The smoke of battle had yet to clear from Dressrosa, but at the other end of the New World, Wano Country's cherry blossoms had been stained with blood.
After leaving Dressrosa, Luffy had gone straight to Wano Country, leading the Straw Hat Pirates to defeat the leaderless Beasts Pirates and help the Kozuki Clan restore their rule. After a joyful banquet, the Straw Hat Pirates had set off once more.
Now, all of Wano Country was immersed in the joy of opening its borders. The people sang and danced, celebrating the end of twenty long years of dark rule. Dressed in a kimono, Kozuki Momonosuke stood atop the Flower Capital's castle keep, gazing down at the cheering people with a smug smile, as though he truly were the hero who had saved Wano Country.
But they did not know that a devastating calamity was quietly descending upon them.
Changying Port, Wano Country.
On the horizon, ten jet-black imperial warships slowly approached like ten enormous deep-sea beasts lying in wait. Jet-black dragon flags fluttered above their hulls, snapping in the sea breeze. On the deck of the lead flagship, two figures stood side by side.
The man on the left wore a three-pronged Purple-Gold Crown that bound his hair, a red cotton robe from Xichuan patterned with a hundred flowers, the Beast-Faced Swallow-Head Linked Armor, and an intricate lion-patterned belt securing his armor at his waist. The Sky Piercer in his hand gleamed with a cold light. His Phoenix Eyes tilted slightly upward, filled with defiance and disdain, and dense black shadows swirled around him, making him look like a demon god from hell. He was none other than the Hua Empire's foremost warrior-self-proclaimed-the Marquis of Wen, Lü Bu.
The man on the right wore silver-white armor with black markings and