Chapter 127: The Arena’s Secret: A Glimpse of Wano

“Don’t worry, Newgate.”

Karl barely cared. With the System on his side,

in this world, as long as he didn’t go courting death, there’d rarely be any real danger.

“Gurararara!”

“Guess I was overthinking things.”

Newgate thought so too. With Karl’s unique abilities, he was practically unbeatable.

Even after that brief clash with Captain Rocks, he hadn’t been at a disadvantage.

Unless he got swarmed, there were few in the world who could take Karl one-on-one.

“Mamamamama!”

“Karl, did you see that guy over there?”

Karl followed Charlotte Linlin’s gaze.

In the eastern corner of the arena stood a man in colorful kimono and wooden sandals.

“Tsk. Could he be from Wano?”

Karl’s eyes locked onto the distant man in the kimono.

That’s an unexpected stroke of luck!

Even the Fishmen under Krell’s command hadn’t been able to locate Wano.

Who’d have thought he’d run into a Wano native today? Now he could follow this lead straight to the country.

Wano was famous for its abundant Seastone.

In this pirate world, Seastone was as valuable as Berries.

“Krell!”

“Yes, Lord Karl.”

Krell, hearing Karl call out, quickly hurried over.

“See that man? He’s probably from Wano. Keep an eye on him for me.”

Karl gestured for Krell to come closer, then pointed at the man in the kimono.

“Understood, Lord Karl.”

Krell nodded seriously. He hadn’t expected a person from Wano to show up out of nowhere, so he made sure to watch him closely.

Karl’s attention stayed fixed on the kimono-clad man.

Back in the original story, by the time things hit the Wano arc—

Wano was home to about eleven Devil Fruits, which was no small number.

Even among Zoan-type Mythical Fruits, there were two: the Human-Human Fruit, Great Monk form, and the Dog-Dog Fruit, Oguchi-no-Makami form.

Not to mention Green Bull later on, who had the Forest-Forest Fruit, which also came from Wano, apparently.

There was also the Kurozumi family’s powers—Mimicry, Barrier, and the Mythical Eight-Headed Serpent Fruit.

And that little girl with the Dango Fruit.

Plus Toki’s Time-Time Fruit.

And a retainer with the Ripe-Ripe Fruit, Suit-Suit Fruit, and the Painting Fruit.

You could say Wano was a hidden treasure trove waiting to be explored.

“Watch him closely. Don’t let him die.”

“Let’s try bringing him into our crew.”

Still feeling a bit uneasy, Karl had Krell keep a tight watch, making sure the man stayed safe.

“Understood, Lord Karl.”

Following his orders, Krell headed off, keeping his eyes glued to the man in the kimono.

“The Suit-Suit Fruit was wasted on Kin’emon, if you ask me.”

“If it can transform into any outfit, why not turn into a full set of armor?”

Maybe it could even become Emperor Armor. That’s my favorite.

Karl’s thoughts ran wild with possibility.

Emperor Armor—how many boys dreamed of that growing up?

Or those battle suits from Super Beast Armor. Why not one of those?

Karl’s gaze grew hungry. I want them all.

On the arena floor, Kaze Tsuki Yaya suddenly felt a chill on his back.

“Whoosh!”

He spun around, sword slashing sideways, but there was no one behind him.

“Weird.”

“Ah!”

Nearby, a pirate grinned viciously at him as he left his back exposed, then strode forward.

“Clang!”

But Kaze Tsuki Yaya’s battle instincts were sharp. He spun just in time to block.

“Not bad, kid. You’re quick on the uptake.”

He hadn’t expected someone so unguarded to react to his attack.

“Heh, you’re not so bad yourself.”

Truth be told, Kaze Tsuki Yaya had been hiding his true strength. He was already half a step into the ranks of the great swordsmen.

He had a mission for coming out to sea, but ending up here was just coincidence.

“Careful now.”

