Wano Country, Onigashima.
Recently, Kaido's mood had been exceptionally foul. To vent his pent-up frustration, the frequency of his suicide attempts had increased. Unfortunately, he just couldn't die.
Inside the Skull Dome.
Kaido, having just returned from another attempt, gulped down wine from a large jug.
"Wororororo! King, have you found Leo yet?!" His slurred voice carried unconcealed rage.
King shook his head, replying solemnly, "Lord Kaido, we have not yet discovered his traces."
After Big Mom's death, following Kaido's orders, all Beasts Pirates outposts began monitoring Leo's movements. But so far, they had found nothing.
"Hmm?"
Kaido paused his drinking, his dragon eyes bulging.
"Useless trash, all of them!!"
Smash!
Already in a bad mood, Kaido flew into a rage, shattering the wine jug to pieces.
"Keep looking! Even if we have to turn the New World upside down, find Leo for me!!" Kaido snorted out two plumes of white steam, ordering again.
"Yes, Lord Kaido."
King hurriedly nodded.
"L-Lord Kaido… I have something to report."
At that moment, Jack the Drought, one of the All-Stars, spoke in a trembling voice. This fearless, hard-headed individual couldn't help but tremble before Kaido, who was currently in a fury.
"Speak!"
Kaido snorted coldly, his piercing dragon eyes glaring over.
Jack shrank back with a shudder, cautiously whispering, "Lord Kaido, the transaction time for the latest batch of SMILE fruits has arrived, but… but…"
"But what?!" Kaido's tone grew heavier, a vague sense of foreboding in his heart.
Jack swallowed hard, gathering his courage. "Doflamingo has lost contact."
"What did you say?!!"
This concerned the SMILEs. Kaido shot up from his throne.
He narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.
Some time ago, Doflamingo had called him, claiming Leo had set his sights on Dressrosa and demanding immediate support, even threatening to withhold the SMILEs. Kaido was first startled, but after detailed questioning, it turned out it was all unfounded worry on Doflamingo's part, a case of persecution complex. Doflamingo himself felt Leo was about to move against him and was seeking help. Feeling threatened, Kaido flew into a towering rage, unleashed a stream of curses, and promptly hung up. Soon after, he had dismissed the matter entirely.
Now, hearing Jack say Doflamingo was missing, Kaido couldn't help but recall that plea for help.
"Lord Kaido, could Doflamingo's disappearance really be related to Leo?" King asked, frowning deeply. He had been present for that call as well. King certainly didn't think Doflamingo was deliberately ignoring Jack's calls out of spite. Put simply, even if you gave Doflamingo 100 extra gall, he wouldn't dare. The consequences of offending the Beasts Pirates were something he couldn't bear. Kaido was no fool and understood this logic too.
"Jack, have you sent people to investigate Dressrosa?" Kaido asked, suppressing his anger.
"Lord Kaido, I just received word. Dressrosa has been completely locked down—no one in, no one out." Jack's face was dark as he reported everything he knew truthfully.
"So, it's likely Leo is currently entrenched in Dressrosa?!" The burly Queen's beady eyes rolled, voicing his suspicion.
"That is possible."
King, who usually loved to contradict Queen, uncharacteristically didn't argue, nodding slightly in agreement. If not for such a reason, there would be no need for Dressrosa to close its borders. Something major must have happened internally.
"Wororororo! Jack, send more scouts. The moment you spot Leo or any of his crew, notify me immediately!" Kaido waved a large hand, his dragon eyes gleaming with intensity. Seeking something far and wide, only to find it effortlessly. If Leo really had settled in Dressrosa, it would save him the trouble. As for Doflamingo's fate, he didn't care at all. As long as Caesar was alive, he would have a continuous supply of SMILEs. From what he knew of Caesar, the man was cowardly. Whoever held a knife to his throat became his master. Barring accidents, Caesar had most likely already pledged allegiance to Leo. Of course, all this speculation presupposed that Leo was truly in Dressrosa.
"Lord Kaido, I will dispatch people immediately to investigate." Understanding the seriousness, Jack didn't dare be careless and promptly left to carry out the order.
"Wororororo! Leo, once I find you, I'll wring your head off!!" Kaido grinned ferociously. Taking advantage to kill Linlin was unforgivable!
"Black Maria, what is Yamato doing now?" In a momentarily better mood, Kaido turned to the tall, sensual figure beside him.
