“You idiot!”
“What did we tell you before?”
Law and Sanji appeared on either side of Luffy, raising their fists against his head. The protruding knuckles were even coated in Haki as they began drilling into him.
“Ow, ow, ow! But look! There are so many Hercules!”
It wasn’t just that there were a lot of them. Heracross were actually holding sumo matches. At that moment, two Heracross were trying to push each other out of the ring.
Nowadays, the delinquent youths of Wano admired Croagunk and were especially fond of its personality. In contrast, children preferred Miltank or Heracross.
Among them, Heracross was practically every boy’s dream. If they could earn the recognition of a Heracross and win the annual King of Bugs Contest, it meant briefly reaching the pinnacle of their childhood.
There were many similar competitions as well, including but not limited to the Beautifly Beauty Contest, the Croagunk Brick-Breaking Contest, and the Miltank Dairy Cuisine Contest; all of which are methods for boosting domestic economic consumption.
However, participating wasn’t easy. Forming a partnership with a Pokémon required a tremendous investment of time.
Heracross weren’t little beetles that appeared after the rain and could be caught with a simple net. Sometimes, even after spending an entire week living in the mountains and forests, people still failed to earn a Heracross’s favor.
Cases like Luffy’s, where he just happened to run into a glutton, were complete exceptions and impossible to replicate.
Besides, not every Pokémon could support itself, nor did they all possess the equivalent of an Arceus-issued “government job.” If you want to be a “Poseidon” among Pokémon, you also have to consider your financial strength.
Normally, a family would only build relationships with Pokémon within their means.
“Hercules is nowhere to be found. If I brought it here to compete, first place would definitely be mine. I really want that food voucher, it looks delicious.”
[Champion’s Prize: One Nationwide Gourmet Voucher (Family Package, Valid for Three Days) + 10 Gold Coins]
“Enough already. What’s a competition like that got to do with you? You’re already over the age limit.”
“Come on, let me look~ There are so many Hercules here too. Its species really is spread all over the world.”
Throughout their voyage, the Straw Hats had encountered quite a few Heracross. Finding them in Wano Country didn’t surprise Luffy at all. However, Sanji and Law had no intention of agreeing to his request.
The two dragged Luffy to the side, then got a headache.
“I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have brought Straw Hat-ya out with us. If I apply for a job at the hospital, there’s no way I can take him along. He’ll definitely turn the entire hospital upside down.”
“Same here. I can’t bring him into a kitchen. Last time he ate everything in the kitchen. Even a locked refrigerator couldn’t stop him. If I let him into a kitchen, our cover will definitely be blown.”
Letting Luffy into a kitchen was like throwing a tiger into a flock of sheep. Any cafeteria that accepted him would probably end up with no food left. Just then, however, they spotted a rather unusual figure.
Sanji and Law weren’t completely sure at first, but Luffy recognized it immediately.
“Hercules? So this is where you’ve been! You’re here to freeload food and drinks, aren’t you?”
Not far away, a Heracross walked silently past them. Hanging from the horn on its head was a bag resembling an IV drip, except it was filled with mixed Berry juice. The liquid flowed through a specially made straw directly into Hercules’s mouth.
In its right hand was a bag of Poffins, while its left hand held a honey stick.
According to Wano Country’s current customs, whenever an event related to a particular Pokémon species was held, Pokémon of that species could enjoy everything at the venue free of charge.
In a sense, Luffy wasn’t wrong. Hercules really was freeloading.
By now, it had completely given up. Luffy’s outcome was already set in stone, so why bother with futile efforts? Still, while everyone else had been busy, Hercules hadn’t been doing absolutely nothing.
At the very least, it had run into a Geodude on vacation and enjoyed a friendly chat with it. You could say it was currying favor with a prison guard in advance.
Afterward, it came here to enjoy life. Life aboard the ship was certainly nice, but how could it possibly compare to this place?
Since these events also attracted independent wild Heracross, the people of Wano Country always seized the opportunity to see whether they could earn the favor of a particular Heracross.
Under such circumstances, all the delicacies provided were perfectly tailored to Heracross’s tastes.
“Heraaacross?”
Hercules looked completely puzzled. It couldn’t understand why they had shown up here, and it had assumed Luffy would have been caught much sooner.
“You came at just the right time, Beetle-ya. I’ve thought it over carefully. You need to keep an eye on him. There’s a job here that’s perfect for him. Just watch him finish the work, then bring him back to the base.”
Earlier, Law had copied down some of the recruitment postings and discovered a position that seemed to require no brains whatsoever. After handing the task over to Hercules, he finally felt at ease enough to leave with Sanji and continue their own plans.
“Wait, Trafalgar Law, is this really the right direction?”
The direction Law was heading felt wrong to Sanji. It seemed like they were moving toward the dangerous area they had discussed earlier.
“You saw the map too, didn’t you? That’s where Kuri is. The place we’re staying is Kibi. Those two idiots got the information completely wrong.”
“I saw it, but if we keep going this way, won’t we end up in Udon? Didn’t you say that was a dangerous area?”
“That’s true. Actually, my destination is Hakumai. Calm down, I remember exactly what I said. If Straw Hat-ya or that Lost-ya tried something like this, I’d be worried. But I’m different.
