Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

"so……"

Yamato pushed the bowl of sake towards Arn again and said, "Would you please drink this sake to the brim and tell me what my choice should be?"

[629. Chapter 630 "Intense" Negotiations]

Yaon gazed into Yamato's amber eyes, a rare hint of complexity in his gaze.

The woman before me seems to have remained unchanged from beginning to end. Everything she does is based on the perspective of Wano Country. For her, her childhood, her hometown, and her dream are all Wano Country.

It's incredibly pure, just like how Luffy, for the sake of his dream of becoming the Pirate King, doesn't care at all about the position of his naval hero grandfather.

In the past, Yamato never concealed her hostility towards her father Kaido in order to maintain peace in Wano Country.

Even now that Yamato understands what the World Government and the Navy represent, and is caught in the complex situation of Wano Country, has she not been afraid of the World Government and the Navy's power, and is she trying to fight for the independence and opening of Wano Country that she dreams of?

In a daze, Yann took the wine bowl from Yamato's hand and said, "Yamato, your amber eyes are so pure, and the light of your dreams is so beautiful."

"Huh? Huh?"

Yamato's expression froze instantly, then he became incredibly awkward and stammered, "Idiot... idiot, who told you to say that?"

Looking at Yamato's expression, Aon was somewhat surprised.

Yamato, who is usually very outgoing and doesn't consider herself a woman at all, would actually show such an expression?

Immediately, Yann looked down at the crystal-clear sake in his hand, which was clearly a type of sake unique to Wano Country, and then said.

"Yamato, that's my assessment of you. A person who shines with the light of pure dreams does indeed possess a unique charm and appeal. No wonder you were able to subdue all the remaining samurai forces in Wano Country in just a few months."

"Hmph~~"

Yamato, who seemed inexplicably flustered, gave a cold snort in an awkward tone, as if trying to express his disdain for Aon's exaggeration. However, the unconsciously drawn-out tone sounded more like a coquettish act, which made Yamato's expression even more unnatural. He simply grabbed his wine bowl and clinked it against Aon's.

"Gurgle gurgle~~"

Yamato finished his large bowl of sake in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Yaon seemed to be infected by Yamato's boldness and also started drinking with Yamato.

'It seems that it's okay to be a little reckless today. It's actually easier to explain what happened later if I get drunk...' Yann thought to himself.

As Yamato watched Aon drink the wine, a radiant smile bloomed on his face, and he laughed heartily as he spoke.

"Hahaha, as expected, those idiots don't understand you at all, nor do they understand the friendship between us. They even told me not to trust you and insisted that you would never drink and lose your mind no matter what."

"Yamato, true feelings cannot be measured by what is in a cup, but since it is your invitation, it would be a good choice to pour a few cups into my stomach."

Upon hearing this, Yamato's interest was greatly piqued, and he drank heartily with Arn.

“That’s right, Yann, let’s do it again…”

……

Outside the reception room, Lucci stood alone with his back to the door, his expression cold and stern. Facing the many samurai before him, he showed no weakness, but rather looked like a wild beast looking down at its prey.

Even though Lucci was just one person, these samurai who had once enjoyed great fame in Wano Country inexplicably felt a sense of apprehension.

In particular, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, as members of the Mink Tribe, almost instinctively extended their claws hidden in their paws, revealing their canine teeth and raising their fur.

Noticing Inuarashi and Nekomamushi's unusual behavior, Denjiro, also a former member of the "Nine Red Scabbards," couldn't help but ask with some confusion.

"Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, what's wrong with you two?"

"It's an instinctive reaction; this guy exudes a dangerous aura," the cat viper said, his tone filled with apprehension.

Inuarashi, also a member of the Mink Tribe, chimed in.

"Although I really wanted to laugh at Cat Viper's cowardice, he was right. This guy is dangerous, even more dangerous than the previous CP0s I've encountered."

Upon hearing this, the other samurai looked at Lucci with unusual caution.

The fact that both Nekomamushi and Inuarashi, who are quite at odds with each other, acknowledged the threat was enough to demonstrate the level of danger this man posed.

However... this is samurai territory!

Denjiro crossed his arms, his crescent-shaped eyes revealing a hint of danger as he stared at Lucci and spoke.

“CP9 guys, please stay away from the meeting room, or I’ll have to reconsider your intentions.”

Lucci glanced at Denjiro, then at the other samurai, his expression unchanged, and he didn't even seem inclined to speak.

Immediately, at Denjiro's signal, many samurai showed signs of attacking, seemingly intending to forcibly subdue Lucci.

Sensing the blatant hostility, Lucci lowered his arms from his chest and slightly raised his head.

At this moment, Lucci's eyes beneath his hat brim had transformed into a chilling, wild, and warlike azure, and his physique had also subtly changed, exuding an invisible aggression.

The tense standoff lasted for several breaths, but neither side actually made a move.

Besides being wary of the danger emanating from Lucci, the samurai also hesitated because a direct attack would affect the negotiations between Yamato and Vice Admiral Arn in the reception room.

Lucci, on the other hand, simply waited for the samurai to make their move.

If those samurai make the first move, Lucci will not hesitate to tear those who dare to disturb Lord Arn to shreds.

"Humph!"

