Several hundred years ago, Wano Country constructed massive walls encircling the entire island, sealing itself off from the outside world. Over time, rainwater accumulated within those walls, forming an inland sea.
Within that inland sea lay two islands—Onigashima and Wano's main island.
Setting Onigashima aside for now, Wano's main island was divided into six regions: the Flower Capital, Kuri, Hakumai, Udon, Ringo, and Kibi.
Wano's system of governance differed from other nations. Its supreme ruler was known as the Shogun, a figure who shone over the entire country like the sun.
The current Shogun of Wano was Kozuki Sukiyaki. Though he nominally ruled all of Wano, in reality, his authority was limited to the area around the Flower Capital.
The remaining five regions were governed by five daimyo loyal to the Shogun.
For example, his son, Kozuki Oden, was currently the daimyo of Kuri.
At this moment, in the southeastern region of Wano—Hakumai—the ruling daimyo was Shimotsuki Yasuie. Hakumai was relatively prosperous and also housed Wano's only seaport, Habu Port.
Not long ago, a group of scholars who had come to Wano in search of ancient ruins and Poneglyph-related information had finally managed to land after great difficulty.
They had entered Wano through Habu Port in Hakumai.
And were immediately arrested by Wano's samurai.
Now, the entire group was imprisoned in Hakumai's jail.
Inside the daimyo's residence, Shimotsuki Yasuie was discussing this unexpected incident with his retainers.
"Have you found out who they are? What purpose they have in coming to Wano?" Yasuie asked in a deep voice, seated on a tatami mat.
Kneeling before him was a man who looked untrustworthy at a glance—Kurozumi Orochi.
At this point in time, he was still Yasuie's subordinate, far from the future where he would seize power and take control of Wano.
Hearing the question, Orochi immediately replied, "They've already confessed. They claim they came to Wano to search for ancient ruins and Poneglyphs. They call themselves a group of scholars and say they mean no harm."
"Oh? Poneglyphs?" A serious look flashed in Yasuie's eyes. "Are they agents of the World Government?"
"No. They say they're a civilian organization. Their leader is someone named Clover—apparently a well-known archaeologist in the outside seas," Orochi reported.
Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Yasuie pondered for a moment before saying, "Regardless of whether they're connected to the World Government, Wano's secrets cannot be exposed. Sentence them to three months of labor in Udon, then expel them from the country."
By Wano's laws, simply entering the country illegally was already a serious crime. Attempting to investigate Poneglyphs made it even worse.
And yet, Yasuie showed no intention of making things overly difficult for them—just three months of labor, then exile.
After all, this wasn't the era of Kaido's rule. Udon wasn't a death camp yet—it was simply a standard labor camp.
Barring any accidents, the scholars would suffer for three months, but most likely wouldn't die.
A cold glint flashed in Orochi's eyes as he said, "My lord, these people clearly possess significant knowledge about our country—otherwise they wouldn't have come here so precisely. If we let them go, they could pose unpredictable risks in the future. I suggest we execute them instead."
Yasuie hesitated. He wasn't particularly decisive to begin with—otherwise he wouldn't later be manipulated by Orochi into illness and ultimately allow him to rise to power.
"This… wouldn't that be too harsh?" Yasuie said uncertainly. "If the Shogun hears of it, would he think me cruel?"
"Not at all! They trespassed into Wano—that alone is a grave crime. On top of that, they were gathering intelligence. Execution is fully justified. The Shogun would surely understand," Orochi urged.
But in the end, Yasuie shook his head.
"No. Carry out my original orders."
Seeing this, Orochi said no more. He bowed respectfully and withdrew.
Meanwhile, inside Hakumai's prison, Professor Clover and the other scholars were all being held.
"Professor, the people of Wano are completely unreasonable. We already explained that we came with friendly intentions for cultural exchange, yet they threw us into prison without a word. What do we do now?" one scholar said worriedly, leaning against a pile of straw.
"These people have been isolated for too long. They don't communicate with the outside world—their thinking has become rigid. This is indeed troublesome," Clover clicked his tongue.
As for the fact that they had illegally entered Wano and broken its laws… Clover didn't care in the slightest.
After all, he was the kind of man who openly defied the law. The World Government forbade research into Poneglyphs and ancient script, yet he did it anyway—and even gathered a whole group to do it with him.
Would someone like that care about laws?
At most, he followed laws that aligned with his own values. The rest? Irrelevant.
In his eyes, forbidding entry into Wano was unreasonable—so why should he obey it?
Even the World Government hadn't been able to stop him—what was Wano in comparison?
It had to be said, scholars could sometimes be this arrogant—possessing immense knowledge while simultaneously exposing their ignorance and recklessness.
"I think we can't just sit here and wait. We need to find a way to escape!" a clear voice said.
It belonged to a young woman with a slender figure and long silver-white hair.
Nico Olvia—a relatively new member of the group, only twenty years old.
Though young, she possessed exceptional talent in archaeology. With her solid academic ability, she had already earned considerable respect among the scholars and was regarded as Professor Clover's most capable assistant.
"The samurai of Wano are very strong. How are we supposed to escape?" another scholar said.
Just as they were discussing how to deal with the situation—
Back at the daimyo's residence, Orochi, who had just left, hurriedly ran back inside.
Yasuie had just been about to prepare some tea when he saw Orochi rush in again.
"Why are you back?" Yasuie asked in surprise.
"My lord, as soon as I left, a servant reported spotting another pirate ship approaching Habu Port. Please gather the samurai—we should drive them off or capture them!" Orochi explained.
"Another one? Could they be companions of those scholars?" Yasuie frowned.
There was no time to think it over. He immediately stood.
"Go report this to the Shogun. I'll gather the samurai at once!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Soon, Yasuie led a group of Wano samurai toward the port.
Meanwhile, the pirate ship approaching Habu Port was, of course, the Roger Pirates—who had just climbed the waterfall from the outer seas.
Though they had never been to Wano before, with a top-tier navigator like Gaban, scaling the waterfall and entering Wano's inland sea had been no trouble at all.
From a distance, as they neared Habu Port, Valthior spotted a familiar ship docked there.
"Honestly… after all these years, getting captured so many times, and they still haven't even changed ships. Professor Clover really spends his money where it counts," Valthior chuckled.
"So the scholars we're looking for have already made it onto Wano? Looks like we didn't miss them—great!" Roger said happily.
But the moment he finished speaking—
The coastal cannons at the port suddenly opened fire without warning.
A barrage of shells came crashing toward them.
"Just like Spencer said… the people of Wano aren't very friendly," Rayleigh clicked his tongue.
"These local samurai have no manners at all!" Roger said irritably.
...
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