Invasion of the Sea-Prism Stone Mine

"Let's go! I'll fly you!"

Luo Ji painted a giant crane once more, taking Yamato into the sky as they left Onigashima and flew toward Udon.

"Are we finally setting sail?"

Yamato looked down excitedly at the blue ocean below, for after so many years, she was finally stepping outside of Onigashima once more.

In truth, she had visited Kuri in her childhood, watching Kozuki Oden endure the Boiling Execution for an hour, and had regarded him as the mightiest samurai ever since.

She had also witnessed Kaido throwing Momonosuke down from Oden Castle.

It was during that very time that she picked up the logbook Oden had left behind in Oden Castle, which opened up her new world from that day onward.

Later, she expressed to Kaido her desire to become a powerhouse just like Kozuki Oden, set sail for adventure, and explore the world.

That resulted only in Kaido's reprimand and intense displeasure.

Afterward, he even fitted her with seastone explosive handcuffs, forbidding her from leaving Wano Country and denying her permission to step outside of Onigashima even.

"Before we leave, don't you want to beat up Kurozumi Orochi? Kaido isn't in Wano Country to protect him right now."

Luo Ji spoke with a faint smile, intent on tricking Yamato into coming along to raise hell in the Flower Capital.

He was eager to acquire Kurozumi Orochi's blood so he could paint an even more perfect Yamata no Orochi.

Besides, the Flower Capital was rolling in wealth, and Luo Ji planned to plunder a massive hoard of gold and treasures to serve as his starting capital for setting sail.

Kurozumi Orochi had spent all those years running weapons and seastone trades, making him exceptionally wealthy.

Most importantly, heading to the Flower Capital from Onigashima meant passing right through Udon.

Luo Ji also intended to raid the Sea-Prism Stone Mine and make a fortune.

By the way, he would release the slaves and prisoners from the Sea-Prism Stone Mine, giving the Beasts Pirates enough trouble to keep them from coming after Luo Ji and Yamato too quickly.

"That's right! I despise that despicable villain Kurozumi Orochi the most—this time I'm going to go beat him to death!"

Yamato's eyes shone brightly, her adventurous blood boiling within her. This was the thrilling kind of pirate life where grudges were settled and favors repaid.

"Let's go, and we'll stop by the Sea-Prism Stone Mine to rescue people on the way!"

Luo Ji chuckled, already setting his sights on the entire stockpile of seastone. This time, he was determined to secure enough capital for setting sail.

"Right! And rescue people too!"

Acting like a broken record, Yamato decided that whatever this new captain wanted to do was precisely what she wanted to do as well.

This was so thrilling!

"Hahahaha! Let's raise some hell!"

Luo Ji grinned broadly. With Yamato—a powerhouse possessing all three types of Haki and a Mythical Zoan devil fruit—escorting him, he could plunder even more wonderful treasures.

The bold, hearty laughter of the two echoed across the Inland Sea of Wano Country.

Not long ago in Amigasa Village, Fire Fist Ace listened to the villagers' grievances, which instantly prompted him to decide to rescue the men who had been dragged off to labor in the weapons factories, along with several children who had been captured and taken to Onigashima.

Kind-hearted Ace refused any payment from the impoverished villagers, learning only a few tips on weaving straw hats as his reward.

Fire Fist Ace had already investigated the general situation in Wano Country, learning about the military forces stationed by the Beasts Pirates across various regions.

He quickly swung into action, wreaking havoc at the weapons factories and poison gas factories near Amigasa Village, and releasing a massive number of slaves and workers.

He also headed straight for the neighboring Sea-Prism Stone Mine in Udon, because an important garrison of the Beasts Pirates was stationed there, and he intended to defeat those pirates who exploited ordinary citizens.

Yet Fire Fist Ace's luck seemed almost outrageously good.

The warden and Headliners guarding the Sea-Prism Stone Mine had rushed back to Onigashima one after another because of the situation with Yamato.

When Fire Fist Ace launched an assault on the Sea-Prism Stone Mine all by himself, only a vice-warden and a single Headliner remained behind to hold down the fort.

The two sides erupted into a fierce battle.

Even so, Fire Fist Ace, who had little prior experience with seastone weapons, still suffered a heavy blow.

