"Hahaha! We're finally back—Wano Country!"
The Moby Dick rode the rushing carp currents, cresting the waterfall and ascending into the sky.
This time, the climb was effortless. With Oden's guidance, the Whitebeard Pirates knew exactly how to tackle the treacherous entrance. Unlike their first attempt, there was no chaos, no near-shipwreck. Back then, ignorance of the currents had battered the vessel, leaving the mighty flagship stranded and damaged for weeks.
Now, the waters parted easily before them, and soon, the massive island of Wano stretched into view, boundless and majestic.
At the bow stood Kozuki Oden, his expression caught between pride and longing. His retainers, Izou, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi, gathered beside him, eyes shining.
Years away from home, they had left without a word, without farewells. Now, questions filled their hearts. How had their comrades fared in their absence? What awaited them in the land they had once called home?
"Pops! There are people on the shore!" Marco called down from the crow's nest. With a telescope pressed to his eye, he spotted smoke rising from the beach. "Someone's cooking down there."
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard's laugh boomed across the deck. His Observation Haki had already swept the shoreline. "Three small presences. Children."
On that very shore, Mobius and Voss were drenched in sweat, locked in training drills. The smell of roasted meat carried through the air, turning their heads toward the firepit where a boar turned slowly on a spit.
Beside the flames sat Pito, wooden stick in hand, her golden eyes fixed on the roasting beast with childlike intensity. Every so often, she poked the meat, testing if it was done.
Their days had fallen into a rhythm. With Teach gone nearly half a month, survival meant hunting and cooking for themselves. Wano's forests crawled with savage, exotic beasts, but Teach had long since purged the nearby area of threats, leaving them relatively safe. Still, the absence of their captain weighed heavily.
"Why hasn't Boss Teach returned yet?" Mobius muttered for the umpteenth time, breaking from his training with a sigh.
Neither Pito nor Voss answered. Pito's silence was trust; she believed without doubt that Teach would return. Voss's calm came from reason, if Teach faced danger, none of them could help. They would only drag him down.
Before the silence grew heavy, Pito finally declared, "It's ready."
The boys bolted over like starving wolves. They ate eagerly, Mobius tearing chunks of meat with his blade, Voss and Pito eating with surprising elegance but no less efficiency. Monkey wine sloshed in a small bowl as Mobius took cautious sips, remembering too well the last time they had all passed out drunk.
Still, between laughter, grumbling, and the occasional sigh of frustration at their weakness, the meal was warm. They had each other.
Then Pito froze.
Her golden eyes lifted, sharp and alert, staring straight toward the sea.
"What is it?" Mobius asked, following her gaze but seeing nothing.
Pito's tail twitched. "A ship. It's coming this way."
Voss was already raising the telescope. He adjusted the lens, then exhaled slowly. "She's right. There's a ship on approach."
Mobius frowned. "A ship? Here? Wano's a closed country. No merchants. No Marines. That means…" His eyes widened, then lit up with sudden realization. "Voss! What's the ship like? Could it be the Whitebeard Pirates—the Moby Dick? Didn't Boss Teach say they'd be coming?"
Voss confirmed with a nod. "A giant whale figurehead. It's them."
Mobius's heart pounded with excitement. "We actually get to meet them!"
"They must've spotted our smoke from earlier," Voss reasoned.
The three stood together on the beach, watching as the legendary ship closed the distance.
Compared to Teach's modest steel-plated vessel, the Moby Dick was a floating fortress; one hundred forty meters long, seventy wide, its shadow enough to dwarf everything around it.
From above, pirates laughed as they peered down. "Kids on the shore? Looks like they're waiting for us!"
Marco turned to Oden. "That's not a Wano-style boat. Foreign make. But sturdy steel reinforced. Whoever bought that didn't skimp on Berries."
The ship slowed, looming like a mountain as it docked beside Teach's vessel. The displacement made the smaller craft bob violently.
Mobius swallowed hard as titanic footsteps echoed on the gangplank.
A giant of a man emerged first: six meters tall, golden hair cascading down, naginata in hand, and the unmistakable crescent-shaped mustache gleaming in the sunlight.
Edward Newgate. Whitebeard. The man who ruled the New World.
The sheer pressure of his presence made Mobius's chest tighten, heart hammering. Yet it wasn't fear that filled him—it was exhilaration.
Behind Whitebeard descended Marco, Vista, Jozu, Whitey Bay, and dozens more. Powerhouses, each one radiating strength.
Mobius recognized several from their bounties. Most he didn't. But all of them together… this was what a true pirate crew looked like.
This was the ship Boss Teach had sailed upon.
A longing stirred deep in Mobius's chest.
Voss stood calm, arms folded, analyzing. Pito's curiosity shone in her eyes but nothing more. Even their serpents, coiled around them, shrank back in instinctive fear.
The Whitebeard Pirates, meanwhile, paused in surprise. These three children stood tall and unflinching before them, no trembling, no tears.
It was the kind of composure they rarely saw even in hardened men of the New World.