Wano Country, Kuri Region
A group of eight people plus a cat and a horse walked brazenly along the coastal path, all wearing "foreign clothes" that stood out dramatically against the traditional attire of the local population.
"Brother Jerry, is this where you landed all those years ago?" Carrot asked, her voice tinged with curiosity. "It looks like..."
Hearing her question, Jerry, Ace, and the others who had visited this place before looked back at the slightly desolate beach behind them, then exchanged meaningful glances with increasingly serious expressions.
Jerry's gaze shifted toward what appeared to be the ruins of a village in the distance. He exhaled softly before responding with a forced smile: "Yes, Carrot. Although it looks completely run-down now, we did spend some time repairing our ship here during our last visit."
"Something definitely seems wrong," Deuce spoke quietly, his eyes fixed on the distant settlement that had once been Amigasa Village.
Ace nodded grimly. "There are barely any people left in the village."
"Judging from the dilapidated condition everything's in, this village must have been abandoned for quite some time," Skull observed as they continued walking toward the increasingly clear scene of devastation. "There may have been some kind of major conflict here."
Cavendish and the others didn't fully understand the historical context, but they could sense the heavy atmosphere settling over their companions. Their own expressions grew serious in response.
Suddenly, angry voices erupted from one of the remaining structures ahead.
"Hand over the food, now!"
"We know you're hiding something!"
"Please... dear brothers, what I told you is the truth," came a small, desperate voice. "We ran out of food months ago, so..."
"Shut up! We'll decide if there's food here or not!"
The moment Jerry and his crew stepped into the village's outer perimeter, these harsh exchanges reached their ears clearly.
Hearing that familiar voice among the threats, Jerry's expression darkened instantly. He disappeared from his position in the blink of an eye.
"Let's go! That's Tama's voice!" Ace's face contorted with fury as he rushed forward immediately after Jerry.
Seeing their urgent reaction, Deuce and the others quickly followed, racing toward the source of the commotion.
"Ah! Please spare us! We..."
On their way to the house, they heard only a series of muffled impacts and intermittent pleas for mercy. The sounds lasted mere moments before quickly returning to complete silence.
When Deuce and the others arrived at the entrance of the dilapidated structure—a building that seemed to be slowly merging back into the natural landscape—a small green figure came flying past them.
"Wow! Brother Jerry! Brother Ace! Is it really you?"
Everyone looked closely and saw five emaciated men sprawled unconscious throughout the ramshackle hut. A little girl wearing a light green kimono was being held gently in Jerry's protective embrace. After a moment of reunion, he carefully set her back on the ground while Ace stood nearby, offering her a brilliant, reassuring smile.
"Tama, it's been far too long."
At that moment, one of the men lying on the ground managed to point at Jerry and Ace with obvious shock written across his gaunt features.
"You... you're those pirates from before?"
Jerry stared at the skinny man's face but found no recognition whatsoever. "Have we actually met?"
"Of course we have! I was once a resident of this village..." the man answered reflexively, then glared at the group with unmistakable hatred. "How dare you show your faces here again? How dare you come back after what happened?"
After hearing this accusation, Deuce and the others exchanged completely bewildered looks.
"Huh? What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Skull tilted his head, his tone filled with genuine confusion.
Tama waved her hands excitedly and took over the conversation with obvious enthusiasm: "I know exactly what he means!"
Jerry nodded with understanding, and a hint of cold fury flashed in his eyes. A brief pulse of Conqueror's Haki swept through the area, causing all the groaning men to roll their eyes back and lose consciousness completely.
Then he knelt down and gently stroked Tama's head with infinite tenderness, speaking in the softest voice: "Tama, take your time and tell us exactly what happened to the village."
Following Tama's detailed explanation, everyone came to understand the dramatic changes that had transformed Amigasa Village over the past two years.
The industrial development led by Kaido and his subordinates had caused Wano Country's ecological environment to deteriorate even further, and Amigasa Village had not been spared from this environmental destruction.
The river water had become heavily polluted, the ongoing famine had grown significantly worse, and the land around Amigasa Village had gradually lost its former vitality, becoming completely unsuitable for ordinary people to sustain themselves.
In the more than two years since Jerry and his friends had departed, various factors—chief among them severe food scarcity—had forced the villagers to migrate elsewhere in search of livable conditions.
During this wave of mass relocation, Tama had remained steadfast in her belief that Jerry and Ace would return as promised. She had absolutely no intention of abandoning her post.
Not only had she stayed behind, but when fellow villagers were literally starving to death, the kind-hearted little girl had quietly distributed the emergency food supplies that Jerry's crew had left behind, sharing them with anyone in desperate need.