I have my own objectives. I don’t fool around recklessly.
You should understand as well. If we don’t enter the dangerous places, we won’t obtain the information we’re looking for.”
If all they wanted was a general understanding of Wano Country, they had already achieved that. Along the way, Law hadn’t seen any signs of hardship among the people. Even during Flevance’s most prosperous era, its citizens probably hadn’t lived as well as the people here.
But obtaining a Poneglyph or taking action against Doflamingo wasn’t something that could be accomplished by casually wandering around outside.
Law planned to use his medical skills to apply for a position at a Pokémon Center and carry out his plan from within.
“If you head over there now, you probably won’t make it back in time.”
“There’s a registration office here too. I’ll sign up first and head over tomorrow. At the very least, I can still make it back tonight.
“If everything goes smoothly, I’ll earn both money and information. Don’t tell me you really just want to be a cook at some ordinary restaurant.”
“Getting close to those pirates would definitely be better. Maybe I can get some useful information out of a drunk guy or two…”
Law and Sanji’s plans progressed fairly smoothly. Luffy, meanwhile, hadn’t encountered any trouble for the time being. At the moment, he was hauling bricks at a construction site in Kuri. He worked harder than the machinery, practically completing the entire labor team’s workload by himself. Of course, he also ate through several days’ worth of food for the entire team.
The supervisor deeply regretted promising the newcomer that he would be fed until full. After doing the math, he realized that if this continued, not only would it delay the project, it would actually cost money. In the end, he had no choice but to tell Luffy not to come back the next day.
Eventually, Luffy returned to their base with a full stomach and a tiny bit of food. As for where the money went…
On the way back, he had run into several snack stalls. This time, even Hercules couldn’t stop him. He spent every last coin. The little bit of food he still had was only what Hercules had managed to pry out from between Luffy’s teeth.
Law and Sanji had successfully completed the first stage of their interviews. Usopp and Bon Kurei had also successfully joined the theater troupe. However, when evening came, they realized Zoro hadn’t returned. They waited until midnight, but Zoro still hadn’t appeared.
“Where’s that mosshead?! You two didn’t keep an eye on him?”
“He disappeared in the blink of an eye! There was nothing we could do…”
“What about a Den Den Mushi? Didn’t you give him a Den Den Mushi?”
“Um… the Den Den Mushi is with me. He disappeared before he had a chance to take it…”
Looking at the empty spot nearby, Law once again closed his eyes in frustration.
Just then, a gentle knock sounded at the door. Law initially thought Zoro had finally found his way back. But surprises seemed to follow them everywhere.
When the door opened, the person Law saw was someone who was supposed to have remained aboard the Sunny.
They had lost Zoro, yet somehow they hadn’t lost any people. Not only had they not lost anyone, their numbers had increased by three.
“Why are you people here too?! Didn’t I tell you not to come?”
“We wanted to help…”
“You’re only making things more troublesome. Where’s your ship?”
“We temporarily left it with your people. It’s hidden near an uninhabited island together with your submarine.”
“Then how did you get here? And how did you find this place?!”
“We had Luffy’s Vivre Card, and a flying machine Franky modified using Dials. We didn’t encounter any obstacles during the night…”
The explanation cleared up the mystery, but Law only became more confused. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to beat up his past self and ask why he had ever chosen to work with such an unreliable group of people. As expected, discussing plans with them had been a mistake from the very beginning.
The only good news was that they had made a few extra fake IDs back then.
“Fine. Since you’re already here, follow orders. First, let’s discuss a new issue, the current state of Wano Country.”
Having more people had its advantages. At the very least, they could keep an eye on Luffy and help search for Zoro.
Making a Vivre Card was a technical skill, not something just anyone could do. Luffy’s Vivre Card had originally been made by Ace, and on the entire ship, Luffy was the only one who even had one.
“You two, after a full day of observation, Wano Country doesn’t seem anything like what you described.”
Law’s words immediately pushed Kin’emon and the other man into the center of attention. Meanwhile, the missing person had finally resurfaced.
At Hyogoro’s home, Hyogoro was watching Wano Country’s evening program when a knock came from outside. When his wife went to answer the door, she found a sweating Zoro standing there.
“Didn’t you say you were going back to your own place? Why are you back again?”
Earlier, Hyogoro had offered to let Zoro stay the night. Kojiro had been busy dealing with currency-related matters for quite some time, leaving the elderly couple feeling somewhat lonely. It was rare for them to meet a young man they liked, so they had naturally treated him warmly.
However, Zoro had clearly declined the offer and left without even staying for dinner. Yet three hours later, he had somehow returned.
“Do you…”
“We old folks aren’t that frail yet. Since you’ve come back, come inside and have some tea first.”
Hyogoro’s wife pulled Zoro back inside once again. She assumed Zoro was simply being considerate toward two lonely elderly people.
What she didn’t know was that, over the past three hours, Zoro had circled this street more than a hundred times. No matter which direction he went, he always ended up back at their front door.
And the words he never finished were: “Do you guys live inside a maze or something? Where the hell is the way out?!”
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