Rumble!
The massive snail fleet began to climb the towering mountain wall. At this moment, the buildings on the snails' backs had deformed, shifting their orientation to adapt to the steep ascent. On the head of the leading giant snail, Kozuki Toki's slender, pale hand instinctively clutched at Roa's sleeve beside her. Although it was different from the Wano Country her parents described, they were finally reaching the Wano Country she had yearned for, right? The twenty-six-year-old woman's face was filled with a childlike, innocent anticipation.
Compared to her, the other executives of the Calamity Company reacted much more calmly. Of course they did; they had been in Wano Country for over a year. It was no exaggeration to call this country their second main base.
However, there was an exception. In a certain room of the grand fleet, Teach, wrapped in bandages, his left arm and right leg in casts, stood in awe by the window, watching the giant snails climb the steep mountain wall outside.
Wano Country? He had heard the name of this country. A legendary land of samurai, a country that had closed its borders and refused all visitors! He couldn't help but feel a little excited. What would this country be like? Despite his grand ambitions, Teach was indeed a country boy who had left his hometown for the first time.
Thump, thump, thump.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Teach turned back in surprise. Who would be looking for him at this hour?
"Who is it?" Since Roa didn't want to see his disguise, Teach simply dropped the act, raising his voice, his tone far from polite.
"Hehehe, it's me, Teach." Accompanied by a strange, low laugh, the door opened, and a person, also wrapped in bandages, walked in.
Teach looked the newcomer up and down in surprise. "Zehahaha!Bege, right? Are you that eager to get revenge on me?"
Bege flinched, waving his hands repeatedly. "Don't misunderstand, I'm here to seek a truce!"
"A truce?" Teach's smile beneath the bandages grew more unrestrained. "At this moment, you and I? You're not joking, are you!" After abandoning his nonsensical disguise, Teach's malice and recklessness began to unleash themselves. A truce? You two bastards almost ruined my plan, and you talk about a truce! Teach conveniently forgot that his disguise had been meaningless from the start.
"I was forced into it!" Bege immediately poured out his grievances. "Doflamingo, that bastard, used his power to force me to be his underling. If I went against his will, he would beat me!"
"Teach, we're in the same boat; we should be on the same side!"
Teach paused slightly, then his eyes suddenly became playful. "So, what do you want to say?"
"Hehehe," Bege cackled. "I'm no match for Doflamingo, but you're different, Teach! You're much stronger than him! I'll follow you from now on! We'll work together to give that arrogant Doflamingo a good beating!"
"Zehahaha!"
As the vile deal was struck, the snail grand fleet slowly ascended to the top of the high walls.
"This is... Wano Country!" Toki gazed forward almost greedily, eager to take in the sight of Wano Country.
"An ocean in the sky?" Wano Country's unique geography greatly surprised Toki. Eight hundred years had passed; this country was completely different from what her parents had described. Not only was there a high wall surrounding the entire country, but within that wall, there was a vast inland sea. And in the distance, surrounded by the inland sea, was that the land of Wano Country now?
"Hmm?" Toki, in her curiosity, suddenly paused. She saw a few plumes of dense black smoke rising from the land of Wano Country in the distance.
"That's—" Toki was a little bewildered.
"Oh, you mean those? My factories, of course," Roa said casually beside her.
"Factories?" Toki nodded understandingly. Although her parents had described Wano Country as a nation that valued harmony between humanity and nature, and was relatively resistant to foreign technology, after eight hundred years, this country had indeed changed.
The giant snails quickly traversed the inland sea and once again traveled on the vast land of Wano Country.
"It's raining!" Toki looked up. The sky was thick with dark clouds, and a drizzling rain began to fall.
"Bad luck," Roa frowned slightly. "It's better not to get wet now."
Before Toki could understand what he meant, she saw him look up, commanding the sky, "Clear up."
Immediately, the dark clouds in the sky vanished, and the sky abruptly cleared.
"What?" Toki was greatly alarmed. "This, Roa-kun, did you do something?" Was it Roa-kun's ability?
"Don't look at me like that, actually, I'm very strong, you know." Roa said with a playful smile. It really doesn't show at all! Toki couldn't help but scrutinize Roa a few more times. The only thing that's obvious is his handsomeness!
Then. Hmm? Toki caught something out of the corner of her eye. She instinctively lowered her head. Her once pristine kimono sleeve now had patches of stains. Where did they come from? Doubt rose in her heart.
Until she saw another surviving raindrop land on the back of her hand, instantly leaving a small stain on it. It was rain? Toki looked up in dismay. Was there something wrong with the rain just now? So, that's what Roa-kun meant by not getting wet—
Before she could recover from her surprise, the snail grand fleet had already passed through the edge of the forest and officially entered the interior of Wano Country.
