The Winds Stir! And the Lone Red

In the New World, in a country that was not affiliated with the World Government.

It was a dilapidated city.

Dressed in civilian clothes, Sakazuki walked along its shabby streets with a frown.

The dwellings lining both sides of the road could hardly be called buildings. They were nothing more than ramshackle shacks.

Gaunt, sallow-faced people lived in those shacks, and as he walked along, he saw hardly a smile on any of their faces.

The only laughter he could hear came from the occasional children running down the street, still too young to know what suffering meant.

Though Sakazuki wore only a simple floral shirt and shorts, he stood out like a sore thumb as he walked through the place.

Some people hurried into their shacks as soon as they saw him, timidly peering out from behind cloth curtains.

Others quietly followed behind him, their eyes full of greed.

"Teacher Zephyr,"

Sakazuki's brow was furrowed so deeply it could have crushed a mosquito. He was truly puzzled and couldn't help asking, "What exactly are we doing?"

Walking ahead of him was Zephyr, the teacher he respected most.

He was not only the mentor who had taught him, but also a companion who shared his ideals.

But lately—ever since their last encounter with Roa, to be precise—something had been off about Teacher Zephyr.

Instead of hunting down those damned pirates, he had taken Sakazuki to one country after another, walking the streets of city after city.

Affiliated Nations and unaffiliated nations; rich and poor; strong and weak.

They had visited many different kinds of countries in a short time.

"Sakazuki, why do you think this country ended up like this?"

Zephyr, also dressed in civilian clothes, asked.

"Because of pirates, of course!"

Sakazuki answered without hesitation. "How could those hyenas