Chapter 96 - The Legendary Four Great Pirates: Roger, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Bai Ye!
Kaido's Oni physique is actually similar to Big Mom's Iron Balloon.
However, the Iron Balloon's defense is clearly stronger, while Kaido's physique is slightly weaker in defense but stronger in recovery than the Iron Balloon. Big Mom's physique is strong in defense, but her recovery is indeed inferior to Kaido's; of course, recovery is also related to Kaido's Mythical Zoan.
Bai Ye could feel that his defense was much stronger than before. If another physique appeared, Bai Ye hoped he could draw King's physique.
"Captain seems very happy."
Tengetsu Toki tilted her head and looked at Bai Ye curiously, feeling that Bai Ye seemed somewhat pleased right now.
"Let's go, Toki, I'll take you to meet my crew!"
Bai Ye's perception also told him that Kaido and the others were dealing with the Kurozumi Clan.
Although he had just arrived in Wano Country, Bai Ye's Rumble-Rumble Fruit had already scanned the various forces here. He just needed to find them one by one and deal with them.
When they found Kaido and the others, Ginny looked at Bai Ye with some apology and said, "Captain Bai Ye, I'm truly sorry, I shouldn't have questioned your decision earlier!"
Saying that, Ginny knelt on the ground and kowtowed. She felt very guilty in her heart. After following Old John and others to see the disparity between the commoners and nobles of Wano Country, she realized how naive her previous thoughts had been.
The current Wano Country, before Oden came to power, was actually more chaotic. Many places couldn't even afford food, but the nobles were still enjoying themselves.
Seeing all of this, Ginny understood why Bai Ye wanted to eliminate all the noble class here.
Because these guys were parasites!
"So you understand now?"
Bai Ye said, glancing at Old John, who nodded.
Ginny also reflected on herself.
Actually, regarding Ginny and Kuma, Bai Ye always felt they were a bit like ticking time bombs, or rather, except for Old John, who only liked treasure, even Kaido was a bit like that.
Kaido was fine; he had ambition, but as long as he couldn't defeat himself, he would be a subordinate for life.
But Ginny and Kuma, in Bai Ye's opinion, were a bit too saintly, so he probably had to gradually change their views later on.
He just wouldn't believe that he couldn't change their way of thinking.
"Captain, I understand now. I won't question your decisions again!"
Ginny raised her head and looked at Bai Ye with firm eyes. From the moment she understood, she would no longer question Bai Ye.
"Good, then let me introduce you to a new member, Tengetsu Toki."
Bai Ye didn't press the issue further. Since Ginny had admitted her mistake and made a promise, there was no need for him to keep dwelling on it.
It was normal for their initial philosophies to be different; Bai Ye could slowly change them later.
And after Bai Ye's introduction, everyone finally noticed the woman behind Bai Ye.
Tengetsu?
Isn't that a noble from Wano Country?
"Ah, she's from a few hundred years ago."
"A few hundred years ago?! Are you kidding me!!"
Everyone felt that Bai Ye was joking. How could someone be from a few hundred years ago?
It's been hundreds of years, and she's not dead yet?
"She ate the Time-Time Fruit and is a Time Human who can travel to the future. She also came from the past to the present."
Bai Ye explained it to them. In fact, as partners later, they would also know Tengetsu Toki's Devil Fruit ability.
And this ability, while it says she can go to the future, actually has no other use besides traveling to the future when you don't understand the plot, or rather, Tengetsu Toki simply hasn't developed it.
Anyway, based on the abilities Bai Ye had asked her about before, she could only develop future travel for now. As for other abilities, she simply didn't have them.
"Time-Time Fruit?!"
Old John and Kaido's eyes flashed with surprise. Is there really such a buggy Devil Fruit?
And Bai Ye's luck was truly good; he just went out and found a Time-Time Fruit user.
"So, for now, there are seven of us here in total, right?"
The basic shape of a pirate crew was formed.
Captain Bai Ye, Vice-Captain and combatant Kaido, third-in-command, sniper, and ship's treasurer John, plus four apprentices.
"But this pirate crew doesn't have all the people it should!"
