Chapter 372: Winds of Destiny Gather in Loguetown

“Ugh… ahhhhh!”

With Kaido’s crushing grip, the sound of cracking bone echoed from Kin’emon’s skull. A moment later, his head burst like a watermelon.

“Take them away. Don’t ruin my drinking mood,” Kaido waved dismissively.

Kaido shook the gory remains off his hand and gestured for the servants.

Once the rebels were dragged out, attendants hurried in to clean up the room.

When Kaido settled back into his seat, he noticed Karl holding a battered little boy he hadn’t seen before.

“Who’s that?”

Karl looked at the child with bruised cheeks and a little ponytail. “Kozuki Momonosuke. Oden’s only son.”

“But to be honest, this kid isn’t much to look at. Let me save you the trouble.”

Hearing Karl announce his execution, Kozuki Momonosuke kicked and squirmed in a desperate bid to escape.

His voice was hoarse as he screamed, “Who are you?”

Unlike in the original story, Momonosuke wasn’t a frightened child. He’d inherited Oden’s potential from the start—cunning and certainly not innocent.

When Kin’emon brought him to a place twenty years in the future, they’d hoped to find the way back to Wano.

But they’d barely arrived before a powerful stranger’s group caught them. The leader was unstoppable.

With a wave of his hand, countless twisted monsters swarmed them. Some were grotesque and swollen, others stitched from parts of various creatures, but all moved and struck much faster than any normal person.

They barely put up a fight before being overwhelmed. Momonosuke still had no idea who these people even were.

“Best to stay ignorant,” Karl said coldly.

He had no intention of leaving loose ends.

With a thought, flames roared to life across Momonosuke’s body. He struggled, but the fire seemed to burn right into his bones. In seconds, there was nothing left but a wisp of smoke.

“Wororororo!”

“You said the time is almost here. Exactly when are we talking about?”

Kaido didn’t care about Momonosuke’s death—it was just one less problem to solve.

He was never the sentimental type.

You don’t build an empire by being softhearted.

“We’ve still got plenty of time. Just be prepared—it’ll happen within the year.”

“Here’s to our victory!”

“Victory!”

Karl wasn’t putting all his eggs in the Kaido basket. Every powerful ally would tip the scales further in this coming war. He was certain, with all his careful scheming, there was no way the Celestial Dragons would survive this time.

Red-Haired Shanks was on board, and even Whitebeard Newgate—who was feigning illness—had his attention, with a few high-ranking Navy officers ready to switch sides.

Not to mention those thousands of Vice Admiral-level clones, Cake Island’s latest breakthrough, all standing by for orders.

And with the Giant Kingdom’s respect won, once war broke out, they wouldn’t stay out of it either. The only variables left were the Sea King Poseidon and the massive elephant wandering the seas.

Meanwhile, Ye Fan’s other self could sense the events brewing far off in the New World.

“Almost there. Just a bit longer.”

Before long, storm clouds rolled in over Loguetown. A fierce wind was coming.

In the center of the bustling street, Nami and her crew sprinted back toward the harbor.

“Set sail!”

Though they were still a distance away, Nami’s voice rang out loud and clear.

Ye Fan shrugged helplessly—he’d lost track of time just thinking about his plans. Hurriedly, he reeled in the anchor and got ready to depart.

“Finally, we’re back!”

Usopp, lugging a pack taller and wider than himself, leapt aboard—spilling gear all over the deck.

Most of it was gadgets and tools, along with a pile of odd parts.

“Dong!”

A crisp smack echoed out. Nami’s right fist smoked as it left a giant red bump on Usopp’s head.

“Pick up your junk or it’s going overboard!”

Nami scowled at the clutter covering half the deck, her anger plain as day.

“Ouch!”

“I get it, I get it!”

Usopp apologized in record time. He didn’t want to hang around long enough for a second hit—the last thing he needed was another lump.

He scrambled to scoop up his scattered tech, dragging the massive pack toward the cabin.

Maybe the doorway was too small, but with Johnny and Yosaku’s help, he finally wedged it through.

“Aha—hahahaha!”

Luffy doubled over laughing at Usopp’s sorry state.

But in the blink of an eye, he caught a fist to the head too and bowed to Nami. “Sorry. My fault!”

“Hurry up! Let’s go!”

“There’s a storm coming! Don’t drop the sails!”

Nami didn’t even look at Luffy. She immediately took charge, directing Johnny and the others as they sailed toward the New World’s entrance.

Nobody was slacking off now—Nami kept everyone busy.

“Such lively spirits… Maybe it’s time to up the dosage a little,” Ye Fan muttered from the corner, holding a strange green ‘tea’ and watching the crew with a chilling grin.

“Damn, are the Straw Hat Pirates really this strong?”

Reclining at the harbor, Smoker couldn’t believe it. Since when were East Blue pirates this tough?

That Luffy kid only had a 3,000 bounty and hadn’t even mastered Armament and Observation Haki, so how did he land a blow on him?

As the Straw Hat Pirate crew vanished over the waves, Smoker clenched his fist, grinding his teeth. “Straw Hat Pirates, I’ll catch you if it’s the last thing I do.”

What Smoker didn’t know was that once Ye Fan deemed the crew strong enough, he’d already taught them Armament and Observation Haki.

Luffy was carefree and hated training—he’d never known true loss or pain, so his Haki was unreliable. That’s why Smoker hadn’t noticed it straightaway.

Sometimes his Armament Haki kicked in, sometimes it didn’t. That was the only reason it slipped under Smoker’s radar.

“Colonel Smoker, are you alright?” Tashigi’s anxious voice broke through, her eyes full of concern.

A flurry of footsteps sounded behind him as Tashigi led a squad of Navy soldiers running toward them.

There was urgency in her stride. She was clearly worried about Smoker.

Tashigi still couldn’t fathom why the man who’d tricked her turned out to be a pirate.

And a famous sword like Wado Ichimonji shouldn’t belong to any pirate.

She never expected to turn around and find Colonel Smoker sprawled out on the dock—didn’t he feel cold?

A strange wave of anxiety rose in Tashigi’s chest as she hurried to Smoker’s side and knelt to check his condition.

It was the roar by the harbor that had drawn her here in the first place.

“Tashigi!”

Smoker breathed a sigh of relief when she appeared and gave a small, weary smile.

At least, not too many people had seen him like this—otherwise his fellow Navy officers would never let him live it down.

“Colonel Smoker, are you alright? Medic!” Tashigi dashed over and called for backup as soon as she saw his injuries.

Smoker didn’t look badly hurt, but the blood on his lips and seeping through his uniform said otherwise.

Moments later, two doctors in white coats rushed over.

They quickly examined Smoker, then set to work treating him. “Not too serious—get the stretcher!”

“Straw Hat Pirates… Luffy.”

Gazing at where the Straw Hats had vanished over the ocean, Smoker made a silent vow.