Inside Hachinosu.
After months of working out their differences, the four Emperors of the Sea finally settled the last details of founding their nation.
The flag design lay in the center of the stone table-a straight sword, its blade running straight from guard to tip without any unnecessary ornamentation.
A serpentine Sea King coiled around the blade, its head raised at the sword's tip with fangs bared, its tail curled into a small loop at the end of the hilt.
Before the design was finalized, Kaido demanded dragon horns.
Linlin insisted on strawberry cake.
Whitebeard declared that his signature crescent mustache had to appear on the flag.
The three argued for an entire afternoon. Linlin grabbed Kaido's beard and pulled down, Kaido reached back to grab her hair, and Whitebeard sat beside them with a cup of liquor, laughing "Gurararara," occasionally adding, "I think the cake could go between the dragon horns."
Shanks sat in a corner, watching these three Emperors of the Sea, whose combined ages exceeded two hundred, wrestle like children fighting over candy. He buried his face in his palm.
"I must be insane," he said, his voice muffled between his fingers, "to have formed an alliance with these people and even tried Nation-Building."
Benn Beckman brought in the final design.
A cigarette between his lips, he spread the design on the stone table and gave Kaido and Linlin, who were still pulling each other's hair, an expressionless look.
"Knew this would happen." He casually flicked his cigarette ash into Kaido's sake gourd.
Kaido released Linlin's hair. Linlin released Kaido's beard. Whitebeard set down his cup.
All three leaned over the design at once.
"A sword. Now that I like." Kaido tapped the blade with his finger.
"A snake." Linlin traced the pattern of its scales with