Chapter 58: The Key to Knowing the World
ââThe Grand Line, the "Great Pirate Era."
Around the time when Kozuki Sukiyaki died in Wano Country and Kurozumi Orochi began ruling as the acting shogun, pirates across the worldâs seas continued to stir up chaos as always.
"Youâre looking lively, Roger!!"
"Been a while, Newgate!!"
"HAND OVER EVERYTHING YOUâVE GOT!!"
Two of the four greatest pirate crewsâthe Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Piratesâclashed on an island in the Grand Line, engaging in a fierce battle that lasted three days and nights.
"GYAHAHAHA!! Youâre as crazy as ever, Linlin!! So, what do ya say?! Why not join my crew along with those brats of yours?!"
"HA~HAHAHA MAMAMAMAâŚ!! Shut your mouth, ShikiâŚ!! Iâm in a foul mood right nowâŚ!! That damn Roger just took something precious from meâŚ!! If I donât get some sweet compensation, I wonât be satisfiedâŚ!! So Iâll just take it out on your lifespan instead!!!"
In the New World, skirmishes between the Golden Lion Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates also erupted, sending shockwaves of tension across nations.
"Annoying bastardâŚ!! You damn sand freakâŚ!!"
"Youâre pretty tough for a fusion freak⌠But I ainât got time to waste on a lone wolf like you. Iâll kill you another day. KUHAHAHAHAâŚ!!"
Around the same time, rumors spread that Douglas Bullet, the "Demon Heir" who had split from the Roger Pirates, fought a certain big-shot rookie pirate to a standstill.
Meanwhile, the Beasts Pirates, whose name now topped the list of the New Worldâs most ruthless crews, were quietly expanding their influence behind the scenes.
In Wano Country, the weapon factories were operating smoothlyâproof that the Orochi regime was running without a hitch.
Orochiâs policy of constructing weapon factories in each region of Wano and forcing the men to work had initially faced fierce resistance from the samurai and daimyo. But in the end, they had no choice but to submitânot just because of the overwhelming force of our Beast Pirates, but also because Orochiâs side held legitimacy.
In Wano, the Shogunâs word is absolute. And the former Shogun, Kozuki Sukiyaki, had publicly named Kurozumi Orochi as his acting successor in front of all the daimyo and samurai. True, it was only until his son, Oden, returnedâbut by that same logic, as long as Oden remained absent, Orochi was the Shogun. And in Wano, none dare defy the Shogun.
Even so, had we not been thereâor had the daimyo not clung to the hope of Odenâs eventual returnâthey might have risen in rebellion. But that very hope is what made them endure. In fact, we learned through our skilled spies that the daimyo had secretly gathered and collectively agreed to bide their time. Heh. Having informants really makes this easy mode for us. For them? Hard mode. Almost feel bad. Makes me wanna laugh.
But honestly, their complete lack of resistance is boring. While we defended Orochiâs regime alongside his loyal samurai, we continued our usual pirate activities and black-market dealings to strengthen our forces.
"Wanoâs weapons really are top-notch, huh? Great to use, even better to sell. Business is booming, right, Joker?"
"Indeed. Theyâre in high demandâwarring nations, mercenaries, even terrorists. Even outdated models sell like this. Itâs only a matter of time before the World Government takes notice."
"Hmph⌠As long as the money flows, I donât care. Just donât screw it up."
"Oh, I know. Money matters require precision."
"Good. Then weâre done here⌠Yeah, itâs about time."
Onigashima, Wanoâs "Land of Demons," served as the Beast Piratesâ stronghold. Currently, we were constructing a fortress inside the islandâs caverns, so we still camped elsewhere and held our usual raucous banquets out in the open. Tonight was no differentâa massive feast with bonfires, endless food, and rivers of booze.
Amid the revelry, I casually brought up business with Joker (Stussy), who sipped her drink with her usual elegance. Meanwhile, Kingâour crewâs strongest swordsmanâeffortlessly carved a gargantuan hunk of meat with his blade.
"âŚKing. Were you, by chance, the head chef here?"
"THE HELL?! YOU MOCKINâ ME?! WHAT PART OF ME LOOKS LIKE A DAMN COOK?!"
"Heyyy, King! Hurry uuup! Iâm hungry!"
"Sorry, Nue. Just wait a bit⌠âAnyway, Joker. Youâve got some nerve comparing me to a cook. Where the hell do you see it?!"
"âŚMy mistake. I was wrong."
"Damn right. Now, time for the next round of tortureâI mean, cooking."
"âŚâŚâŚâŚ"
Ah. Stussy just made a face like sheâs given up. She silently drank her wine. Eh, whatever. Stussy, at least use a glass. Chugging straight from the bottle kinda ruins your whole âelegant ladyâ vibe. Or does it loop back around to being charming? Nah, probably just me.
