Umit paced uneasily onto the deck and gazed toward the nearby shore from the rail.
He kept rubbing his hands, beginning to regret whether he had been too reckless.
He was a renowned shipping magnate in the New World, known as Deep Sea Current.
His business had originally been doing well, but two years ago, the World Economic News Report suddenly published a piece of news saying that Seastone emitted the waves of the sea. If Seastone were embedded in a ship's hull, it could deceive Sea Kings and allow ships to cross the Calm Belt safely.
The Calm Belt, which separated the Four Blues from the Grand Line, would no longer be an obstacle. The Four Blues and the Grand Line would become connected as never before.
Many competitors went all in, buying up Seastone and forming fleets that traveled directly between the New World and the North Blue or West Blue—in the past, traveling from the Grand Line to the Four Blues had been extremely troublesome.
Naturally, Umit was no exception. He spent a fortune to quickly establish a fleet capable of crossing the Calm Belt, and soon earned enormous profits through this trade.
But Umit was still not satisfied.
He wanted to build an even larger fleet and earn even more profits.
There was only one problem.
Seastone was incredibly rare.
There was hardly any Seastone available for purchase on the seas. Umit had already exhausted every possible means to assemble that small fleet, and he could not gather any more Seastone.
So Umit made a risky decision.
He would go to the source of Seastone and buy it there!
And so, he was now here, in Wano Country.
Anyone even slightly informed in the New World knew that Wano Country was the world's largest source of Seastone. Or rather, it was the only country in the world capable of continuously exporting Seastone.
However, this country had already been occupied by the Beasts Pirates. Anyone who wanted to buy Seastone there could only deal through the Beasts Pirates.
Having made up his mind, Umit contacted the Beasts Pirates.
It should be said that it had gone far more smoothly than expected. The Beasts Pirates readily agreed to his request, and so Umit came to Wano Country.
Although he had arrived full of ambition, he began to regret it when he disembarked at Port of Stealth and all his guards were ordered to remain there.
The Beasts Pirates had no good reputation in the New World.
But it was already too late. The pirates stationed at the port watched him like hawks.
Umit could only grit his teeth and take a massive elevator up to Wano Country, then board a ship at Jinbu Port to enter the inland sea. He was currently on his way to Onigashima, the Beasts Pirates' base.
Umit clenched both hands tightly, his palms slick with sweat as he stared toward the shore.
Factories could occasionally be seen along the coast, their chimneys releasing thin streams of smoke. Though they were not particularly close, Umit could still see many workers moving in and out of them.
Come to think of it, the Beasts Pirates had also been flourishing in the weapons trade these past two years. Those weapons probably came from these factories, didn't they?
This former Country of Gold, this nation that had once made every ambitious figure on the seas keep their distance, had now completely become a factory for the Beasts Pirates.
Soon, Onigashima came into view.
The skull with its enormous horns was clearly visible even from a great distance.
Umit's already tense heart leaped straight into his throat.
Was he about to meet the legendary Kaido of the Beasts face-to-face?
The large ship docked at Onigashima's port. Umit adjusted his clothes and prepared to disembark.
No matter what, he was already here, wasn't he?
But just as he had steadied himself on the dock, a group of fierce-looking people jumped down from the ship's rail behind him.
"Death to the traitors! We swear to kill Ian!"
Waving kitchen knives and daggers, they shouted their slogan and charged straight into the skull's interior.
Huh?
Umit was utterly bewildered.
What?
Who was Ian?
And who were these people?
What was happening?
Beside him, a Beasts Pirates pirate on the dock shouted furiously, "More idiots who don't know their place sneaked in! Stop them! Don't let them disturb Lord Ian!"
He immediately shouted toward the ship again, "What the hell are you doing now?! How many times has this been?"
The pirates aboard the ship were equally furious. "Those bastards have been working at the port for over a year! How the hell were we supposed to know they could hide themselves for this long?!"
So what exactly was going on?
Umit looked helplessly at the pirates on the dock as they sprang into action.
Boom!
The ground suddenly began to shake.
"You idiots! What do you think you're doing?!"
Umit's eyes widened in terror as he saw a gigantic creature charge out from inside Onigashima.
It was a massive mammoth, covered in thick fur and standing more than ten meters tall!
"Where do you think you are?!"
In the next instant, Umit wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. That enormous mammoth burst forth with terrifying speed, nearly turning into a blurred afterimage as it shot forward.
Iron Body: Mammoth Charge!
