What Do You Mean, Xi Yan Walked Up the Wall?

"Instead of speculating here, let's go in and see what's going on," Zoro said. "We'll know everything once we find Nami others."

Whether a conflict actually occurred or not, we'll know once we meet.

Seeing that Zoro had already said that, the others didn't say anything more.

Then, Perona turned her head and looked around in confusion, saying, "Where's Luffy?"

Everyone:...

That bastard is definitely not one to stay put!

"I've found a great place!" Luffy, who had somehow ended up on the Crow's Nest tower, looked excitedly at the distant scenery and exclaimed, "Wow, this is Lihai! Is this the country on the elephant's back?"

It is surrounded by an endless forest, with countless buildings in the middle!

Is this Zou, the country on the elephant's back?!

That's awesome!

"You climbed the Crow's Nest way too fast?!" Usopp roared, opening his shark-like mouth. "What if someone sees us?"

"If we were going to be discovered, we would have been discovered already." Xi Yan patted Usopp on the shoulder, then strode forward, saying, "Come on, let's go take a look."

"Okay, I'll join too..."

Before Usopp could finish speaking, he saw Xi Yan stepping up the wall, one step at a time.

Usopp:???

What does it mean that Xi Yan climbed up the wall?

"Hey, how did you get up on the wall?!"

"Ninja's ability, huh?" Xi Yan said with a smirk. "Do you need me to take you up there?"

Please.

Usopp clasped his hands together sincerely, knowing that with Xi Yan's help, he could save a lot of effort.

Seeing this, Xi Yan smiled, then jumped down, grabbed Usopp's arm, and rushed upwards.

"Hey, slow down!"

"It won't be slow, hahaha~"

"What kind of ability is this, Xi Yan?" Kanjuro stared in astonishment at the scene. Could Ninja really move by stepping on walls?

Even Raizo only moved by using the wall as leverage, but Xi Yan just stopped directly on the wall!

What kind of ability is this?

"You can think of this as Ninja's ability," Zoro said.

But he didn't know exactly what it was.

Kanjuro nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this, and said nothing more.

"So this is Zou?"

After setting Usopp down, Xi Yan looked at the scenery ahead with some emotion and said, "No wonder it's a country with a thousand-year history."

This building exudes an aura of history.

"Let me see, let me see."

Usopp quickly got up from the ground and looked ahead, then exclaimed in surprise, "Is this really the country on the elephant's back?"

How did this place manage to develop into this?

"There are towns, there is civilization," Xi Yan said. "This is clearly a country with a long history."

It seems Luo was right; this must be a country with a thousand-year-old heritage.

The elephant below is probably over a thousand years old.

Then, Xi Yan wondered to himself, "Why would this elephant, which has lived for over a thousand years, carry an entire country around?"

That's strange.

"Hey, Usopp, Xi Yan, Merry, look!" Luffy excitedly pointed to the huge tree in the distance and said, "That tree looks like a whale!"

"That really is..."

Merry was somewhat surprised; why had this tree grown like this?

"This tree looks somewhat similar to the ship that the Whitebeard Uncle used to sail," Xi Yan said with a complicated expression.

The prow of the Moby Dick that the Whitebeard Uncle owned was shaped like a giant whale.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I'm fine."

Xi Yan reached out and tapped Merry's little nose, then smiled and said, "Luffy, let's go..."

Before Xi Yan could finish speaking, Luffy jumped off the Crow's Nest, shouting excitedly, "Zou, I'm here!"

"Huh?"

"Eh!!"

The three stared dumbfounded at Luffy's retreating figure. Why did he jump down without saying a word?

Couldn't that bastard have waited for the rest of the group?

"That bastard."

Xi Yan rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache. When would Luffy, that bastard, ever change this habit?

"Hey everyone."

Usopp turned to Zoro and the others and shouted, "Luffy jumped!"

"That's the kind of thing this guy would do." Zoro shook his head helplessly, then shouted, "See that Color Cook?"

"No," Usopp shook his head. "It's impossible to see it here."

The town is still quite far away; even with his excellent eyesight, he couldn't possibly see what's happening in the distance.

What about Xi Yan?

"I didn't see Sanji either."

After Sharinggan, Xi Yan frowned and said, "However, something seems off about this country."

Something's not right?

"Um..."

After taking a quick look, Xi Yan led Usopp and Merry back down and said, "Many places in the town are damaged; it looks like it's been through a battle."

"Nami... could they have actually broken in...?"

Usopp swallowed hard. If it really went in, things might get complicated later.

"I'm not sure if Nami and the others broke in, but..." Perona, standing below the border gate, stared at the damaged Great Gate in the distance and said, "This Great Gate was definitely broken down from the outside."

"Not a slash."

Xi Yan went over and took a look, then looked around and said, "It was probably damaged by a blunt force trauma."

"Sanji kicked it?"

I don't know.

Xi Yan shook his head and said, "We can't determine whether Sanji did it based on this clue alone."

After speaking, Xi Yan paused for a moment, then continued, "However... regardless of whether Sanji did it or not, we need to find them as soon as possible."

Only by finding Sanji can we find out what exactly happened here.

"Hey, look at the road ahead!" Perona pointed to the road and said, "This looks really strange."

To say it's a path for wild animals would be too wide, especially with some bluestone on the ground; but to say it's a path for humans... would be far too narrow.

The main road connecting to the national border shouldn't be this narrow.

"What's so strange about that?"

Xi Yan glanced at the street ahead and said, "That's clearly been vandalized."

Although the bluestone bricks were broken and dilapidated, it was clearly a road paved by man.

Then, Xi Yan continued, "And the signs of damage look quite recent..."

Perhaps Nami and her group really did have a conflict with the people here.

