Kuri, in the underground secret chamber of a dilapidated shrine.
Flickering candlelight stretched several figures into long shadows across the mottled walls. The air smelled of old scrolls, dust, and faint traces of tea, but none of it could dispel the tense, murderous atmosphere.
Lin Yan, Robin, Kawamatsu, and Shutenmaru sat around a rough wooden table. Spread across it were the Hand-Drawn Wano Country Map, reconstructed from Kawamatsu's memories with details added by Robin, and several pages of Kozuki Oden Diary Excerpts, collected through different channels and covered in blurred handwriting.
"So the last key fragment for Pluton, the Heart of the Furnace, is hidden in the volcanic factory beneath Onigashima?" Shutenmaru asked gruffly, taking a large gulp of wine, his brows tightly furrowed. "That's Kaido's stronghold! Its defenses are more than ten times tighter than the Flower Capital's!"
"There's more," Robin said, tracing her slender finger across Onigashima on the map, where she had marked a dense cluster of symbols in red. "Based on Mr. Kawamatsu's information and our observations while infiltrating the Flower Capital, Onigashima's defenses are three-dimensional and multilayered. The perimeter has regular patrol fleets and Gifter watchtowers. The middle zone consists of permanent fortifications and gun emplacements built into the complex terrain, with Shinuchi-level officers taking turns on duty. The core area-the Skull Castle where Kaido lives and the volcanic factory beneath it-is under the direct supervision of the Flying Six and the All-Stars. In addition..."
She paused and looked at Lin Yan. "The Soul-Soul Fruit's surveillance network is far denser on Onigashima than in the Flower Capital. I suspect Big Mom herself or her key children may be on Onigashima, or at least providing more advanced Homie technology."
"And there are the Numbers," Kawamatsu added. "Huge, savage experimental subjects from the Ancient Giant Tribe. Their