After some time, this generous behavior inevitably attracted the attention of people with less noble intentions.
A group of criminals and local thugs had developed an insatiable appetite for exploiting Tama's kindness after accidentally discovering her hidden food stores. They began applying constant pressure on the young girl, attempting to squeeze every last resource from her possession.
Faced with these escalating threats, Tama's guardian—due to his complicated personal circumstances—had preferred to avoid drawing attention from too many people. For the sake of protecting her, he had reluctantly transferred some additional supplies to satisfy the criminals' demands.
However, the thugs had never given up their systematic harassment. Looting and property destruction had become their standard operating procedures, making it impossible for the remaining villagers to live in any semblance of peace. The few samurai who had originally served as the village's protectors were frequently beaten until they were covered in injuries, further accelerating the departure of anyone who could manage to leave.
Even though most of the criminals had already moved away along with the general population, they continued returning periodically to torment Tama and extract whatever meager resources she might have managed to acquire. This was exactly the scene Jerry and his crew had interrupted.
Additionally, after learning that Jerry's group had once stayed in Amigasa Village and launched their assault on Onigashima, Wano Country's current Shogun Orochi had made life difficult for the remaining villagers through both direct and indirect methods of persecution.
After listening to Tama's heartbreaking account, Carrot felt righteous indignation burning in her chest regarding the current state of both Wano Country and Amigasa Village specifically. As a member of the Mink Tribe, she understood perfectly well the deep historical connections between her people and this nation.
She wasn't alone in her reaction—Cavendish, Brook, and Carina all displayed expressions of obvious outrage.
Initially, they had harbored romantic notions about this legendary country they had only heard described in stories.
Brook in particular had developed complicated feelings about Wano due to his connection with the legendary samurai Ryoma, and the national treasure "Shusui" was still hanging prominently in his quarters aboard their ship.
Even crew members like Deuce, who had visited this place before and thought they were mentally prepared for harsh conditions, couldn't help but feel deeply depressed by the scope of the suffering they were witnessing.
Jerry clapped his hands sharply, breaking through the heavy atmosphere that had settled over the group, and spoke in a deliberately lightened tone: "Alright, alright, everyone stop looking like you're constipated. Let's keep moving forward..."
"Who looks constipated?!" Deuce and the others shouted in perfect unison, successfully interrupting his attempt at levity.
"See? Isn't this much better already?" Jerry replied with a genuine smile, then looked down at the brave little girl standing before him. "Tama, do you still remember our original agreement?"
"Yes! Of course I do!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she answered loudly, clenching her small fists in front of her chest with obvious determination. "I've been working really hard toward becoming the charming female ninja that Big Brother Ace said I could be!"
Upon hearing this revelation, Cavendish and the others immediately turned their surprised gazes toward Ace with obvious curiosity about this particular promise.
"Ahaha! Tama, I was absolutely right—you do have incredible ambitions!" Ace completely ignored everyone's stares, laughing heartily while giving her an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"Get lost!" Jerry waved his hand at Ace with theatrical disdain, then turned back to address Tama with genuine warmth. "I was referring to our other agreement. We promised that when we returned, we would transform this place into a country where everyone could have enough food to eat."
Jerry paused meaningfully before continuing: "Maybe that sounds a bit presumptuous coming from outsiders like us, but at the very least, we can try to remove the mountain that's been crushing all of you under its weight. That way, everyone will have a real chance to live peaceful, dignified lives."
Tama stared up at him with bright, intelligent eyes and pursed her lips thoughtfully: "But wouldn't that be incredibly dangerous for you?"
Her expression was completely clear and honest, as if she fully understood the enormous difficulties such a promise would entail.
Everyone in Jerry's crew looked at each other for a moment, then burst into spontaneous laughter that echoed across the ruined village.
"Danger is absolutely inevitable," Ace replied, clenching his fists with obvious confidence while his eyes filled with the same burning determination that had always defined him. "But we're definitely not pushovers anymore."
"That's exactly right, Tama. Don't worry about us," Jerry added, looking around at his powerful crew before patting his chest with absolute certainty. "We're not the kind of idiots who would rush forward and throw our lives away just because we felt like playing hero for a day."
The promise they had made to this brave little girl—who had waited faithfully for their return despite everything that had happened—was about to reshape the destiny of an entire nation. But first, they would need to confront one of the Four Emperors in his own heavily fortified territory.
Some promises, Jerry reflected as he looked into Tama's hopeful eyes, were worth any risk to keep.
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