Wano Country's Terror! Blackbeard: A Flying... Baby?!

At the same time.

New World, Wano Country.

Flower Capital, the Shogun's residence.

Music and dancing filled the air, with wine flowing like water and flesh piled high.

Wano Country's shogun, Kurozumi Orochi, had several flamboyantly dressed geishas in his arms as he drank himself into a stupor, his ugly face filled with smugness and indulgence.

"Hohohoho... Komurasaki, pour your shogun another cup!"

Kurozumi Orochi let out a shrill, grating laugh, leering at the famously beautiful courtesan Komurasaki beside him.

Below him, Kyoshiro and the other samurai retainers were drinking and making merry as well, their flattering words never ceasing.

The entire banquet hall reeked of extravagance and decay.

It stood in stark contrast to the miserable lives of Wano Country's common people elsewhere.

Just then.

Tap, tap, tap!

A burst of hurried footsteps rang out.

A ninja in charge of intelligence rushed in with a panicked expression, dropping to his knees before Kurozumi Orochi without even daring to raise his head.

"Sh-Shogun! B-Bad news! Urgent intelligence!"

Kurozumi Orochi had been drinking to his heart's content and was thoroughly displeased by the sudden interruption. With bleary eyes, he cursed,

"You worthless bastard! What could be so urgent?! Can't you see this shogun is entertaining honored guests?!"

"If you can't give me a good reason, I'll have your filthy life!"

The ninja trembled from head to toe and hurriedly kowtowed. "Please calm your anger, Shogun! The... the World Government has issued a new bounty!"

"A bounty?"

Kurozumi Orochi curled his lip and said dismissively, "Wano Country is closed off from the world. What does anything outside have to do with us?"

Kyoshiro sat nearby with a wine cup in hand, a faint, unreadable smile on his lips. He appeared unconcerned about the matter as well.

The ninja swallowed, his voice trembling. "But this bounty... is worth one billion Beli!"

"One billion?"

"So what?!"

Kurozumi Orochi snapped, "If you dare ruin this shogun's mood over such trivial nonsense again, do you believe I'll kill you right now?!"

"Sh-Shogun... this Demon Child Lynn, the one with the one-billion bounty..."

The ninja's voice shook like a leaf.

"According to the latest report sent back by our spies stationed on Onigashima..."

"He... he is..."

"Governor Kaido of the Beasts Pirates'... newly adopted son!!!"

Pfft!

Kurozumi Orochi spewed out a mouthful of wine.

He shot straight up from his seat in shock.

The drunkenness, smugness, and contempt vanished from his face in an instant!

In their place was utter terror, a bone-deep horror!

"Y-You... what did you say?!"

Kurozumi Orochi's voice rose into a shriek.

Kaido... Kaido's adopted son?!

Demon Child?!

One billion?!

Was this some kind of joke?!

And most importantly...

Why did this Demon Child have to appear on Onigashima of all places?

Why did he have to become Kaido's adopted son?!

The Beasts Pirates were already a colossal force that left him barely able to breathe. And now, they had gained another terrifying existence with limitless potential!

For the first time, Kyoshiro's face, which had always carried an amused smile, stiffened.

The hand holding his wine cup tightened until his knuckles turned slightly white!

Kaido's adopted son...

The Demon Child with a one-billion bounty...

Those two pieces of information combined meant that the hope of restoring Wano Country had become even more remote!

Several days later.

New World, somewhere at sea.

A crude, oddly shaped vessel made from huge logs bound together was cutting through the waves.

At the bow, an exceptionally burly man wearing a strange wrestling mask tore into an enormous piece of bone-in meat. He was Jesus Burgess, the "Champion."

Beside him stood an even taller man with missing teeth, a rugged and bold appearance, and three flintlock pistols tucked into his belt. He was guzzling from a bottle of liquor.

It was Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach!

"Zehahahaha! We've finally shaken off those bastards for good!"

Blackbeard Teach wiped his greasy mouth and let out his signature ugly laugh.

His eyes gleamed with the satisfaction of a scheme fulfilled.

For the Dark-Dark Fruit, he had endured aboard Whitebeard's ship for years. Now that he had succeeded in a single stroke, he had killed Thatch, stolen the fruit, and defected.

Yet instead of immediately fleeing the Whitebeard Pirates' territory, he had hidden himself away.

He knew full well how terrifying Whitebeard was, and how capable the Whitebeard Pirates were at hunting people down.

