Chapter 554: Gathering in Wano Country!
"Captain, you're here."
Meliodas stepped back onto the deck and exhaled, his eyes still fixed on the battlefield in the distance.
Ryuunosuke looked past him at the clashing figures. "So? Have you noticed anything?"
"Not yet," Meliodas answered honestly. "Keshia didn't show any obvious reaction to what Krul Busurud said."
"If anything, she got even angrier."
He continued, voice steady, like he was reporting a routine patrol rather than two hurricanes trying to murder each other.
"At this point, both Diana and Keshia have improved during the fight."
"As for Krul Busurud, King's been defending from the very beginning."
Meliodas frowned slightly.
He knew Krul Busurud's fighting ability well enough.
But this time, it was not a small increase.
It was a leap.
King himself was already strong. After gaining power alongside the Dragon Hunter Pirates, he was far stronger than he had been back in the Seven Deadly Sins world.
And yet he was being completely suppressed.
It was not because King was weak.
It was because the two of them entered battle with completely different attitudes.
Ryuunosuke watched the exchange of blows, his gaze narrowing.
"So Krul Busurud is fighting like a man who already decided to die."
He leaned back, completely unhurried.
"It's fine. We'll wait."
There was no rush.
No one knew what Krul Busurud was truly thinking.
More importantly, Krul Busurud's changes were almost certainly tied to the Guardians' secrets.
Since the Dragon Hunter Pirates had collided with them head on, they might as well understand them properly.
Time passed.
In the blink of an eye, a full week slipped by.
During that time, another group finally reached the stage.
The Straw Hat crew arrived in Wano Country.
"This is Wano Country?" Luffy stood at the bow, eyes shining like he was staring at a meat buffet. "Kaido's territory, right? One of the Four Emperors?"
He clenched his fist, confidence overflowing.
"Alright! Let's go take down Kaido!"
The crew's reaction was immediate and very familiar.
"This idiot is still brainless."
"I seriously want to know how I ended up working under a captain like that."
"If I knew it would be like this, I should've joined the Dragon Hunter Pirates instead!"
"Luffy, are you seriously going after Kaido? He's one of the Four Emperors!"
Some stared at Luffy with pity.
Some complained like their souls were leaving their bodies.
But even as they talked, the truth did not change.
If a fight broke out, they would rush in without hesitation.
That was the Straw Hat crew's special recipe.
They would call the Four Emperors terrifying right up until the moment they started swinging.
Then they suddenly did not care if you were a Four Emperor or a Sea King.
Nami pinched the bridge of her nose, looking like she needed a vacation and a new captain.
"Luffy, have you forgotten something?"
"Kaido is on Brother Ryuunosuke's ship."
Luffy froze.
His brain visibly rebooted.
"Yes!"
He spun around, suddenly horrified. "Then what are we doing here?!"
He came to Wano specifically to defeat Kaido.
But now Kaido was not even in Wano.
So who were they supposed to punch?
"Luffy is in charge."
A familiar voice drifted over the waves.
Luffy's eyes widened.
"Law!"
Law appeared like he always did, as if the sea itself had agreed to cooperate with his timing.
"Weren't you with your big brother?" Luffy asked happily. "How'd you end up here?!"
Law had a good relationship with Luffy and the crew by now.
They had even planned to unite against Doflamingo.
If Ryuunosuke had not interfered back then, they would probably be following the original path.
So seeing Law here made Luffy absurdly happy.
Kaido's absence was already forgotten.
"The captain told me to come assist you," Law said, deadpan as always.
"He needs a special fruit from Wano Country. He wants me to help secure it."
As he spoke, Law raised his hand.
"Room."
In the blink of an eye, he was on Luffy's ship.
"A special fruit?" Luffy leaned forward, eyes wide. "But Kaido's on Big Brother's ship. Did Big Brother already kill Kaido?!"
Law paused.
A long pause.
"Uh… no."
He had developed a certain resistance to Luffy's thought process, but Luffy still managed to land critical hits.
"The fruit the captain needs is a Mythical Zoan," Law explained.
"The current shogun of Wano Country, Kurozumi Orochi, has the Snake Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model Yamata no Orochi."
"Kurozumi Orochi…?" Luffy blinked, innocent to the point of being dangerous. "Who's that?"
"Bang!"
Law and his crew members collapsed to the deck as if the words physically struck them.
This man was really going to Wano.
Without even knowing who Orochi was.
In Wano Country, besides Kaido, there was someone who actually held power.
And Luffy was asking, who?
Law inhaled, forced his soul back into his body, and began explaining Orochi.
He laid out the power structure in Wano Country and who truly controlled what.
Luffy listened, nodding like he understood.
Then he reached a conclusion that was, somehow, technically correct in the most terrifying way.
"So we don't need to go looking for the Beasts Pirates anymore."
"All we need to do is kill this piece of charcoal, right?"
Law's eye twitched.
He decided not to ask why "charcoal" felt like the perfect insult.
He would accept the small victory of Luffy focusing on the correct target.
"By the way," Law added, "the Beasts Pirates will also be assisting us."
"And has anyone from the Kozuki family contacted you?"
"The Kozuki family?" Luffy looked confused again.
It was obvious he forgot that Momonosuke belonged to the Kozuki clan.
Law's patience was the true Mythical Zoan here.
"Momonosuke and his group. Those samurai," Law said, carefully.
"Captain Ryuunosuke told me we need to be a little careful with them during this mission."
If Kid were here, he would have attacked Luffy first and explained later.
Talking normally with Luffy was exhausting on a spiritual level.
"Oh, Momonosuke!" Luffy nodded rapidly. "Okay, okay!"
"Terra, we…"
"Captain Luffy!"
A voice called from the distance, drawing everyone's attention.
"Captain Conrad?" Luffy's face lit up. "You guys came too?!"
Conrad arrived together with members of the Mink Tribe.
Seeing them made Luffy both surprised and delighted.
These were powerful fighters.
With them involved, things would definitely go smoother.
"The captain said this battle needs enough strength to guarantee success," Conrad said directly.
"So we all came."
Wano Country was right in front of them now.
Orochi was being targeted by an unknown force.
At the same time, a peculiar ship quietly approached.
On that ship, a samurai spoke hesitantly beside an older man.
"Patriarch, since it's come to this…"
"We don't actually need to get involved."
"The Dragon Hunter Pirates can definitely handle it."
"And the Kozuki clan…"
"I want to go."
Shimotsuki Koushirou cut him off before he could finish.
His voice was not loud, but the conviction in it left no room for argument.
"Kuina is with the Dragon Hunter Pirates. She can't participate for now."
"But we still have to do this."
"This is the mission of our Shimotsuki clan."
After speaking, Koushirou turned his gaze toward the looming land of Wano Country ahead.
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