The locomotive-like mammoth instantly slammed into the intruders racing ahead. Umit could not bear to watch. In just an instant, the unlucky men's bodies twisted, their tendons snapped and bones shattered, and they flew in every direction like scattered petals.
"Oh! It's Lord Jack!"
The pirates at the port had already begun cheering.
Jack?
Who was that?
Umit's knowledge of the Beasts Pirates was limited to Kaido of the Beasts himself, as well as King the Inferno Disaster and Queen the Plague Disaster under him.
Was this a new executive of the Beasts Pirates?
"Iron Body combined with Shave. That really suits Jack's fighting style."
At the entrance to Onigashima, a graceful young girl strolled out. The blonde girl glanced at the mammoth that had come to a stop, then at the intruders who had barely avoided one charge and were still desperately rushing this way.
"Don't disturb Ian."
Her body suddenly transformed, and beneath her kimono, her long slender legs abruptly became massive spider legs.
Spider Finger Gun!
She turned into an afterimage as she dashed forward. The spider's legs instantly formed a storm, piercing through every body in the blink of an eye.
It was over.
With the two of them acting, the intruders were eliminated in an instant.
So strong.
Umit looked at the girl who stood six or seven meters tall. Were they both ancient Zoan types?
And they had used the Six Powers?
The Beasts Pirates actually had people like this hidden away?
"Are you with them too?"
A heavy shadow suddenly covered Umit. The mammoth had already walked up to him.
"No, no, no!"
Umit instantly broke out in a cold sweat, shaking his head repeatedly as he explained, "I'm Umit, Deep Sea Current. We had an appointment. I came to discuss purchasing Seastone."
"Deep Sea Current?"
The mammoth muttered.
Then he returned to human form. He was a boy over six meters tall, looking down at Umit from above. "I think I heard Brother Ian mention this. Come with me."
So who exactly was this Ian?
Umit followed the excessively tall boy into Onigashima.
As they passed the girl, she asked, "Who is he?"
"He came to do business with Brother Ian."
The boy answered casually.
"Is that so? Then he might have to wait a while."
The girl chuckled.
"Hurry up. It might be about to start."
The boy strode forward.
Start?
What was about to start?
Umit did not dare ask. He merely followed the two deeper into Onigashima.
The pirates they encountered along the way were all very respectful toward the boy and girl, calling them "Lord Jack" and "Lady Maria." Umit guessed that they were both executives of the Beasts Pirates.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Umit asked quietly, "Who were those people just now?"
"Stray dogs."
Jack answered flatly.
Stray dogs?
They made their way to the central area of the town within the island, stopping in front of a tall building.
Below the building was a plaza, and many pirates had gathered around it.
Were they watching something?
However, none of the pirates dared block the approaching boy and girl. They made way for them.
Umit followed them into the very center of the crowd.
At last, he saw the center of the plaza.
A boy and a girl stood facing one another.
The girl with beautiful long hair fading from white to green carried a spiked kanabo over her shoulder. Two red horns protruded from her forehead.
She was still young, perhaps thirteen or fourteen, but she had already begun to outgrow cuteness and could now be called beautiful.
She wore loose clothing resembling a shrine maiden's outfit, white on top and red below. Yet even those loose clothes could not conceal her slender, graceful figure. Combined with her delicate and refined features, she radiated a distinctly heroic air.
"Hehe, Ian! I won't lose so easily this time!"
Ian!
Umit hurriedly looked toward the boy opposite the white-haired girl.
Was he Ian?
He was so young?
He was a tall, lean boy who appeared to be about the same age as the white-haired girl.
He had black hair and black eyes, and his looks were remarkably striking. Especially those dark eyes beneath his sword-like brows—they were like black holes, capable of drawing in anyone's gaze.
The boy wore a white shirt, suit pants, black leather shoes, and even a tie. His outfit was simple, yet paired with his lean, well-built frame, it only made his handsome appearance seem all the more imposing.
What a perfect match!
That was the first impression that flashed through Umit's mind upon seeing the boy and girl.
"Then come on."
Ian gestured to the white-haired girl. "Let me see how much you've improved lately."
"You're really lucky."
The boy beside him suddenly spoke.
"What?"
Umit was somewhat confused.
"You happened to catch Brother Ian and Sister Yamato fighting."
Jack's eyes held a hint of fanaticism. "Be grateful. What you are about to witness are the people who will stand at the top of the world in the future!"
The top of the world?
Umit blinked.
Were they really that impressive?
Thunder Bagua!
The battle had already begun.
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