WebNovels

Chapter 16 - Chapter 16: Wano Country

The battle raged on for three days and three nights, ultimately ending with the Golden Lion's retreat.

"Eat something first."

Roy had Thatch prepare food, and Whitebeard devoured the meal before collapsing on the deck, snoring loudly.

"That was fun!"

Whitebeard uttered just one sentence before falling asleep.

"What a bunch of monsters," Royoy muttered, shaking his head as they remained anchored near the island.

Whitebeard slept for an entire day and night before finally waking up.

"We've drifted off course. Where to next?" Roy asked.

"Find an inhabited island," Whitebeard replied.

"Alright," Roy nodded.

Inhabited islands have a more stable magnetic field. Among the three log poses, the most stable one usually points to a populated island.

"Roy, what's the deal with your Devil fruit anyway?" Whitebeard asked suddenly.

"No idea. But with one gold coin a day, I'll never run out of money," Roy shrugged.

"It's best to keep your ability hidden. Anyone would be tempted by 500,000 Berries a day," Whitebeard said.

"I've already thought about that."

If people found out about his power, they'd definitely lock him up and extract 500,000 Berries from him daily. Anyone would be tempted.

Half a million Berries a day is more than anyone can spend. He'd become a walking ATM.

Is this ability weak?

For ordinary people, not at all. Producing gold daily would attract way too much attention.

Their adventure continued, and the Whitebeard Pirates encountered more and more foes. The New World was teeming with pirates. After the Golden Lion, they clashed with many others; some were defeated, while others chose to submit.

Few in the New World could rival Whitebeard. Former members of the Rocks Pirates began making waves in the sea once again, Big Mom, Ochoku, Silver Axe, Captain John, and Golden Lion, among others. Kaido, however, was nowhere to be heard from; rumors has it that he had been captured by the World Government.

Two years passed. The Whitebeard Pirates had established their own territory in the New World. Their number of their companions kept growing, Many orphans, hearing that Whitebeard took people in, sought them out willingly.

That year, Roy turned 17, which in this world marks adulthood.

If one isn't of age, they can only serve as an apprentice on a pirate crew.

Marco was 15, while Vista and the others were already 17.

Roy kept a low profile over these two years. The new crewmembers knew of him but didn't understand him as well as Marco and the others did. They only knew that he managed the crew's finances.

Roy was writing in his room. As more people joined and their territory expanded, so did expenses. Although they were pirates, the people they protected weren't necessarily wealthy.

Now that those areas flew the Whitebeard flag and were safe from other pirates, Roy also helped them generate more income.

Only when they made money could they contribute more to the Whitebeard Pirates.

"The seas are still too vast. Transportation is inconvenient. It's hard to sell goods. Shipping through the underworld is expensive, and merchants take most of the profits. Right now, we don't have enough people to form an escort fleet." Roy thought, pen in hand, about how to develop those islands—he was responsible for the future of the entire pirate crew.

BOOM!

Suddenly, the ship shook violently, followed by uncontrollable spinning. Roy quickly grabbed the table, which was bolted to the floor, keeping him from being thrown around.

"WHAT DID THOSE IDIOTS DO NOW?!"

The shaking continued, sometimes spinning, sometimes rising, before finally stopping. Everything was a mess.

Roy stepped out of the cabin to find chaos. The ship had hit the shore, or rather, had been thrown onto it, and now lay half-tilted on land.

"You guys…"

Seeing the ship beached like that, Roy nearly passed out from anger.

"Big bro, are you okay?" Marco came over.

"What happened? How did the ship get stuck?"

"We got caught in a current, then suddenly ended up here," Marco said while scratching his head.

"Where is 'here'?"

"No idea. We don't know either."

"Big bro, this wasn't our intended destination. A strong sea current brought us here, and then we used a giant carp to ride up. We didn't expect there to be land up here," Blamenco said with a goofy smile.

"A giant carp? Did we ride up a waterfall?!" Roy exclaimed.

"Yeah, big bro, you know this place?" Marco asked.

"I do. This is Wano Country," Roy nodded.

"Wano?"

"The legendary land of samurai?"

"Then we'll get to see real samurai here, right?"

"More than that... The gears of fate are turning again, back on track." Roy looked into the distance. 'Wano Country... it seems everything starts here.'

"Roy, are you okay?" Whitebeard came over.

"I'm fine, Newgate. But this place... is dangerous," Roy waved his hand.

"Pops, Big Bro says this is Wano Country!" Marco said excitedly.

"Wano country… So that's where we are. Rumor has it this country is closed off from the outside world, it has been in a state of self-isolation, and harbors powerful warrior and samurai clans. Best not to provoke them. We leave once the ship's fixed," Whitebeard said seriously.

"Pops, it's the country of Wano! You don't want to go explore?" Marco and the others looked disappointed.

"Pipe down, Marco. If both Pops and Big bro say it's dangerous, then as an apprentice, you should listen," Whitey Bay scolded, arms crossed.

"So what if you're two years older than me? You'll just age faster," Marco teased.

"MARCO!" Whitey Bay chased him down angrily.

"If Roy says it's dangerous, then it must be so," Whitebeard said. Only he knew Roy's secret and trusted his judgment.

"So what now?" Whitebeard asked.

 "Nothing. Someone will come looking for us. And when they do, strike hard," Roy sighed.

Whitebeard fell silent. Clearly, the future Roy knew hadn't changed. And Roy didn't seem to want to change it either.

"Pops, Big bro, what are you two talking about?" Jozu was confused, listening to their cryptic conversation.

"Enough chatter. Start unloading the cargo and help Blamenco repair the ship," Roy directed the crew.

"What about us?" Whitebeard asked.

"You guys just sit there. Yep, just like that, stay put," Roy said with a smile.

"Big bro, what do you mean by that? Why do we have to wait here?" Atmos asked.

"If big bro says so, then he has his reasons. We'll just wait," Jozu replied.

"You're really just gonna do whatever he says?" Fossa asked in confusion.

"Shut it, Fossa! Say something like that again, and I won't hold back," Marco snapped.

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