"Am I lost?"
Under the night sky, Luffy soared toward Loguetown.
He had been flying for a while when he suddenly felt something was wrong.
It seemed he had flown into the Calm Belt. The atmosphere was so still it felt stagnant, almost without flow.
"Looks like I went the wrong way…"
Luffy stayed quiet for a moment.
Because of Imu's sudden appearance, he had ended up flying toward the New World for several hours.
Along the way, he thought about the fight, replaying the details in his mind.
Imu was strong—that much, Luffy was absolutely sure of.
Whether he had eaten a Devil Fruit, however, was still impossible to tell.
Shaking his head, Luffy stopped recalling Imu.
Now was not the time to start a war with that opponent.
Throwing that little moon at the Holy Land was already enough. He intended to do it a few more times in the future.
Luffy lowered his altitude and flew close to the sea for a long while. When the first rays of sunlight appeared, he finally spotted an island.
"That's… Wanokuni?"
Luffy thought, surprised.
The island in the distance was set upon a special current, its entire landmass rising far higher than sea level.
It had none of the usual shorelines of common islands—only sheer cliffs and cascading waterfalls all around.
It was enormous.
"Well… I'll know for sure once I enter."
Activating the power of the Sun God Fruit, Luffy recovered his strength and headed toward the distant island.
After leaping up the waterfall, he finally saw Wano.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, a notification from the system appeared: he had landed on a new island—Wano.
For that, he earned 10,000 adventure coins.
It really was Wano!
A mighty country in the New World, yet a closed one. Not a member of the World Government, and extremely difficult for ships to reach.
Unless one followed the proper channels, the only way in was climbing the waterfall—or flying, as he had done.
As the name suggested, this country was heavily inspired by Japanese culture.
The current ruler was Kurozumi Orochi.
Of course, he was only the ruler on the surface. Behind him, the true power was Kaido, one of the Yonko.
This was the fortress of the Beasts Pirates—Kaido's domain.
"Damn it, this place is terrible for gathering information…" Luffy muttered.
On islands where even journalists couldn't reach, forget about finding a sea chart.
After thinking for a while, Luffy rose into the sky, scanning Wano from above.
From the air, he could see the entire terrain.
The country was divided into six regions.
The capital, called the Flower Capital, lay in the prosperous center, surrounded by the other five regions.
Beyond the main island, a smaller one lay to the south: Onigashima.
That was the true stronghold of the Beasts Pirates.
Since he needed information, he might as well ask Kaido directly.
Once he had climbed high enough, Luffy immediately headed toward Onigashima.
---
At the same time, in Onigashima.
On the top floor of a grand mansion.
Kaido was guzzling sake without pause.
Suddenly, a woman burst through the door.
She was tall, with long legs. Her hair was mostly blue, with rounded pink streaks, and a pair of horns like a bull's sprouted from her head. A single strand on the left side of her forehead was white instead of pink. Her violet eyes were large and round, with light irises and long lashes, and she wore a pink embroidered mask over her mouth and nose.
Her outfit consisted of a short, long-sleeved dress with a ribbon tied around the collar, a long dark cape with fur trim reaching near the ground, and dark high-heeled shoes.
"Ow, that hurts…"
She smacked her head against the wall behind Kaido.
Kaido stopped drinking, his face darkening.
"What are you doing, Ulti?"
Ulti, one of the Tobiroppo.
She quickly handed him a newspaper.
"Master Kaido, look at what I just got!"
Kaido, already in a foul mood, frowned as he grabbed the paper while still drinking.
Then his hand froze.
"Oh! Hehehehe, this brat is truly interesting!" He couldn't help but grin. "This boring world just got a little more exciting!"
The news was enough to shock anyone.
Straw Hat Luffy had invaded the Holy Land, Mariejois, and killed thirty-nine Celestial Dragons!
The newspaper had reported the events of last night to the entire world with astonishing speed.
Now that Whitebeard was dead, Straw Hat Luffy seemed poised to soon take his place as one of the Yonko.
Kaido thought to himself.
What Luffy lacked was likely just one battle to fully prove his strength.
"Hmph, I like this brat… huh?"
Kaido smirked. Reading such news first thing in the morning had put him in a better mood.
But then his expression stiffened. He looked toward the ceiling.
Through his Observation Haki, he sensed a powerful aura intruding upon his territory—without the slightest attempt to hide.
No, not just unhidden. The intruder was deliberately announcing their presence.
"Kaido!!"
A voice roared across Onigashima.
"Whose Haki is that?" Ulti gasped.
Horrified, she realized the tables and chairs in the room were trembling slightly.
"Ooh… I wonder who could have such Haki…"
Kaido clenched his hand, and with a thunderous crack, the sake jug he held shattered to pieces.
The next instant, his head morphed into that of a dragon, his neck stretching out rapidly as he burst through the window.
In the blink of an eye, a massive green dragon, hundreds of meters long—nearly a thousand—hovered over Onigashima.
Kaido glared at the man floating in the air before him.
A man wearing a straw hat.
"It's you, Straw Hat Kid…" Kaido said, narrowing his eyes. "You here for a fight?"
Luffy smiled lightly.
"I just want to ask a few questions."
Kaido fell silent.
---
(End of Chapter)