"The chosen one."
The words drew an instinctive chuckle from Ross. If you could stumble through life cracking jokes and still come out on top, didn't that make you one?
"Are they enemies?" Sora asked, picking up on his edge. Her eyes narrowed in thought.
"The World Government was born to crush the last one," Ross replied offhandedly. He saw no harm in spilling the beans on the chosen one.
The Chosen One—Joy Boy. The Sun God—Nika.
Echoes from 800 years back, myths the ancients obsessed over. Modern Celestial Dragons barely gave them a nod.
"I get it," Sora said, her face lighting up. Her mind leaped to the Void Century.
Her worldview clashed with Vegapunk's, even if both wielded the Brain-Brain Fruit. He might frame things around freedom or morality, but she zeroed in on the raw mechanics.
To Sora, a dynasty sparked by the prior chosen one crumbling in under a century screamed core weakness. Overthrown? Then he was just history's lucky break, not some era-defining force.
"Keep an eye on the Kozuki clan?" she murmured.
They'd slain one already. No point obsessing when the next could pop up anytime.
"Anything on the Kozukis, Gion?" Ross asked with a grin, glancing her way.
Gion's folks came from Wano, outliers who craved the wide world and bailed.
"The Kozukis have ruled Wano forever, backed by five daimyo houses: Amatsuki, Shimotsuki, Fugetsu, Uzuki, and Kurozumi," she said. "Wano's a fortress—xenophobic as hell, still locked tight."
Family stories were all she had; details were fuzzy.
"Kaido's holed up there? Outsider like him?" Sora frowned, confused.
She knew the bad blood between King and Gion, and Ross's hunt for Kaido in Wano. But isolation like that?
"Seal yourself off, and cannon fire eventually cracks the door," Ross said, chuckling. "Kaido brings the boom. Wano's folk are too bullheaded, loyal to the Kozukis, or it'd be his playground already."
"Stubbornness like that? They won't last till any chosen one's dawn," Gion added, arms folded, voice cutting.
She knew the place inside out but hated its vibe. The Kozukis' centuries-old twisted outlook? Her family tales painted it ugly. Ross seemed sane by comparison.
"On Kaido—looks like you've got your man, Saint Ross," Gion noted. "Moria, smashed by him in Wano two years ago, now haunts the Grand Line's first half. Crew's dust."
"Reach out. Tell him I'm calling him back to Wano," Ross replied, smirking.
"Kaido probably haunts his nightmares," Gion said, shaking her head.
"Doesn't matter. If he still burns for his lost crew, he's in. Refuse? His head's mine," Ross shrugged.
Moria now wasn't the shell he'd turn into twenty years down the line. Army gone or not, the guy had juice—Vice Admiral level easy, maybe more.
Global heavy-hitters like that? Rare. Fresh off a thrashing? Perfect recruit.
"Pass it to Spandam. Make it clear: Moria's worth ten of him. Botch the pitch? Execute. Nail it? High command awaits," Ross said evenly.
Recruiting needed finesse. Spandam had it in spades—that glib tongue could sell ice to fishmen.
Few in this world matched his smarts and sleaze. Rogues had their uses; cross Ross, and the payback was endless.
"Understood," Gion said, her face twisting in distaste. Dirty work, but someone's gotta shovel it.
Moria, ex-New World terror? Even broken, he'd be a tough sell.
"Double down on Wano agents. Slip into the Beasts Pirates or blend as locals."
Ross ramped up the spies. Kaido wasn't budging, so why rush?
No curveballs, and the beast had a year till his big play—time for a cruise over.
When Ross rolled in, Kaido and the Kozukis would bleed each other. He'd scoop the spoils.
Early bird gets the birdcage. Kaido's not peaked, but S-rank solid. Oden? Close, a hair under—leagues above A.
Ross prepped meticulously against dual S-classes.
"One more," Gion said, pausing. "Red the Aloof surfaced in the Grand Line today. Body on Drum Island. Gone dark since."
Red the Aloof—Whitebeard, Shiki tier. S-class minimum.
"Drum Island?" Ross's brow furrowed, gut twisting.
His eyes flicked to Gion, pensive.
"Problem?" Sora asked, catching the shift.
Gion squirmed under his stare, tilting her head.
"Intel from the World Government: Lone wolf like Red the Aloof's fading fast," Ross murmured. "He needs a Devil Fruit to lock in his prime."
—
…
100 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter Tomorrow!
Help us reach the goal!
The book is likely Already Finished there. Don't wait for daily updates—read the complete story + R-18 scenes right now!
[email protected]/Ren Saga