Only after the heat died down and their vigilance waned would it be the best time to escape.

Now, they had finally succeeded!

"Wihahaha! Captain, you're brilliant!"

Burgess said in a deep, muffled voice, the corners of his mouth smeared with grease.

"Once we find more companions, we'll fight for dominance over these seas!"

Blackbeard Teach's eyes gleamed with surging ambition.

"Zehahahaha! Of course! This era is about to welcome its new leading man!"

"The era of Blackbeard!"

Suddenly.

"Huh? Captain, look over there!"

Burgess suddenly pointed toward the distant sea and shouted indistinctly.

Blackbeard Teach narrowed his eyes and looked over.

Far off on the horizon, a tiny black dot was rapidly drifting toward them.

As the distance closed, the outline of that black dot gradually became clearer.

It seemed... to be a person riding on a very, very small raft.

"Zehahaha, at a time like this, someone actually dares drift alone through these waters?"

Blackbeard licked his lips, greed flashing in his eyes.

"He may be poor, but we can't let a fat sheep delivered right to our doorstep get away!"

"Wihahaha! Understood, Captain!"

Burgess tossed aside the bone in his hand and clenched his fists, his knuckles crackling loudly.

However, just as Blackbeard's pirate ship prepared to approach the little raft...

The person on the raft seemed to have noticed them as well and began rowing toward them of his own accord.

Soon, the distance between them had closed enough for both sides to see each other clearly.

It was a man in green clothes with red hair, a longsword at his waist, and a somewhat cocky expression.

It was Rockstar.

"Hey, did you come from Whitebeard's territory?"

"Tell me which way Whitebeard's territory is."

Faced with Rockstar's question, Blackbeard did not immediately make a move.

Instead, he asked, "What are you going to Whitebeard's territory for?"

"I'm a messenger from the Red Hair Pirates. I'm delivering a very important letter to Whitebeard! If you know the way, point it out already!"

Rockstar said impatiently.

Rockstar?!

The Red Hair Pirates?!

The greed on Blackbeard Teach's face instantly froze, and his pupils contracted slightly.

He exchanged a glance with Burgess, and both saw a trace of wariness in the other's eyes.

Red-Haired Shanks!

That was a man who had risen in the same era as him and now sat firmly among the Four Emperors!

Although Blackbeard believed his strength had greatly increased after obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, the Red Hair Pirates' reputation was no empty boast.

Especially that man, Shanks...

"Zehahaha... so you're a messenger from the Red Hair Pirates."

Blackbeard's expression shifted several times before he finally forced out a smile.

Rob a messenger of the Red Hair Pirates?

He would have to be kicked in the head by a donkey!

This was not the time to clash with a force of that level.

He immediately pointed Rockstar in the right direction.

"Thanks."

Their vessels passed each other just like that, without incident.

Just then.

"Captain! The sky! There seems to be something in the sky!"

Burgess suddenly looked up, pointed at the sky, and cried out in alarm.

His voice was filled with disbelief.

Blackbeard Teach abruptly raised his head.

Rockstar also instinctively looked in the direction Burgess was pointing.

In the clear blue sky, a tiny black dot was plummeting toward them at a terrifying speed... No! It was not falling!

It was flying!

That black dot was rapidly closing in!

Its outline became clearer and clearer!

It seemed... to be a human figure?!

A person who could fly?!

Blackbeard Teach's pupils suddenly constricted!

He thought of a possibility, and his expression turned grim.

The Navy's Six Powers—Geppo? Or some special Devil Fruit ability?

Who was it?

Could it be pursuers?!

Burgess clenched his fists nervously, every muscle in his body tensing.

The flying figure was moving at a speed beyond imagination!

In the blink of an eye, it was already right before them!

When he saw the figure's true appearance clearly...

Blackbeard Teach's expression instantly shifted from vigilance to... utter bewilderment and absurdity!

That... that was actually a...

A baby in nothing but split-crotch pants, looking no more than one or two years old, with delicate, doll-like features?!

A baby was flying through the sky?!

What was going on?!

Yet someone was even more shocked than Blackbeard: Rockstar, who had only just passed them by!

When he clearly saw the face of the baby descending from the sky, it was as if he had been struck by lightning, the color draining from his face at once!

Without the slightest hesitation...

He decisively drew the sword at his waist.

His expression was filled with uncertainty and shock.

"Demon Child... Lynn!"

"Why are you here?!"