Pirates: Usurping a Kingdom Is Surprisingly Easy

By the time the ransom fleets from Kano Country and Wano Country arrived at Onigashima Island, Emperor Kael and his group had already returned from Winter Island. From midway, their Exile Emperor had flown into the sky, accelerating its return.

Emperor Kael and Issho were worried that Marquis Aramaki alone wouldn't be able to keep these two pirate nations, which had been rampant for many years, in check. And indeed, the situation was pretty much as they feared.

When the pillars and Daimyo from both countries arrived and saw that Emperor Kael and Issho were absent, with only Aramaki present, they once again had the idea of eliminating Aramaki. With only Aramaki as a strong expert, along with Reiju, Eric, Zoro, and the like, they seemed to genuinely have a chance to seize the people. Such a large ransom indeed made their hearts ache immensely.

However, the two pillars from Kano Country, seeing the six shriveled pillars who were bound, were filled with apprehension and dared not act rashly. On the other hand, the two Daimyo from Wano Country had flickering gazes, considering the possibility of attacking Aramaki.

Of course, what they thought more about was killing all the bound pillars. Wano Country had suffered such heavy losses this time, with several Daimyo dead. If Kano Country didn't lose a similar number of pillars, it would completely upset the balance between Wano Country and Kano Country.

Therefore, for the future of Wano Country, Kano Country also needed to lose a similar number of pillars. The two Daimyo exchanged glances, completely abandoning the idea of ambushing Aramaki, and instead focused on eliminating the Kano Country pillars.

"Piercing Marquis, Wano Country has fewer captives, please allow us to ransom our people first," The two Daimyo quickly instructed their subordinates to bring up the ransom for the few Daimyo and some surviving samurai. This time, Wano Country had so many samurai killed by Emperor Kael and Aramaki, which ironically meant Wano Country had much less ransom to pay.

"Ah ha ha ha, sensible, no problem." Aramaki waved his big hand, telling Eric and the Clone Soldiers to collect the money and release these shriveled Daimyo. They easily gained 100 to 200 million Berries.

"Thank you, Marquis Aramaki, we will certainly abide by Emperor Kael's peaceful mediation." The two Daimyo immediately took these shriveled Daimyo and the surviving elites and quickly withdrew.

The pillars of Kano Country watched the people of Wano Country leave, and they also gave up the idea of forcibly seizing their people. Originally, they wanted to cooperate with Wano Country, but these two bastard Daimyo had no intention of communicating. They could only painfully instruct their subordinates to bring out 400 to 500 million Berries and treasures.

So much money made Eric tremble with excitement. When he was in the East Blue, he couldn't even earn tens of millions of Berries in a year, but Emperor Kael's single war brought in 60 to 70 billion Berries in ransom and reparations. This was too profitable! This didn't even include the supplies and weapons confiscated from the two countries' armies. Now, this Transponder Snail Warship was already filled with various supplies and treasures.

"You fools, you'd rather pay money than hand over the Impact Fist martial arts." Aramaki watched his subordinates move the money onto the snail warship, and he directly released these shriveled pillars and soldiers. Emperor Kael had told him to act expediently and extract some Kano Country martial arts, but these stubborn individuals were all people who valued their inheritance over money. Aramaki was also helpless. He had indeed noticed the subtle glances from these ransom teams, and he even wished these pillars and Daimyo would make a move. Then he could take both the ransom and the people, forcing Kano Country and Wano Country to pay ransom again. But these guys endured and didn't act. This left Aramaki quite disappointed. He wasn't afraid at all of these two pillars and two Daimyo cooperating.

The shriveled Don Chinjao was unwillingly carried away by the Kano Country navy. His grandson Don Sai had taken Emperor Kael to steal his treasure, and he didn't know if the Treasure Jade Ice Mountain had been opened or how much treasure had been plundered. Other shriveled pillars were not so despairing.

Because Wano Country had lost several Daimyo and countless samurai were slain, its national strength was greatly diminished. Once the bastards from the Goa Empire left the West Blue, whatever Kano Country lost at the hands of Emperor Kael, they would take back from Wano Country with interest. Perhaps they could even wipe out Wano Country in one fell swoop, taking a big step towards dominating the West Blue. And when Kano Country became the West Blue Overlord in the future, they would then properly contend with this East Blue Overlord.

"So much money, so much money! The snail warship can't hold any more!" Eric laughed maniacally, his eyes turning into the shape of Berries. Meanwhile, Zoro and Saga vigilantly watched as the people from Wano Country and Kano Country departed.

"Tch, I was hoping they'd all be unable to resist making a move." Aramaki watched the departing Kano Country troops, his tone a little disappointed. If only these guys had dared to act, he would have drained all these ransom teams too.

"Why hasn't Emperor Kael returned yet? We need Bege's castle to store the money and weapons." Eric looked at the weapons piled on the beach below the snail warship, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

"His Majesty's earning speed is something even Germa can't compare to," Even Reiju, a Germa princess, had never seen so much war reparations. Their mercenary missions usually paid a few billion Berries, and large missions exceeding 10 billion Berries were not common.

Just at this moment, on one side of Onigashima Island's coast, intense cannon fire erupted. The warships of Wano Country had brazenly launched a fierce attack on the retreating Kano Country forces. The countless Kano Country naval soldiers, whose nutrients had been absorbed by Aramaki, were too weak to resist Wano Country's long-prepared cannon assault. Even the shriveled pillars were targeted by Wano Country, being heavily bombarded with plague and poison gas shells.

"You all must die! Whatever Wano Country lost, you must lose the same amount!" The eyes of the two Wano Country Daimyo were already filled with murderous intent. If these Kano Country pillars and elites returned safely this time, Wano Country would sooner or later be finished.

It was better to strike first while Kano Country's pillars were drained by Aramaki, lacking the power to resist, and their army's weapons had been confiscated by the Goa Empire. This way, Kano Country would be pulled onto the same starting line. Only then could Wano Country continue to contend with Kano Country in the future.

"Damn it! You despicable Wano Country scum!"

"It was the Goa Empire that killed your Daimyo and soldiers! Why don't you seek revenge from them?!" The two Kano Country pillars' eyes turned red with rage as they desperately protected the six weakened pillars.

But one pillar was still instantly blasted, crippled, and poisoned to death, while another pillar was severely wounded, afflicted with plague and potent venom.

"Because the Goa Empire is strong, we respect the strong!" The two Daimyo shouted very earnestly, continuing to order their subordinates to bombard and kill the Kano Country forces. So what if they bullied the weak and feared the strong?! Without strength, one should bow their head and respect the strong. If one day their strength caught up, they would let the Goa Empire know what cruelty meant! The two sides fiercely clashed on the coastline, and war ignited once again. What peaceful mediation? That would at least require both countries to suffer equal losses before a true ceasefire could occur. Otherwise, Wano Country could only await its demise.

"Yo-ho, they've started fighting again." A swirling flower behind Aramaki quickly flew through the sky, excitedly watching the two nations reignite their conflict. It seemed these two countries had not given Emperor Kael face and completely ceased hostilities. That meant they had another reason to continue joining this war.