Black Maria shrugged helplessly. "Lord Kaido, at this time, Young Master Yamato is probably reading that logbook left by Kozuki Oden."
"Hmm?" Kaido's face turned dark. "Didn't I order you to burn that logbook? Why is it still around?"
In her childhood, after witnessing Kozuki Oden's execution, Yamato began to admire him. Later, she accidentally found Oden's logbook. Since then, Yamato's worship of Oden spiraled out of control. She even started to think of herself as Oden, constantly opposing Kaido. One could say that logbook was the spark that shattered their father-daughter relationship.
Black Maria shook her head with a bitter smile. "Lord Kaido, Young Master Yamato forbids anyone from touching that journal. We… we are no match for her."
Hearing this, expressions of awkwardness appeared simultaneously on the faces of the All-Stars and the Flying Six. Everyone knew the strongest in the Beasts Pirates was Governor Kaido, followed by the All-Stars. But only a select few knew there was one person whose strength surpassed even the All-Stars: Kaido's daughter, Yamato. Even the 'Fire' King, leader of the All-Stars, was no match for Yamato.
"That bastard Yamato! I'll go myself!!" Kaido thundered in anger, grabbed his kanabo, and stormed ferociously out of the hall.
Meanwhile.
After several days of travel, Leo piloted the Ark Maxim, finally arriving at Wano Country.
Coast of the inner sea.
Looking down from high altitude, one could clearly see strands of black smoke rising in the air.
"Captain, what is that?" Rebecca covered her delicate nose, asking while frowning. The faint pungent odor in the air made her uncomfortable.
"Kaido's weapon factories." Leo explained while guiding the Ark Maxim to descend gradually.
"Aren't we going to the Beasts Pirates?" Robin asked, somewhat puzzled.
"No rush. We'll find someone else first." As the Ark Maxim landed, Leo led the group of women onto the soil of Wano.
There were five notable beauties in Wano Country. Three were with the Beasts Pirates. The other two were in the Flower Capital and in Okobore Town, Kuri. The person Leo sought now was precisely the one in Okobore Town—Tama.
"Let's ask for directions first." He took the lead, heading toward a certain house. After asking around, Leo's group quickly found Okobore Town. This was a village famous throughout Wano for producing kasa (conical hats).
Before, the villagers here lived decent lives, not wealthy but maintaining basic sustenance, living happily and stably thanks to their skilled craftsmanship. But ever since Wano changed hands and Kaido built many environmentally polluting weapon factories here, the plants, animals, and water sources across vast lands became inedible and undrinkable. The villagers couldn't obtain daily food and water, and over time, the village gradually declined.
When Leo's group entered, they saw villagers with sallow, gaunt faces. They merely casually glanced up before returning to their own tasks. The famished villagers no longer had the energy to pay attention to anything else.
"Captain, they look so pitiful~" Shirahoshi looked at the skin-and-bones villagers, her face showing an expression of sympathy.
"Captain, let's help them." The other women also felt their hearts couldn't bear it. As far as the eye could see, there was not a trace of vitality. The villagers' posture and movements were like zombies.
Leo nodded slightly, retrieving a large amount of food from his system warehouse. Knowing the situation, he had made preparations before coming. After all, many villagers died daily from hunger or drinking contaminated water. The survival issue was urgent.
The reason Leo cared so much was that he had already decided to make Wano his second major base. Firstly, Wano's location was superior, easy to defend, hard to attack; even Marine warships couldn't enter. Secondly, the Ancient Weapon Pluton was hidden here. Controlling Wano equated to controlling Pluton. Lastly, Wano was rich in master craftsmen. Many famed swords on the seas were made by Wano's artisans. Even the Poneglyphs were created by Wano's Kozuki Clan. All of the above were necessary reasons for Leo to occupy Wano!
The villagers stared intently at the large amount of food beside Leo, their eyes gradually taking on a faint green glint.
"Come and take it. This is all for you." Leo looked at the somewhat fearful villagers and smiled slightly. "Before long, you won't have to worry about food anymore."
Driven by hunger, the villagers surged over from all directions. A few respected elders maintained order, distributing the food one by one to everyone.
Leo smiled and led the women further ahead. After passing through a bamboo forest, his Observation Haki finally detected a small hut hidden deep within. There were two figures inside.
Leo quickened his pace; the women hurried to follow. Upon reaching the hut, they saw an old man and a young girl busy outside.
The old man had a distinctive long nose, white hair and eyebrows, wore a tengu-style mask, and had a pair of white wings on his back.
