CHAPTER 265: [265] : WANO LIBERATED! NIKA’S EVOLUTION!

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Wano Country.

Under the joint rule of Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi, this place had been completely transformed into a logistical war machine.

To build his army of Devil Fruit users, Kaido had constructed numerous factories here, all dedicated to producing the raw materials for artificial SMILE fruits.

The production process generated massive amounts of pollution, completely contaminating the land and poisoning the rivers.

Hunger had become a constant, gnawing reality for its people.

But now, with the Beasts Pirates having been completely and smoothly absorbed into Rowen’s forces, and the current Shogun of Wano, user of the Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Yamata no Orochi—Kurozumi Orochi captured.

—Vast quantities of food and clean water were being distributed to the populace in the name of the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet.

In truth, Wano was a country that had never lacked for wealth.

Though incredibly isolationist, rejecting any dealings with the World Government or outsiders (its only ally being Zou)—Wano was the origin point of Seastone, and its craftsmen possessed unique techniques for forging it.

Furthermore, many famed swords and renowned swordsmiths hailed from Wano.

With these resources and production capabilities, Wano’s financial strength was not weak at all—in fact, it was very strong.

This was why Kaido had targeted it in the first place.

Only its rich resources and production capacity could provide the necessary output for the war Kaido intended to wage.

It was just that all this wealth had been seized by Kaido and Orochi, leaving the people to starve.

To possess such excellent resources and production capacity, plus his own formidable strength, and his connections to the Whitebeard and Roger Pirates—for Kozuki Oden to still lose Wano to Kaido... the man’s foolishness was indescribable.

But Wano itself was an arc built on Japanese values—a mix of pride, sensitivity, and the so-called ’Bushido’ code.

For them to suffer such hardship was, in a way, what they deserved.

Within the shogun’s palace that had belonged to Kurozumi Orochi, the amount of treasure was astonishing. And though the Beasts Pirates had spent most of their fortune on manufacturing artificial Devil Fruits, their remaining resources were still considerable.

Of course, all of this now belonged to Rowen, to the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet.

Ace and the others had also located the core member of the Kozuki family, Kozuki Hiyori, who had been living under the alias ’Komurasaki’.

The 16th Division Commander, Izou, had also returned to Wano.

Under the efforts of Hiyori and Izou, using the Kozuki family name as a rallying cry, the remnants of their forces were all gathered.

The situation in Wano was preliminarily stabilized.

"Rowen, that’s the situation here. The main problem is still the polluted water sources," Ace reported to Rowen, who had now arrived in Wano.

Water was the source of life.

Even in the One Piece world with its miraculous powers, without water, you couldn’t grow food, couldn’t engage in production, couldn’t sustain life.

"That problem isn’t difficult to solve," Rowen commented, his gaze sweeping over the assembled remnants of the Kozuki clan.

Aside from a few, the rest could only be described as hideously ugly and bizarrely shaped.

Rowen seriously suspected Oda had a vendetta against the Japanese.

The character designs for Wano—few of the samurai were designed as normal people, instead showcasing elements like dwarves, sumo wrestlers, and kappa to the extreme.

And the ninja element, so grand in other Japanese anime, was designed to be quite sleazy.

"From now on, Wano will become an affiliated nation under the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet. As for Zou, you will coordinate with them, Hiyori,"

Rowen stated, looking at the woman who had been known as Komurasaki, hailed as the most beautiful woman in Wano.

"I will follow Sky Sovereign Rowen’s every command," Hiyori replied with exceptional compliance.

This was the man who had killed Kaido. His power was beyond question.

And this man, completely different from Kaido, had not subjected them to violent rule. Instead, he had returned the nominal authority to their Kozuki family, restoring their ancient rule over Wano.

All he asked was for Wano to become an affiliated nation, enjoying the same treatment and obligations as other affiliated nations.

They would provide an annual tribute of resources, and in return, the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet would help Wano rebuild and provide protection.

Of course, due to Kaido and Orochi’s rule, Wano currently had no money to offer.

But they could use the Seastone weapons and famed swords crafted in Wano as payment. And the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet would provide resources to help Wano restore normal production.

Wano would receive money and aid for reconstruction.

The Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet would receive the resources needed for war.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

This was why Rowen had returned the governance of Wano to the Kozuki family.

What Rowen needed were the war resources here. Both the Seastone forging techniques and the creation of famed swords were incredibly valuable war assets in the One Piece world.

As for treasure and money—the current Rowen had no lack of it.

Whitebeard’s treasures and territories were completely absorbed by Rowen. The Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates were also completely absorbed by him.

Katakuri was, in the end, a good older brother who considered his siblings above all. For their safety, Katakuri had accepted Rowen’s conditions.

Rowen would not kill any of the Big Mom Pirates’ members, and Katakuri would lead his siblings to become an affiliated pirate crew of the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet.

For Katakuri and the others, there was no choice. Not joining meant complete annihilation and death. Joining—was just becoming a vassal of the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet, like the Beasts Pirates.

Plus, Rowen had even summoned Big Mom’s soul from the underworld.

Big Mom, having experienced death, her maternal love was completely awakened. After talking with each of her children—they were moved to tears.

Subsequently, Katakuri led the Big Mom Pirates to completely join Rowen’s command. The process was even smoother than Rowen had anticipated. He had originally planned to make some promises to the deceased Big Mom about realizing her dream.

But it turned out to be unnecessary—the motherly love-awakened Big Mom, through heart-to-heart talks, made Katakuri and the others willingly join Rowen’s command.

Though unexpected, it was also within reason.

After all, Big Mom herself would occasionally have bursts of maternal affection. For it to be completely awakened after death was not particularly surprising.

Rowen, in turn, showed his trust in Katakuri, giving him full authority to handle the absorption of the Big Mom Pirates.

Katakuri did not disappoint Rowen; the former territories of the Big Mom Pirates now flew Sky Sovereign’s flag.

The tallied treasures and resources reached an astonishing number and were transported to the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet’s headquarters.

Thus, the vast wealth accumulated by three of the old Four Emperors, plus the immense gold obtained from Skypiea—meant Rowen had no need to worry about money.

Rather than spending time and energy to completely rule Wano, it was better to invest some of his less important money and resources to quickly obtain the needed war resources.

This was also a common practice of victorious nations towards defeated ones on Earth.

"As for purifying the water..." Rowen smiled.

VMM! CRACK! CRACK!

An Air Door opened in the sky above one of Wano’s polluted rivers.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Rowen’s body transformed into lightning, instantly appearing above various water sources. Then, his Paw-Paw Fruit ability activated.

Before the BUG-level Paw-Paw Fruit ability, which could even expel pain and illness, the pollutants in the water sources were all expelled.

Then, these pollutants were all collected in special containers that Rowen had Franky, Queen, and the others research and create these past few days.

The water sources—were completely purified.

And all of this was broadcast live throughout Wano.

"Citizens of Wano—I am Kozuki Hiyori," Hiyori delivered a nationwide speech.

Thus, Wano was liberated.

"What an intense Desire for Liberation," Rowen, having Awakened his Nika form’s power, could clearly feel the presence of this desire.

Then, he began to collect it.

"As expected... it can still be digested,"

Rowen looked at the change in his Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika Trait and smiled.

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