"Whoa~ It's so high!!! Is this the legendary Riding the Clouds and Mist? Just what you'd expect from a dragon!" Oshi shouted excitedly from atop the Flame Cloud.
"This cloud actually has substance when you touch it. It feels like cotton. And this support—it's practically like a life ring floating on water. What principle is this based on?"
Obe was acting like a curious child as well, pinching and examining the Flame Cloud from side to side, occasionally muttering things like "P" and "NTR" under her breath.
"Captain Kaido, could you tell us where our destination is?" Ra asked, sitting elegantly atop the Flame Cloud with a relaxed expression.
"The place we're going is called Test Island, in the South Blue. Some guy has been making a name for himself there lately. I'm going to recruit him."
"Oh? What kind of person is he?" Perhaps noticing that Kaido was a little bored, Ra continued asking along those lines.
"That guy's called Zayn. He's a member of a research organization called MADS. He's damn good at making weapons."
"Zayn? What kind of person is she? Could she be a mature, sexy big sister with blonde curls?" Oshi, who had been eavesdropping nearby, nudged Obe with her elbow while Obe was still sprawled over the Flame Cloud studying it.
"Boring. Oshi, can't you use the tiny scrap of processing power left in that pitiful little brain of yours on something meaningful?" Obe shoved Oshi away and rolled her eyes.
"Who says I haven't been using it on something meaningful?! Can't I already understand Sister Ra and the others' conversation now?"
It had to be said that Oshi and Obe's learning abilities were terrifying as well. After Ra's simple lessons, they had already roughly grasped the most basic spoken language.
Still, when they were alone, the two of them were used to communicating in Chinese.
"You only understood 'blonde curls'? Didn't you say you weren't interested in women anymore? Instead of wasting time on that, why don't you try remembering more information about 'ONE PIECE'?"
"I can't~ I tried remembering, but I couldn't recall anything useful at all. I only remember that the protagonist was called Luffy, and that the Pirate King was named Roger."
"Hey, red-haired brat, you just mentioned the name Roger, didn't you! You know Roger?" Since Roger's name was pronounced similarly in both languages, Oshi's words immediately caught Kaido's attention.
"My name isn't 'hey,' it's Osiris! Of course I know Roger, though he doesn't know me~" Oshi's speech was still a little halting, but it was enough for Kaido to understand.
"Worororororo~ Of course. Who on this sea doesn't know Roger? I fought that guy a few years ago. He's a terrifyingly strong man." Kaido's words were filled with intense excitement and fighting spirit at the mention of Roger.
"But one day, I'll defeat that guy!"
Keep dreaming. He's the Pirate King—what kind of king are you? Naturally, Oshi muttered that quietly in Chinese, so Kaido did not hear her.
From Kaido's tone, Pirate King Roger seemingly hadn't been executed yet. Was this still before the story began?
Ra keenly picked up on the era they were currently in from Kaido's words. Even if she had never watched the anime, she had heard that Roger got executed at the beginning of every episode of One Piece.
"Could you tell us about the current distribution of power in the world, Captain Kaido?
Ever since the three of us fell onto that deserted island, we've known almost nothing about the outside world." Ra tried to gather more intelligence.
"Fine, I'll tell you. You should know about the Four Seas and the Grand Line, right?
Right now, the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line are still controlled by those World Government bastards.
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."
Perhaps to ease the boredom of the journey, Kaido was unusually interested in explaining so much.
"Rocks?"
Although she still did not really understand geographical concepts like the Grand Line and the Four Seas, Ra chose to first learn about the name Kaido had emphasized.
Hearing that Ra was interested in Rocks, Kaido spoke with a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.
"Yeah. I stayed on that guy's ship for a while too. He was incredibly ambitious—back then, he was dead set on becoming the king of the world!"
"Too bad he was eventually defeated by Roger and the Marines at God Valley. No, there's nothing too bad about it. This chaotic sea is exactly what I want now."
So this was the story from before the plot began.
Before Ra could ask anything else, Kaido suddenly gave them a warning.
"Hold tight. The Red Line is up ahead. I'm going to fly higher." With that, Kaido shot straight upward through the clouds and rose to an altitude of ten thousand meters.
"Whoooooa! This is so exciting~ Aaah~ Aaah~"
At noon two days later, they finally arrived at their destination, Test Island.
Kaido did not waste any words. He fired a Heat Breath directly at the square in front of the palace, and the entire square vanished.
"Damn, that direct?!"
Oshi, who had somehow climbed onto Kaido's back, was a little startled when she saw him go straight into battle the instant they met.
After spending the past two days together, Oshi's impression of Kaido had shifted somewhat. She felt that although the guy had a bad temper, he was actually pretty decent.
Kaido, too, had shown unusual patience toward the three little ones.
"Of course. I don't have the patience to search around slowly. I'll just force him to come out."
Inside the palace, the king of the Test Kingdom was holding a grand banquet because Zayn's weapons had inflicted heavy casualties on the rebel army.
"Ha ha, heh~ With those Plague Bombs Zayn made, those rebellious peasants won't be hopping around anymore.
Hmph! We only raised their taxes a little, and those lowlifes actually dared to rebel!"
At the seat of honor, King Edith III, whose waist was as wide as he was tall, spoke while stuffing roast pig into his mouth. There was not the slightest trace of the elegance a royal should possess in his every movement.
"Your Majesty, why not raise the taxes further? Then those peasants won't have the money to rebel." A sharp-featured bureaucrat in gold-rimmed glasses suggested from a side seat.
"Hmm? Mm! Hahaha! Just what I'd expect from the Minister of Finance—you're right!
Raise the taxes to one hundred percent. Those lowlifes' lives are mine to begin with, yet they're so ungrateful that they want to keep my money!
Heh heh, with Zayn's weapons, let's see who still dares to defy me!"
"With our country's current strength, becoming an affiliated nation of the World Government should be more than easy, right? Hahahaha~"
"Your Majesty is right. Why not send a ship to find the World Government's people later and discuss having our country become an affiliated nation?"
"Why go through all that trouble? Just make them come to us."
"That's right. The World Government should be the ones coming to beg us to join!"
The nobles seated below all chimed in, and for a moment, the banquet hall was filled with cheerful laughter.
BOOM!!!
Before you continue