Tonightâs banquet also celebrated two new additions to our forcesâwell, not new, but newly deployed. Among the three watching Queenâs performance up close, two were currentlyâ
"FUNK IT UUUUP!! Tonight, we DANCE AND SING!!"
"Jukiki!"
"Jugii~!"
"GYAGHH?!"
"THE HELL?! QUIT FIGHTINâ IN FRONT OF ME!! HEY, YOUâRE SPILLINâ THE BOOZE, DUMBASSES!"
The Numbers, as usual, were a chaotic messâdrinking, eating, then suddenly brawling before laughing as they knocked over a barrel. Queen tried to scold them, but the Numbers were wild beasts at heart. Normally obedient, but give them alcohol and all bets are off. The new round one with sharp fangs and the lanky one seemed to be enjoying themselves. Eh, let âem have fun. Itâs a party. Just donât let it go too far.
"WORORORO⌠hic. Hey, where the hellâs Orochi?! Said he was cominâ, but he ainât here!!"
"Oh, right. Heâs missing. Wonder why. Anyone know?"
"N-no, we havenât heard anythingâŚ"
âNo word from the Torii Gate eitherâŚâ
Kaido, slightly irritated, grumbled about Orochi not showing up. Thatâs when I realized he hadnât come either, so I asked my subordinates. But none of them seemed to know anything. We recently finished laying the foundation for a fortress at the massive torii gate out on the sea in front of Onigashimaâmeant for lookout duty. If anyone approached, weâd get a report from there. But apparently, thereâs been no contact.
âWahaha! Maybe that bastard Orochi overslept! Or heâs too busy fooling around with some courtesan!â
âI donât care what heâs doing, but saying heâd come and not showing up⌠Is he looking down on us? âNue, the steakâs ready.â
âYaaay!! Youâre the best, King!! Even with meat this huge, you grilled it perfectly!! Time to dig in~âĄâ
âMaybe something happened to him. Should we check with a Smart Toad?â
Chomp chomp âMmm⌠that might be a good idea~â
ââHey!! Someone go check it out!!!â
âY-yes, sir!! Right away!!â
Kaidoâs angry shout got everyone moving instantly. Even if itâs a party, being a low-ranking grunt really sucks at times like this. It reminds me of when I used to run errands too. âAnyway, back to this steak⌠itâs delicious. Honestly, I expected something that massive to taste rough or gamey, but noâthereâs a wild richness to it. Itâs hearty, with a great chew, but not rubbery. Barely any fat. I usually try new meats as steak first, and this oneâs greatâbut I bet itâd be even better in a stew where the flavor could really soak in.
Still⌠why isnât Orochi here? Weâre on decent terms, but even he wouldnât be dumb enough to skip out on an invite from us. Thatâd be like ignoring a party thrown by your biggest business partner. If it werenât Orochiâand if Kaido were in a worse moodâhe mightâve already been wiped off the map. Even King looks slightly annoyed, probably thinking about appearances. Me? I donât care, as long as he offers something in return. âŚBut really, whatâs going on? Should I send a drone or something to check?
ââOh! We got a message!!â
âSpeak of the devil. Is he just late?â
âOh! Oh! As punishment for being late, how about we make him play meat Russian roulette? Iâll grill all kinds of meats, disguise them so they look the same, and heâll pick one at a time and eat it. Sounds fun!! Wanna test it out, Queen?â
âWhy me?! And letâs be realâyou wouldnât even have a âbadâ option in that game!!â
âShut up, Queen⌠I canât hear your excuses over your whining.â
âNot my fault!! Are you blind or what?!â
Haha, Queen's reactions are always pricelessâheâs too easy to tease. Anyway, Kaido takes the Smart Toad passed to him by a subordinate and answers it. Orochiâs voice comes through immediately, sounding flustered.
ââYo, Orochi?â
âSorry for the delay!! Iâm almost there!!â
âYeah? Something happen?â
âSomeone mightâve broken into the castle⌠But turns out it was a false alarm. Sorry about the fuss.â
ââŚAn intruder?â
That word makes me tilt my head. He says it was a misunderstanding, but something doesnât sit right with me. I canât shake the feeling that it wasnât a mistake. Stussy mustâve felt the sameâshe rested her cheek on her hand and spoke up.
âMaybe it wasnât a false alarm. Remember, Wanoâs crawling with ninjas.â
âIf thatâs true, then one of the daimyo might be pulling strings from the shadowsâŚâ
âIs this a joke? If thatâs true, theyâve got some guts. Arenât they afraid of us?â
Following Stussyâs comment, King and then Queen each gave their own brief take. Yeah, if it was a daimyo, thatâd be idiotic. If we found out, we could just use it as an excuse to wipe them out. I want to believe no daimyo would be that dumb. So maybe it really was a false alarm?