Denjiro snorted coldly, his hand on the scabbard loosening, and said instead, "Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and I will stay here. The rest of you will spread out and surround the courtyard."

Lucci did not react to the samurai's actions of surrounding the entire courtyard, and remained motionless guarding the door to the reception room.

Lucci knew very well that those guys were not qualified to threaten Lord Arne, and all he needed to do was prevent them from interfering with Lord Arne's important negotiations.

As the only one on this trip who knew Yann's true plan, Lucci was very clear that whether Lord Yann could persuade Yamato to join the "Seven Warlords of the Sea" would affect which plan would be implemented later.

'By now, the heated negotiations between Lord Arn and Yamato must have reached a very intense stage, right?'

Not only Lucci, but also the six CP0 members who had been lying in ambush in different locations around the "Beast Warriors" base had the same idea.

Based on Yamato's past attitude, this round of negotiations is expected to be quite difficult and...intense.

[Chapter 630. I've Treated You as a Partner]

"Gurgle gurgle~~~"

Inside the reception room, filled with the unique aroma of sake, Yamato was gulping down large mouthfuls of sake, her actions and demeanor exuding a unique charm of a female hero.

"boom!"

Yamato slammed the wine jar down on the ground, let out a burp, and said to Arn with flushed cheeks.

"You...you said you couldn't drink, but...hiccup, you can actually drink..."

Yaen gracefully finished his drink, smiling as he said, "It's not that I can't drink at all, I can drink a little bit..."

Just as Yann was aware of his physical weaknesses, he not only did everything he could to strengthen his physique, but also compensated for them by specializing in the speed of "Instant Step".

Yann's poor alcohol tolerance is largely related to his physical condition, but it's not entirely uncompensable.

For example, the special research project set up in Luo's research institute for this purpose—"Research on life factors related to alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase"—has achieved quite stable results and has been applied to Yaen, greatly improving the levels of alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase in Yaen's body.

Therefore, for Yann, as long as he slows down his drinking speed even slightly, under the action of a large amount of alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase in his body, he will at most be slightly tipsy, and will never be to the point of affecting his rationality.

"I don't believe it! Damn it, I can't even outdrink you..."

Yamato shook his head, stood up straight, casually took off most of his kimono, which was already completely soaked with sake, and picked up the sake jar with his bare arms and gulped it down.

As Yann chuckled, he noticed a glimpse of white on Yamato's chest out of the corner of his eye, and his expression stiffened.

That is……

Yaen swallowed hard, his slightly tipsy but calm eyes revealing a hint of emotion and sentimentality.

Beneath the kimono that Yamato had taken off, there was still the strip of cloth that he had torn from his cloak and given to Yamato in the past.

Despite Yamato's current status, having everything from fine clothes and gourmet food to fine wine, she still keeps and uses that strip of cloth.

At this moment, Yan truly felt the pure affection and importance that came from Yamato.

This idiot... does he really consider me a complete partner?

"Tsk~"

Ya'en couldn't help but let out a slightly self-deprecating sound, and put down the wine bowl in his hand.

Yamato noticed Aon's actions, put down the wine jar he had almost finished drinking, let out a burp, and asked somewhat unsteadily.

"What's wrong? Have you given up?"

"Ah, I surrender, Yamato..."

Yann sighed, then looked up and said.

"I'm really defeated by you. Maybe people do become more sentimental after drinking. There are some things I need to explain to you."

Upon hearing this, Yamato's somewhat dazed eyes cleared up a bit, and he sat down cross-legged again to wait for Yann to speak.

Immediately, Yaon looked at Yamato, whose beautiful gradient scalp was falling down as if he were completely unprepared, and said.

"Yamato, I originally prepared ten different lines for this conversation with you..."

"Ya'en, do you really value me that much?" Yamato asked in return.

"Of course, besides being a friend, you are now the leader representing the samurai forces of the old Wano Country..."

After a pause, Yann continued.

"I'm sorry, Yamato. I know you admire and yearn for the samurai, but for most samurai in Wano Country today, they are just remnants of the old era... nothing more! A bunch of remnants who haven't even found the real path and only blindly try to restore the old ways."

Yamato gently bit her rosy lips, her amber eyes reflecting on Arn, whose expression seemed completely different from before, and asked.

"So, in your opinion, what is the true path? Where does the future of Wano Country lie...?"

Yaon's eyelids closed slightly, then he said calmly, "Now, Wano Country is on the right track."

"Wh...what?"

After saying those words unconsciously, Yamato suddenly realized how terrifying the amount of information contained in them was.

This means that... the current state of Wano Country is what Aon expects and is satisfied with, and even considering Aon's position, one could think about it more deeply...

At that moment, Yamato's eyes narrowed involuntarily.

Noticing the change in Yamato's expression, Arn sighed and then asked.

"Yamato, you're stuck in the Flower Capital where all the civilians have fled. Besides Jack, Sasaki, and the other pirate remnants, all you have around you are those remaining samurai who are gathering towards you. It's been a long time since you've really seen any civilians, hasn't it?"

"The reason we can't see any civilians is because of the war! The war between the Navy and the Revolutionary Army! All the civilians can only flee in panic and helplessness, escaping the once incredibly prosperous Flower Capital." Yamato said through gritted teeth.