Wano Country

Yota quickly began searching the beach and the pirate ship for the other members of the Spade Pirates.

Among the Spade Pirates, Yota's stamina was second only to Ace's. With Chakra in his body, seawater weakened him far less, so he was the first to get back on his feet.

Once Yota dragged Ace out of the seawater, he immediately made a full recovery. Most of the other Spade Pirates had been in the cabin and were not seriously injured.

Of course, exhaustion and limp, powerless bodies were unavoidable.

"So, where are we?" Deuce asked dejectedly after everyone had regrouped.

Yota looked around, especially at the shore they stood on. Just a few dozen meters toward the sea lay the endless Upstream Current. The entire island looked as though it were being held aloft in the sky by the current.

That feature was far too obvious. Yota had not expected the Spade Pirates to arrive here before even meeting Red Hair.

"This should be Wano Country, the legendary base of the Beasts Pirates."

"Wano Country?"

"The Beasts Pirates' base?"

The Spade Pirates exchanged looks. They had failed to find Red Hair or Whitebeard, only to wind up in the territory of the Beasts Pirates instead.

"So that means Kaido is here too? Good. Before taking on Whitebeard, I'll use Kaido to warm up first." Ace pressed down on his hat and made his declaration with bold confidence.

Yota had long since lost the energy to criticize Ace's overflowing confidence. Fortunately, according to the original story, Kaido should have already led his All-Stars out on an expedition. There was no need to worry about Kaido teaching Ace a lesson about what it meant to be king.

In truth, Ace could not even beat Yamato. Do not forget that Yamato had fought him to a draw while wearing Sea Stone handcuffs!

Yamato's talent was not necessarily greater than Ace's. The biggest difference between them lay in their knowledge and experience.

After all, Yamato got beaten up by her own father every day. Ace had also been beaten badly by his grandfather Garp, but at least Garp knew restraint and had never truly gone all out in front of him.

Just as they were talking, sounds came from the distance. A group of people dressed in the distinctive style of Wano Country had already arrived to investigate.

Yota swept his gaze over them and found their clothes tattered, their faces sallow. Though they held battered hoes, wooden sticks, and other junk in their hands, their faces were filled with panic.

"Pirates! They're pirates!"

"What are pirates doing here? Are they here to plunder us?"

"We won't let you get away with this, you damned pirates!"

Yota rolled his eyes helplessly. Come on, looking as poor as you do, what could we possibly plunder? Your ragged clothes, your scraps of cloth, or the straw in your beds?

"What a pain. Ace, calm them down."

Hearing Yota's complaint, Ace pushed up the brim of his cowboy hat and smiled.

"Leave it to me!"

A powerful aura burst from his body and pressed down on the ordinary villagers. Without exception, every villager rolled their eyes back and fainted.

"You used Conqueror's Haki right away? Isn't that a bit excessive?" Yota complained. He had meant for Ace to use his Flame-Flame Fruit power to scare the villagers a little.

"This is the most convenient way, isn't it?" Ace said with a smile. "Still, these villagers seem to have it pretty rough."

Yota nodded lightly. The people of Wano Country did not merely have it rough. Their lives were miserable.

In the New World, the Four Emperors had already carved up most territories among themselves. And among those territories, the people under Kaido had the hardest lives.

In Charlotte Linlin's territory, people had to pay a soul tax, but at least they lived fairly well. As for Whitebeard and Red Hair, the civilians there probably lived better than most people in the Pirate World.

Only Kaido truly pursued militarism at all costs and did not care in the slightest about sustainable development. If the people of the Pirate World were not so tenacious, most of Wano Country's civilians would likely have died out long ago.

"Wake them up and ask for information. I think they should be calmer this time."

In a ramshackle little village, the frail, elderly chief of Amigasa Village bitterly recounted their miserable experiences to Ace. It was enough to make listeners weep, and he truly knew how to play up their suffering.

"So, as long as we get rid of Kaido, Wano Country will go back to how it was, right?"

After listening to a long, rambling speech from the chief, who spoke incoherently and might even have been a little senile, Ace impatiently interrupted him.

"Uh... Kaido? No, no... So many samurai have been unable to defeat him..." the chief said blankly, shaking his head.

Ace naturally did not care much about the chief's fear, but he did not argue with him either. Instead, he changed the subject. "Then let's get rid of that guy called Kurozumi Orochi. Wano Country ended up like this because of him too, right?"

"Shogun Kurozumi Orochi? No! Wano Country cannot be without a shogun!" The chief began shaking his head frantically again.

Yota rolled his eyes. What did he mean, Wano Country could not be without a shogun? This old man had clearly been brainwashed stupid.

Seeing the chief like this, Ace did not bring up killing Kurozumi Orochi again. To put it plainly, if the people of Wano Country themselves did not want to get rid of Kurozumi Orochi, why should an outsider pirate like him meddle?

Still, seeing the villagers' yellow, emaciated faces and listless appearance, Ace could not bear it. "Yota, how much food do we still have on the ship?"

Yota thought for a moment before answering, "Probably enough for us to eat for two weeks. What is it, Captain? Are you trying to be a good guy again?"

Ace's face reddened slightly. "Well, helping them should still be within our means, right?"

"Then you'd better think it through." Yota crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "I already asked around. Because of the pollution, Wano Country's fields can barely grow crops. There are not many forests either, and even the occasional animals and plants are contaminated and somewhat poisonous."

"Because of the terrain and the Upstream Current, there are not even many sea beasts in the ocean. In other words, there is almost no way to resupply here."

"I already considered that." Ace wore an expression of complete confidence.

"Most of Wano Country's land may be polluted, but Kurozumi Orochi, Kaido, and their subordinates still need to eat, right? They must have kept land and food supplies that can feed their own forces!"

"Ha! So before dealing with Whitebeard, you really are planning to take down Kaido first? That sure sounds like something you would say, Captain!" Yota said with an exasperated expression.