After taking the Road Poneglyph, Elior and the others left Zou.
As for the impact of Nekomamushi and Inuarashi's deaths on the island, Elior had no interest in considering it. After all, when one king dies, another rises.
Reiju: "Sir, where are we heading next?"
"Wano Country."
Elior gave it some thought and decided their next destination would be Wano. After all, another known Poneglyph was located there. He was too lazy to return to Paradise now—coming back again later would be even more troublesome.
"Wano?"
Crocodile looked slightly surprised. "Captain, that's Kaido's territory."
Cavendish looked shocked. "You're heading into another Yonko's domain?"
Elior: "Exactly. We're going to grab the Poneglyph there. Kaido was already defeated by me once—there's nothing to fear. If anything, he should be afraid of me."
In truth, Elior also intended to retrieve the two famed swords that once belonged to Lord Oden: Ame no Habakiri and Enma. Now a master swordsman, Elior had little need for blades—but his usual ice sword couldn't fully contain the power of his strikes.
Crocodile: "If we manage to take that Poneglyph as well, we'll have three Road Poneglyphs in total. Then it'll just be a matter of locating the last one to reach Laugh Tale."
"Exactly."
Night fell, and it was time to rest.
Elior's ship was still massive in size, and his quarters were at the top deck. Of course, for Elior, sleep was never on a fixed schedule.
Reiju arrived quietly.
She already knew what to expect without needing to be told.
Her face turned red.
She greatly enjoyed her time with Elior. Often, she found herself wishing he could belong to her alone.
But she knew that was unrealistic.
Still, Reiju had made up her mind — she would become someone important to Elior.
She wouldn't just be a pretty face.
She would train hard and grow stronger. She would become a true warrior by Elior's side.
Elior: "By the way, how are things going with the two types of Haki I taught you?"
Even as he moved like a wild stallion across fertile land, Elior's thoughts drifted back to the training he'd given her. He'd recently taught Reiju how to use Armament Haki and Observation Haki — skills her father, Judge, had never passed down. That man had always believed solely in the power of science.
Both forms of Haki were invaluable. Observation Haki, especially in its advanced form, allowed a user to foresee the future and anticipate their opponent's moves. It also helped detect threats in everyday life. Armament Haki, on the other hand, even without facing Logia users, provided formidable defense—forming a black coating as hard as steel, or even harder.
"Uh-huh…"
"Reiju… is working hard on her Armament Haki… and her Observation Haki too!"
"Reiju will become someone irreplaceable to you!"
"Come on, Reiju!"
"Sir… from now on… can I call you 'husband'? I mean… in private…"
Reiju spoke softly, but her voice was filled with hope—and nervousness.
"Sure."
Reiju hadn't expected Elior to agree so easily.
She was overwhelmed with joy. Deep down, she was filled with a warm, indescribable happiness.
Under the moonlight, Reiju became even more passionate.
Three quiet days passed. During that time, nothing out of the ordinary happened. No storms, no pirate ambushes—just calm sailing.
Before long, Elior's ship arrived at the sea near the cliff waterfall that marked the outer edge of Wano's inland sea.
Wano is located within a massive inland sea, accessible only by scaling a waterfall hundreds of meters high or through a dangerous upward current. The latter route was risky and could easily cost both the ship and its crew.
So the safest option was to climb the cliff waterfall—with the help of the giant carps that lived nearby.
After all, Kaido had eaten the Fish-Fish Fruit, and it was assumed the fish in these waters obeyed his will.
Cavendish: "Captain, how are we supposed to climb something like that?"
He pointed at the towering waterfall ahead. The sound of water crashing down from that height was deafening, enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Everyone looked to Elior, waiting for an answer.
"Watch me."
Elior leapt onto the sea, releasing his freezing powers and freezing a patch of water. Standing atop the ice, he surveyed the sea.
Reiju was startled. For a moment, she thought her husband had thrown himself into the sea — for a Devil Fruit user like him, that would be fatal.
But she relaxed. After all, she could now call him "husband" in private — something even Gion hadn't experienced.
Among the three women in Elior's life, Reiju clearly felt the hierarchy: Gion was first, she was second, and Bonney came third.
Then Elior activated his ability to hear the Voice of All Things.
With it, he could understand sea creatures, including Sea Kings. More importantly, they could understand him.
Moments later, three giant carps emerged from the depths.
Elior instructed Crocodile and Cavendish to use the backup anchor ropes to lasso the fish.
Reiju: "We're really using these fish to pull us up?"
She shouted in her heart with pride: My husband is amazing!
Elior: "That's how the Beasts Pirates did it. The carps here were probably raised for that purpose. They likely understand their role."
Crocodile: "Fascinating…"
Cavendish: "I've never heard of fish pulling a ship like this."
Elior: "It's one of the world's hidden secrets."
Meanwhile, inside the monitoring room on Onigashima, Queen happened to be conducting an inspection. He spotted Elior's ship on the surveillance screens.
This area, after all, had heavy surveillance and numerous gun emplacements to deter intruders.
"Who?"
He ordered the cameras zoomed in—and finally got a clear view of the intruders.
"Elior?!"
"No way… Is he really coming here?"
Queen was terrified. His eyes bulged so wide they looked ready to pop out of his head.