A fierce wind whipped through Werther's short hair, setting his coat snapping around him.
"Stupid Bird, circle nearby. Be ready to pick me up."
With that, Werther jumped from the King of the Sky's back.
He fell faster and faster.
Bang! A burst of air erupted beneath Werther's feet. Geppo slowed his descent, and he landed steadily.
Werther looked down in surprise. The ground beneath his feet was soft.
Before him lay a peaceful country, modest but far from poor.
Tall stone buildings rose across it, their walls covered in moss and greenery that made the whole country seem alive.
A stone wall encircled the country, enclosing it completely.
Dense forests grew all around, and the air was remarkably fresh.
That freshness mingled with the faintly salty sea breeze, leaving him feeling refreshed.
Behind the country stood an Ancient Tree shaped like a whale.
It had an enormous crown and a trunk that looked like a whale rising from the water.
This was Zou, the country on Zunesha's back in the New World.
The entire country sat atop a single elephant. That alone showed how immense the creature beneath Werther's feet was.
Its enormous body gave it tremendous strength and a vast reserve of Life Force.
That elephant, which carried Zou, was Werther's target.
Some kind of pact prevented Zunesha from doing anything but walking forward. Still, the restriction was not Absolute.
One person in the world could command it: that brat Kozuki Momonosuke.
Werther had never come to take Zunesha's Life Force before because he feared it might fight back.
In the anime from his previous life, Zunesha had once wiped out the Pirate crew led by Jack with a single sweep of its trunk.
Jack himself had been knocked into the deep sea and could only wait for