John took a swig of sake and slowly said.
"Let me think, for combat we have the three of us. Then the ship doctor will be Kuma and Ivankov. For intelligence, Ginny and Tengetsu Toki will be responsible. So, currently, we seem to be missing a navigator, a cook, and so on, right?"
Many people are still missing. On a pirate ship, no one can cook. Although Ginny and the other two can cook, the taste is only average. And there's no navigator; they've been relying on spatial ability for movement.
But if there are more people later, Bai Ye can't possibly transfer them all every day, right?
Later, Bai Ye also had the idea of forming divisions, and then he would let them each be responsible for their own divisions.
"Oh, by the way, Bai Ye, according to your method, these three Devil Fruits really regenerated!"
Saying that, Old John placed three Devil Fruits in front of Bai Ye: the Imitation Fruit, the Barrier Fruit, and the Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Yamata no Orochi form.
Although it might seem a bit unkind to turn on former teammates right after disbanding the pirate crew, to take over Wano Country, everyone standing in their way had to be eliminated.
"In that case, there are four Devil Fruits now."
Adding the Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit user he had eliminated before, Bai Ye pondered how to distribute these Devil Fruits next.
With that thought, he took the three Devil Fruits from John's hand, then took out the Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit he had obtained earlier.
"Ivankov, Ginny, do you want to eat a Devil Fruit?"
For now, only the two of them hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit.
In the anime, the most suitable Devil Fruit for Ivankov is the Hormone-Hormone Fruit, but it's not guaranteed to be found. So, if Ivankov were to eat a Devil Fruit, he would prioritize giving the Barrier Fruit to Ivankov.
"No, I don't plan on eating a Devil Fruit right now."
Ivankov shook his head, not interested in the abilities of these Devil Fruits.
"Bai Ye, I want that Mythical Zoan."
Kaido pointed at the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit in Bai Ye's hand and said.
"Didn't you already eat one, you bastard?"
A strange look flashed in Old John's eyes. He just asked for it right away. He was still waiting to ask Bai Ye if he could sell it.
Why are you, a Devil Fruit eater, joining in on the fun here?
"I plan to form a fleet composed of Animal-type Devil Fruit users!"
Before joining Bai Ye's pirate crew, Kaido had always wanted to build a pirate crew composed of Animal-type Devil Fruit users. However, for now, his dream seemed unachievable, but he wasn't going to give up. He planned to form a fleet first.
Therefore, this Devil Fruit was very useful to him.
"Alright, this Devil Fruit is yours. Find a powerful person to eat it; don't waste it!"
Bai Ye nodded and tossed the Yamata no Orochi form to Kaido. He also knew roughly what Kaido was thinking. Bai Ye didn't fancy this Devil Fruit either.
However, this ability was completely wasted in Orochi's hands.
Given to a powerful person, they could bring out its full potential.
"Captain, can I eat that Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit?"
Ginny hesitated. She originally didn't want to eat it, but then she thought about how weak her strength was, and this Devil Fruit seemed to be calling to her.
So, she hoped to eat this Devil Fruit.
"Yes, this Devil Fruit suits your characteristics very well."
Bai Ye nodded and gave the Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit to Ginny.
There were still two Devil Fruits left. Old John was eager to move. Since no one else had asked for them, he wouldn't be polite.
"I think our finances are tight right now, Bai Ye. Should I help you deal with these two Devil Fruits?"
"The Imitation Fruit can be sold, but I plan to keep the Barrier Fruit to see if there's a suitable person to give it to later."
Compared to the Barrier Fruit, the Imitation Fruit was actually somewhat dispensable.
Upon hearing Bai Ye's words, Old John's face lit up with joy. Although it was only one Devil Fruit, it was enough.
"Alright, then I'll sell this Imitation Fruit for you!"
Old John joyfully took the Devil Fruit and carefully preserved it. Since no one wanted the last Devil Fruit, Bai Ye temporarily kept it.
Ginny, on the other hand, ate the Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit. After eating it, she felt the presence of wind, and the wind seemed to be transmitting sounds to her from afar.
