In the One Piece world...
Uchiha Hikari sat on a rock at the edge of Onigashima, scrolling through chat messages in the group while flipping through a map in her hands.
This map had been "borrowed" from the Beasts Pirates.
The borrowing process was... a tad rough, to say the least.
Nearby, Yamato was busy clearing rubble, searching through the debris for her friend, Nibuya.
This monstrous-looking Tyrant was one of the few friends Yamato had on Onigashima—or in the entire One Piece world, for that matter.
On the other side...
Kaido and Jin were also digging through another pile of ruins, trying to rescue Black Maria and the others.
That's right.
Just moments ago, Kaido had crawled out from under the rubble.
When he emerged, he looked like he'd been through a meat grinder. His massive, muscular frame was covered in countless fine wounds, and his burly arms were scraped raw, with patches of flesh torn off and bones exposed in several places.
In another world, injuries like that would either kill you or leave you out of commission.
But as everyone knows, in the One Piece world, the severity of your injuries and your ability to keep fighting are often completely unrelated.
Some people look tough, capable of smashing mountains with a single punch, but go down after one stab. Others can be riddled with illness, have their heart punched out, or lose half their face to molten lava—and still knock out opponents like it's nothing.
Kaido was the latter.
So, the moment he freed himself, he wanted to charge at Hikari for another round. But Esdeath intercepted him first.
Even though Kaido unleashed his Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Azure Dragon Form...
He was still completely outmatched by Esdeath, who had activated her "Ice Demon" mode. After holding out for a short while, Kaido took a charged punch from her, sending him crashing back into the rubble. When he stood again, he was drenched in blood, half his dragon body encased in layers of ice, barely able to move.
"...You're in bad shape. Even if I beat you now, it wouldn't feel fair," Esdeath said, deactivating her "Ice Demon" mode and holding off on further attacks.
Kaido, after getting pummeled repeatedly, finally faced reality. He looked at Hikari with a complicated expression and rasped, "Who... are you people?"
"Hm?" Hikari blinked. "Didn't I tell you my name when I got here?"
Did that "Starfall" strike mess with his head and give him amnesia? Well... looking closely, Kaido did have several gashes on his head, and the right horn was sliced halfway off. A brain injury wasn't out of the question...
But that wasn't what Kaido meant.
"Are you... that person? The one from the prophecy—'Joyboy'?"
"?"
Hikari finally caught on.
Kaido knew about the legend of Joyboy and that he was destined to be defeated by him.
From his perspective, today's events made it easy to jump to that conclusion—
First, the current timeline in the One Piece world was 20 years after Kozuki Oden's death, the exact year Joyboy was supposed to appear.
Second, a name like "Uchiha Hikari" didn't fit the naming conventions of most regions in this world—except for Wano Country.
And third, they'd appeared out of nowhere, with no reputation or warning, yet wielded power strong enough to defeat a Yonko.
Put those together, and the answer seemed obvious—
"I never would've thought the legendary 'Joyboy' would be a woman. You came here for Wano's opening, didn't you?" Kaido's expression carried a mix of bitterness and reluctance.
He'd stayed in Wano despite knowing the prophecy, partly for its weapons industry, but also because he wanted to defy his fate. Now, it seemed he'd failed spectacularly.
"..."
Hikari opened her mouth but decided against explaining. "If you think I'm someone, then I guess I am. As for Wano's opening... that's their business, not mine."
"Miss Hikari..." Yamato glanced over, hesitating.
Her interdimensional travels had shifted her admiration from Kozuki Oden to people like Minato Namikaze, and her fixation on Oden had faded. But years of influence couldn't be erased in just a few months.
Still...
"The fate of a nation or a person is something you have to fight for yourself. Only the weak pin their hopes on someone else's promises or vague prophecies, don't you think?" Hikari said pointedly.
"Besides, the obstacles to Wano's opening are just the people in front of us and a few Kurozumi lackeys. Kaido's taken a beating, and the Beasts Pirates are in shambles. If Wano can't seize this chance to win, they might as well go back to farming."
