn't sure if Roger would find the Road Poneglyph on Fish-Man Island.
Even if the Roger Pirates had no relationship with Fish-Man Island.
In fact, because the Pluto Pirates occupied Fish-Man Island, even the Whitebeard Pirates had little relationship with Fish-Man Island.
Fish-Man Island was his territory, a treasure land that could bring great revenue.
The Pluto Pirates even restricted Ryugu Palace from having contact with other factions.
Under the protection of the Pluto Pirates, Ryugu Palace was happy with this arrangement, enjoying peace.
He didn't want Roger to become the Pirate King too early, as this could very likely cause the events in his memory to change.
After all, Roger was already close to death; one more year of lifespan could allow him to do many things and might bring astonishing changes.
At the first opportunity, Hades instructed Seamus, the cadre guarding Fish-Man Island this round.
As a Great White Shark Fish-Man, and a cadre of the Pluto Pirates, Seamus possessed astonishing influence on Fish-Man Island, especially among the Fish-Man Tribe.
Countless Fish-Men saw him as a role model and ventured out onto the Great Sea.
Of course, if anyone dared to cause trouble and affect the interests and rule of the Pluto Pirates, Seamus wouldn't show mercy.
Upon receiving Hades' order, Seamus immediately sent someone to hide that Road Poneglyph.
Few people came to the Sea Forest anyway; otherwise, news about the Road Poneglyph would have spread long ago.
As the territory of the Pluto Pirates, the Roger Pirates wouldn't cause too much trouble and should leave quickly.
Hades' action was just adding an extra layer of security.
"What a beautiful place! Is this Fish-Man Island?"
Kozuki Oden, visiting Fish-Man Island for the first time, was full of surprise.
He had seen a lot during his years on the Great Sea, but there were always places that made him feel incredibly surprised.
Seeing is believing.
Kozuki Oden was immediately captivated by this pearl located in the Deep Sea and jumped directly off the Oro Jackson.
"Haven't been here for a while. Fish-Man Island seems to have changed a bit too."
"Have a good rest, play to your heart's content, and then we'll go to the first half."
Docking the ship at the port, Roger excitedly jumped off the ship after Kozuki Oden, and the rest of the crewmates also disembarked one after another.
It was time to have a good rest.
On Fish-Man Island, they didn't need to worry about the Marines' pursuit.
The flags of the Pluto Pirates planted everywhere were a guarantee of safety.
Most of the time, the Roger Pirates were law-abiding.
When entering Fish-Man Island, they also honestly and obediently paid the fee and didn't cause any trouble.
Seamus didn't pay attention to the arrival of the Roger Pirates; as long as they didn't cause trouble, he let them be.
These outsiders were guests of the Pluto Pirates, especially the Deep Sea Paradise established by the Pluto Pirates.
Who wouldn't go play there?
Various entertainment facilities were concentrated together, a beautiful environment, unique deep-sea gourmet food, and they could even see Mermaid Girls, just like paradise.
Moreover, Seamus didn't know what he was told to hide.
After playing for about two days, the Roger Pirates purchased a large amount of deep-sea specialty products, contributing to Fish-Man Island's GDP.
They just simply played and didn't do anything else.
With the Pluto Pirates covering them, Ryugu Palace also didn't want to interact with a dangerous pirate crew like the Roger Pirates.
The Roger Pirates left, but the news of them passing through Fish-Man Island had to be leaked out.
Early on, the Marines and the World Government had planted people on Fish-Man Island.
Upon receiving the news immediately, Garp, who was still in the New World, was recalled by Headquarters.
(end of chapter)