"Captain, I seem to be able to hear distant sounds, and from now on, I seem to be able to have the wind carry my desired words to people far away."
On the battlefield, if they were spread out far apart, it seemed like it could play a supporting role, but she also knew that the Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit was definitely not that simple. Her combat ability was the most important aspect.
"If you have any questions about developing your Devil Fruit later, you can come to me. And Toki, you too. Your Devil Fruit has great development potential. Can you try developing it like this, for example, setting up a barrier? Inside this time barrier, the outside time flows faster, while the time inside the time barrier flows slower, or vice versa, and it can be stopped at any time."
There were too many ideas for developing the Time-Time Fruit's ability.
"I can try that."
Tengetsu Toki wasn't very confident, but if she were to try, it didn't seem impossible.
"What about Wano Country then? What do you plan to do?"
The Kozuki Clan and Kurozumi Clan of Wano Country had already been eliminated, but there was still a lot of internal resistance.
"Bring in a group, eliminate a group. If people are willing to accept our proposals, then let them live. If not, eliminate them."
Reforming Wano Country wasn't just about talking. What truly needed to be done was killing, and after that, simply providing these people with work, ensuring their basic needs, and then using laws to control the samurai who had some power. After winning over the commoners to their side, they could later transform Wano Country into everything he hoped for.
"I have something to say!"
Kaido raised his hand; he had a request.
Looking at Bai Ye, he quickly said, "After this matter is over, I want to go out to sea for a while and then find some good prospects to bring back to Wano Country for training."
There weren't many suitable people in Wano Country. Kaido wanted to go out and find some people to bring back and then establish his own division.
Although he wasn't the Captain, his division members had to go through his own rigorous selection process.
"Then I'll go out too. I need to bring my treasures back to Wano Country, but I'll say it beforehand, Bai Ye, you all can't covet them!"
Old John was worried that after so many years of being away, his treasures would be discovered and taken by others, so he decided to bring all his treasures back.
"Then I'll go with you?"
Bai Ye's eyes darted. He also wanted to see how much treasure Captain John really had.
Besides, he still needed to go to Sky Island and take the gold there.
"You don't want Wano Country anymore?"
Old John looked at Bai Ye in surprise. If all three of them left, relying only on Kuma and the other three, they probably wouldn't be able to hold Wano Country, right?
"Isn't he here?"
Saying that, a clone appeared beside Bai Ye. He left a Shadow Clone here, and he also knew the coordinates, so he could return at any time with Kamui. As long as the Shadow Clone was here, nothing would happen to Wano Country.
"Then you, the main body, go. I'll watch over things here!"
"Oh, and make sure to supervise the training of those four. Make sure they train well!"
Among these four, Ivankov had combat potential, Kuma was at the Shichibukai level, at least a Yonko Commander-level combatant, Ginny's strength was unknown, and Tengetsu Toki was very weak, but both of their Devil Fruits had high potential, and Bai Ye was very willing to train them.
"It's really strange."
Old John mumbled, but he didn't say anything. The stronger Bai Ye was, the better it was for him.
He understood that he could only follow Bai Ye now. His life was originally saved by Bai Ye. If it weren't for Bai Ye at God Valley, he would have truly died.
"Then you all must train hard from now on. I'll be watching you closely!"
The Shadow Clone smiled at the group. Except for Kuma, the faces of the others instantly fell, feeling a sense of foreboding.
Pirate Bai Ye: [Wano Country has been taken. Now we just wait for the Great Pirate Era of Competition. I'll lay low in Wano Country for a while.]
Naruto Bai Ye: [I'm really looking forward to the legendary Four Great Pirates now!]
From the original three great pirates—Whitebeard, Roger, and Golden Lion—adding one more to the competition feels quite fated.
Pirate Bai Ye: [Roughly, the next steps depend on your actions.]
He didn't have anything else to do for now. Next, he would wait for others to get drawing opportunities.
[PS: A note on the timeline. It's possible that in some worlds, ten-odd days have passed, while in other worlds, it's only been like one day. Because the author writes according to major events, there will definitely be some timeline bugs. Please don't dwell on the timeline.]