The entrance to the Land of Wano was not a door; it was a wall of water.
The stolen scavenger sloop bobbed violently in the churning waves at the base of the Great Waterfall. Towering thousands of feet above them, the water crashed down with enough force to pulverize a fleet.
"This is it?" Deidara looked up, shielding his eyes from the spray. "This is the entrance? It's unartistic. It's just... wet."
"It is a natural fortress," Kakuzu noted, calculating the logistics. "No wonder this country is isolated. Importing goods must be a nightmare. The markup on foreign commodities must be astronomical."
"How do we get up?" Hidan asked, leaning over the rail. "Do we climb? I'm not climbing that. I'll slip."
Ren stood at the helm, looking at the massive carp swimming upstream. "Usually, ships are pulled up by the giant Koi fish. But we don't have the equipment to catch them."
"Fish?" Kaido snorted. He walked to the bow of the ship, dropping his heavy feather coat onto the deck. "We don't need fish."
Kaido's body began to smoke. Azure scales rippled across his skin. His muscles expanded, tearing his shirt. His face elongated, horns growing thicker, teeth sharpening into fangs.
With a roar that silenced the thunder of the waterfall, Kaido transformed.
It wasn't his full dragon form yet—the ship was too small to hold it without capsizing—but a Hybrid form. Massive, scaled, and terrifying.
Kaido grabbed the massive iron anchor chain with one hand. He hurled the anchor upward.
WHOOSH.
The anchor flew hundreds of feet into the air, embedding itself into the rock face behind the waterfall.
"Hold on," Kaido growled.
He jumped.
But he didn't just jump. He ran on the air. Flame Clouds generated around his feet/claws, giving him traction on the empty space. He gripped the chain and pulled.
The entire ship lurched upward, defying gravity.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Deidara screamed, grabbing onto the mast. "This is not aerodynamics! This is cheating!"
"Wororororo!" Kaido laughed, hauling the ship up the waterfall vertically, hand over hand, leaping through the crashing water.
Ren clung to the railing, soaking wet. He watched Kaido's back. This is the power of a Yonko, he thought. He's literally dragging a ship up a mountain.
They breached the top of the waterfall in a spray of white foam, crashing into the calm waters of the inland sea.
The ship slammed down, rocking dangerously before stabilizing.
Ren wiped the water from his eyes and looked out.
It was autumn. Or rather, the region they had landed in was in eternal autumn. Red and orange maple leaves drifted on the wind. In the distance, factories didn't exist yet. The sky was blue, the air clean.
"This is Wano," Ren whispered. "Before the pollution. Before the smiles."
"It's pretty," Hidan admitted, wringing out his cloak. "But it smells too peaceful. Where are the murders?"
"Look," Kakuzu pointed to the shore.
On the rocky beach of the region known as Hakumai, a small group of figures was waiting. They weren't an army. It was an old woman, a thin man playing a biwa (lute), and a trembling servant with a large head.
Ren's eyes narrowed.
Kurozumi Higurashi (The Hag).
Kurozumi Semimaru (The Barrier User).
Kurozumi Orochi.
They were here. They had likely been watching the waterfall, waiting for Kaido. In the original timeline, Higurashi sought out Kaido to offer him power in exchange for protection.
"Kaido," Ren said, his voice low. "That old woman. She's dangerous."
Kaido reverted to his human form, shaking the water off his hair like a dog. "Dangerous? That dried-up twig?"
"She's a shapeshifter," Ren warned. "A manipulator. She destroys crews from the inside."
Kaido's eyes narrowed. "I hate manipulators."
The ship drifted onto the gravel beach. Kaido jumped down, his boots crunching on the stones. Ren, Kakuzu, Hidan, and Deidara followed.
The old woman, Higurashi, stepped forward. She floated slightly off the ground—Ren realized she wasn't flying, she was just moving weirdly fast for her age.
"Ki-ki-ki-ki!" Higurashi cackled. "Welcome! Welcome to Wano, oh mighty dragon! I have seen your arrival in the stars!"
Kaido loomed over her. "Who are you?"
"I am but a humble guide," Higurashi smiled, her face wrinkling like a prune. "My name is Higurashi. I know what you seek, Kaido. You seek war. You seek a fortress. You seek to change this world."
She gestured to the trembling man behind her—Orochi.
"This is the rightful Shogun," she lied. "He has been wronged by the Kozuki clan. If you help him take his throne, he will give you this country. He will give you factories to build weapons. He will give you an army."
Orochi looked up, sweat pouring down his face. "Y-yes! I am... I will be Shogun! Help me, and you can have... anything!"
Ren stepped forward.
"He's lying," Ren said simply.
Higurashi's eyes snapped to Ren. "Silence, child. Adults are speaking."
"He's not a Shogun," Ren continued, ignoring her. "He's a servant. And you..." Ren looked at Higurashi. "You are a user of the Mane Mane no Mi. You plan to trick the people by impersonating the current Shogun, Sukiyaki."
Higurashi froze. Her smile vanished. "How do you know that?"
Ren looked at Kaido. "Captain. These people are parasites. They want to use your strength to hide their own weakness. They don't want to make you a King; they want to make you a bodyguard."