Struck by seastone bullets while in his elemental state, Ace nearly thought he was going to die.

Having grown cautious, Ace unleashed a surge of powerful flame energy, his unimaginably huge fire fist beating the vice-warden Daifugo half to death.

When Luo Ji arrived at the Sea-Prism Stone Mine carrying Yamato, Fire Fist Ace was still engaged in a massive battle against the mine's numerous forces.

The endless emergence of various seastone weapons left Ace feeling thoroughly miserable.

"It's actually him!!"

When Luo Ji caught sight of that flaming figure, he could not help but feel a minor shock.

It seemed that bringing Tama and Kozuki Sukiyaki along really had caused a slight alteration in Fire Fist Ace's storyline.

Fortunately, he had headed to Onigashima early to trick Yamato into boarding the ship.

Otherwise, once Fire Fist Ace had his cross-encounter with Yamato, tricking Yamato would have become somewhat troublesome for Luo Ji.

"You know him? His flame abilities are quite strong!"

Yamato rolled up her sleeves and cracked her knuckles as she looked down at the battlefield below, itching to immediately join the fight and liberate the slaves and prisoners.

"He's the captain of the Spade Pirates, and his grandfather is the Marine Hero, Iron Fist Garp!"

Luo Ji smiled meaningfully, realizing he might just have another thug he could trick into raising hell in the Flower Capital.

At the same time, that would help draw away some of Beast Kaido's attention.

"He's a pirate captain as well? And he's a Marine's grandson?"

"Iron Fist Garp? Isn't that the legendary Marine who chased after the Pirate King Roger? Oden wrote about him in his logbook!!"

Hearing this introduction, Yamato's eyes lit up instantly, though she felt no urgent desire to befriend this grandson of a Marine.

"Let's go! We're going to join the fun too! I hear this Fire Fist Ace is planning to challenge all Four Emperors and become the Pirate King."

Luo Ji brought Yamato into the battle with unstoppable momentum, Yamato's Conqueror's Haki directly suppressing the entire area with its pressure.

As Yamato was not wearing her fearsome demon mask and had changed her clothes, these members of the Beasts Pirates failed to recognize Young Master Yamato for a moment.

"There's another enemy attack! Hurry up and call Warden Babanuki and the others back!!"

The minor captains of the Beasts Pirates guarding the Sea-Prism Stone Mine shouted in a panic.

They genuinely never expected that just after Beast Kaido led his main force out to sea on an expedition, someone would actually invade the headquarters of the Beasts Pirates.

These newcomers really had grown bold enough to defy death!

Once Governor Kaido returned, every last one of these intruders would die—no matter to the ends of the earth they fled, they would die.

Babanuki and the other Headliners, who had just set sail to hurry back to Onigashima, turned furious upon receiving the emergency distress call from the Sea-Prism Stone Mine.

On one side, Young Master Yamato had been kidnapped, while on the other, the Sea-Prism Stone Mine was under invasion. How were they supposed to choose?

It truly seemed that the moment Beast Kaido departed, all sorts of monsters and freaks crawled out of the woodwork.

"What do we do?! Warden!"

Dobon and Solitaire, the two vice-wardens, asked Babanuki anxiously, as both sides involved critical matters that urgently needed resolution.

"Damn it! Fire Fist Ace, Gol D. Luo Ji—where on earth did these two arrogant newcomers pop up from?!"

"The two of you continue on to Onigashima to retrieve Young Master Yamato, and I'll head back to deal with that Fire Fist Ace!"

Babanuki had no choice but to split his forces in two, dividing his troops to handle these two emergencies separately.

"Understood!"

This small fleet immediately split apart in the Inland Sea, each heading off to execute their respective missions.

Inside the Sea-Prism Stone Mine, Fire Fist Ace saw these two sudden powerhouses appear and initially assumed them to be reinforcements from the Beasts Pirates, instantly turning on his guard.

Yet upon seeing that they were also targeting the pirates of the Beasts Pirates and releasing the prisoners, he let out a breath of relief.

After all, he sensed an unprecedented feeling of threat coming from that white-haired, double-horned woman.

That was far more terrifying than those Marine vice admirals.