Shimotsuki Shinko? Silas vaguely felt he had heard this name somewhere before but couldn't recall where. After all, he had been in this world for decades. If it wasn't some very famous figure, forgetting was normal.
Just right—he could learn about Wano Country's situation from these people.
"I'm called Silas."
After having Ripley move Shimotsuki Shinko's raft to safe ice, Silas smiled. "As you can see, I'm a pirate!"
Silas spoke frankly. "This is Ripley, my crew member."
After all, unlike most pirates who started plundering upon seeing villages, White Wolf Pirates didn't need such inefficient money-making methods. Only weak pirates actively plundered. Strong pirates earned enough from protection fees collected from various places.
However, Silas still underestimated Shimotsuki Shinko's naivety. Hearing Silas admit his identity, not only did Shimotsuki Shinko not panic, but her face also showed excitement.
"Really? Really? Are you really a pirate?"
"I thought pirates would be more fierce and menacing. The pirates I read about in storybooks were not only ugly but also very rude."
"But you..."
Shimotsuki Shinko looked Silas up and down. Silas wore typical beach attire—a checkered shirt with shorts, plus flip-flops—yet didn't give off a frivolous feeling. Because Silas was handsome enough!
Under the checkered shirt were sculpture-like, firm, powerful muscles. Silver-white short hair paired with Silas's mature yet not aged face—truly a heartbreaker!
At least Shimotsuki Shinko heard her own pounding heartbeat. She hadn't noticed from afar earlier, but looking closer—wasn't this completely a handsome man?
Were all people outside Wano Country so attractive? Shimotsuki Shinko couldn't help feeling somewhat shy. Had her earlier behavior been too frivolous?
The girl was conflicted.
But fortunately, the raft's decision-maker wasn't just the girl alone.
"What are pirates doing in Wano Country?"
Though already feeling pressure from Silas, samurai pride still made Shimotsuki Kouzaburou place his hand on his sword hilt. He differed from Shimotsuki Shinko, who had been sheltered by family protection and was inexperienced.
He was a swordsmith and also a samurai. Moreover, he was considerably older than Shimotsuki Shinko—the real authority figure of their small group.
"Haha, don't be nervous. If your Wano Country wasn't so closed off, you'd know White Wolf Pirates isn't that kind of evil pirate crew. I prefer calling my pirate crew an adventure group."
If this were outside, hearing his name, many people probably wouldn't even have the courage to attack, unlike these young people before him.
Youth breeds fearlessness.
Though called young, Shimotsuki Kouzaburou was already in his early thirties. Not only a powerful samurai, but also Wano Country's premier swordsmith.
However, feeling Wano Country's isolation, Shimotsuki Kouzaburou had developed thoughts of leaving, wanting to see a broader world. Who knew before even leaving, he would encounter a near-ceiling figure from the outside world?
"Then what do you want by detaining us?"
Shimotsuki Kouzaburou remained wary of Silas. He didn't believe Silas came to Wano just for vacation—there must be other ulterior motives!
"Just passing through."
Silas shrugged. "However, if you're willing to tell me about Wano Country's situation, I don't mind introducing you to the outside world."
"Really?"
"Don't even think about it!"
Shimotsuki Shinko looked delighted, while Shimotsuki Kouzaburou sternly refused.
"Brother Kouzaburou!"
"Shinko, don't trust outsiders' words. Did you forget what we said before leaving? Even if we leave Wano Country, we absolutely cannot reveal our identities to outsiders, much less reveal Wano Country's intelligence!"
As retainers serving the Kozuki family and members of the Shimotsuki family, though he wanted to see the outside world, that didn't mean he would betray his country!
"Uh, strictly speaking, I shouldn't really count as an outsider."
"Eh?"
"After all, my wife is from Wano Country. I actually came this time to escort her home to visit relatives, so me learning about Wano Country should be fine, right?"
Silas smiled. Though he had zero interest in Wano Country identity, wasn't Toki from Wano? What was this called? This was called manufacturing claims!
"Toki!"
Hearing Silas's voice, Shimotsuki Shinko and Shimotsuki Kouzaburou immediately saw a woman with long light green hair, wearing red-yellow hair ornaments, dressed in a pink kimono, appearing young and beautiful, descending from that large ship.
Just before landing, she was caught by the pirate called Silas, then appeared before them.
"I am called Toki. My ancestors left Wano Country long ago, but with my husband's help, I can finally return to my homeland."
