“Captain, the coating is finished. Should we… dive now?”
While Drey was hesitating over whether to go pay the transit fee he had skipped, Hodell had already set sail with his crew.
Drey did not answer his subordinate’s question. Instead, he waited until he was sure Hodell had gone far away before sending someone to pay the overdue transit fee.
The surfaced shipwreck had truly frightened him. The other side had undoubtedly been stronger than him, yet had still ended up like that. After some thought, Drey decided it was best to give in for now.
As long as Hodell never found out, it didn’t matter.
The very fact that the ship floated up served as a form of intimidation.
The simplest way for the Ryugu Kingdom to destroy vessels attempting to descend was to rupture their bubble coating directly. In that case, however, both the ship and its crew would almost never make it back to the surface.
Another method was to fight in a manner similar to boarding actions, though those missions were generally carried out only by officers.
The coating itself was extremely durable. Even when living creatures passed through it, it would not burst immediately.
In the current circumstances, countless rookie pirates knew far too little about the terror the Ryugu Kingdom once inspired. They needed examples—victims to serve as warnings to others.
There was no shortage of such pirates. Some successfully reached the New World, while many more slept forever in these deep waters.
Sea Circle Calendar Year 1518.
A full year had passed since Roger’s execution.
Over the course of that year, the Marines had not remained idle. They launched frequent operations, searching for Roger’s possible descendants while also carrying out various campaigns against pirates.
Yet none of those efforts managed to slow the growth of pirate numbers. The seas were becoming more troublesome with each passing day. Although no monster on the level of Rocks had appeared, pirate attacks occurred far more frequently than in the past.
Whether in the Four Seas or the Grand Line, nations everywhere suffered as a result.
Affiliated nations protected by the Marines or islands sheltered by powerful pirates fared relatively well, but conditions on other islands were far less fortunate.
As an unavoidable node, Fish-Man Island would have been easy prey in this chaotic era if it had remained as it once was. Every passing pirate crew would have wanted a bite of it.
But now, the wreckage of pirate ships showed every passing pirate just how cruel these waters could be.
The turmoil of the outside world had no effect on the lives of the kingdom’s residents. As always, they studied, grew, and filled the gaps within the Ryugu Kingdom.
At this moment, a small boat that had departed from Fish-Man Island was sailing through the waters of the New World. There were only two people aboard: Sebastian and Wobbegong.
Their destination was Wano Country.
Not long ago, Kaido had contacted Nereus. The general message was that he needed a Fish-Man or Merfolk to visit Wano Country and lend a hand.
Back then, Kurozumi Higurashi had invited Kaido into Wano Country, hoping to use him to accomplish one of the Kurozumi family’s plans.
After entering Wano, Kaido entered a period of rapid development. However, during this time, some of his subordinates discovered something within Wano’s inland sea.
Because of the depth and terrain, neither humans in diving suits nor machines built by Queen could reach the location. Wanting to investigate further, Kaido thought of Nereus.
Since the journey was not a peaceful one, Nereus originally intended to send only Sebastian. However, after hearing about this matter, Wobbegong, who had been staying on the island conducting research, insisted on accompanying him.
“You, of all people. Wasn’t doing research on the island good enough? What’s so special about that place?”
“You don’t understand, Sebastian. That country possesses many things of great value. Beneath that island lies one of the Ancient Weapons—Pluton!
“Besides that, it’s also the only known nation that produces Seastone.
“I originally thought there would be other Seastone deposits somewhere in the deep sea, but despite years of searching, our survey teams have never found a single additional vein.”
Speaking like an intellectual, Wobbegong began explaining Wano Country’s unique circumstances to Sebastian. However, Sebastian felt that none of it was particularly meaningful.
“Everything you mentioned, I already know. But it’s not like we’re going to excavate Pluton right now. As for ores, even if we need Seastone, surely the head of the research department doesn’t have to personally go out and buy it.”
“That’s not the point. I’ve been researching some things recently. Wano Country possesses unique forging techniques. Whether it’s sword polishing or their exclusive methods of processing Seastone, their technology is quite special.
“It might give me some inspiration. Even Vegapunk occasionally travels around in search of inspiration. When your thoughts run dry, getting out and seeing the world can be quite useful.”
The whirlpools surrounding Wano Country posed no challenge to Fish-Men. Without much effort, the two of them entered the country through Mogura Port.
It was a special port hidden within the mountains. Now under the control of the Beasts Pirates, it had become the safest route in and out of Wano Country.
Without using this route, the only alternative was to scale the waterfall from the outside and undertake a dangerous voyage.
After entering Wano Country, however, a pungent odor immediately caused both Wobbegong and Sebastian to cover their noses.
“What is Scien doing here…”
Looking at the chimneys in the distance continuously spewing black smoke, Wobbegong frowned. He could clearly tell that the factories were discharging pollution; they had simply happened to arrive in Wano Country at this very moment.
Combined with the direction of the wind, the smoke was drifting straight toward them.
“Scien? There is no Scien here anymore! The only one here is the sole All-Stars, QUEEN!”
Accompanied by an energetic musical performance, two wild boars pulling a brightly lit carriage appeared before them. Standing atop it was the extravagantly dressed Queen. Under the lights and music, numerous pirates danced as backup performers.
“QUEEN! QUEEN!”
Amid the cheers of his subordinates, Queen brought his boar cart to a stop and struck what he considered to be an incredibly cool entrance pose.
Logically, Kaido should have referred to Queen as “KING” under these circumstances. However, Queen disliked the pronunciation, and Kaido felt Queen wasn’t quite worthy of that title, so he remained “QUEEN.”
Sebastian watched everything with some interest. Wobbegong, meanwhile, covered his face, seemingly embarrassed that he had once worked alongside this man.
“Muhahaha! Wobbegong, long time no see! Why are you acting shy? This welcome ceremony was specially prepared for you!”
Before MADS had been acquired by the World Government, Queen had already left the organization, making him one of its earliest departures. The two truly had not seen each other in several years.
Yet faced with a Queen who had completely let himself go and seemed to be evolving from “human” into “human-like,” Wobbegong wished he could pretend not to know him.
“Sci— no, Queen! What the hell are you doing?!”
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