Hikari had no interest in cleaning up Wano's mess.
After all, this whole disaster stemmed from that "heroic" idiot who got himself killed.
And his son, Momonosuke? A total deadweight.
If Kozuki Hiyori, the current leader of the Kozuki clan, had any brains or resolve, she'd take this opportunity—while Kaido was injured—to deal with Kurozumi Orochi.
If she could pull that off, Hikari might consider making a deal with Wano. If she remembered correctly, Wano's forging techniques were top-notch, producing several Supreme Grade blades. While her dragonbone katana couldn't be repaired here, getting some weapons or gear for Bulma, Tanjiro, and the others wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Alright," Yamato said, convinced.
With that, Hikari stopped talking to Kaido. After studying the map for a bit, she called over Yamato, Esdeath, and Nibuya the Tyrant, ready to leave Onigashima.
Onigashima's terrain was unique. Like Wano, it sat on a plateau far above sea level, surrounded by waters mostly formed from rainwater. This setup traced back 800 years to Wano's decision to build high walls and isolate itself. So, getting in or out of Onigashima typically meant crossing a vertical waterfall.
Hikari planned to head to a nearby uninhabited island first, then call Bulma and the others to prepare for the launch of the Blue Planet.
Before leaving, Hikari glanced back at Kaido.
He was still sitting there, motionless, seemingly not yet recovered from the shock of his defeat.
"Let's go, Yamato."
"...Right."
With a flash from the Shangri-La teleportation array, Hikari and the others vanished from Onigashima's edge. When they reappeared, they were on another island.
After a quick scan to confirm no one would disturb them, Hikari pinged Bulma in the group chat, letting her know it was safe to come.
A few minutes later...
Bulma, decked out in a sci-fi-style combat suit and lugging several bags, appeared in the One Piece world.
"Hey, Hikari! Long time no see! Yamato, Miss Esdeath... and, uh, who's this?"
"Nibuya, Yamato's friend. Now one of ours too," Hikari introduced.
"I see..."
Though Nibuya didn't look remotely human, Bulma, a native of the Dragon Ball world, was used to bizarre creatures and took it in stride. She greeted him warmly before moving aside to tinker with her Blue Planet.
When the destroyer-sized ship suddenly expanded and settled in the shallow waters by the shore, Esdeath and Yamato's jaws dropped.
Nibuya's mouth hung open, his face full of disbelief.
"Come on, Hikari, everyone—let's check it out!" Bulma called.
They climbed the gangway onto the ship.
Hikari gave Yamato and the others a tour of the vessel, while Bulma headed to the captain's cabin to test the control panel's functions.
"Hm... should be all set."
After confirming everything was in order, they regrouped on the deck to welcome the others.
[Little Monster requests to enter Oni Princess's world]
[Brand requests to enter...]
[Iron Head...]
[Kikyo...]
Flashes of white light flickered.
Tanjiro and the others appeared one by one on the Blue Planet.
Since it was the weekend, Yoriko Yotsuya, who didn't have school, joined them.
Then...
"Wow, what a huge ship!"
"I've seen pictures in the group chat, but it's way more impressive in person... it's like a castle on the sea!"
"Huh? There's even a garden over there? Can you eat the fruit on those trees?"
Faced with a modern naval vessel they'd never seen before, Tanjiro and the others gawked like kids in a candy store, exclaiming alongside Yamato.
Even Yotsuya and Yuji Itadori, from modern worlds, were thrilled. As ordinary people in their respective worlds, they'd only seen ships like this in pictures or videos, never up close.
Notably...
Among the guests arriving in the One Piece world were a few non-group members—
Like Akame and Leone.
They'd previously accepted Bulma's invitation to join the ship, and Akame had even visited the Dragon Ball world for the Tournament of Power. So, when they heard about the Dimension Pirates' founding ceremony, they tagged along with Brand.
Similarly, Nezuko came with Tanjiro.
And the last one...
"Sister Hikari, where are we?" Naruto stood beside her, nervously scanning the surroundings.