Arceus's Pirate Journey

Chapter 158: Chapter 157: Kinemon Exposed

Kinemon didn’t act immediately; instead, he observed the situation around Udon Mine. Members of the Hundred Beasts Pirates frequently came and went, but there seemed to be no particular pattern.

Occasionally, people inside would be taken away, and others would be brought in.

It’s a kind of work rotation. Prisoners who perform well are transferred to the factory for work, where the tasks are much easier than in the mine and without the sun’s harsh glare. Similarly, those who make mistakes in the factory are punished by being sent here, although Kinemon was unaware of this.

He also noticed that there were no men from Kurozumi Orochi here; all the comings and goings were members of the Hundred Beasts Pirates. This was one of the few places Kaidou had completely seized control.

The Seastone vein is very important; he doesn’t intend to let Orochi manage it either, and Orochi knows that without Kaidou, he can’t interfere here, so he has tacitly accepted this fact.

This is the information Kinemon gathered. Then he changed into a stone-like camouflage outfit, silently sneaking near the mines to eavesdrop for information, mainly focusing on the names of the gatekeepers and such.

Doing such things wasn’t too difficult for him; he had some skills. Although the members the Hundred Beasts Pirates brought here were elite pirates, they were merely stronger grunts and still had some way to go compared to Kinemon.

He was once a notorious thug in Wano Kuni, and to be a thug there, one had to have some strength. Without the ability to defeat others, you couldn’t gather underlings nor earn anyone’s respect.

If Kozuki Oden hadn’t had both strength and the Kozuki Family name, with his behavior, he’d have died countless times.

Kinemon, as a former notorious thug, had been constantly learning in these past years, and his strength significantly surpassed ordinary members. After confirming some of the information, he began his plan.

He switched to the attire of the Hundred Beasts Pirates again, adjusted some details, and swaggered over.

”Hey, Redi, still on duty, huh?”

”Yeah... Who are you?”

”Huh? I’m Nate. We drank together at the banquet the day before yesterday, and you’ve already forgotten?”

Just as he expected, the biggest difference between large pirate groups and small ones is the number of people. It’s impossible for them to recognize everyone; only the iconic officers are known by everyone.

He acted very familiar with the other person and accurately mentioned names and events, all compiled from the intelligence he’d just overheard.

Conning and trickery are things he’s quite good at.

In this situation, Redi really thought he’d mistaken someone. Saying he didn’t know the person would be awkward, so he went along with it.

”Oh, it’s you. We said we’d drink together next time...” Such a person should be a passing acquaintance, but he’s not familiar with him, so it seemed like someone he met while drinking at the last banquet. Finding a drinking buddy during revelry is quite normal.

”Yeah, I’m going in first.”

”Go ahead, go ahead.”

He didn’t inspect anything; the security was somewhat lax. After all, few ordinary people would approach Udon Mine, and he didn’t expect anyone with such audacity to come here thinking of jailbreak.

Upon entering the mine, what he saw were sweat-soaked prisoners and their overseeing foremen, and after a brief search, he also found his former underlings.

Just then, someone was about to take two people away.

”I need to take them to investigate some information; this is Lord Babanuki’s command.” A member of the Hundred Beasts came to the mine, pointed at two prisoners, and took out a document.

The foreman saw it and opened the prisoners’ handcuffs without much verification, which allowed Kinemon to know who the manager here was.

He had successfully blended in here; naturally, people inside wouldn’t scrutinize someone without handcuffs wearing a uniform.

He casually asked a lone person: ”Have you seen Lord Babanuki? I couldn’t find him just now.”

”Huh? Lord Babanuki is upstairs, isn’t he?”

”Maybe I just missed him; I’ll go check again.”

...

The warden here had been entrusted to Babanuki, while Hidden Port had been assigned to others. The ’upstairs’ referred to the rest area for the foremen; they certainly wouldn’t stay with the prisoners.

”Lord Babanuki, I’m ordered to take away the new prisoners for some interrogation.”

”Again? Why do they keep needing people lately...” Babanuki casually remarked, but Kinemon’s next words directly exposed his identity.

”I don’t know either, it’s just Brother Kaidou’s request.” Once these words came out, Babanuki stopped his actions. Then he swung his fist at Kinemon.

The table in front of him flipped directly, scattering documents on the desk into the air, driven by his fist, papers fluttered everywhere. However, he couldn’t hit Kinemon. Seeing the fist swinging in, Kinemon quickly jumped to the side, and Babanuki’s fist landed directly on the ground.

Wooden shards from the floor flew everywhere, yet Kinemon seemed unaware he had been exposed, thinking he’d inadvertently angered Babanuki.

”Lord Babanuki, what are you doing? Did I do something wrong?”

”Quit pretending, you scoundrel. Daring to impersonate a Hundred Beasts member, you have some nerve.”

The reason Kinemon was exposed was quite simple: he said it was Kaidou’s request. Since Arceus rarely appears publicly, the people of Wano Kuni only know of Kaidou’s existence, unaware of Arceus’s role in the Hundred Beasts Pirates.

Everyone in the Hundred Beasts Pirates knows Kaidou left Wano Kuni the other day and hasn’t returned yet. Moreover, even if Kaidou hadn’t left, he wouldn’t be overseeing the mine operations; it would be Arceus handling it.

So, saying the work was at Kaidou’s request could only mean he was a fake.

Kinemon couldn’t have imagined the internal management of the Hundred Beasts Pirates was structured so uniquely.

But even without this statement, he would have been exposed soon enough due to not having proper procedure for taking people out. It’s easy to get in, but significantly harder to take someone out.

Realizing he’d been exposed, Kinemon dispelled his disguise. His sword had always been by his side but hidden due to the Garb-Garb Fruit’s disguise.

Seeing Kinemon reveal his true self, Babanuki was surprisingly furious. Since the Hundred Beasts Pirates arrived in Wano Kuni, they had encountered smooth sailing. Now, someone had dared to con them right to their faces, leading his body to start expanding, gradually transforming into a giant ape form.

Not the Primitive Fruit but a modified form, similar to Mandfeish - Slaking.