Test Island, Part 1

"Wow, so high!!! Is this the legendary cloud riding? Truly worthy of a dragon!" Oshi exclaimed excitedly on Flame Cloud.

"This cloud actually feels solid to the touch, like cotton. And this support... it's like a lifebuoy floating on water. What's the principle behind this?"

Obe, acting like a curious child, pinched and prodded the Flame Cloud, muttering something about "p" and "nTR" to herself.

"Captain Kaido, could you tell us where we're headed?" Ra asked elegantly, seated on Flame Cloud with a relaxed expression.

"The place we're going is called Test Island, in South Blue. There's a guy who's recently shown up there, and I'm going to recruit him."

"Oh? What kind of person is he?" Perhaps sensing Kaido's boredom, Ra continued to prompt him.

"That guy's name is Zayn. He's a member of a research organization called MADS, and he's really skilled at making weapons."

"Zayn? What kind of person is he? Could he be a mature, sexy big sister with blonde, wavy hair?" Oshi, who had been eavesdropping, nudged Obe with her elbow. Obe was still lying down, studying the Flame Cloud.

"Boring. Oshi, can't you use that tiny bit of processing power left in your head for something meaningful?" Obe pushed Oshi away and rolled her eyes.

"Who says I'm not using it for something meaningful! I can understand what big sis Ra and the others are talking about now." Oshi retorted.

It had to be said that her and Obe's learning abilities were terrifying. After a simple lesson from Ra, they could already grasp the most basic spoken language.

However, in private, the two of them still preferred to communicate in Chinese.

"All you understood was 'blonde big wave'? Aren't you not interested in women anymore? Instead of wasting time, why don't you recall more information about ONE PIECE?"

"I can't! I've tried recalling, but I can't remember any useful information. I only remember the protagonist is named Luffy, and the Pirate King is called Roger."

"Hey, red-haired brat, you just mentioned Roger's name! Do you know Roger?" Since Roger's name sounded almost identical in both languages, Oshi's words immediately caught Kaido's attention.

"I'm not called 'hey', I'm Osiris! Of course, I know Roger, but he doesn't know me~" Oshi's spoken words were still a bit choppy, but it was enough for Kaido to understand.

"Urororororo~ Of course, who doesn't know Roger on this sea? I even fought that guy a few years ago. He's a terrifyingly strong man." Mentioning Roger, Kaido's words were filled with intense excitement and fighting spirit.

"But I'll defeat that guy one day!"

Dream on, you will. He's the Pirate King, what king are you? Of course, Oshi whispered this in Chinese, so Kaido didn't hear it.

[Judging by Kaido's tone, the Pirate King Roger hasn't been executed yet. Could it be that we're still before the story begins?]

From Kaido's words, Ra keenly captured the current time period they were in. After all, even if she hadn't watched the anime, Ra had heard that the Pirate King was executed at the beginning of every episode.

"Can you tell us about the current power distribution in the world, Captain Kaido?

The three of us have been completely out of touch with the outside world since we were stranded on that deserted island." Ra tried to gather more information.

"It's fine to tell you. You should know about the Four Seas and the Grand Line.

Currently, the World Government bastards still control the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line.

As for the latter half of the Grand Line, the so-called 'New World', it's basically controlled by us remnants of Rocks. Guys like Newgate, Shiki, John, and Linlin."

As if to alleviate the boredom of traveling, Kaido was unusually enthusiastic in explaining so much.

"Rocks?"

Although she wasn't entirely clear on geographical concepts like the "Grand Line" or "Four Seas," Ra chose to focus on the name Kaido emphasized.

Hearing Ra's interest in Rocks, Kaido's eyes held a hint of reminiscence as he spoke:

"Yeah, I was on his ship for a while back then. He was an ambitious guy, aiming to become the King of the World!"

"Unfortunately, he was eventually defeated by Roger and the Marines at God Valley. No, there's nothing to regret. This chaotic sea is exactly what I want."

[So this is the story before the plot begins.]

Before Ra could ask anything else, Kaido suddenly spoke up to warn them.

"Hold on tight, we're approaching the Red Line up ahead. I need to fly a bit higher." With that, Kaido shot upwards, breaking through the clouds to an altitude of over ten thousand meters.

"Wooooow! So exciting~ Ah~ Ah~"

Two days later at noon, they finally arrived at their destination, Test Island.

Kaido wasted no time, unleashing a hot breath directly onto the plaza in front of the royal palace, obliterating the entire area.

"Whoa, that direct?!"

Oshi, who had somehow climbed onto Kaido's back, was somewhat surprised to see him initiate combat zero seconds after meeting.

Over the past two days, Oshi's perception of Kaido had shifted. She felt that although he had a bad temper, he was actually a decent person.

Kaido, for his part, was unusually patient with the little ones.

"Of course. I don't have the patience to search slowly. Forcing him to come out is the only way."

Inside the royal palace, the King of the Test Kingdom was holding a grand feast because Zayn's weapons had inflicted heavy casualties on the rebel forces.

"Hahaha~ With that Plague Bomb made by Zayn, these rebellious peasants won't be able to stir up trouble anymore.

Hmph! They dared to rebel just because I taxed them a little more, these lowly wretches!"

At the head of the table, King Edith III, whose waist and height were about the same, said while stuffing roasted pork into his mouth, showing none of the elegance expected of royalty.

"Your Majesty, why not raise the taxes a bit higher? That way, these rebellious peasants won't have money to rebel." A sharp-featured official wearing gold-rimmed glasses suggested from a side seat.

"Hm? Yes! Haha! As expected of the Minister of Finance, you're absolutely right!"

"Just raise the taxes to full capacity! These lowly peasants, whose very lives belong to me, still have the audacity to want my money without any gratitude!"

"Hmph, with Zayn's weapons, let's see who dares to defy me!"

"With our nation's current strength, we have more than enough to become a member nation of the World Government, hahahaha~"

"Your Majesty is right. Why don't we send ships to find the World Government personnel later and discuss our nation becoming a member state?"

"Why go through so much trouble? Just have them come to us."

"Yes, the World Government should be the ones requesting to join us!"

The nobles in the seats below also chimed in, and for a moment, the banquet hall was filled with a joyous atmosphere.

BOOM!!!