"They say Wano Country is full of samurai, all with unbreakable spirits—"
"I surrender! I surrender!!"
A little girl raised both hands in a "French salute" and declared her surrender in a firm voice, cutting off Roman's introduction as he led a group ashore. Let's see who's being so disrespectful—
Oh, isn't that Tama?
Haven't seen her for a few days, and she looks so rough...
"Don't panic, we're not the good guys."
"Roman, what are you talking about? Can't you see you've scared her to tears?"
Hearing Nami's words, Roman pointed over his shoulder. "You should probably say that to them instead."
A fierce, one-eyed, three-sword-wielding swordsman.
A fierce, one-eyed jaguar-like warrior.
A... towering, goofy-looking humanoid reindeer.
A pervy robot in swimming trunks.
A tall, skinny skeleton with an afro.
A serious-looking blue-skinned fishman.
Compared to them, Roman figured his own appearance was downright friendly.
"Besides, the reason she surrendered is all thanks to Luffy."
On the nearby beach, Luffy was making a massive, cloud-patterned lion-dog and an enormous sword-wielding baboon "sit still." The two huge beasts bowed and nodded, looking surprisingly obedient.
"Luffy, what's with these two?"
Aside from the little girl and the two giant animals, there were also two knocked-out goons nearby, wearing leather pants, helmets, and shoulder capes. That style...
"They're Kaido's men. Have we been exposed?"
Hearing Sanji's concern, Roman stroked his chin.
"Doesn't matter. We're going to fight the Beasts Pirates sooner or later anyway..."
"Huh? You're here to mess with Kaido?"
The little girl, wearing a patched-up kimono, looked at the outsiders in surprise. Thanks to Kaido, people in Wano knew that other countries and strong warriors existed, and that Wano's samurai weren't necessarily the strongest in the world. But—
"You guys should leave now. If the 'Headliners' find you, you're done for!"
She didn't know the saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," but anyone opposing Kaido was worth helping. Besides—
These people didn't seem like bad guys.
"Oh? That 'Headliner'—are they strong?"
Zoro, who had three swords strapped to his waist, was intrigued. He'd heard that Wano's warriors were all masters of the blade, and he was eager to see for himself.
"Hey, hey, samurai lady!"
The moment she saw the swords at Zoro's waist, the little girl dropped to the ground, trembling in fear.
Roman casually turned to Nami and gave her a nod.
"See? I'm not the one scaring people."
"Hey! What do you mean by that, Roman—"
"Sigh."
With a sigh, Nami stepped forward to help the little girl up, speaking softly to comfort her. Meanwhile, Roman closed his eyes.
Technically, Kaido shouldn't have noticed them yet, but it was always better to be cautious. Expanding their scouting range would be a good idea. Besides—
Wano Country, a place where Haki users were everywhere and master swordsmen roamed freely. Only top-tier swordsmen could stand out here. In terms of strength, Wano was on par with an Emperor's crew. But thanks to their idiot of a shogun, the country had been run into the ground. No wonder Kaido didn't want Yamato idolizing Oden—any parent would hate to see their kid look up to a fool.
Sometimes, distance makes someone seem greater than they are.
Yamato only saw Oden as a heroic figure who carried his comrades on his back in a boiling pot and dreamed of opening the country. She didn't understand that Oden was also stubborn and indecisive, which led to her conflict with Kaido.
If Yamato ever learned about Oden's string of baffling decisions after returning home, she might lose faith in him on the spot...
"You! Who are you? Let go of Tama!!"
?
Roman, who had been controlling his doves to scout Wano while contemplating whether to gather the remaining rebel samurai, was snapped back to reality by an angry shout.
As he looked up—
"Usopp, since when do you use a sword?"
"Are you blind?"
Usopp smacked Luffy from behind in frustration.
"Is the only thing you remember about me my long nose?!"
"Oh, oh, oh! Wait, does that mean your grandpa..."
"My long nose comes from my mom! It has nothing to do with my dad's side—"
Watching Luffy and Usopp wrestling on the ground, the man wearing a long-nosed mask, a pair of white wings, and wooden clogs—or rather, stilts—rushed over angrily, but for a moment, he didn't know what to do. Sure enough, when your teammates are ridiculous enough, even the enemy won't know how to react.
"Move aside, move aside!"
Chopper had already taken off his medical backpack and rushed to the little girl who had suddenly fainted in Nami's arms. It was exactly this misunderstanding that led to the fight between the "Tengu" man and Luffy's group.
"What are you trying to do—"
"I'm a doctor!"
