Kano Country, Tiger's Shadow Mountain.
Here, mountains coil and intertwine, and the highest peak among them is known as 'Tiger's Shadow Mountain'.
Legend has it that in ancient times, a demonic tiger roamed the mountain, causing great suffering to the villagers below. The first leader of the Happo Navy, 'Great Monk Chinjao', was tearfully begged by the people, and so he resolutely decided to ascend the mountain to subdue the beast. He fought it for seven days and seven nights before finally subduing it, and thus the mountain earned its name.
Victor's group ascended a winding mountain path, at the end of which lay the Happo Navy's stronghold nestled amidst Tiger's Shadow Mountain—the Water Curtain Fortress!
Surprisingly, the guards at the fortress gate did not make things difficult for Victor and his companions, only questioning them briefly before allowing them passage. Perhaps it was due to their absolute confidence in the combat power stationed within the fortress?
The entire Water Curtain Fortress consisted of eight super-tall, large towers that plunged straight down into the valley, connected by various large and small suspension bridges, forming dozens of layers. Guided by a guide, Victor and his group walked along the largest central suspension bridge towards the 'Grand Castle Tower' at the heart of the Water Curtain Fortress.
Upon arriving at the main hall of the Grand Castle Tower, an argument was erupting within. A muscular, black-haired man was vehemently arguing with a young, orange-haired man with a ponytail, and no one around could pacify them.
"I'm telling you, Abu, that idiotic woman from the Two-Treasure Navy, you guys can go see whoever you damn please, I'm not going! And anyone who dares tell the old man will get a beating from me!" The black-haired man angrily snapped at everyone.
The orange-haired man was so angry he was almost in tears: "Brother! Sai! Hooly-sha specifically asked to see you, and she's your fiancée! The old man and the Two-Treasure Navy's leader arranged your marriage back then, if you don't go, who will?" Everyone around nodded in agreement.
The black-haired man, called 'Sai,' scratched his head in exasperation, muttering constantly about 'calamity,' 'political marriage,' and 'ugly muscular woman.' Then he turned and saw Victor's group.
"You, you are... Victor?" Sai ran over in surprise. He had a deep impression of this handsome guy who made people want to punch him. Two years ago, they had met in Clock Tower Island, and Sai owed him a favor back then, so he boasted on the spot that if Victor ever needed anything, he should come to Tiger's Shadow Mountain in Kano Country, and there was nothing Sai couldn't handle!
"Mr. Sai, long time no see... huh?" Victor hadn't finished speaking when Sai grabbed him and pulled him into the main hall. As he walked, he loudly called out: "Oh, isn't this Victor, my good friend who traveled thousands of miles to find me! How can I not entertain him! Abu, you guys go to the Two-Treasure Navy first, I'll go find you immediately after I'm done entertaining my friend!"
"Then... then Onii-chan, please be quick. Alright Onii-chans, let's go."
Abu, resigned, had no choice but to depart with his subordinates.
Sai peered at the gradually departing Abu and the others, quietly sighing in relief. Then he turned to look at Victor, who was watching him with a half-smile, and slightly annoyed, said: "That look again, it feels like nothing can be hidden from you. I heard you became the new boss of that 'Coral' gang. Are you here to talk business this time?"
Victor nodded: "Not just business, but also some news."
Sai's heart tightened. He motioned for Victor and his group to enter the back hall to talk.
Passing through a long suspended corridor from the main hall's side door, they arrived at the back hall, which was sumptuously decorated and already prepared with a buffet-style banquet.
Victor let the others freely wander and eat something, while he sat alone with Sai in the Water Crane Hall on the second floor for a private discussion.
"Alright, you can tell me now. What news is so important that you had to come yourself?" Sai poured Victor a cup of rice wine, a specialty of Kano Country.
"Kano Country and the Saiblarm Kingdom are preparing for war, aren't they?" Victor took a sip of the rice wine. Its taste was rich and mellow, a completely different experience compared to red wine.
"Your news is well-informed. Don't be a gangster, an intelligence broker has more prospects." Sai said half-complimenting, half-mocking, and Victor, knowing his character, didn't mind.
"Then do you know that the Saiblarm Kingdom already has channels to acquire a large quantity of weapons?" Victor took another sip of rice wine, secretly deciding to take a few bottles back for his collection.
"What? Really? Is the news reliable?" Sai was so surprised that he almost dropped his wine glass. If the news was true, then the subtly balanced advantage between the two countries would tip decisively. And the Happo Navy, with Kano Country as its strong backing, wouldn't fare well either!
Victor smiled: "I've also brought some gifts. I don't think the Kano Country monarch would mind having more weapons, right?" The three largest gangs in West Blue—'Coral,' 'Suleiman Family,' and 'Capone Gang'—originally controlled a total of over 30 small and medium-sized towns. Now merged, their foundation was no less than that of a small kingdom. For this transaction, Victor had extracted a full 12% of the gang's weapon inventory.
"The monarch will pay a fair price for these 'gifts'. However, what I'd rather buy is the Saiblarm Kingdom's weapon channel." Sai knew there was no free lunch. The news Victor had just dropped was essentially a deposit, and now, he needed to pay the remaining balance.
"Then I won't beat around the bush either. I wish to obtain one thing—the training method for Armament Haki." Victor poured himself another glass of wine, gently swirling it in his hand.
"Good!" Sai agreed without hesitation. The training method for Armament Haki was only rare in the Four Blues; in the Grand Line, especially in the New World, almost every expert had Armament Haki. Compared to a mere Armament Haki training method, the fate of Kano Country was more important to himself and the Happo Navy.
"It's from the Grand Line's Joker." Victor narrated unhurriedly, as if telling a story: "This person is named 'Heavenly Yaksha' Donquixote Doflamingo, leading the 'Donquixote Family'—a rogue group that started from scratch in the North Blue. After controlling the North Blue's underworld, they advanced into the Grand Line a year ago and quickly established an intelligence network and arms transport lines to various parts of the world. The Saiblarm Kingdom is one of their customers.
In a few days, a steady stream of firearms and sharp blades will be transported to the Saiblarm Kingdom through a secret transport line, and Kano Country will immediately be at a disadvantage. At that time..."
Victor's last words were left unsaid, but Sai would surely understand.
Sai sat for a long while with a grim face, then suddenly picked up his wine glass and chugged it. Afterwards, he stood up and walked into the inner room. After more than ten minutes, he returned with a somewhat old notebook and handed it to Victor.
"This is my Armament Haki training notebook. I'm not very bright, so I wrote all the key points down. Burn it after you've read it, no problem?"
Victor took the notebook and casually flipped through it, almost crying from how ugly Sai's handwriting was. He closed the notebook and nodded solemnly to Sai:
"Please rest assured, I will burn this notebook immediately after reading it."
With that, Victor opened a zipper on his hand. The zipper revealed a deep, lightless space. He placed the notebook into the zippered space and then pulled out a West Blue sea chart from it, lightly tapping a spot near the entrance of Reverse Mountain: "I heard that unfamiliar ships occasionally appear here. As for anything else, I know nothing."
Sai's eyes lit up. He quickly dipped a chopstick in chili oil and dabbed a dot at the spot Victor had pointed. He couldn't find a pen at the moment.
"Thank you, my good friend! You haven't tasted our Kano Country's specialty dishes yet, have you? Boys, tell the chefs to bring out all their best dishes!!" Sai carefully put away the map and laughed loudly.
A lively and grand Kano Country-style banquet began!
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