Wano Country, Kuri Region.
"You mean," a tall, robust man looked at the emaciated farmer before him with immense surprise, "Kaido and Roa are in this country?"
The farmer timidly glanced at the saber on the man's hip and cautiously replied, "Lord Kaido and Lord Roa are in the Flower Capital."
"Hahahaha! Finally found them! The Admiral was absolutely right!" The man immediately burst into joyous laughter. He grabbed the farmer, "Then tell me, where is the Flower Capital?"
Flower Capital, Palace outside the city, in the plaza.
"Bullet!"
"King!"
Two figures clashed violently.
Bullet swung his mercury-heavy fist, while King's sharp blades cut through the air.
The next instant, King was sent flying like a cannonball by Bullet's punch.
"This much power isn't even enough to tickle me, you bastard!" Bullet sneered, lunging towards King again. His massive mercury fist was covered in black Haki.
He had already mastered Armament Haki half a year ago, and in the past two months, he had finally advanced from basic Armament Haki coating to Armament Haki hardening.
This evolution brought immense progress to Bullet. His Armament Haki was naturally abnormal; its quantity far surpassed that of ordinary people. And the quantity of Armament Haki was equivalent to its quality.
The result was that Bullet, who had just completed his Armament Haki hardening, possessed incredibly hard Armament Haki! Even King, wielding a Great Grade Blade, couldn't harm him at all.
"..." King's expression was grave. The distance between him and Bullet widened further. Although Bullet still couldn't directly wound him, he now had no way of dealing with Bullet either.
If only I also had a powerful Devil Fruit.King couldn't help but think. Just relying on the Lunarian tribe's innate abilities isn't enough to contend with true monsters.
Not far away, "Take this, take this, take this!" Doflamingo shrieked, constantly slashing at Dylan with the blade fused to his arm.
"A sword isn't swung like that." Dylan easily parried all of Doflamingo's attacks with just one finger. Then, he poked Doflamingo on the forehead, sending the brat flying and landing awkwardly on the ground.
He couldn't help but sigh. After seeing existences like Lord Roa and Bullet, Doffy truly seemed unbearable. The only two things still decent about him were his Conqueror's Haki and his ability. But Conqueror's Haki and an ability alone weren't enough. True powerhouses couldn't have any weaknesses.
"Continue," Dylan said indifferently.
"Damn it!" Doflamingo sprang to his feet. He knew that begging or cheating would be useless. He could only charge!
Under a nearby parasol, Roa was leisurely enjoying afternoon tea while on a call with someone.
"Hahahaha! Boss, the Flevance people already know their current predicament." The voice on the other end of the phone carried a tone of regret, "Despair instantly engulfed the entire country. Even I found it a bit too tragic; that's millions of people."
Roa sighed, "But it's better than being deceived and dying unknowingly, isn't it? The people of that country have suffered enough; someone should expose the truth."
"You're truly kind-hearted," Morgans quickly flattered. "The entire world will never forget your benevolent deeds!"
"No need, when I do good deeds, I never leave my name." Roa said righteously, "I only hope that those scumbags who plunged Flevance into hell, especially the World Government, pay the price they deserve."
"Of course!" Morgans quickly replied, "This is our shared hope! Umit is helping too."
"That's good," Roa murmured.
Countries like Flevance were far too common on the Grand Line: the Sorbet Kingdom, the Goa Kingdom, the Bridge Kingdom... there were plenty of affiliated nations, not to mention the non-affiliated ones. People suffering from bullying and oppression truly needed help; they needed the will and strength to resist!
I really am too kind!
Thinking this, Roa ended his call with Morgans. Just as he was about to take a nap in his pleasant mood, he suddenly noticed that the clouds in the sky seemed a bit off. The thick clouds were rapidly swirling in all directions, as if some colossal object was falling from above them.
"Hm?" Roa sat up, his eyes growing strange. "Disperse."
The clouds in the sky instantly vanished. Drought. Roa initiated a small-scale drought, directly dispelling all the clouds.
Thus, Roa saw a crystal-clear blue sky.
And above the blue sky, a gigantic island, surrounded by a body of water.
"What is that?" Doflamingo was instantly dumbfounded. "An island, falling from the sky, no, floating down!!"
"Boss!" King and Bullet instantly darted to Roa's side, looking up at the sky with extreme vigilance.
"Boss," only Dylan showed a very grave expression, "To have such a grand entrance, I only know one person."
"Yeah," Roa couldn't help but quip, "What's with the last six months? First Big Brother Kaido, then Auntie Linlin, and now this uncle. Is it a class reunion?"
He slowly stood up from his lounge chair, stretched, then cupped his hands and yelled, "Big Brother Kaido, come out and greet our guest!"
At the top of the palace, on the balcony, a burping Kaido hung his sake gourd back on his hip, casually wiped away the lingering sake from the corner of his mouth, and looked up at the sky with an extremely solemn expression.
The slowly descending island stopped at an altitude of approximately one thousand meters. Such a height brought an overwhelming sense of deterrence. No one dared to imagine the consequences if an island with a diameter of over five kilometers were to fall.
At the edge of the island, a figure descended like a meteor. Before he could even be clearly seen, a voice boomed from the sky.
"Gahahahaha! You little brat are good at hiding! Made me search for ages!"
Golden hair billowed in the wind, and a wide kimono flapped vigorously.
Golden Lion, has arrived!
"Shiki!" Kaido transformed into a colossal Azure Dragon and instantly shot into the sky. "What are you doing here?"
"Kaido?" The flying lion disdainfully looked down at the hundreds-of-meters-long behemoth. "I don't need to answer you, get lost. I'm not here for you."
"You're asking for death!" Kaido's eyes instantly sharpened. Did this bastard still think he was the same guy from the Rocks Pirates back then? Six years had passed; everything was different now.
"Hmph." The Golden Lion snorted, not even bothering to reply. His gaze passed through Kaido and looked down at the familiar yet strange young man in the plaza below. "Gahahahaha! How much longer will you make me wait! Roa! My disciple!"
"Yo, long time no see, Uncle Shiki." Roa greeted the Golden Lion with a chuckle.
Disciple, that's pretty accurate actually. Back in the Rocks Pirates, the major executives had all taught Roa a few tricks, more or less. But Shiki was the one who taught him the most. Even Captain Rocks couldn't compare.
"Are you here to throw a banquet for us?" Roa asked.
"Gahahahaha!" The Golden Lion roared with laughter. "It's not impossible, wanna come, kid!"
"Of course." Roa didn't hesitate.
Anyway, let's eat first.