That one sentence shut the "Tengu" man up. Chopper quickly examined the little girl in Nami's arms and concluded:
"This is slow heavy metal poisoning? How is that possible? What does she usually eat?!"
"I..."
The masked man, dressed like a "Tengu," let out a sigh.
"It's millet..."
"That's terrible!!" Chopper was furious. "Heavy metal poisoning and malnutrition—are you a slave trader?"
"I..."
Faced with Chopper's accusations, the man who had been so aggressive just moments ago lowered his head in shame.
"D-Don't blame... Master..."
The little girl in Nami's arms slowly woke up and weakly stopped Chopper.
"It's my fault... I couldn't earn more money... And Master is being hunted..."
"Chopper,"
Luffy pressed down on his straw hat with a serious expression.
"Heal her."
"Leave it to me!"
"Sanji,"
"Can you make some..."
"Do you even need to ask?"
Carrying a bowl of steaming porridge, Sanji placed it in front of the little girl. Under Chopper's treatment and Nami's Life Flame, the girl quickly regained her energy and swallowed hard.
"I... I'm going to be a 'dazzling kunoichi' someday, so I'm not hungry at all..."
*Growl~~*
"Just eat. Think of it as your payment for helping us."
Roman looked at the little girl, Tama. Four years ago, Ace had promised to take her out to sea. Because of that, she had waited here for four years, in a place where the rivers were polluted with heavy metals from the weapon factories.
"As you can see, we are from the 'outside' sea. We can provide money, medicine, and food. In return, we hope you can be our guide."
Luffy wasn't actually dumb—he just didn't like thinking too much. That's why most of the time, Straw Hat Crew's negotiations were handled by either Roman or Nami.
"It's so good... So delicious~~"
Watching the little girl gulp down the porridge and even start licking the bowl, completely forgetting her "samurai" pride, the "Tengu" man sighed.
"Please follow me. Let's leave this place first."
"I'm ashamed to say this, but if you're here for sightseeing or adventure, this is definitely not a good place..."
As he walked, the "Tengu" man explained. This group of outsiders all seemed incredibly strong. But what surprised him was how kind they were. Were all strong people from the outside world this easygoing?
No, that demon is also from the outside world! "I don't know if you all are aware, but 'Wano Country' is currently under the control of 'Four Emperors' Kaido..."
The man named 'Tenguyama Hitetsu' spoke about Wano Country's situation while secretly watching the expressions of these outsiders. There was no way people from the outside world wouldn't know Kaido's name! That meant their choices were obvious: either they would panic and run for their lives, or they would try to curry favor and pledge allegiance—
"Hehehe, we know. That's exactly why we're here to beat Kaido!"
…?! Watching the 'Tengu' flip over and crash onto the ground, unable to get up, Roman rolled his eyes.
"Luffy, this is Kaido's territory. Are you sure it's a good idea to announce our goal so openly? Let's see if you can still laugh when the All-Stars and the Flying Six gang up on us later."
!!!
"You... You know this is Kaido's territory? You even know about the All-Stars and the Flying Six? And yet you still—"
Laugh? "Heh, our target is Kaido. Why else would we be here?"
Zoro, with three swords strapped to his waist, smirked proudly, catching the attention of the 'Tengu' man. Especially—
"Sir... may I take a look at your sword?—Of course, I wouldn't dare touch your treasured blade, I only wish to see its craftsmanship!"
"Sure."
Though it was a strange request, Zoro casually drew his three swords. The moment he did, the 'Tengu' man, who had just gotten back on his feet, froze in shock!
Sandai Kitetsu, Wado Ichimonji, Shusui!!
These three swords were all too familiar to the 'Tengu' man, because the 'Sandai Kitetsu' was crafted by his own hands! As for the Wado Ichimonji, it was the masterpiece of a close friend of his—the same friend who once forged a blade for Wano Country's former shogun:
Enma!
And the other blade wielded by that dual-wielding shogun, Ame no Habakiri, was also forged by the 'Tengu' man himself. How could he not recognize it?
As for 'Shusui,' that was once the legendary weapon of Wano's "Sword God" Ryuma, a blade revered as a national treasure by all Wano's samurai and swordsmiths!
This man... "Your weapons are all masterpieces. May I ask where they came from? Of course, I'm just a little curious. If it's inconvenient—"
Hearing the 'Tengu' man's probing, Zoro sheathed his swords and casually replied:
"One was given to me by my master, one I bought, and the last one I took as a prize from a zombie samurai."
