Chapter 152: The Beast Pirates
While Luffy and Bepo continued their chaotic reunion, Itachi turned to Wanda with a question that had been forming since the battle in the forest.
He had already confirmed that neither Wanda nor Carrot—nor even those Guardian Knights lying in ambush—harbored any genuine hostility toward them. That was the only reason he had held back. In another life, in another world, enemies who attacked without warning would not have survived the encounter.
"Why are you all wounded?"
Itachi's eyes swept across the group. Wanda's arm was wrapped in fresh bandages. Carrot's leg bore a healing gash. Even Bepo and the Heart Pirates, who had been on the island for weeks, showed signs of recent injury. And in the forest, those knights he had restrained—every single one of them had been wearing dressings over some wound or another.
"Those knights in the trees. You and Carrot. Even Bepo's crew. Every one of you is injured."
Wanda stiffened. She hadn't expected him to notice such details—not after a brief skirmish in a dense forest, not when he had been outnumbered and surrounded.
"Forest?" She blinked. "What are you talking about? What ambush?"
Itachi studied her face for a moment. She genuinely didn't know. Pedro must have positioned his forces without informing the two women. A separate chain of command.
"Never mind. The wounds. What caused them?"
Wanda's expression darkened. Her teeth clenched—the same expression Itachi had seen on Pedro's face in the moment before the lion mink had ordered the retreat.
"Our country... was beautiful once. Before this." Her voice was low, controlled, but trembling at the edges. "Half a month ago. We were hit by a devastating attack."
"Devastation? What kind of attack? By humans, or by beasts?"
Wanda's eyes flashed red.
"PIRATES! The BEAST Pirates!"
Beasts. The name triggered immediate recognition. Kaido. The Emperor of the Sea. The creature that Doflamingo's SMILE operation had been supplying for years. The monster whose shadow loomed over every step of their journey since Punk Hazard.
Luffy's head snapped toward the conversation. "What pirate crew is this?"
The ground lurched.
"EARTHQUAKE?!" Luffy windmilled his arms.
"GET TO HIGH GROUND!" Wanda was already moving. "The Fire-Rain is coming!"
The elephant's trunk was rising. Itachi saw it—the massive appendage lifting toward the sky, water already cascading from its tip. Not rain. Not a storm. The creature itself, drawing seawater from the ocean far below and spraying it across its own back in a deluge that could drown a city.
"JUMP!"
Wanda's crocodile surged forward. Itachi seized Luffy by the collar and vaulted onto its back. His hands moved to form seals—the Black Fire Crow could carry them above the flood—but the water was already here. A wall of seawater crashed down from above, submerging everything.
The crocodile swam. Luffy—a Devil Fruit user, instantly paralyzed by the sea—went limp. His rubber body began to slip beneath the surface. Itachi's hand closed around his wrist and hauled him up.
"It's terrible... but you saved me." Luffy draped over Itachi's back like a wet towel. "That's some bad rain."
"It's not rain." Wanda shook water from her fur. "The Elephant Lord does this twice a day. We call it the Fire-Rain, but it's actually seawater. It washes across the entire back and drains through the city's channels."
Itachi watched the flood receding through purpose-built waterways carved into the ancient stone. "Your civilization designed its entire infrastructure around this phenomenon. The drainage system is integrated into the city's foundation."
"That's right. The water filters through the central drains and flows into reservoirs. It brings fish and food from the sea below. It's the lifeblood of our country."
Carrot shook herself dry like a rabbit emerging from a burrow, sending droplets flying in every direction. "The Fire-Rain is also why we can live up here at all! Without it, there'd be no fresh seafood!"
Behind them, Bepo was leaping from tree to tree, his white fur plastered to his round body. "Straw Hat! Please tell our captain to come to the forest! I can't leave yet—I need him to come to me!"
"Why can't you just come with us?" Luffy asked, still draped over Itachi's shoulder.
Carrot answered before Bepo could. "Bepo's from the Mink Tribe, but he's also a pirate now. That means he has to be supervised by Master Nekomamushi. He can't leave the forest until the boss says so."
"Ohhh. Okay. I'll tell Tra-guy."
Carrot leaned in close to Luffy and sniffed. Then, without warning, she bit his ear.
"HUH?!" Luffy went cross-eyed. There was no pain—just confusion.
Before anyone could explain, Carrot had already shifted to Itachi's side. Her nose twitched. She leaned in, sniffing at his neck, his hair, his shoulder. Her mouth opened—
She froze.
Itachi's eyes were staring directly at her. Cold. Unblinking. The kind of look that had made seasoned jōnin reconsider their life choices. There was no genjutsu behind it. No killing intent. Just the quiet, patient expectation of someone waiting to see what a stranger would do.
