"What in the world happened, Nekomamushi!" Raizo cried hoarsely, his breath somewhat unstable.
Nekomamushi, still heavily bandaged, moved with great difficulty.
He looked at Raizo, sighed deeply, and said in a hoarse, helpless voice, "Because there was no other way."
Meanwhile, Usopp and his two companions, who had been eagerly anticipating the Ninja's appearance, now seemed to have all their strength drained, kneeling on the ground with gloomy expressions, pounding the ground with their fists and whimpering, just like they were possessed by a Negative Ghost.
Luffy, who had been dazed from being beaten, finally realized that the Ninja he had been expecting was gone!
His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground, his eyes vacant, as if he had lost his soul, completely lifeless, continuously muttering, "Such a big face."
Orochimaru grew even angrier upon hearing this. "Then how did you look at him and mistake him for me!"
Chopper whined, "He feels so slow when he runs."
No one expected Franky to be the most affected. He silently shed tears, his voice choked, "That was Raizo."
Usopp gritted his teeth in anger and roared, "How can something like that be a Ninja!"
Zoro stroked his chin, his gaze assessing Raizo, and slowly said, "He doesn't have that Ninja-like feeling."
Even the usually composed Law couldn't help but let out a disappointed "Tch."
Raizo's face was a mess of tears when he heard the others' voices.
He looked up and immediately met the gaze of the group of people, all with looks of disdain, and couldn't help but frown deeply.
"You are not from this country! Who exactly are you?!" Raizo asked, alert and somewhat annoyed.
No sooner had he spoken than he saw Kin'emon and Kanjuro following closely behind, descending from above.
Raizo's eyes instantly filled with pleasant surprise, and he excitedly called out, "Kin'emon! Kanjuro! It's so good to see you safe and sound! Where is Lord Momonosuke?"
Kin'emon's expression was somewhat solemn, and he sighed deeply, saying, "He's throwing a tantrum down there, refusing to come up.
Lord Momonosuke found out about Orochimaru and is having a hard time accepting it. Never mind, I'll just unlock your chains."
Raizo also sighed after hearing this. He understood that such things were a common occurrence in Wano Country.
In that land, children without inheritance rights seemed destined to exist only as appendages to the heir from birth.
Moreover, Momonosuke had always considered himself the heir; who would have thought that fate would play such a trick?
But at this moment, Luffy and the others still wore expressions of disdain (눈‸눈).
Raizo strode over, stood tall, and looked down at the group, saying in an indignant tone, "What are those expressions?"
Orochimaru stared intently at Raizo, who had stood up, and remained silent for a moment.
At this moment, he was roaring internally: Why is this two-headed guy three meters tall!!! No, I must grow taller! I must!!
Just then, Robin also slowly came down. Her gaze was immediately drawn to the red poneglyph and the Kozuki Clan's emblem, her eyes filled with shock.
"That's the symbol on Orochimaru's back! Is it the Kozuki Clan's family crest?"
Inuarashi, seeing this, patiently explained to Robin, "This family crest has a history of several hundred years."
Following this, Robin's gaze shifted to the red text, and she murmured, "This... I've never seen such a vivid red color."
Nekomamushi nodded, his tone firm, "That's right, this is a poneglyph."
Inuarashi also looked at Robin, his gaze holding a hint of solemnity, "I've heard of you, Nico Robin. I heard that the scholars of Ohara deciphered this script."
Upon hearing this, Robin's past memories flooded back like a tide. Although those days were filled with pain and upheaval, the time she spent with Dr. Clover and other scholars researching history was her most precious memory.
Coming back to her senses, Robin looked at Inuarashi with determined eyes and pressed, "So, what exactly is this red poneglyph? Its color is completely different from what I've seen before."
Inuarashi nodded slightly, his expression grave, and slowly began, "This red poneglyph has a different purpose than ordinary ones. Since you can decipher poneglyphs, you should be able to understand this, right?"
Excitement instantly ignited in Robin's eyes as she looked at the red stone tablet, eagerly asking, "May I see it?"
Inuarashi nodded gently, and with permission, Robin happily scurried over.
Being stared at by everyone, Raizo felt increasingly annoyed and finally couldn't help but snap, "What are you all looking at? You've been staring at me since the beginning!"
Luffy, full of curiosity, immediately blurted out, "Hey, are you really a Ninja?"
As soon as these words left his mouth, Raizo's face instantly changed, and he said in a deep voice, "How insolent! Who exactly are you?"
Kin'emon, seeing this, gave an awkward laugh and quickly stepped in to smooth things over, "Raizo, they are the Straw Hat, they are Pirates, and they are also Orochimaru's companions."
"Pirates?" Raizo hadn't even had time to process this information, his mind a blank.
At that moment, Luffy directly jumped over and interrupted Raizo's thoughts, excitedly shouting, "If you're a real Ninja! Throw a shuriken!"
Chopper was not to be outdone, jumping onto Luffy's shoulder, pushing him aside, and eagerly saying, "I want to see you meditate under a waterfall!"
Usopp, quick-witted, instantly pulled their heads apart and loudly suggested, "Use some Ninjutsu!"
Following this, various demands erupted like a barrage.
"Use some Earth Release!"
"I want to see Fire Release!"
"I want to see Water Release!"
"Show us already!"
A group of people, talking over each other, created a chaotic scene.
Orochimaru, with a deadpan expression, silently watched the group. Was his usage not good enough?
He was a textbook example; he had clearly used Fire Release to burn zombies, and combined Earth Release and Water Release to wash Zoro.
Orochimaru indicated he was about to make a fuss, but the few people whose attention was solely on Raizo didn't notice at all.
And Raizo, not understanding what was happening, was startled and took a step back by the excited group.
"Why are Pirates so interested in Ninja?"
Franky looked at Raizo with a serious expression and loudly declared, "It's not because we're Pirates!"
As he spoke, he struck a cool "super" pose, passionately shouting, "Men, by nature, just love Ninja!" ( ˶ ｰ´ ֊ ｰ` )✧
Luffy and the others, upon hearing this, instantly broke into bright smiles, as if Franky had spoken their innermost thoughts.
Raizo shyly scratched his head, "This is so embarrassing."
In contrast to the shy Raizo, it was Orochimaru who was dealt a blow. So they liked him because he was a Ninja?! Not because he was Orochimaru?!
He was going to run away from home! He wouldn't stay with this Pirate Crew for another minute!
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