Chapter 226: An Invitation to Wano Country
"Captain, the coating is finished. Should we... dive now?"
While Dere was hesitating over whether he should go back and pay the border toll, Hodel had already set sail with his crew.
Dere didn't answer his subordinate immediately. Only after confirming that Hodel's ship was far out of sight did he dispatch a crew member to retroactively pay the transit fee.
The shattered, sunken ship that had just breached the surface had genuinely terrified him. That Supernova was absolutely, unequivocally stronger than him, yet he still met such a gruesome end. After some careful thought, Dere decided it was best to swallow his pride for now.
As long as Hodel didn't find out, his reputation wouldn't take a hit.
The fact that the Ryugu Kingdom allowed that destroyed ship to float to the surface was an act of deterrence in itself.
The easiest way for the Ryugu Kingdom to destroy a submerged ship would be to simply pierce its bubble film. But if they did that, both the ship and its crew would sink directly to the seabed and never resurface.
Another combat method was performing a specialized form of underwater boarding. However, tasks like that were usually carried out personally by the kingdom's officers.
The coating on a ship was incredibly resilient; even if an individual lifeform passed through it, the bubble wouldn't burst outright.
In the current environment, an innumerable horde of rookie pirates lacked the proper understanding of the sheer terror the Ryugu Kingdom represented. They needed a few "examples" to kill the chicken and warn the monkeys.
Pirates of that caliber were utterly ubiquitous. Some smoothly navigated into the New World, while countless others fell into an eternal slumber in the dark depths of this sea.
Sea Circle Calendar Year 1518. An entire year had passed since Roger's execution.
The Marines hadn't just sat back and waited during this time. They had launched frequent, large-scale operations. Aside from hunting down any potential bloodline Roger might have left behind, they also initiated various crackdowns targeting active pirates.
However, these operations failed entirely to curb the explosive proliferation of pirates.
The chaos on the sea worsened by the day. Although no world-ending monster like Rocks had been born yet, the sheer frequency of pirate raids was infinitely higher than in the previous era.
Whether in the Four Blues or the Grand Line, countless nations suffered devastating impacts.
Affiliated nations protected by the Marines or islands sheltered by Great Pirates were relatively fine. But the situation for independent islands was nothing short of horrific.
As an unavoidable transit node, if Fish-Man Island had remained as it was in the past, it would have been a massive chunk of fat on the chopping block in this chaotic era. Every pirate passing through would have wanted to take a vicious bite out of it.
But now, the shattered wreckage of pirate ships littering the surrounding waters served as a grim testament to passing pirates about the absolute cruelty of this territory.
The external turmoil had absolutely zero impact on the daily lives of the kingdom's citizens. They continued to study, grow, and fill the developmental gaps within the Ryugu Kingdom, just as they always had.
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 on board: Sebastian and Wobbegong, and their destination was Wano Country.
Not long ago, Kaido had contacted Nereus. The gist of the message was that he needed a Fish-Man or Merfolk to make a trip to Wano and lend him a hand.
Years ago, Kurozumi Higurashi had extended an invitation to Kaido, allowing him entry into Wano Country in order to fulfill a grand scheme formulated by the Kurozumi Clan.
After entering Wano, Kaido had entered a rapid phase of expansion. Recently, however, his subordinates had discovered something lurking within the inland sea of Wano.
But due to the extreme depth and treacherous underwater topography, neither humans wearing diving suits nor the mechanical submersibles built by Queen could reach the bottom. To investigate exactly what was down there, Kaido immediately thought of Nereus.
Because the journey was highly unstable right now, Nereus originally intended to dispatch only Sebastian. But when Wobbegong, who usually holed himself up in his lab on the island, heard about the trip, he insisted on tagging along.
"Seriously, man... isn't doing research on the island good enough for you? What could possibly be worth seeing in a place like that?" Sebastian grumbled.
"You don't understand, Sebastian. That country holds immense value. Buried deep beneath that island is one of the Ancient Weapons: Pluton!
"On top of that, it is the only known country in the world that produces Seastone.
"I originally thought there must be other Seastone veins deep within the ocean, but our exploration teams have been searching for years and still haven't discovered a single one."
Wobbegong began passionately lecturing Sebastian on the intricate details of Wano Country, adopting the tone of an intellectual scholar. However, Sebastian found the entire speech completely meaningless.
"I know all of that. But it's not like we can just waltz in and dig up Pluton right now. And as for the ore, even if we need Seastone, the Minister of Scientific Research shouldn't have to go out and buy it himself."
"Those aren't the main points! I've been researching a few specific things lately, and Wano possesses unique, highly specialized forging techniques. Whether it's polishing blades or their exclusive methods for processing Seastone, they are incredibly unique.
"It might just give me the inspiration I need! Even Vegapunk occasionally goes out on field trips to seek inspiration. When your mind hits a creative wall, going out for a stroll is actually very effective."
The fierce whirlpools surrounding the outer sea of Wano Country posed absolutely no challenge to Fish-Men. Without expending much effort, the two smoothly navigated through the hidden submarine port and entered Wano's interior.
This was a specialized port carved deep into the mountain, now entirely controlled by the Beast Pirates. It was the safest and most secure entry route into the country.
If one didn't take this path, their only alternative was to brave the perilous, waterfall-climbing exterior route.
Upon entering Wano Country proper, a sharp, pungent odor instantly assaulted their noses, forcing both Wobbegong and Sebastian to cover their faces.
"What in the world is Zien building here...?"
Looking at the towering smokestacks incessantly belching thick, black smoke in the distance, Wobbegong furrowed his brow. He obviously recognized this as industrial factory pollution; they had just happened to enter Wano right as a massive plume was released.
Coupled with the direction of the wind, the suffocating smoke had blown directly over them.
"Zien?! There is no Zien here! There is only the sole Lead Performer... QUEEN!"
Accompanied by a burst of overwhelmingly vibrant, high-energy music, a brightly lit stage-carriage pulled by two massive boars appeared before them. Standing atop it was Queen, dressed in an outrageously flamboyant outfit. Bathed in flashing stage lights and blaring music, numerous pirates were actively dancing backup for him.
"QUEEN! QUEEN!"
Amidst the roaring cheers of his subordinates, Queen brought his boar-chariot to a halt and struck a pose that he personally believed to be incredibly handsome and cool.
Logically speaking, given the circumstances, Kaido should have appointed Queen as "King." However, Queen absolutely despised the pronunciation of that name. Furthermore, Kaido felt Queen couldn't quite shoulder the weight of that title yet. Thus, he remained "Queen."
Sebastian watched the entire spectacle with mild amusement. Wobbegong, however, slapped a hand over his own face, seemingly finding the fact that he used to work with this man utterly humiliating.
"Muhahaha! Wobbegong, long time no see! Why are you acting so shy?! This is a specialized welcome ceremony I prepared just for you!"
Before MADS was officially bought out by the World Government, Queen had already defected, making him one of the earliest members to abandon the organization. The two truly hadn't seen each other in years.
But facing this version of Queen—who had completely let himself loose, arguably devolving from a "human" into something only vaguely "human-like"—Wobbegong desperately wished he could pretend he didn't know the man.
"Zien... no, Queen. What the hell are you doing?!"
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