Kaido looked at Orochi. He saw the trembling knees. He saw the fear.
Then he looked at Higurashi. He saw the cunning.
"I don't like being used," Kaido rumbled.
"Wait!" Higurashi panicked. Her face shifted, transforming into a young, beautiful woman, then into Shiki the Golden Lion, then into Rocks D. Xebec. "I can be useful! I can give you the faces of your enemies! I have the funds! I have the detailed maps of Wano's defenses!"
"Funds?" Kakuzu perked up.
"Defenses?" Deidara looked interested.
"Weakness," Kaido spat.
Kaido raised his Kanabo.
"I don't need tricks to win," Kaido said. "And I don't need a puppet Shogun."
"WAIT!" Orochi screamed, falling to his knees. "I know where the gold is! The Kozuki gold!"
Kaido hesitated. Not because of the gold, but because Kakuzu had just appeared at his elbow.
"Captain," Kakuzu said, his voice level. "If he knows where the treasury is, we should extract the information before we dispose of him."
Kaido sighed. He lowered his club.
"Fine. Ren."
"Yes, Captain?"
"You said you needed a sacrifice for that Uchiha summon you wouldn't shut up about."
Ren's heart skipped a beat. Itachi. He had been saving up chakra and waiting for a sacrifice strong enough—or at least, significant enough—to handle the burden.
"Yes," Ren said.
Kaido pointed his club at the old woman, Higurashi.
"The hag dies. Ren, take her. The Barrier user..." Kaido looked at Semimaru. "He looks annoying. Kill him too."
"And the little one?" Ren pointed at Orochi.
Kaido looked at Orochi with pure disgust.
"Keep him," Kaido grunted. "Let the zombie count his money. Make him a servant. If he tries to lie, feed him to Hidan."
"NO!" Higurashi shrieked. "You stupid brute! You need me! I made this plan! I—"
Ren didn't let her finish.
"Kakuzu, hold her down."
Kakuzu's black threads shot out, binding the old witch before she could transform.
Ren placed his hand on the ground.
[System Condition Met.]
[Sacrifice: Kurozumi Higurashi (Devil Fruit User/High Value Target).]
[Summoning: Itachi Uchiha.]
Ren felt his chakra drain massively. This was a high-tier summon.
The grey ash swirled. It wrapped around the screaming Higurashi.
"Curse you!" she wailed. " The Kurozumi clan will never—"
Her voice was cut off as the ash filled her mouth, her eyes, her nose. Her body was crushed, reshaped, and repurposed.
The dust settled.
Standing in her place was a man in a black cloak with red clouds. He had raven-black hair, tear troughs under his eyes, and a Konoha headband with a slash through it.
He opened his eyes. They were red. Three tomoe spun slowly, merging into a pinwheel pattern. The Mangekyou Sharingan.
Itachi Uchiha looked around. He saw the giant dragon-man. He saw the stitched zombie. He saw the terrified Orochi.
Finally, he looked at Ren.
"Edo Tensei," Itachi said softly. His voice was calm, melancholic. "To be brought back by such a forbidden jutsu... You are walking a dark path, child."
"I know," Ren said, bowing his head slightly out of respect. "But I need your eyes. We are in a land of warriors. I need to see the truth."
Itachi closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. The killing intent he radiated was subtle, sharp as a needle, contrasting with Kaido's sledgehammer pressure.
"Very well," Itachi said. He looked at Semimaru, who was currently trying to erect a barrier.
"Amaterasu."
Black flames erupted on Semimaru's barrier. The barrier held for a second, then cracked as the heat consumed the very air around it. Semimaru screamed as the black fire touched his biwa.
"Stop," Kaido ordered.
Itachi closed his eye. The fire vanished.
Kaido walked up to Itachi. He peered into the Sharingan.
"Those eyes," Kaido grinned. "They see everything, don't they?"
"Most things," Itachi replied calmly, not intimidated by the Yonko.
"Good." Kaido turned to the trembling Orochi.
"Listen well, worm," Kaido declared, his voice echoing across the beach. "There is no alliance. There is no deal. Wano is mine."
He grabbed Orochi by his oversized head and lifted him up.
"Show us the castle. Show us the gold. And then... maybe I'll let you clean the floors."
Ren watched as the history of Wano shattered. No 20 years of suffering under Orochi. No waiting for the Fire Festival.
The Beast Pirates had arrived. And they were starting their reign with a purge.
"Deidara," Ren called out.
"Yeah?" Deidara was poking the barrier-guy's corpse.
"Fly up. Map the area. We need to find the Flower Capital."
"On it!" Deidara summoned a clay owl and took off.
Ren looked at his crew. The Gravewalker, The Immortal, The Miser, The Artist, and The Genius. Led by The Dragon.
Oden is going to be a problem, Ren thought. But with Itachi... maybe we can trap him.
[Quest Update: Kill Kurozumi Orochi.]
[Status: Pending (Target Enslaved).]
[New Quest: The Daimyo of Kuri.]
[Objective: Defeat Kozuki Oden.]
Ren took a deep breath of the autumn air.
"Let the Night Parade begin."