"...Scary." Carrot's ears drooped.
"What are you trying to do?"
But the rabbit mink gathered her courage. She leaned forward and, very gently, licked Itachi's cheek.
"It's a Mink greeting!" Wanda smiled, some of the tension leaving her face. "We communicate with our noses and tongues. It means we accept you. You're friends now."
Friends. Itachi touched his cheek. The gesture was... unusual. But not unwelcome.
They continued through the flooded city. The water was already receding, channeled by the ancient drainage system. And as the level dropped, Itachi saw them.
Execution racks. Dozens of them. Wooden frames rising above the waterline, their surfaces scarred by claws and—in some places—dark stains that rain could not wash away.
"These. What were they used for?"
The question was quiet. But it struck Wanda and Carrot like a physical blow. Their faces crumpled. Their eyes glistened with sudden, raw grief.
Itachi saw the tears forming in the corners of Wanda's eyes. He nodded slowly. "I understand. I apologize. I touched a wound that hasn't healed."
"No." Wanda wiped her eyes with the back of her paw. "It's... it's fine. You deserve to know."
She drew a shaky breath.
"Jack. One of Kaido's three right-hand men—the Disasters. He came here half a month ago. He was looking for someone. A samurai. He demanded we hand the samurai over."
"Kin'emon," Itachi said quietly. "Or Kanjuro. Or Raizo—the ninja."
"RAIZO?!" Wanda and Carrot both spun toward him. "How do you know that name?!"
"Kin'emon told us. He said their third companion—a ninja—was here on Zou."
Wanda's expression flickered. Something complicated passed through her eyes. But she pressed on.
"The Minks didn't betray their friends. We refused to give Jack what he wanted. So he tortured us. For days. He set up these racks and strung up our warriors. He cut off their limbs. He—"
Her voice broke.
"Our two rulers, Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomamushi... they fought Jack to a standstill. For five days and five nights. They took turns, twelve hours each, wearing him down while the other recovered. But Jack was a monster. An Ancient Zoan. He just kept coming."
"And then?"
"And then Jack got news. Doflamingo had been defeated. The prisoner transfer was happening. So he left." Wanda's voice hardened. "He attacked the Marine convoy. Four warships. The former Fleet Admiral and an Admiral were both aboard. Jack was defeated—the papers reported his death—but we don't believe it. A man like that doesn't die so easily."
Itachi processed this. Jack had faced Sengoku and Fujitora simultaneously. The same Fujitora whose gravity techniques had pushed Itachi to his absolute limit. And Jack had survived long enough to be "defeated" rather than "annihilated."
Kaido's commanders are formidable.
"We'll deal with him if he comes back." Wanda's voice was steel wrapped in fur. "But first—we need to get you to the others."
She urged her crocodile forward.
They had almost reached the forest's edge when figures emerged from the mist ahead. Zoro. Law. Robin. Franky. Kanjuro. And at their head, brandishing Zoro's arm like a weapon, Usopp.
"LET GO OF LUFFY AND ITACHI, YOU CANNIBALS!"
Usopp had clearly reached several conclusions on his own, and all of them were wrong.
"You ate Nami! You must have! You're wearing her CLOTHES!" He jabbed a trembling finger at Wanda. "And now you're trying to EAT LUFFY TOO!"
Law had already deployed a massive ROOM, his expression dark with barely contained violence. Zoro's hand was on Enma. The situation was approximately three seconds from becoming a diplomatic catastrophe.
"Usopp." Itachi's voice cut through the tension. "We've misunderstood them."
Wanda shook her head, but she was smiling. "I have to say... I rather admire your crew's protective instincts."
She pointed behind her. "Look. That's the stronghold. The survivors are there. Including your friends."
"The stronghold?" Usopp squinted through the mist.
A gate materialized from the fog. Two mink guards stood at attention, their eyes going wide as they recognized the group approaching.
"OPEN THE GATES!" Wanda called out. "Tell everyone—the Straw Hats are here!"
"THE STRAW HATS?!"
The guards scrambled. The gates swung wide.
Inside the stronghold, a small reindeer burst into the medical ward, tears streaming down his face.
"NAMI! NAMI! THEY'RE HERE! LUFFY AND THE OTHERS ARE HERE!"
Chopper's voice echoed through the halls.
And the Straw Hats—those who had climbed the elephant, those who had fought through the forest, those who had been separated for what felt like a lifetime—stepped through the gates into a stronghold that was nothing like what they had expected.
(End of Chapter)
✨ If you're enjoying this story, please consider supporting me on Patreon:
Patreon.com/TofuChan
Get Access to Bonus Chapters