Puru puru puru puru...
Kacha.
On the Ore Island in the New World, the sound of a Den Den Mushi rang out among a group of figures drinking heavily.
The burly man slammed his kanabo onto the ground, pulled a Den Den Mushi from his chest, and answered it, speaking in a drunken voice: "Who is it! If you disturb my drinking without a reason that satisfies me, you know the consequences, don't you!!!"
The enormous roar created a shockwave, making the expressions of the tall man in leather, the plump blond man, and a man wearing a fur vest also turn serious.
"Ka... Ka... Kaido-sama, Yamato-sama has escaped from Onigashima!" The Den Den Mushi perfectly recreated the caller's terrified expression, down to the cold sweat on the forehead.
The trembling voice drifted across the now-silent island, and the many members of the Beasts Pirates present didn't dare breathe a word.
After a long while, the drunken man raised his hand and scratched his head. "Yamato... who is that?"
Many of the Beasts Pirates' executives rolled their eyes and collapsed onto the ground.
Finally, the man wrapped head-to-toe in leather couldn't take it anymore and took the Den Den Mushi from Kaido's hand: "Kaido-san is drunk right now. What's the situation over there?"
"King-san! Thank goodness!" The person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi breathed a sigh of relief. "Three hours ago, a group of pirates broke into Onigashima, defeated everyone, and then fought with Yamato-sama. When we checked the surveillance snails, we found that Yamato-sama left with them!"
"Understood. We'll figure out a way to wake Kaido-san up and bring him back as soon as possible." Glancing sideways at Kaido, who was still making a drunken scene, King rubbed his temples helplessly.
Then the Den Den Mushi was hung up. He walked alone in front of Kaido. "Kaido-san, Yamato is your son. He's run out of Onigashima now, probably with the help of a powerful Haki user."
"Oh, so it's my son. Waaah waaah waaah!" Kaido burst into loud sobs. "Why, why did he leave me!!!"
The seven-meter-tall little giant Kaido rolled around on the ground completely lacking dignity.
King covered his forehead in pain and kicked the blond fat man next to him. "Hey, fat pig, do you have any medicine that can sober someone up immediately?"
"Heh, I have medicine that can send someone to the afterlife immediately." Queen angrily snapped his wrist, revealing the weaponry hidden beneath his modified body. "And what did you call me, you bastard?"
"Ma ma, you two big brothers, isn't the most important thing right now to get Yamato back?" Seeing the atmosphere growing tense, Jack stepped between them to mediate.
"No choice. I'll head over first." King turned back and instructed the Beasts Pirates' members, "Don't let Kaido-san drink anymore. And when he wakes up, tell him to come find me immediately!"
With that, King's body began to distort. He stretched his arms wide to form wings, transformed entirely into a massive pteranodon, flapped his wings, and flew into the sky.
…
At the same time, at the waterfall on the outer sea of Wano Country.
"Wahahaha, Guremaru-go, charge!"
Dressed in a shrine maiden's outfit, Yamato sat at the bow of the ship, excitedly raising her fist to name their newly acquired vessel.
Directly ahead of her, the brown pirate ship was currently plummeting at a ninety-degree angle down Wano's waterfall toward the ocean below.
"No good, we'll be smashed to pieces at this rate. Sato Sakura, use your invincible ability and figure something out!" Ace wrapped himself around the mast and shouted loudly toward the giant girl leaning against the sterncastle.
"Don't worry, leave everything to..." Sato Sakura turned around expressionlessly, her calm demeanor looking very reliable. "...fate."
The crew members had been ready to praise her, thinking she'd say 'leave everything to me', but her next words choked them until their faces turned blue.
"What the hell, you bastard!"
Even Ace couldn't help but join his crewmates in baring their teeth in a shark-toothed grimace and roaring at Sato Sakura.
"Wahahaha!"
The giant ship, crafted by an ancient giant shipwright, crashed into the water amidst Yamato's laughter.
The tension from the water's surface and the reactive force of the high-altitude fall surged into the ship's keel, finally causing it to emit a sound of breaking under the strain.
Crack!
Using the ship's mast as the central axis, the ribs and sides of the entire vessel tore apart. The bow plunged directly into the water, throwing Yamato, who had been sitting on it, into the sea.
"Oh no, save them!"
Ace's pupils contracted, and he called out to the crew members to go into the water.
After much struggle, Yamato and three or four crew members who had gone into the water lay on the broken deck, gasping for air.
"The ship can't move. We're trapped." Sato Sakura gave her conclusion after multiple checks.
The now-unseaworthy hull was carried by the current from Wano's waterfall, drifting toward more distant seas.
They were no different from ordinary castaways now. This state was undoubtedly very dangerous.
"So... should we contact Mother?"
Sato Sakura expressionlessly pulled a specially made communication Den Den Mushi from her chest.
This Den Den Mushi could only call one frequency. At the cost of sacrificing all its other communication bands, this snail's signal could be received by its counterpart under any conditions.
"Well..."
Ace and the other crew members exchanged glances and swallowed.
They had just escaped from one Emperor's territory, only to potentially walk right into another's?
And if they returned to Medical Island now, they could already foresee the miserable life awaiting them.
"Hey hey, what are you talking about? Where are we going next?"
Yamato, having spat out a large amount of seawater, woke up and started circling around Ace and Sato Sakura.
"Hold on, let me think..."
Ace was about to answer Yamato when a flash of rainbow light suddenly appeared in all three of their pupils.
Ace, Sato Sakura, and Yamato simultaneously looked up, their gazes focusing on the small black dot in the sky growing closer.
"I've been looking for you, you brats."
King's face twisted with anger. Haki coiled around his body, and his wings curved into an arc.
The entire pteranodon transformed into a blade in the sky, slashing down toward their only refuge.
—Vermilion Bow Emperor!
"Not a chance!"
In the midst of a delayed daze, Ace's Observation Haki locked onto that brutal shadow descending from the heavens.
The blade in his hand was coated in a jet-black glow. The blade, roaring with dark thunder, slashed down mercilessly, carving an arc-shaped gash in mid-air.
—Rough Soul!
Clang!
A violent howling sound erupted from the point where the blade met the wing. The shockwave of the clash accelerated the sinking of Sato Sakura's ship.
"Get out of the way, brat!"
A flame ignited behind King. His physical strength swelled several times over. He spun around and slashed Ace into the sea.
"Ace!"
Yamato called out loudly. Thunder fell from the heavens in response to her roar, transforming her body amidst the lightning.
Then, a pure white wolf deity leaped from the ship, opening its massive jaws toward the sea below.
—Ice Fang!
The biting cold air plunged into the sea, instantly freezing everything solid, transforming the surging waves into a pure white snowy plain.
Boom!
Ace crashed into the ice. King took the opportunity to close in, rushing to Yamato's side. "Come back with me, Yamato!"
"I don't want to! I'm going out to sea to have an adventure with my companions!"
The wolf deity's body stood upright, transforming back into a humanoid form, fingers and human torso emerging. Her kanabo, Takeru, pointed at King.
"Foolish. What's wrong with helping Kaido-san rule Wano? It's your destiny… born with you!"
King also entered his hybrid form, pulling a large sword from behind him. The flames behind him blazed fiercely.
"I've answered that question for him many times already!"
Yamato's gaze was resolute. Her surging will ignited a powerful spirit, transforming into pure Conqueror's Haki that shook the sky and sea. "I'm not interested in ruling over anyone!"
"Well said!"
Another roar carrying Conqueror's Haki interrupted their conversation.
In King's pupils, a flame identical to his own ignited, instantly detonating all his anger.
"How dare you do something like this!!!"