Kaze Tsuki Yaya closed his eyes for a second. The next moment, his whole presence shrank down.

“One Sword Style—Flash Slash!”

“Ssshk!”

A flash of sword light zipped from his blade, slicing straight through the pirate’s waist.

“Urgh!”

The pirate looked down at his lower half.

He’d been sliced clean in two.

“He was hiding his strength.”

Little did he know, Karl had been observing him from above the whole time.

So as soon as he unleashed that sword energy, Karl could tell his true abilities ran deep.

With that, Karl finally relaxed.

Now that he had a lead on Wano, his next goal was clear—conquer Wano.

“Kaido!”

“Captain Rocks!”

Right then, Captain Rocks finally spoke, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Go down there and lighten their load.”

He just hadn’t expected these pirates to be so weak. They’d been fighting close to an hour already.

There were still over 20,000 left standing. At this rate, they could be at it till nightfall and still have no winner.

“Understood, Captain Rocks.”

Kaido took in the scene below. He understood perfectly.

He wasn’t keen on just sitting here, anyway.

Grabbing his spiked club, Kaido leapt straight from the high platform.

“What’s that?”

“That’s a person—get out of the way!”

Kaido was a huge guy. The pirates below spotted him as he jumped down.

“Boom!”

Too late—he landed right on a group of pirates, crushing several instantly.

“Wororororo!”

“Anyone who can take me down gets to join the Rocks Pirates!”

Standing tall, Kaido rested his club on his shoulder, wild grin on his face.

“Attack!”

“He’s only an apprentice! What’s there to brag about?”

“Charge!”

Pirates all around Kaido rushed at him.

“Thunder Bagua!”

Kaido coated his spiked club in Armament Haki and unleashed his signature move.

“Boom!”

“Aaagh!”

Kaido plowed into the crowd, club tearing through pirates like there was no one in his way.

Pirates were sent flying, some even dying on the spot.

“Kaido’s gotten way stronger in no time.”

“Mamamamama!”

Charlotte Linlin stopped munching her snacks, watching Kaido’s rampage with interest.

“Of course. All thanks to you.”

Actually, Kaido was much stronger than in the original timeline.

That was thanks to Charlotte Linlin—she knew he had that so-called Great Revitalizing Pill that boosted his strength.

At Linlin’s request, she’d given Kaido one.

“And this is just the start. He’ll go on to be one of the Four Emperors.”

Karl trailed off, realizing he’d let something slip.

He hadn’t meant to reveal that.

“Mamamama?”

“Four Emperors?”

Linlin knew Karl had some mysterious abilities,

Able to conjure weapons out of thin air, never having eaten a Devil Fruit,

Not to mention pulling out Bloodline Pills and Great Revitalizing Pills at will.

But from how he put it just now, it almost sounded like he could see the future.

“Haha, you probably misheard. I just meant he’ll be a real powerhouse someday.”

“Alright, let’s check out which pirates are worth recruiting.”

Karl knew Linlin wasn’t likely to fall for his half-baked excuse.

Now really wasn’t the time to get into it.

“Mamamamama!”

Linlin chuckled, glancing at the others in the arena, who all perked up their ears, but she dropped the subject.

A hush fell over the arena.

“Wororororo!”

“Anyone else want to give it a try?”

Kaido stood arrogantly in the middle of the arena. After fighting for so long, only about a thousand were left.

“Alright, that’s enough. Survivors are eligible to join the Rocks Pirates!”

Rocks checked the time and the dwindling crowd, then got up and made the call.

“I survived!”

“Yeah, he’s some kind of monster.”

Only those still standing knew how terrifying Kaido really was.

“I nearly died out there.”

Kaze Tsuki Yaya, hearing the fight was over, dropped all pretense, slumping to the ground, gasping for air.

The fine blade in his hand had shattered.

“All it took was a single blow.”

He stared mournfully at the ruined sword, shaken that he’d almost failed to block that hit.