Tenguyama Hitetsu.
Of course, that was his alias.
His real name was Kozuki Sukiyaki, the former Shogun of Wano, and father to Kozuki Oden. After escaping from beneath Orochi Castle, he had lived under an assumed name, residing in Okobore Town as a swordsmith.
Not far from him was a little girl.
She had a cute appearance, with medium-length lilac hair, wearing a light-green short kimono with many patches and green-strapped sandals.
Kurozumi Tama.
Alias: Otama.
The 8-year-old Tama had been orphaned since childhood, adopted and apprenticed by Sukiyaki. She was a kind-hearted little girl. She was also a user of the Paramecia-type Kibi-Kibi Fruit. She could pluck edible dango from her own cheek. Fierce animals eating them would become gentle and obedient. It was equally effective against SMILE users. Anyone eating the dango would regard the ability user as their master and obey her commands. In the original story, Tama used her ability to recruit a large number of SMILE users, making them defect.
"Tama." Leo called out.
"Huh??"
Hearing her name, Tama instinctively looked up.
"Wow~"
Her gaze immediately became fixed.
"So many pretty big sisters~"
For a moment, impacted by such beauty, she seemed to shake off some of her hunger. Not to mention two of the world's Three Great Beauties, Shirahoshi and Hancock; even Nami, Tashigi, Doll, and others were also stunningly beautiful.
"Ahem~"
Completely ignored, Leo cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly. Beauty truly had an advantage, appealing to all.
"You are…" Sukiyaki stepped forward on his geta, unobtrusively shielding Tama behind him, scrutinizing Leo and the others with great wariness. From their clothing standing out from the locals, he immediately recognized they were from outside Wano's borders. Sukiyaki scrutinized the man at the front, Leo. His eyes gradually widened.
"You… you're Leo?!!" Suddenly, Sukiyaki let out a cry of surprise. Once, while out searching for food, he had happened to pick up a discarded newspaper. The person with the bounty on it was the man before him.
"It's me." Leo frankly nodded.
"What is your purpose here?" Sukiyaki's wariness increased, asking cautiously. The man before him was more terrifying than Kurozumi Orochi.
"Kozuki Sukiyaki, I want Tama, and the swords Enma, Ame no Habakiri, and Sandai Kitetsu in your possession." Leo got straight to the point without any beating around the bush.
"Wha… You…!!" Kozuki Sukiyaki almost couldn't stop himself from cursing. The swords and the girl? A lion's maw of a demand right from the start? Damn it, that was all the possessions he had left.
Wait, how did Leo know his true identity?! He even knew about Enma and Ame no Habakiri.
"Sukiyaki, keeping those swords is useless to you. As for Tama, I can give her a better life." Leo stated as a matter of fact. "You also don't need to worry about Kaido. I will naturally defeat him and liberate Wano." Leo added. If not for consideration for little Tama, he wouldn't bother wasting words with this old geezer; he'd just take the swords and leave.
Right then, Rebecca and the other women squatted down, lovingly patting Tama's head, smiling. "Little sister, Brother Leo will help save this country. Are you willing to follow him?"
Surrounded by so many beautiful women, Tama was clearly a bit nervous.
Gurgle, gurgle~
Gurgle, gurgle~
However, before she could speak, her shrunken stomach growled inopportunely again.
"You must be starving?" Caramen looked with heartache at Tama's pale face and immediately took out a large amount of ingredients from her storage ring.
"So many vegetables and meat…" Staring at the food before her, Tama and Sukiyaki's throats involuntarily bobbed. The last time they'd seen this much food was from Shogun Kurozumi Orochi's supply convoy.
"So much food!!!" After a brief moment of shock, Tama jumped for joy on the spot.
Sukiyaki looked on with astonishment at the ring on Caramen's hand. This vast amount of food came from it. Could she be one of those rumored Devil Fruit users?
"Caramen, let Tama taste your cooking. Everyone else, lend a hand." Leo promptly rolled up his sleeves and began washing various vegetables with water. The women all joined in, assisting Caramen.
Sukiyaki opened his mouth, then looked at Tama beside him constantly swallowing. The words on his lips were swallowed back down. With a helpless sigh, he patted Tama's head and said with a smile, "Tama, delicious food is coming soon."
"Mhmm, mhmm." Tama nodded like pounding garlic, her pair of large, round purple eyes extremely bright.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T/N :
Support me and Access 25 chapters in Advance on my P@treon: [email protected]/GodFic