…
If this man wasn't lying, then the 'Wado Ichimonji' must have been given to him by Shimotsuki Koushirou. The cursed blade 'Sandai Kitetsu' ending up in the hands of merchants was nothing unusual. But that 'zombie samurai'... Could it be that Ryuma's corpse was desecrated?
That damned grave robber!
The 'Tengu' man wasn't ignorant—he knew this world was full of powerful people with strange abilities. If that was the case—
"Ladies and gentlemen, since you have come to challenge Kaido, I must give you a word of advice—"
"Please leave!"
The 'Tengu' man turned to face the Straw Hat Crew. Not only had they saved Tama, but they might also have deep ties to Wano Country. And that was precisely why—
"You may be strong, but Kaido... that monster isn't even human! Countless swordsmen and even the greatest warriors of Wano have fallen before him, so—"
"Don't underestimate us, old man."
Roman stepped forward and pointed toward the center of the crew. "This is our captain, the leader of the Straw Hat Pirates, 'Straw Hat' Luffy. His bounty is 1.6 billion berries, and people call him the 'Fifth Emperor' of the sea."
Then, he pointed at Zoro. "This is our combatant, Zoro. His bounty is 800 million berries. Not long ago, he defeated one of the 'Three Sweet Commanders' of the Big Mom Pirates, Charlotte Smoothie, in a one-on-one duel. She's about as strong as one of Kaido's All-Stars."
"As for me, I'm the strategist of the Straw Hat Crew. My proudest achievement so far? Sailing all the way from East Blue to here without losing a single crewmate!"
Hearing Roman's confident declaration, the 'Tengu' man was left speechless.
He simply couldn't believe that the man in the straw hat, who looked so carefree and foolish, was actually a top-tier pirate with a 1.6 billion berry bounty. He seemed so... ordinary.
"Hehehe, that's right! I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"
But you're still so confident! "I've already assessed your strength, but with just a dozen or so of you..."
The Tengu man nodded. That was exactly why he couldn't let these warriors, who dared to challenge Kaido, die in vain!
Once the numbers reach a certain level, it will trigger a shift in power. After all, in Wano Country, which has pledged loyalty to Kaido, and within Kaido's own Beasts Pirates, Haki is incredibly common, and their resistance to Conqueror's Haki shocks is astonishingly high! Facing hundreds of Haki users, even the strongest warriors would find themselves held back. Not to mention, the enemy also has the Three Calamities, the Flying Six, and Kaido himself!
"Don't worry. As the strategist, I have everything under control."
Roman dared to say this because—
———
"Ace, we're about to enter Wano Country's waters!"
"What a chaotic sea... but—" Marco glanced at the raging waves around them and the thunderstorm-filled sky. No wonder Pops had stopped them from coming to Wano Country before. With weather like this as a natural defense, it was indeed a place that was easy to defend and hard to attack.
"But because of this same weather, we won't be detected by the Beasts Pirates."
A white pigeon leading the way smoothed its feathers before spreading its wings and landing on the deck of the Moby Dick.
With a fluttering sound, as the pigeon stretched its wings, they expanded into strips of light, swirling around before forming a human figure. The figure slowly stood up, flicked his cloak, and held a cane shaped like a drumstick in one hand. With the other, he turned and pointed.
"Ace,"
"You must lead the Whitebeard Pirates to find a new home."
?! Tch, does no one think that was a cool entrance? "Anyway, our goal this time is to take Wano Country!"
On the deck of the Moby Dick, all the captains of the Whitebeard Pirates were gathered. While most of them were warriors who preferred action over thinking, at this critical moment that concerned the survival of their crew, they were all listening attentively to Roman's plan:
"Eliminate Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, open Wano Country to the world, and finally secure control over the production of Seastone."
"My Straw Hat Crew will clear the obstacles on the path to becoming Pirate King. Your Whitebeard Pirates will gain a stable base and a source of funding. The people of Wano will be freed from twenty years of cruel rule..."
"This is a win-win-win situation. It benefits everyone!"
Luffy wins people over with his sincerity, while Roman excels at tying interests together. There's no need to compare which method is better because—
"Since he's Ace's little brother, we'll give it everything we've got!"
"And getting our hands on a rich territory in the process is a huge bonus!"
"Haha! I've only been able to drink once a week these past two years—my mouth is practically dry! After we win this battle, I'm going to drink till I drop!!"
Winning people over and securing benefits—both must be done, and both must be strong! Only then can the foundation for the path to kingship be laid.
——————
(End of this chapter)
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