It was dusk when the crew of the Dawn Ark passed through the damp, chilly tunnel of the abandoned submerged port and set foot on Wano Country's soil.
The sight before them was not the desolation they had expected. Instead, an old, repaired slope paved with gravel stretched upward, with a scattering of late cherry blossoms on either side, blooming out of season. Yet this deliberately manufactured "beauty" only weighed more heavily on their hearts. Besides the faint fragrance of flowers, the air carried the stronger smells of burning wood and sour, cheap sake, along with an indescribable, oppressive air of poverty and numb resignation.
"Split up," Lin Yan ordered quietly. He had changed into the dark blue hemp samurai clothing common among the locals, with an inconspicuous gray haori over it. His long hair was tied back with a thin cord, and the sword at his waist was nothing more than an ordinary steel blade. Robin had put on a simple, elegant kimono, pinned up her hair, and donned a veiled traveling hat, posing as an accompanying scholar or a merchant's female relative. Tashigi had changed into ninja clothing that allowed easy movement and would operate alone. Her task was to use any information advantage her naval background might offer to make contact with the local down-and-out samurai.
The remaining crew stayed concealed in the submerged port to guard the Ark and establish a temporary base, with the Fish-Man navigator and mermaid singer keeping watch.
Lin Yan and Robin blended into the stream of people heading toward the Flower Capital. Most were sallow and thin, dressed in patched clothing and pushing handcarts loaded with small quantities of crops or crude handicrafts, their steps heavy. Their eyes were dull, and they rarely spoke. Even when they did, they kept their