"Guest, what brings you here?" Just as Vlad had landed, a voice came from inside the room—a warm, deep, and magnetic male voice.
Vlad wasn't surprised. After all, he was dealing with a man who had sailed with Roger. Though they hadn't met and he was unsure of the man's strength, being detected wasn't much of an issue, especially since Kozuki Oden could hear even Zunisha's voice. Besides, Vlad hadn't exactly concealed his arrival.
"Oh, I've been found out!" Vlad said, his tone one of mock regret. "And here I thought I was hiding so well!"
"Truly, what a failure!" Vlad chuckled, showing no signs of tension. "I wanted a perfect infiltration!"
"Stop joking, guest." Facing the courtyard, a man slid open the paper door on the wooden walkway and stepped out with a smile, seeming quite amused.
He was a handsome man, around forty or fifty, with a hairstyle similar to the samurai Vlad had casually dealt with before—his head was shaven clean with a topknot. He was dressed in what appeared to be a yukata, quite flashy. Even at night, the weak light from the hallway revealed a pink kimono adorned with cherry blossom patterns.
His chest was more strikingly exposed, showing off a hairy, muscular torso. He wore no trousers under the not-too-long hem, revealing his hairy calves. The overall look gave off a peculiarly sleazy vibe.
Yet, his face carried an expression as serene as a gentle breeze, handsome with a slight smile. There was no sign of anger due to Vlad's uninvited midnight visit. It was unclear if it was due to confidence or simply not caring about the waves Vlad might stir.
Nonetheless, this face reduced the sleaziness his attire suggested, giving him a somewhat irresistibly unruly air. After all, such attire on a handsome man was considered striking, but on someone like Admiral Kizaru, it would just be plain sleazy—that's just how the world works.
"Please keep it down, guest; the child has just fallen asleep," the man said with a smile, closing the door gently and nodding slightly. "Also, you weren't exactly hiding, were you?"
"With such a powerful presence descending from the sky without any disguise, wasn't it clear you were coming for me?" he added.
"Hehehe," Vlad laughed, "You're right about that. So, you must be Kozuki Oden, right?"
Vlad spoke with certainty, showing no doubt.
"Oh?" the man asked with a hint of surprise. "How did you confirm it?"
"It's quite simple, really," Vlad grinned, showing off a row of white teeth. "In this country, who else could be as composed as you but Kozuki Oden?"
Indeed, in a country as xenophobic and conservative as Wano, meeting someone like Vlad—an apparent foreign intruder—and being able to chat so calmly was hard to imagine for anyone other than Kozuki Oden, the former Pirate King's crewmate.
"Oh! Is that so?" Kozuki Oden rubbed his chin, then laughed with a hint of pride. "You're quite the speaker! Indeed, few in this country can remain calm in the face of foreigners."
"This country," Oden's voice carried a trace of wistfulness, "is truly strange, isn't it?"
"Right? It is strange!" Vlad agreed, nodding. "It seems completely severed from the grand ocean, oblivious to the escalating storms. Even if it were to be submerged by the sea's waves one day, I wouldn't be surprised."
Vlad believed that such an unprogressive country, in the face of the impending tidal wave of the era, was headed towards destruction—a prediction proven right by the future interest of Kaido, a beast who would let the country genuinely understand the power of the sea's giants.
"I think so too," Oden said, sitting cross-legged on the walkway, leaning back to look at the moon peeking through the clouds. His voice held a tinge of melancholy. "This country is like a samurai in his twilight years, still thinking he's as strong as in his youth, oblivious to the stronger enemies around, unchanged by the times."
"Oh?" Vlad took a seat next to Oden, intrigued. "You understand it well. Haven't you thought about changing this country?"
"Change? If I harboured such thoughts," Oden looked at the cherry trees in the courtyard with a sigh, "you wouldn't see me today."
"Hahaha!" Vlad laughed heartily. "What, too timid? Shouldn't a man risk his life for his dreams?"
"Ah! Wrong, guest," Oden corrected him. "That's not my dream."
"Oh?" Vlad smiled. "I'd love to hear more."
"My dream," Oden looked up at the stars with a slight smile, "is just to wait for someone! I've been waiting a very long time, almost losing patience."
"Is that so!" Vlad wasn't surprised; he had known such things.
"Yes!" Oden looked steadily at Vlad. "So, guest, what brings you here?"
"Oh, that," Vlad said without any intention of concealing. "I came to learn from you!"
"Learn?" Oden appeared puzzled.
"Yes," Vlad said calmly, "to learn the ancient text on the Poneglyphs. I can't understand it at all. Indeed, culture is important."
Oden's pupils dilated slightly, and then he smiled.
"Is that so?"