The world was enveloped in darkness; the shy moon hid behind the clouds, invisible in its gentle glow, leaving only darkness across the land.
"Ah, it is," Vlad muttered as he floated gently above the sky. His keen vision, enhanced by his dragon transformation, allowed him to see the landscape below without needing Observation Haki.
The night did not hinder his sight or distance affect his gaze! The dragon's eyes could pierce through everything with their sharpness.
"Coming to this place makes the world seem to change its style completely!" Vlad exclaimed, arms crossed. "It's completely different from other countries outside! Even though it's on a large sea, there's such an obvious difference."
"It is a" Vlad remarked, "a foolishly naive country!"
Below Vlad was a small village with low-hanging wooden buildings, a concept completely different from the stone buildings prevalent over the seas.
Using his exceptional vision, Vlad could easily discern the differences in the village below, surrounded by green rice paddies where he could even see the water droplets on the rice due to the rain.
He could also see the narrow, muddy path that stretched through the rice paddies toward the distance due to the rain.
Regarding infrastructure, it felt far removed from the modern countries across the seas.
Yet, the style of this country made the small village somewhat familiar to Vlad, resembling an ancient style from an island nation next to his previous life country.
Naturally, Vlad was in Wano Country—an extraordinary country in the New World. If other mainstream countries across the seas resembled Europe during the Age of Exploration or even the Industrial Revolution, Wano Country leaned more towards feudal Japan.
Wano Country, a land that strongly rejects foreign cultures, mirrored the isolationist policies of ancient Japan. Vlad, who had studied history before, sneered at such notions, knowing well the consequences of such actions.
Vlad wasn't worried for the country; even if it were to be destroyed right before his eyes, he would merely remark, "Oh, how tragic," and that would be the end of it.
However, Wano Country was not so easily destroyed. The people of this country possessed formidable strength.
Wano was a country of samurai, filled with numerous skilled sworders. To be called a samurai in Wano, one must possess exceptional swordsmanship—it was a land of the sword, with a remarkable number and quality of samurai capable of fiercely repelling any foreign invader.
Even the Marines would hesitate, as the powerful samurai and their astounding swordsmanship allowed the nation, which had not allied with the World Government, to refuse Navy ships entry to its ports without retaliation.
Wano Country was a unique place, as Vlad had long heard. Although its people were difficult and unpleasant, the country itself was undeniably beautiful—with cherry blossoms and fine sake, it was famed for more than just its samurai and swordsmanship. Even the tiny village before Vlad radiated a peaceful and beautiful aura.
Vlad was in this country to find a person, someone of high standing, who could be of great help to him.
Wano Country, much like feudal Japan from his previous life, had a cultural and characteristic resemblance, and similarly, its political structure.
The highest ruler of Wano was called the Shogun, akin to the Shogunate in ancient Japan, wielding unquestionable power over the country.
Beneath him were the Daimyos, the regional lords who pledged loyalty to the Shogun but possessed high autonomy in their domains, handling internal affairs and military economics almost independently, though nominally subordinates to the Shogun.
Each Daimyo maintained many retainers, usually highly skilled samurai who served as lower-level rulers in their territories.
Thus, the country was effectively a feudal state with power delegated down the hierarchy, and even the lowest tier rulers needed to be competent samurai, as the nation was known as the "Country of Samurai."
Vlad's goal in visiting was to locate a man, a Daimyo of a particular region. Still, unfortunately, Vlad did not know his way around, as Wano was a very closed-off nation, and outsiders were generally unfamiliar with its internal affairs.
He needed to find someone to ask for directions.
Meanwhile, in the small village below Vlad, a character is a teristic scene of the region walking hesitantly along the somewhat muddy path, surrounded by frogs croaking and the gentle shimmering of lights—a beautiful night scene.
"Damn, it's gotten so late, huh?" the man muttered, somewhat fearful. But soon, remembering something pleasant, a lewd smile crossed his face, "But Anko's skills are as outstanding as ever; I'll go to her next time!"
A chilly breeze brushed the back of his neck, and the burly man shivered.
"Gulp!" He swallowed nervously, his eyes darting around in fear, "I've heard about a serial killer recently, but surely I'm not that unlucky?"
"Ha ha ha, no way, my luck is always good!" he laughed, bolstering his courage, "Definitely won't meet him!"
"But speaking of which, samurai are a bunch of bastards! They don't care about human life at all!" the man said.
"Ah, what a thing to hear! Bastard!" a mocking voice came from behind Kenjiro, "Are you insulting the noble samurai, sir? That won't do!"
"You, a lowly cur, I must give you a lesson!"
"Just perfect! I wanted to test out my newly forged sword!"