Wano had long been prepared. Since its borders opened, the island's inhabitants had moved down to rebuild their homes.
The ancient Wano was once incredibly prosperous, but that was eight hundred years ago. After being submerged underwater for centuries, it was no longer habitable.
Everything had to start from scratch. When Buggy and his crew arrived at Wano, the first thing they saw was the ruins of the eight-hundred-year-old nation.
"Is this Wano? Why is it so dilapidated?" Kuzan remarked.
"To be precise, this isn't the current Wano. The old Wano was on the mountain. I'd guess it's up there now," Buggy pointed toward the towering mountain.
"Kishishishi, that's right. The real Wano is on that mountain. Though I don't know what happened, it's completely different from what we remember," Gecko Moria said.
Twenty years ago, when he came to Wano, it wasn't like this. Back then, they ascended the waterfall and later clashed with the Beasts Pirates.
Now, it seemed the real Wano was on that mountain, though how it had transformed into its current state was a mystery.
"What about the Whitebeard Pirates? What do we do now? Should we attack Wano and force them out?" Mihawk stepped forward and asked.
Just then, an elderly man from Wano approached the shore, tending to his fields.
"Hey, old man! Do you know where the Whitebeard Pirates are?" Buggy cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.
"White what?"
"Whitebeard."
"What beard?"
"Whitebeard."
"What 'dard'?"
"Whitebeard!"
"White what 'dard'?"
"Damn old man, messing with me!" Buggy snatched a cannon from one of his subordinates and aimed it at the old man.
"Wait, wait! You're looking for the Whitebeard Pirates, right? They're over there," the old man trembled and pointed to the side.
"Hmph, stupid old man," Buggy sneered, lowering the cannon. "Head over there."
The ship turned and sailed in the direction pointed out. Shortly after they left, the old man's body began to change.
"Hehehehe... how fun."
The Cross Guild's ship veered to the side.
"Hey, aren't you worried that old man lied to us?" Crocodile said.
"What? Lied to us? Probably not. He looked honest," Buggy stroked his chin.
"Is that how you judge people?" Crocodile fumed.
"Why not?"
"Hmph."
"Even if there's a problem, it doesn't matter. We're here for the Whitebeard Pirates. As long as we find them, it's fine," Mihawk said.
"What if it's a trap?" Kuzan asked.
"In the face of absolute power, all traps are meaningless," Mihawk replied.
"Kishishishi, Whitebeard… Should we take his head? Even though he's from a previous era, his bounty is still valuable," Gecko Moria said.
The ship circled to the back of the mountain and indeed spotted a base, the Whitebeard Pirates' current location was behind Wano.
"It's the Whitebeard Pirates. Do we attack now?" Buggy trembled.
"Attack? Let's try diplomacy first. Demand they hand over Pluton," Crocodile said.
"Look! Is that ship Pluton?" one of Buggy's men pointed to the left and shouted.
Everyone turned to look. A massive ship was on the sea, continuously producing clouds.
Compared to their ship, it was hundreds of times larger.
"Wh-what a huge ship!" Buggy exclaimed.
"Is this Pluton?!" Crocodile's voice shook with excitement.
"It looks nothing like what we imagined. It's not a battleship at all, more like a…" Mihawk
"A humidifier!!!" Perona blurted out.
"A humidifier?!" Absalom looked puzzled.
"Don't you think it looks like one? It really does," Perona insisted.
"It does. And it's sucking seawater to make clouds. Could it be lowering sea levels?" Absalom wondered aloud.
"Sea levels are indeed dropping. Those whirlpools nearby are dangerous, if we get too close, we could be dragged underwater," Cabaji, the navigator, warned.
"Pluton is truly balancing the world. Could it really swallow up the two hundred meters of coastline rise from nine hundred years ago?" Crocodile asked.
"Impossible. If it could, the clouds would cover the entire world, blocking out the sun," Kuzan said.
"Nature will balance itself. The Celestial Dragons' ability to destroy the world is terrifying," Mihawk remarked.
"Our target is Pluton. Do we go for it now or deal with the Whitebeard Pirates first?"
"Let's go to the Whitebeard Pirates. If we can't defeat them, taking Pluton is pointless," Crocodile said.
"Right!" Buggy nodded.
The ship approached Wano's shore. There weren't many Whitebeard Pirates in sight.
"Big Brother has been waiting for you," Atmos stood on the dock, waving as they approached.
"Water Buffalo Atmos? Are you alone?" Crocodile asked.
"We've long left Wano. You're here to see Big Brother, right? I'll take you there. Otherwise, you won't be able to reach him," Atmos said.
"What do you mean?" Crocodile asked.
"It's simple. We've already moved to the sky island. We're not in Wano anymore. Do you want to go to the sky island or not?" Atmos said.
"Yes!" Crocodile gritted his teeth.
"Then don't resist." Atmos's face gradually twisted into fierce expression. In the next moment, he transformed into a gray dragon, coiled around the Cross Guild's ship, and draped it in flame clouds before lifting it into the sky.
"W-we're flying!" Buggy exclaimed.
"Is he taking us to the sky?" Mr. 3 said.
"You don't think he's going to drop us from the sky, do you?" Mohji worried.
"Save us, Captain Buggy!" Cabaji cried.
"Shut up! You're too noisy!" Alvida snapped.
The dragon carried them through the clouds.
"This is the White-White Sea, seven thousand meters above sea level, an ocean-like expanse. Without replenishment, it will disappear in a few decades," Atmos explained.
"The White-White Sea… I think I've heard of it somewhere," Perona said.
"It was mentioned in the adventure to Skypeia," Mihawk clarified.
"We need to ascend another three thousand meters to reach the sky island," Atmos continued, pushing higher until they finally saw a sky island. Their ship landed on a vast, white sea.
The Cross Guild members were still catching their breath when what they saw next terrified them even more.
Three figures sat on the shore, playing cards. They turned to look at the newcomers.
"Wororororo, I'm done playing," Kaido tossed his cards aside and stood up.
"Bastard Kaido, I-" Charlotte Linlin roared.
"No more, no more. We have guests," Whitebeard threw down his cards, also done.
"Newgate! Kaido! You!!!"
Charlotte Linlin fumed, turning her glare toward the Cross Guild.
"It's all your fault! I finally had a good hand!"
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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