On the Grand Line.
"How boring!"
On the deck of a large ship, Naruto and Yamato lay sprawled out, both looking listless.
At this time, half a month had passed since this Beasts Pirates expedition ship left Wano Country.
Naruto and Yamato, as early as when the ship left Wano Country's waters, couldn't hold back and actively revealed themselves.
Because everyone on the ship already knew about the two of them being on board, they weren't surprised when they appeared, and then the two began to move around the ship openly.
In the first few days, the two showed great curiosity and enthusiasm for everything.
But after a few days, they started to feel bored.
Because there was nothing on the empty Grand Line, their ship had sailed for several days without even seeing an island.
Facing the endless sea all day, both of them found it very uninteresting.
This was not at all like the adventure they had imagined!
"You two, are you already bored?"
A tall, slightly plump Fishman wearing a military cap with two horns came up to them and said, "Sailing on the Grand Line can sometimes be much more monotonous than it is now. Those who can't endure loneliness can't survive on the Grand Line."
This was Kumu, an excellent rising star of the Beasts Pirates, and also the person in charge of this expedition ship.
"Hmph, we're not bored at all!"
Yamato sat up, retorted, and then immediately asked, "Kumu, where is this ship going? How much longer until we arrive?"
Naruto heard this, also sat up and looked at Kumu curiously. He also really wanted to know the ship's destination.
"The destination of this ship is West Blue."
Kumu sat down cross-legged in front of them, answered, and then said, "As for how much longer it will take—if nothing unexpected happens, it will probably take another half a month."
"Another half a month!"
Yamato's face immediately fell when she heard Kumu's answer, and she frowned, saying, "Can't this ship go faster?"
"We're already at full speed."
Kumu glanced at Yamato and said, "And the time I mentioned is assuming no accidents. If we encounter some bad weather or environmental conditions, it will take even longer."
"Alright!~"
Yamato heard this and immediately lay back down weakly, muttering, "I really hope we don't encounter the situation you mentioned—wait, no."
This boring voyage—what if an accident happened and it became interesting?
Yamato suddenly thought this.
"Mr. Kumu, can you tell us about West Blue?" Naruto saw Yamato stop talking, then asked Kumu. He was very curious about the Grand Line of this world now and wanted to know more about it.
"West Blue, huh?"
Kumu heard Naruto's question, thought for a moment, then said, "Actually, this is my first time going to West Blue as well, so I'm not very clear about the situation there. I heard that West Blue is the birthplace of the mafia, and we're going there this time to make a deal with one of the mafia families."
"Oh, right."
Kumu suddenly thought of something and said, "I heard that two years ago, a shocking event happened in West Blue. For some unknown reason, the World Government launched a Buster Call in West Blue, completely wiping a certain island in that sea area off the map."
"Huh? Completely wiped off the map?"
Yamato heard this and immediately became interested, then asked with shining eyes, "Why did the World Government do that? And what is a Buster Call?"
"A Buster Call is an order authorized by the World Government to Marineford to form a fleet consisting of ten warships, five Vice Admirals, and elite Marine forces, to launch an indiscriminate destructive attack on a certain area. It is used to completely eliminate things and people in that area that pose a threat to the World Government's rule."
Kumu explained to the two what a "Buster Call" was, then shook his head and said, "As for why the World Government launched a Buster Call on that island, I'm not very clear either. I heard it's related to the 'Void Century.'"
"The Void Century? What's that?" This time it was Naruto who asked the question.
"I know, I know this!"
After Naruto's question, before Kumu could speak, Yamato excitedly raised her hand and eagerly answered, "The Void Century is a period of about one hundred years of history, approximately 900 to 800 years ago, that the World Government prohibited research on, thus leaving a blank. Only by deciphering the 'poneglyph' can the truth be known."
This was something mentioned in Kozuki Oden's diary, and Yamato had read it more than once, so she remembered it very clearly.
"History prohibited from research by the World Government?"
Naruto heard Yamato's answer and immediately became interested in this matter, then quickly asked, "Why does the World Government prohibit research on that period of history? And what is the poneglyph?"
Although Naruto had also read Kozuki Oden's diary, his understanding of its contents was limited to the illustrations and the adventure parts, so he wasn't clear about these things.
"Ah, this—"
Yamato didn't know how to answer this question.
Because the description of the poneglyph in Kozuki Oden's diary was very scattered, and all Yamato could remember was just the name "poneglyph."
Seeing this, Kumu on the side took over and explained for Yamato, "The poneglyph is the complete text that records the history of the Void Century, scattered in different places across the Grand Line. As for why the World Government prohibits research on the Void Century, it's probably because that period of history hides some important information that could threaten their rule."
"Is that so?"
After hearing Kumu's explanation, Naruto became even more interested in the so-called "Void Century," and then he asked Kumu some more questions about various information regarding this world.
Kumu also patiently answered Naruto, and then the worldview of this world gradually became clear in Naruto's understanding.
"What a strange world." Nine-Tails' voice suddenly rang in Naruto's ears.
Through Naruto, it naturally also heard the information about this world that Kumu had told Naruto.
It turned out that this world actually had hundreds of countries, and the World Government's member nations alone numbered one hundred and seventy-five.
Their Ninja World, with all countries combined, didn't even amount to a fraction of the World Government's member nations.
Also, the power structure of this world was very interesting. Not only did an organization like the World Government exist that could transcend nations, but it could even easily erase a country!
"Hmm, it's also very exciting!" Naruto heard Nine-Tails' words and echoed them in his heart, expressing agreement.
However, the focus of Naruto and Nine-Tails was clearly different.
What Naruto meant by "exciting" referred to the strange islands, races, and climates of this world, while what Nine-Tails meant by "strange" referred to the power structure of this world.
It really couldn't understand how an organization like the World Government was established and what it relied on to maintain its existence for such a long time, for hundreds of years.
"Oh, right!~"
Kumu suddenly stood up and then said to Naruto and Yamato, "Uncle Kaido instructed that once we leave the Grand Line, you two should disembark. We'll reach Reverse Mountain in a few days, so you need to get ready."
"Huh!~"
Yamato and Naruto were startled when they heard Kumu's words, instinctively exchanged glances, and then Yamato said with a complex expression, "That bastard Kaido—did he really know we were on this ship all along?"
In fact, she and Naruto had already realized this when Kumu discovered them on the ship but didn't seem surprised at all. Now it was just confirmation.
However, both of them were very surprised that Kaido would actually allow them to go out to sea.
After all, Kaido had told them more than once that if they couldn't defeat him, he wouldn't allow them to go out to sea. They didn't expect Kaido to actually change his mind.
"Mr. Kumu, is something going to happen with Uncle Kaido?" Naruto suddenly asked, his tone serious.
Naruto was very surprised by Kaido suddenly changing his mind and allowing them to go out to sea, because he knew very well that Kaido was not someone who would casually change his decisions. Furthermore, when he and Yamato sought Kaido's guidance on Observation Haki training, he had felt a suppressed emotion from Kaido.
Now, connecting the two things, Naruto felt that Kaido must be facing some kind of great danger, which made him change his mind and let him and Yamato go out to sea.
Yamato heard this and also stared at Kumu with a serious gaze.
She wasn't worried about Kaido, because she believed that probably no one in this world could kill her bastard father.
But her important friends were still on Onigashima. If something dangerous really happened there, wouldn't her friends be in great danger?
"No, you're overthinking it."
Kumu, facing their serious and earnest gazes, shook his head calmly, then said confidently, "In this world, no one can pose a threat to Uncle Kaido and the Beasts Pirates in Wano Country!"
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