Then.
Toki's beautiful eyes slowly widened, staring in disbelief at everything before her.
Ahead was a plain. It should have been farmland. But it had long since been abandoned. The earth looked as if it had been repeatedly ravaged by a giant plow and then irrigated with poison water. The land had a nauseating, turbid hue, not a single blade of grass grew, and sewage overflowed. The surface of the earth was cracked into grotesque patterns, rivers were dry and exposed, and the riverbeds were no longer mud but covered with a strange sediment, occasionally revealing corroded, pockmarked metal waste.
The land was completely silent and dead, without any trace of life. This lifeless desolation stretched to the horizon, as if the entire earth had died. In this dead world, only the few enormous factories in the distance still seemed alive, with thick smoke billowing from chimneys that rose so high they seemed to pierce the sky.
"This—what on earth is this—" Toki's body trembled. At this moment, the woman's delicate body seemed as fragile as glass. It shouldn't be like this! The Wano Country her parents spoke of shouldn't be like this!
"Roa-kun, what on earth happened?!" Her voice trembled as if it were about to break. Why had this country become like this? What had happened over the past eight hundred years?
"There's nothing to be done about it," Roa said with a sigh of lament. "Development, after all, always requires sacrificing something."
"Eh?" Toki turned back blankly, her eyes filled with confusion.
"What an unpleasant place!" Roa suddenly covered his nose, saying with a hint of distaste, "Faster, faster, let's get through this area quickly." It stinks! Although I quite like the dark aura this environment brings, the area itself is truly quite unpleasant. It just doesn't suit a refined young man like myself.
Toki hadn't even reacted when, at this moment, a patch of shadows in the distance rapidly approached.
"Roa-sama! Have you come?" The newcomer shouted, his voice a mix of surprise and respect.
Toki followed the sound and saw a group of riders mounted on strange-looking animals. They were all wearing fur clothes, which looked completely out of place with the Wano Country her parents had described, and horned helmets. But most importantly, behind these riders, a rope linked a group of ragged, emaciated commoners. These people, however, were dressed in typical Wano Country attire!
The riders rushed to the front of the snail fleet, then dismounted—or rather, dis-beasted—and immediately bowed their heads.
"Boss Kaido will surely be overjoyed to hear of your arrival!" They were all members of the Beasts Pirates, so they were naturally familiar with Roa.
"Hm," Roa nodded lightly, looking up at the bound commoners. "What's with these guys?"
"Roa-sama, they are workers who escaped from the factory!" The leading rider quickly replied, "We were out pursuing them!"
"Oh! Is that so? Well done!" Roa praised sincerely. "The value of a person lies in labor; avoiding labor won't do. But don't be too cruel to them. Let them atone for their sins through labor."
"Yes, sir!" The riders nodded respectfully.
"Alright, go about your business. Production is paramount."
"Yes, sir!"
Toki simply stared blankly at Roa, then lowered her gaze to look at the commoners being led away by the riders. All of them had expressionless faces; their last bit of courage had been consumed during their escape, leaving only numbness.
"Roa-kun, those factories... are they yours?" Toki's voice was strained. She remembered what Roa had just said. So, these factories that polluted this land are his?
"That's right, didn't I just say so?" Roa's face still held that warm, almost gentle smile. "The weapons produced here are sold across all four seas, praised worldwide."
"..." But at this moment, looking at Roa's face again, Toki no longer felt the flush or quickening heartbeat from before.
"Why?" The woman's voice trembled. Why do this to this country? Why treat the people of this country like this?
"You ask why?" Roa asked back, somewhat puzzled. "Of course, it's because this country has abundant and cheap mineral resources, and a very plentiful and even cheaper labor force. It's a great place to set up factories."
Toki's body stiffened. Because of this, he turned this country into this? No! Instinctively, Toki wanted to excuse her savior. Roa-kun merely set up factories; the ones who truly made this country what it is today must be the rulers of this country! She instinctively thought this. Otherwise, could her savior, the gentle Roa-kun who treated her so kindly, truly be a great villain who committed all kinds of evil?
No, I must immediately find out the current situation of Wano Country!
As Toki thought, the snail grand fleet never stopped, continuing to rumble forward. This was the Kuri region of Wano Country, the area originally ruled by Kozuki Oden. Atop a nearby hill was where Kozuki Oden's castle once stood, but it had now been converted into a factory. Below the hill was a dilapidated town. As the snail fleet passed through this town, Toki, mentally prepared, was about to speak.
"Punish the evil tyrant!" A roar suddenly came from the direction of the town. Then came the crackling of gunfire and the muffled thuds of rocket launchers firing.
"Evil Tiger Roa! Die!"
