"Wano has changed quite a bit. Big bro, this is the spot we landed at last time."
"Atmos, over there, we're going that way," Roy suddenly said in a low voice, his expression turning grim.
Sensing something was wrong, Atmos immediately transformed into a giant dragon and flew into the sky with Roy on his back.
As the dragon reappeared in the skies above Wano, the people below were not afraid.
They assumed it was Momonosuke, since he could also turn into a dragon.
"Gray?"
"Momonosuke-sama's dragon is pink."
"Why is there a gray dragon?"
"Is Kaido back?"
"No way..."
Everyone who saw the dragon felt fear rise in their hearts. They didn't want to return to the days of dread.
"Momonosuke-sama! Something terrible has happened!"
In the Flower Capital, someone rushed in to report. Some of the Scabbards were helping Momonosuke reorganize Wano and looked up when the commotion occurred.
"What is it? Why such urgency?" Momonosuke asked, trying to sound like an adult.
"A d-dragon… in the sky," the man stammered, kneeling on the floor.
"What?"
"A dragon?"
"Kaido was defeated… Could it be Loxus?"
"Wasn't Loxus with Ace?"
"Then it must be Loxus."
The Straw Hat Pirates were also there and assumed it must be Loxus.
"What are you talking about?" The door opened just then, and Ace, Loxus, and Deuce walked in, all of them wrapped in bandages.
"Momonosuke says someone saw a dragon. Was it you, Loxus?" someone asked.
"I haven't gone out or transformed," Loxus replied.
"Besides you and me, no one else in Wano can turn into a dragon, unless it's Kaido. What color was the dragon you saw?" Momonosuke asked the informant.
"It seemed black, but I couldn't see clearly."
"I think it might be one of my brothers," Ace said with a smile.
"Your brothers?" Momonosuke and the others were confused.
"Yeah, the Whitebeard Pirates have plenty of dragons," Ace said.
"You mean… the Whitebeard Pirates are here?" The Straw Hats were stunned.
"Wouldn't even rule out my old man," Loxus added.
"Roy?" Nami gasped.
"If it's Roy… why would he come here?" Sanji asked.
"Where was the dragon headed?" Kin'emon suddenly thought of something and asked urgently.
"I think it was heading toward Ringo," the man replied.
"Ringo? Don't tell me…" Kin'emon's face changed.
Meanwhile, in a cemetery in Ringo, a grave had been dug open. Roy stood over the coffin, face tight with grief, staring at the body inside.
"Waaaaaaahhh!!" Atmos dropped to his knees, howling in sorrow.
"Izo! Izo! Aaaahhhh!!"
Atmos' cries echoed through the sky. Roy clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and looked up at the falling snowflakes. Tears slid down his cheeks.
"I'm sorry… this is my fault. I never should have sent you back."
Footsteps sounded behind him. Everyone, Momonosuke, the Straw Hats, and the Spade Pirates, watched from a distance.
Ace hung his head, not daring to meet Roy's eyes.
"Big bro…"
BAM!
Before Ace could finish, a wave of Conqueror's Haki blasted toward him. In an instant, before anyone could react, Ace had been struck down, lying motionless on the ground.
Everyone was too scared to move. Even Loxus, for the first time, saw a terrifying expression on Roy's face.
He had never seen his father look like this. Usually calm like a capybara, Roy now released his full rage.
Loxus had no doubt, if he said another word, he'd be next.
Just a single glare. With only a look, Roy had incapacitated Ace, who had mastered Conqueror's Haki.
Loxus finally understood the terrifying power within his father. Roy's Haki now blanketed all of Wano.
CRACK!
The sky filled with thunderclouds. Lightning struck down.
The King... was enraged.
"I sent Izo to find you. I never expected him to die here. How exactly did he die?" Roy asked, his gaze sweeping across everyone.
Luffy, Loxus, Zoro, Sanji, and the others stepped forward to shield their comrades. None of them doubted that Roy could kill them if provoked.
Compared to the Roy standing before them now, Kaido and Big Mom were nothing.
After all, they had barely managed to defeat those two, and Roy had beaten them before.
"I'm sorry, big bro… It was my fault. I didn't protect Izo. He died taking out two CP0 agents," Ace said quietly.
Roy had never liked the Wano arc, thinking it was one of the worst parts of the world. He had changed so much, even given Izo the Nine-Tails Devil Fruit, and Izo still died.
"If I'd known, I would've given you the Phoenix Fruit instead, you bastard," Roy muttered, softening his aura and looking at Izo's body in the coffin.
"Atmos… close it. Don't disturb his rest. Let him sleep peacefully."
"Yes, big bro. sob sob..." Atmos cried as he shut the coffin, letting Izo rest forever in his homeland.
Once the burial was done, Roy glanced coldly at the group before turning to leave.
"Roy-dono, where are you going?" Kin'emon called out.
"I have my own business. All of you, shut up." Roy didn't even look back. Atmos followed him silently.
"Ace, are you okay?"
The others rushed to help Ace, whose face bore a distinct red mark.
"How did he even do that?" Nami asked, stunned.
This was Fire Fist Ace, and he had been taken out instantly. She hadn't even seen Roy move.
"It was Haki," Sanji explained.
"Only someone with extremely advanced Haki could do that. We couldn't dodge even if we wanted to," Zoro said with a frown.
Luffy watched Roy's figure disappear into the distance, not knowing what he was planning.
"Ace…"
"I'm fine," Ace said, waving it off.
"Why would he come to Wano?" Usopp asked.
"Who knows?" Zoro replied.
Meanwhile, Roy and Atmos headed toward Udon Prison.
Even though the Beasts Pirates had lost, that didn't mean they were completely gone from Wano.
And just off the coast of Wano, a spinning flower descended from the sky, carrying a person.
"What was that Haki just now… was it Straw Hat Luffy?"
...
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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