Wano's Seastone Is All Mine

The thick pure-copper goblet was crushed into a lump of scrap metal.

Rektol casually tossed it aside. "Clang."

The lump struck the iron floor, rolled twice, and stopped in front of Newgate's boot.

Rektol turned around. His black high-collared trench coat stirred up a gust of wind.

"Pass on the order." He did not look at anyone.

"The entire fleet sets sail. Destination: Wano."

Cracker was crouched beside an iron crate, stuffing roasted meat into his mouth. At the order, his hand trembled.

The greasy chunk of meat fell onto the deck. He hurriedly pinned it under his foot, then ran toward the bridge control room in a fluster.

He was running too fast, and the soles of his shoes slipped. He slammed headfirst into the iron doorframe, leaving a red mark on his forehead.

The steam whistle tore through the sea wind.

Five pitch-black steel warships roared at once. Plasma exhaust flames erupted from their sterns.

The seawater beside the breakwater boiled instantly under the intense heat. Vast clouds of white steam rolled upward, carrying the strong stench of dead fish.

The massive fleet left Totto Land's harbor and charged straight into the depths of the New World.

Several days later, in the waters surrounding Wano.

The weather had completely descended into a frenzy. The air was laced with bone-chilling cold.

The gale whipped up black waves dozens of meters high and slammed them viciously against the warships' Wapometal armor.

There was no sound of wood splintering. The steel warships smashed through the waves like they were cutting tofu, without the slightest unnecessary jolt.

Rektol stood at the highest point of the flagship.

The icy rain pelted his face, but he did not even blink.

Ahead, a colossal waterfall towered into the clouds and blocked their path.

Water thundered down from a cliff hundreds of meters high.

The impact of millions of tons of seawater carved out a bottomless whirlpool below. Water vapor filled the air, turning everything white.

The rumbling roar of the water numbed their eardrums. Damp spray filled the air.

This was the natural barrier that isolated Wano from the outside world.

"Big Brother, the current is too strong." Katakuri walked up behind Rektol.

He yanked off the thick scarf around his neck. It was in the way, and his sharp fangs showed.

"The warships can't climb it under their own power."

"Flatten the way." Rektol's calm voice overpowered the waterfall's roar.

Katakuri nodded once.

He drove his legs down with tremendous force. The Fine Steel deck caved beneath his feet, and two rivets were blasted loose by the recoil.

His entire body shot into the sky like a cannonball.

In midair, Katakuri's body rapidly expanded.

Blue scales forcibly tore through his skin and flipped outward. His bones cracked explosively.

Two thick dragon horns pierced through the heavy curtain of rain.

A deep dragon's roar overwhelmed the waterfall's thunder.

A colossal Azure Dragon, hundreds of meters long, coiled beneath the dark, oppressive clouds.

Its dark-golden slit pupils stared fixedly at the wall of water below.

The Azure Dragon opened its abyssal maw.

The surrounding rainwater instantly evaporated under the intense heat, forming a vacuum belt. The oxygen was sucked from the air, and the pirates on deck clutched their chests and coughed.

A blinding orange-red flame furiously compressed deep in his throat.

The air warped and trembled from the heat.

"Bolo Breath."

A devastating pillar of fire, dozens of meters in diameter, blasted out. It struck the exact center of the waterfall head-on.

There was no splash.

The falling seawater vaporized the instant it touched the pillar of fire.

Scalding white mist surged into the sky. The steam was so hot that the birds nearby dropped straight into the sea.

The pillar of fire did not slow. It slammed into the sheer cliff behind the waterfall.

The hard rock strata instantly melted into dark-red lava.

The lava flowed down the cliff and dripped into the sea. The seawater bubbled and frothed, releasing a pungent sulfurous stench.

A flat waterway more than a hundred meters wide was forcibly burned through.

The rock walls on either side still dripped with scorching molten metal.

"Advance." Rektol gave the order.

The plasma engines roared again.

Five steel behemoths crushed through the still-boiling seawater and charged straight in through the gap they had burned open.

The warships entered Wano's inland sea. The water became calm.

Wano's inland scenery appeared along both shores. Cherry trees swayed in the wind.

On the watchtowers lining the shores, Wano's samurai stood open-mouthed, their jaws hanging as if dislocated.

A longbow slipped from one samurai's hands and struck his instep. He forgot even to cry out in pain.

They had never seen iron ships that could move without sails in their entire lives.

The pitch-black, heavy armor. The frighteningly massive cannon barrels.

And the enormous, coldly scaled Azure Dragon circling in the sky.

"A sea demon... A sea demon is here!"

A samurai with a shaved pate drew the sword at his waist. Before the iron battleships, its blade looked like a ridiculous toothpick.

His legs trembled and his teeth chattered. His knees buckled, and he dropped straight to his knees on the muddy riverbank.

The steel warships did not bother with the panic along the shores.

Foam churned behind the ships like tank tracks as the fleet plowed onward.

The wooden patrol boats that tried to block their path were smashed into splinters by the Fine Steel rams. The samurai aboard them screamed as they fell into the sea.

Several hours later.

The warships stopped outside Kuri Beach.

Heavy iron anchors crashed into the shallows. Huge waves splashed across the sand.

Kuri Beach was packed shoulder to shoulder with people.

Large numbers of Wano samurai, their hair tied in topknots, formed battle lines. They held matchlock guns and long swords.

An air of despair hung over the crowd, the hopelessness of those prepared to fight to the death. Cold sweat trickled down the samurai's foreheads.

Rektol stood at the bow.

He stared coldly at the reckless natives.

He raised his right hand. Blue-white lightning sparked at his index fingertip. His two-hundred-million-volt Lightning Spear was ready to sweep the beach clean.

Just as he was about to order the attack,

the samurai formation suddenly erupted into chaos.

The crowd was forcibly pushed apart from the middle.

A tall man ran out.

He wore nothing but a loincloth. Both of his long, hairy legs were caked with dried mud.

As he ran, he twisted his hips and waist.

He clapped his hands above his head and kicked his legs about wildly, dancing a ridiculous dance. Every time he jumped, mud flew from his legs and splattered onto the faces of the samurai beside him.

His comical movements made the already tense atmosphere absurd.

The samurai looked at the man and lowered their heads one after another. Some bit their lips hard, their eyes reddening.

"Don't fire! Whatever you do, don't hurt the civilians!"

The man in the loincloth shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice cracked, thick with tears.

His foot slipped, and he bit into a mouthful of sand. Then he scrambled back up on all fours, slapped his thighs, and continued that laughable dance.

Rektol stood on the high deck.

He looked down at the man covered in mud, twisting around like a clown.

The lightning at his fingertip slowly faded.

A wave of acid churned in Rektol's stomach. His fingers clamped tightly around the iron railing.

His fingernails scraped across the metal with a grating shriek. His face was filled with undisguised disgust.