Arceus's Pirate Journey

Chapter 160: Chapter 159: The Betrayer

Babanuki, who ended the battle, appeared somewhat lethargic, a result of Slaking’s ability. Although powerful, continuous combat would lead to diminished strength due to his laziness, which is why he was appointed as a guard.

His ability is more suited for battling on home ground. Despite the side effects, it doesn’t overshadow the power of his ability. Besides, it’s reasonable for a Warden’s ability to have some side effects.

Even though he gave the order to send people to Ghost Island, he didn’t remain idle. The defeated pirate prisoners continued to be sent for labor, while the local thugs of Wano Kuni were gathered together.

”Everyone, we’ve known each other for quite some time now. After spending so much time together, I believe none of you are dissatisfied, right?”

Babanuki’s words slightly angered the crowd, but no one refuted. They were all thugs, inherently bullying the weak and fearing the strong. The so-called courage and righteousness were rarely found among Wano Kuni’s thugs, perhaps one or two at most.

Most thugs use this as a pretext to cover up their nature of bullying the weak and troubling the villages.

The strength of the guards at Udon Mine compared to these thugs is overwhelming, and any rebellion will only lead to more suffering for themselves.

On the contrary, working obediently might lead to a transfer to a better place or even release. Though rare, there have been a couple of model workers who regained their freedom.

Their diligent labor taught them the value of freedom. Upon returning home, they became much more honest, to the astonishment of their neighbors. The Udon Mine became a new reason for adults to scare children.

Seeing no one stepping forward to challenge him, Babanuki displayed a satisfied smile.

”Today, an intruder appeared here. I don’t believe he intruded for no reason.” This place isn’t a spot for hiking, and since he just mentioned taking some newcomers out, the conclusion is quite obvious already.

”Among your newcomers, someone is connected to him. Whoever can report this will get three days of leave and meat. The spot is limited to one person.”

He gestured to his subordinates, and Kinemon, who was shackled on a wooden cart with chains, was paraded around for everyone to see his face.

Though Babanuki was confident he had severely injured him, the fact that he wasn’t dead yet indicated his strong vitality. To prevent him from waking up halfway, Babanuki ordered other pirates to shackle him with chains made of Seastone.

Seastone is scarce in the outside world, but in Wano Kuni, it’s a common material. It’s just the forging process that’s difficult.

Moreover, Babanuki believed Kinemon was an ability user. Whether it was the smoke appearing during his earlier costume change or his ability to set his sword aflame, both made Babanuki suspicious.

To be safe, he had Kinemon securely chained up. Although King is an expert in interrogation, it’s essential to gather basic information before sending him away.

”His name is Kinemon, he is...”

”His name is Kinemon, also known as Foxfire Kin’emon. Now, he’s a retainer of Kozuki Oden! His wife Tsuru lives in Kuri Boluo Town and runs a teahouse there!”

One person had just recognized Kinemon, but before he could finish his sentence, someone beside him spoke up first.

”Hey! Weren’t you his former lackey!”

”So... so what, that was all in the past...” Though they were both betraying Kinemon, his former lackey was quicker than anyone else and, relying on familiarity with Kinemon, revealed even more details.

Having been captured here for a while, he had had enough. There was no escape, so he would certainly not pass up any chance to leave.

”Very good, excellent. Reward him and transfer this person to the most exhausting position.”

Watching the quarrelling thugs, Babanuki ordered that the reward be given to the first person to speak and then moved Kinemon’s traitorous lackey to the most laborious position.

”Why? Didn’t you say...”

All he received was a whip from the guards.

”Let me reiterate one point, only the first person to speak gets the reward, interrupting is invalid. And the most important point of this Udon Mine is that here, I! am the boss! He’s here to save you guys, scumbags who betray their leader should work here until they die.”

Subsequently, under his orders, the crowd continued with their work, and Kinemon, along with his identity information, was sent to Ghost Island.

...

”Brother King, that’s how it is. He infiltrated Udon Mine and was then captured by Warden Babanuki. Here is his personal information.”

”Understood, send him inside and let Nightin deal with him first.” After checking Kinemon’s injuries with a few touches, King issued new instructions.

Over the years, Nightin had proven her worth. Except for not officially joining the Hundred Beasts Pirates, she was no different from their internal members. However, she was very resolute in this regard, always working hard to save money for Wald’s comeback.

Kinemon’s condition obviously couldn’t withstand interrogation, so he had Nightin attend to him. Nightin and Queen represented the traditional medicine and modern medicine branches of the current Hundred Beasts Pirates, each with significant achievements in their fields.

Nightin simply didn’t have the authority to command Hundred Beasts combat members or know internal plans. Information on Kinemon didn’t need to be hidden from her. She used some medicines to sustain his life before glancing at the sent intelligence.

”Haven’t all the inquiries been made already? What do you still need to interrogate?”

”Sometimes, interrogation isn’t to get results; I just need the process.” King flexed his hands and then took out various oddly shaped items. With just a glance, Nightin could see their effects.

They didn’t damage the body but could cause immense pain, an area where King’s research was probably more comprehensive than hers as a doctor.

”Did you drink the herbal remedies I prescribed for you earlier? You really need treatment; I don’t know how you’ve endured this, but an ordinary person like you would’ve gone mad long ago.”

”Ordinary people would’ve been dead long ago. That’s not your concern, as long as those guys are doing well, I won’t have any problems... However, your medicine does seem to have an effect.”

Before leaving, King admitted this. Nightin was proficient in herbal medicine. While not immediately effective in many things, she excelled in recuperation.

She believed both King and Shaina had certain mental issues. If allowed to develop unchecked, it couldn’t be helped. So she prescribed recuperative treatments for them.

Of course, those methods were only superficial resolutions and weren’t much different from their usual therapy methods. Only they could cure themselves, and the special medicine for these ailments lived on the Red Earth Continent.