Hearing Ren's words, Ace fell silent on the other end of the line.
A few seconds passed before he spoke again: "I know the Navy is strong, but to revitalize the Whitebeard Pirates, I have to go there!"
Whitebeard was killed by Akainu. Regardless of the reason, Ace felt he had to seek out the Fleet Admiral. Ren frowned, thinking about his interactions with Ace, which had always been pleasant. He tried one more time to dissuade him.
"Akainu's strength is no joke. In terms of pure combat power, no Emperor can say they'd win a 1v1 against him with certainty. If you really want to challenge him, go fight Shanks first. If you can draw with the Red-Hair, then you've got the foundation to talk back to Akainu."
This was as blunt as it got. Ace wasn't an idiot like Luffy; he understood exactly what Ren was implying. He gritted his teeth, his frustration turning into a sigh. "I understand. I'll focus on recruiting more crew members first before seeking revenge."
Ren gave a mischievous grin. "Don't be discouraged. You're only in your twenties; Akainu is in his fifties. You can just wait thirty years and go beat up 'Old Man Akainu.' Let him feel exactly what the 'New Era' means."
"Ah! You bastard!"
Click!
Ren hung up before Ace could reply. Meeting the speechless stares of his crew, Ren said unfazed: "The land and water are mostly restored. In two days, we can start large-scale planting. Everything will be back on track."
It was a bit of bad luck—the Cero Ren fired when he slaughtered the Tobi Roppo had accidentally vaporized Orochi's main granary. After Orochi was dealt with and Wano was liberated, the nation found itself in a period of extreme food scarcity. Even after seizing the assets of wealthy merchants like Kyoshiro, the food wasn't enough to feed the whole country. Consequently, Krillin was "drafted" into catching Sea Kings daily to subsidize the national diet.
As a gentleman, Krillin considered it his duty!
Fortunately, the Sea King meat in this world was delicious. Even after three months, the people of Wano weren't tired of it; they were simply looking forward to a better future.
The next day, Hina distributed the seeds, and the planting began.
"Wonderful! We can finally be self-sufficient again!"
"This is all thanks to Lord Asura!"
"Thank you, Lord Asura!"
Another wave of faith arrived, and Ren felt his power refine even further. He scanned the morning paper—unsurprisingly, Luffy's big face was on the front page again.
"Straw Hat Luffy destroys Gran Tesoro; a heinous crime."
Ren shook his head, unsure where to even start吐槽. Given that the Straw Hats had just crushed two Emperors, he couldn't understand how Gild Tesoro had the guts to let Luffy onto his ship in the first place.
Other news was equally explosive: Big Mom and Kaido had officially formed a new alliance, and the Revolutionary Army had successfully incited a coup in another kingdom. Ren stretched, feeling that this "retirement" life in Wano wasn't so bad.
"Captain! A guy named Kid is here making trouble!" Blu ran in, looking frantic.
"Let Krillin handle him." Ren waved a hand and continued to relax. A mere Kid wasn't worth his attention.
Wano Port.
Eustass Kid's crew had finally reached the legendary Wano after a harrowing journey. After taking out the samurai lookouts, Kid led his men on a rampage.
"Hahaha! Where's 'The Deceiver'? Tell him to get his ass out here and see me!"
Kid's arrogant smirk was on full display. Krillin, wearing his elegant suit, stepped forward calmly. "You're here to challenge an Emperor?"
Knowing Kid's history, Krillin's opening remark was a direct jab to the heart.
"Bastard! I don't accept that 'Deceiver' as an Emperor! He must have used some weird trick to beat Kaido!" Kid snarled.
The title the Five Elders gave Ren was effective; people's first reaction to Ren's feats was always that he was a con artist. Kid was the latest victim of this delusion. Krillin didn't feel like explaining. He gripped his hilt and unleashed a brilliant slash.
BOOM!
The blade-light tore through Kid, his crew, and his collection of scrap metal with the force of a landslide. It traveled hundreds of meters before dissipating. Kid and his men lay in the dirt, looking like they were one foot in the grave.
"That's it?" Krillin looked genuinely surprised. It was just a regular attack with some Conqueror's Infusion; he couldn't believe someone who couldn't even block that dared to challenge an Emperor.
Kid hadn't even reached the Emperors before; he had lost his arm to Benn Beckman during a chance encounter before he could even see Shanks. He had no real concept of Emperor-level combat. Now, after receiving a "standard Emperor greeting" from Krillin, he was paying for his ignorance.
Krillin signaled the samurai. "Throw them out of Wano."
A familiar ship arrived at Wano a few days later. Unlike Kid, this group was welcomed. Ren noted that Luffy had taken over half a year to reach Wano in this timeline, compared to three months in the original.
"Ren! I didn't expect you to be here! Hahaha!"
Luffy's laugh preceded him. His arms stretched out, grabbing the door frame, and he slingshot himself into the room.
"Yeah, I've been here a while. It was Kaido's place when I arrived," Ren joked.
Luffy's eyes lit up at the mention of Kaido. "You wouldn't believe it! Kaido and Big Mom were so tough! I fought Kaido for three days, destroyed an island, and barely won!"
Ren listened as Luffy explained the "Whole Cake Island" ordeal. Since Ren had chased Kaido out of Wano early, a homeless Kaido had gone to Big Mom's to drink. Luffy had to fight two Emperors at once to save Sanji. Through sheer "main character" willpower and Gear 5, he had emerged victorious.
"I feel like if I could stay in Gear 5 forever, I could beat them easily," Luffy said, picking his nose.
"Actually, Luffy, do you know what your fruit really is?" Ren asked.
"The Rubber-Rubber Fruit, right?"
"No. It's the Sun God Nika fruit. Since you're a Sun God, you should try making fireballs. In fact, you should probably be immune to fire."
The air went silent as they both pondered this. "Wait! If I'm the sun, why did Kaido's fire breath hurt me?!"
As they were talking, Zoro and the others entered. Yamato was already hanging out with the Straw Hats. They decided to go explore the "mysterious samurai nation."
Seconds later, the city erupted.
"HE HAS THE BLACK BLADE SHUSUI! OUR NATIONAL TREASURE!"
"STOLEN! CATCH THE THIEF!"
Zoro was sprinting through the streets, screaming: "I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T STEAL IT! LISTEN TO ME!"
The commotion grew until half of Wano was involved. By a stroke of "luck," Zoro's lack of direction led him back to Ren, who was sitting on a roof watching the drama.
"DON'T JUST WATCH! EXPLAIN IT TO THEM!" Zoro yelled.
"Sure! Come over here and I'll explain!" Ren laughed. Naturally, Zoro immediately turned 180 degrees and ran the opposite way. Ren laughed so hard he nearly fell off the roof.
Eventually, a bath-towel-clad Nami emerged from a nearby hot spring, furious at the noise. "COULD YOU ALL BE QUIET?!"
Her roar echoed through the Capital. Thousands of eyes landed on her. Even Nami felt the pressure and retreated back to the bath with a stiff smile.
Once the confusion settled, the citizens gathered before Ren, asking for "The God" to settle the matter. Ren smiled and pointed at the green-haired swordsman.
"Let me introduce him properly. This man is Roronoa Zoro—a descendant of the Shimotsuki Family."
"NANI!!!"
One follow-up question: Should Ren reveal the full lineage of the Shimotsuki family to the people of Wano to solidify Zoro's status, or should he focus on the upcoming departure for Egghead?