As people born into great families, no one understood better than Shimotsuki Shinko and Shimotsuki Kouzaburou how to distinguish authenticity. This woman called Toki, whether in appearance or bearing, was exactly their ideal type—completely deserving the title yamato nadeshiko.
Even Shimotsuki Kouzaburou's voice became somewhat stammering after seeing Toki.
"You, hello, I'm Shimotsuki Kouzaburou, from the Shimotsuki family. Nice to meet you; please take care of me in the future..."
"Take care, my foot!"
Shimotsuki Shinko slapped her cousin's head, hastily apologizing.
"Sorry, this idiot brother of mine usually only forges swords and practices; his brain's gone rusty and doesn't know how to interact with outsiders."
Good grief—Shimotsuki Kouzaburou had just lectured Shimotsuki Shinko, and now immediately it was her turn to lecture him.
However, Shimotsuki Kouzaburou also knew his earlier words were inappropriate. If Toki were just a single woman, that would be one thing. But Toki already had a husband, and that husband was right beside her.
Just his earlier words alone, in Wano Country, would be enough to start a duel.
Killing intent flashed in Silas's eyes. Though Shimotsuki Shinko was naive and lively, she indeed understood human relations better than Shimotsuki Kouzaburou. If she hadn't proactively hit him, it would have been Silas's turn.
But who could blame him for having a beautiful wife? If Shimotsuki Kouzaburou knew Toki was just one of Silas's women, he would probably fight Silas desperately no matter what.
This time Silas was magnanimous and wouldn't quarrel with Shimotsuki Kouzaburou.
"Now can we chat?"
"Hmph, the Toki surname should be from Toki family members who left Wano Country years ago. Since she's from the Toki family, explaining briefly isn't impossible."
Shimotsuki Kouzaburou muttered, though regretful, and could only pretend not to see Toki.
The so-called Toki and Shimotsuki families were actually among the five retainer families serving Wano Country's shogun family, the Kozuki. The five were: Shimotsuki, Uzuki, Fugetsu, Toki, and Kurozumi families.
But over twenty years ago, Wano Country experienced an incident. Because the Wano shogun couldn't produce heirs, news spread that he planned on selecting a retainer from the five families to inherit the shogun position.
So the Kurozumi family, one of the five great families, developed treacherous intentions. They poisoned other families' daimyo, then wanted to use internal strife to eliminate other families one by one, leaving only themselves.
However, this conspiracy ultimately ended with the birth of the Wano shogun's heir. The Kurozumi family faced reckoning. So now all of Wano Country only had four retainer families left.
Internal turmoil had also resulted. However, under current Shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki's diligent governance, Wano Country slowly caught its breath.
"So don't think because Wano Country recently experienced internal strife that there's an opportunity to exploit. Wano has many samurai stronger than me. If you're planning something treacherous, I advise giving up that notion early!"
Speaking thus, Shimotsuki Kouzaburou couldn't help straightening his back. After all, Wano Country's strength was world-famous.
Even after centuries, Shimotsuki Kouzaburou firmly believed Wano Country was the world's strongest nation, bar none. So even though Silas had just displayed extraordinary strength, Shimotsuki Kouzaburou wasn't panicked. He believed Wano Country definitely had beings even stronger than Silas!
"Haha, is that so? Then I'm relieved."
If Wano Country's strength was too weak, Silas would feel disappointed. But if there really were so many strong fighters, wouldn't Ripley and Newgate be able to fight to their hearts' content?
As for Silas himself? Unfortunately, though Silas's Observation Haki couldn't see all of Wano Country, it basically covered the main prosperous areas. In these regions, Silas hadn't discovered any strong fighters worth his attention.
However, he hadn't discovered any. That didn't mean the system hadn't.
After nearly a year, his system finally showed activity again. System, you've already discovered, right? Now it wasn't 1484 at all, but 1464! He also wasn't some eighteen-year-old youngster, but a nearly eighty-year-old geezer!
The system remained silent, just quietly typing.
[Sea Circle Calendar 1484: You arrived at the martially abundant Wano Country, meeting the famous swordsmith Shimotsuki Kouzaburou.]
[Having reached the world's pinnacle in just four years, you feel lonely as snow, thinking no one in all of Wano Country is your match.]
[But the dragon-slaying swordsman's departed soul still whispers.]
The system's revealed information made Silas raise an eyebrow. The dragon-slaying swordsman had been dead for so many years—had he left some contingency?
[Whether you or your crew members, when anyone defeats any Wano Country daimyo, you automatically gain one soul seal.]
[When you collect four seals, you will gain an opportunity for trans-temporal battle with the dragon-slaying swordsman!]