After bending down and touching the Root of the large trees, Franky frowned and said, "I wonder how they are now."

"Whatever, let's go in and check it out first." Gripping his sword, Zoro grinned. "If there are enemies, we'll cut them down."

"Huh?"

Usopp stared at Zoro dumbfounded and said, "You haven't even seen what the natives look like, and you're already planning to make enemies?"

"Zoro, don't do anything reckless!"

Those previous statements were ultimately just speculation. If Nami hadn't clashed with the natives, their actions could easily have harmed Nami.

Unfortunately, Zoro completely ignored Usopp's words and strode forward after Law.

"Stop worrying about this and that," Xi Yan patted Usopp on the shoulder and said, "We'll talk about it after we see them."

"It'll be too late once you see them..."

Usopp scratched his head in exasperation. It would be too late if Zoro and the others started fighting!

"It's alright, I'll protect you." Merry flew off Xi Yan's shoulder and landed in front of Usopp, saying, "Don't be afraid."

"Our Merry is the best!"

Usopp hugged Merry tightly, his eyes brimming with tears, and said, "You really are the one who cares about people."

Unlike some guys who just make sarcastic remarks.

Xi Yan:...

Who is this guy pointing at?

"Hmph, we'll ignore him." Usopp, carrying Merry, walked ahead and said, "Let him walk slowly behind us."

Okay.

Little Merry covered her mouth and smiled at Xi Yan before being taken away by Usopp.

Xi Yan rolled his eyes. Usopp was acting like a child.

"This road is too difficult to travel," Zoro said, frowning.

It bounces back when you step on it; it's as soft as rubber.

"It's probably because it's elephant skin," Luo said casually. "That's why it's so elastic."

I just don't know how strong its defenses are.

"Luckily, I don't need to walk," Perona said, floating in mid-air. "Otherwise, I would have been in real trouble."

The shoes she's wearing aren't suitable for walking on such a bouncy surface; otherwise, it would be very uncomfortable.

Fortunately, she can fly.

"Damn it, why can't I fly?" Usopp said enviously.

"Yes, I can!"

Little Merry, held in Usopp's arms, blinked and said, "If you don't want to walk, I can use my powers to carry you."

"Then let's go."

"Uh-huh."

After flying out of Usopp's arms, Merry used her powers to drag Usopp into the air and slowly followed behind Zoro and the others.

Do you want it?

"No need," Zoro said without turning his head. "We could encounter enemies here at any moment, I need to stay on the ground."

Merry's ability does allow them to conserve energy, but there are no leverage points when flying, so he can't unleash his full power. Therefore, it's better for him to stay on the ground.

"Me too."

"Merry, you can fly with Usopp."

Seeing that her companions had all said so, Merry didn't say anything more and obediently followed behind them with Usopp.

"It's so quiet here, it's making me uneasy," Usopp said, looking around warily. "Merry, do you think there might be a lot of eyes watching us?"

"I don't know."

Leaning in mid-air, Merry rested her chin on her hand and said, "But if someone attacks from behind, my abilities can still block the attack."

As long as the opponent's attack doesn't carry enough powerful Haki, her Wind Barrier can block the enemy's attack.

"All right."

Usopp sighed; this feeling of constant anxiety was truly unpleasant.

Soon, the group entered the town ahead.

Just as Xi Yan said, the town has been destroyed beyond recognition.

"What's going on here?" Luffy, standing at the street corner, looked around curiously and said, "Why does this country look so dilapidated?"

"Didn't I just say that there must have been a battle here not long ago?" Xi Yan, who was following behind, crossed his arms and said, "And the battle was extremely fierce."

Many people here have definitely died.

Then, Xi Yan frowned. He felt that the air here was a little off.

This smell is... gas?

It seems Caesar was involved in the previous battle as well.

"I see."

"Never mind, let's find them first." Luffy said, then quickly ran forward, shouting, "Hey!"

"Sanji, Nami, Chopper, Brook!"

Are you there?

"And the gas... never mind, gas doesn't really matter."

"Hey, anyone want to answer this?!"

Luffy's voice carried far, but no one responded.

"Can you smell Yakumi?" Franky asked, frowning.

"It's not just the Yakumi," Xi Yan said, "There's also a faint smell of gas."

Although the smell of gas was very faint, he could still detect it.

"Gas..." Perona said unhappily, "Looks like Caesar is still alive."

The thought that this guy who used to bully children was still alive made Perona feel extremely uncomfortable.

"It's fine, we can kill him later anyway," Xi Yan grinned. "This guy's useless now."

They kept him around as a backup plan, but now that Doflamingo has been defeated, there's no need for Caesar anymore; they might as well kill him.

"Too."

Perona also revealed a wicked smile; that kind of scum shouldn't live in this world.

Just then, Xi Yan suddenly stopped and looked around sharply, clearly having discovered something.

Zoro and Law also gripped their weapons, sensing that someone was approaching.

"What's wrong?" Usopp asked anxiously.

"Someone's coming," Zoro said in a deep voice. "Leave it to me."

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure suddenly rushed out from in front of him, arriving in front of Zoro at an extremely fast speed and raising his hand to strike with a claw.

Zoro's expression changed upon seeing this, and he then slashed at the target without any mercy.

To his surprise, his opponent performed a front flip in mid-air, successfully dodging Zoro's slash.

Zoro:!!!

Did he perform a front flip without any leverage?

Does this guy also know how to use Geppo?

"Die!"

Carrot, who had come up behind Zoro, slashed down with her claws without any mercy.

She was confident she could kill Zoro if she struck his head!

"Clang!"

After blocking Carrot's attack with his backhand, Zoro's expression turned serious. What on earth is wrong with this guy?