A rumbling sound came from above.
"Oh! So this is the real way into Wano?"
Teach lifted his head in surprise.
High above, within the depths of a cavern, enormous gears turned. Through thick shafts and chains, they dragged a massive platform upward.
"What an incredible place!"
Teach grinned as he praised, "No wonder Pops never dared to directly invade Wano when he went against the Beasts Pirates. This country's natural defenses are no joke!"
The Beasts Pirates leading him into Wano didn't reply, their wary eyes fixed on the man before them.
Marshall D. Teach—his name was anything but unknown in the New World.
Once the Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, he had stood alongside Marco and Vista as one of the great pillars of the crew after Diamond Jozu's death. His reputation as a fearsome pirate echoed across the seas.
And yet, here he was, claiming he wanted to join the Beasts Pirates. No matter how one looked at it, that was far too suspicious.
Even if the Whitebeard Pirates had declined compared to Kaido's crew, pushed all the way back into the North Blue, they couldn't afford to drop their guard.
They had to keep a close watch on him for Lord Ian's sake!
That was what the pirates thought.
Teach, however, cared little for their suspicions.
Ever since Whitebeard had decided to withdraw from the New World, Teach knew his dreams would be nearly impossible to achieve if he remained with the crew.
He had to leave.
The Beasts Pirates—
Only by joining what was now considered the strongest pirate crew in the world could he hope to seize the Devil Fruit he had coveted for so long.
That was why Teach had come here.
When he finally emerged from the hidden harbor and laid eyes on Wano's interior, even he couldn't help but feel a bit of awe.
Countless carts rumbled toward the port without pause.
Teach recalled the endless stream of ships he had seen entering and leaving at the lower harbor earlier.
It wasn't just sheer might—the Beasts Pirates had also built a vast empire of commerce.
Every single day, massive shipments of weapons flowed out from this country to the rest of the world.
The only question was whether their trade would suffer now that they had completely torn ties with the World Government.
"Rrroar!"
Suddenly, the growls of beasts rumbled nearby, clearly aimed at the stranger in their midst.
Teach instinctively turned his head.
At the edge of the port road stood three enormous beasts, their eyes glaring with primal ferocity.
They were part of the Beasts Pirates' infamous Beast Corps—a terrifying force known throughout the seas.
Teach only gave them a friendly smile.
Outside the harbor, a man was already waiting for Teach.
"Zehahahaha!"
Teach walked forward with a broad grin. "I know you! X Drake—the head of the Flying Squadron of the Beasts Pirates! Did Ian send you to pick me up? That's really considerate of you."
Drake studied the man carefully.
With that cheerful, almost goofy smile, he looked like an ordinary young man one could easily pass by on the street.
But since this man was a division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, and he had shown up here of all places, Drake knew better than to trust the harmless façade before him.
"Come with me. Lord Ian is waiting for you."
Drake turned and walked toward a warplane parked by the roadside.
"Oh! A bomber from the Beasts Pirates, huh? I've even been bombed by one before—but this is my first time actually riding in one!"
Teach approached the aircraft, his face lit with excitement.
Yet after taking a closer look, he frowned slightly. "Strange… this doesn't look quite like the ones I've seen before."
It was much larger than the bombers he had encountered in the past, and its design was noticeably different.
"This is a cargo plane," Drake explained calmly as he climbed into the cockpit. "With some modifications, it can also carry passengers."
Queen's research into new energy sources had yielded some results.
Although he was still far from developing a power source strong enough to support something like the Pluton, he had managed to create an energy system capable of powering the new beam cannons.
With this new energy, the aircraft themselves had been improved as well.
The carrying capacity and maximum flight range of the new models had increased dramatically.
Beyond bombers, new types of fighter planes for aerial combat and cargo planes for transport had also been developed.
The Beasts Pirates' aircraft factories had just begun mass-producing these new machines.
It was clear that in the near future, the entire New World's methods of travel would undergo a massive transformation.
"Incredible!"
Astonished, Teach stepped aboard the passenger plane.
The propellers roared to life, and the aircraft lifted into the sky, heading straight toward Onigashima.
Along the way, Teach peered out the window at the land below.
This country was unlike any he had ever seen before.
Factories stretched endlessly, vast fields spread out across the land, and bustling cities thrived with activity.
It was hard to believe—was this truly a nation ruled by pirates?
The plane landed on Onigashima.
After all, the distance wasn't that far.
Stepping off, Teach curiously looked around the island.
The enormous skull was truly a strange sight no matter how many times one looked at it.
It didn't seem like it was carved.
Could it really be the remains of some colossal giant's skull?
But compared to the island itself, what mattered far more were the people on it.
Even with just a slight extension of Observation Haki, Teach could sense those terrifyingly powerful presences scattered across the island.
"Let's go."
X Drake, unaware of Teach's thoughts, silently led the way.
However, he didn't take Teach into the heart of Onigashima. Instead, he guided him along the island's edge, until the two soon reached a coastal area.
Teach's pupils narrowed slightly.
A handsome young man was sitting by the shore, fishing.
He wore a loose floral shirt and shorts, with a pair of yellow sunglasses resting on his nose.
Teach clicked his tongue softly. This boy hardly looked like the unparalleled ruler of the New World.
If anything, he seemed more like a carefree neighbor's son enjoying a vacation.
"Lord Ian! When are you going to reel me up?"
In the water below, several beautiful mermaids swam playfully around Ian's fishing hook.
They tilted their heads back, revealing swan-like slender, pale necks, their mesmerizing eyes shimmering with ripples of the sea.
"Don't mess around."
Teach heard the young man laugh lightly. "Unless you want to be turned into stone or frozen solid, you'd better behave yourselves."
"Alright, go play. My guest has arrived."
"Ugh!"
The rejected, beautiful mermaids pouted unhappily, then with a swish of their tails, dove into the sea and disappeared.
"Lord Ian!"
At this moment, Drake finally brought Teach forward. "I've brought him here."
Ian turned his head and looked at Teach, who was smiling brightly yet seemed a little reserved.
He couldn't help but smile as well.
Putting on a show, and quite convincingly.
**********
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