"Oh!" Roa immediately grinned, chuckling with interest. "How nostalgic!" How long has it been? Haven't the Radical Pro-Shogun Faction been dealt with yet? Big Brother Kaido, honestly, your efficiency is a bit low.
Behind him, Dylan had already transformed into a Pteranodon and flapped his wings away. With just one flap of his wings in the air, the flying slash that shot out instantly detonated all the shells and bullets. By the time he officially swooped down, a series of screams had already echoed from the distance.
Before Toki could even react to what was happening, Dylan had returned, grasping two men.
"Boss, two are still alive." Dylan calmly threw these two audacious men at Roa's feet.
"Roa-kun, who are they again?" Too many things were happening too quickly, and Toki's mind couldn't keep up. She simply stared blankly at the two men, whose limbs had been cruelly broken, yet still struggled.
"Them? They're just remnants of the old era unwilling to integrate into the new world," Roa said indifferently.
"Pah!!" One of the two radical loyalists angrily spat at Roa. But before he could even spit it out, Bullet directly stepped forward and kicked the man's head, making it spin three times. Toki immediately trembled with fright.
"Roa!!" The remaining loyalist was filled with grief and indignation, roaring hoarsely, "Kill us all then! You won't kill us all!"
"You killed Oden-sama, forced the Shogun to abdicate! You kidnapped all the Daimyo, forcing everyone to obey that villain Orochi!"
"You turned this country into your factory, turned everyone into your slaves!!"
"But it won't end like this! You and Kaido! Evil Tiger and Wicked Dragon! One day, someone will surely bear all the hatred and anger! Stand up and completely drive you out of this country—"
Roa flicked a finger, and a hole instantly appeared in the man's forehead. As blood splattered, his body collapsed.
"Annoying."
Then.
He took a deep breath.
Ohoh!! Here it comes, here it comes! Impatiently turning his head, Roa met a pair of trembling eyes.
"Roa," Toki's already pale face was now as white as paper, and the brokenness in her voice made one worry she might shatter at any moment. "What exactly did you do to this country?"
Who exactly was this "friend" Roa came to Wano Country to find, the one he spoke of?
"Toki, you need to understand one thing." Roa raised a hand and patted the shoulder of the woman who was nearly as tall as him, his voice suddenly turning cold. "Human civilization has always been built on exploitation."
"The strong trampling the weak is fundamentally the lowest rule of this world!"
Almost instinctively, Toki's slender body staggered backward. This guy! Roa, what on earth—
But.
Roa suddenly chuckled. He couldn't help but laugh; though the quantity wasn't immense, the quality was super high! Delicious beyond imagination!
"Just kidding, did I scare you?"
Toki paused again, but inexplicably, she felt a sense of relief. Sure enough, Roa-kun is so gentle, how could he—
"It has nothing to do with any of that. Breaking this country, killing all resistors, forcing the Shogun to abdicate," Roa said with a smile, "It's just because I wanted to do it. I'm naturally quite fond of tragic stories, aren't they interesting?"
"Just like, I've always been anticipating your reaction right now."
The woman's exquisite face was instantly drained of all life. Her eyes, which always held a hidden warmth, were now completely frozen, hollowly reflecting Roa's handsome face. Roa's smile was as usual, but at this moment, Toki only felt bone-chilling cold.
"Oh! Right, right, right! That's it!" Roa grabbed Toki's delicate chin, his face full of admiration. "This is the expression I've always been waiting for!"
"It's truly exhilarating!"
Super delicious!
He's not human! He's a demon from hell!
The woman's lips trembled silently, but she couldn't utter a single syllable. How could such a person exist in the world?!
Run! I must run! Unspeakable fear had stripped Toki of all her courage. She instinctively just wanted to escape! To escape into a future that Roa couldn't reach! As long as her Time-Time Fruit ability activated, everything would get better!
But.
"Don't even think about running, Toki," Roa said casually. "You can escape to the future, but Wano Country will be ruined."
"You wouldn't want to see Wano Country completely destroyed because of you, would you?"
Toki's body instantly froze like a statue! He knows! He even knows my ability! If I run away, will Wano Country be destroyed because of me? Her ability, which was almost instinctual, could no longer be activated now. Toki was a very kind woman.
"That's right then." Roa caressed the woman's face. The smooth, delicate touch was like stroking fine jade. He smiled and said,
"Our encounter is the guidance of fate, Toki. Heaven's arrangements are the greatest, so you must cherish this bond."
Fate?
The woman's eyes were utterly hollow. Was this the fate that awaited her after traveling eight hundred years?
"Hmm, but I still need to add a little insurance for you." Roa's lips curved upwards. "See? Your fear."
"Ahhhhh!!" A scream echoed.