âAlso... this probably has nothing to do with the intruder thing, but I thought I should mention it anyway.â
âWhatâs going on? Donât tell me thereâs another mouthy samurai hanging aroundâjust spit it out already. Iâll kill âem right now.â
âNo, nothing like that... But it seems a pirate ship showed up in Kuri a few hours ago. And this pirate, heâhuh? Wh-What did you say!?!â
âHuh!? What!? What about the pirate!? Say it already!!â
Orochi suddenly shouted mid-sentence, his Smail-projected face frozen in shock. Something definitely happened. âŚWait, a pirate? No wayâcould it beâ
âW-Wait... new intel just came in. Apparently, that pirate, the one called âRoger,â has already left the country. And... Oden was on his ship...â
âWhaaa!? Roger!!? You mean that Roger was here in this country!?â
âEhhhhhh!!? The Roger Pirates were here!? But waitâwasnât Oden with Whitebeardâs crew!?â
Kaido erupted with fury, Queen yelled with his mouth agape, and I rememberedâoh, thatâs right. Roger and his crew do stop by Wano at one point. I didnât forget, exactly... but seriously, what the hell were the lookouts doing!?
ââHey!! What were the lookouts doing!!?â
âS-Sir!! It seems they... somehow missed them...â
âY-You IDIOTS!!! What the hell were you doing!!!?â
âEep!!â
Yeah... well. Canât blame Kaido for being pissed. Whether it was Orochiâs men or ours, every regionâs supposed to be assigned underlings who report to Orochi or us via Smail if anything unusual happens. Itâs not impossible a daimyo could suddenly rebel, or that Oden could sneak back. And now they tell us they just missed it? Even if Rogerâs crew came and left like ghosts on a stealth missionâitâs still not an excuse.
âFeh... useless trash... Hey. Bring me the fool who screwed up the lookout later. Iâll make sure they atone...â
âU-Understood.â
King issued the order in that calm, heavy voice of his. Poor guy, whoever it is. Getting punished by King is the worst. I mean, if you get hit by Kaido on the spot, itâs over in one shot. Not pleasant, but quick. But if youâre not here, and someone else gets to do the punishing? Well, then itâs King doing torture, Queen using you as a virus test subject, or Stussy draining your youth. Everyone in the Beasts Pirates knows how this goes. Weâre fun most of the timeâthereâs structure, but weâre chillâstill, even a chill crew has consequences. You mess up, you pay. Whether you survive or not mostly depends on Kaido and me.
As for me? No one really knows what I do. It changes depending on how I feel. Rumor has it I invite you to dinner. Weird, right? I mean, itâs not trueâI wouldnât do that with subordinates. Iâd torture them at most. Iâm pretty nice, actually.
Besides, if we had realized Roger came... things couldâve gotten bad for us. In a weird way, maybe it worked out for the best. Seems like Oden didnât come back either, and Orochi sounded kind of relieved about that.
âA-Anyway, both Oden and this Roger guy have already left the country. Weâre looking into their motives now.â
â...That bastard Roger... sneaking into my territory... What the hell is he thinking...!?â
âHeâs probably after the Poneglyphs, you know? The ones with the ancient writing.â
âHUH!? The Poneglyphs!? ...What-the-hell-is-THAT!?!â
â...Huh?â
â...What?â
Everything froze for a moment between me and Kaido. We both let out equally dumb-sounding noises in response. âWait, what? Did I say something weird? Rogerâs goal was the Poneglyphs. Kaido should know that... right?
â...Kaido. You do know what a Poneglyph is, right? Youâve seen one before. Remember that ancient stone? The one you tried to smash? It didnât break.â
âThat weird stone thing!? ...I vaguely remember someone calling it a âPoneglyphâ or whatever... but I donât know what the hell that means!!â
"No way!! I told you!! That it had stuff written about ancient history, how to reach the final island, and those ancient weapons!! âProbably!!"
âDonât give me that!! I donât remember hearing any of that!! âProbably!!â
âThatâs just because you were drunk and forgot!! Iâm pretty sure it was during a drinking party, but I did say it!! So I just figured you already knew and were ignoring it⌠Wait, Orochi!! You did tell Kaido about the Poneglyph, right!? You said youâd pass it on after we found it in the castleâs basement!!â
"Ah, oh⌠right, now that you mention it⌠I diâno, sorry⌠I totally forgot."
âYOUâVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME, YOU IDIOT!!!â
"Eeeek!! S-sorry!! I thought you had already told him!!"
Kaido and I shouted in unison. Orochi trembled on the other end of the line, and even the nearby subordinates shrank back in fear. âBut we werenât done.
âRogerâs goal is to sail around the world!! Thatâs why heâs collecting those red stones â the Road Poneglyphs!!â
âNUUEEEE!! Thatâs the kinda thing you shouldâve told me way earlier!!â
âI did tell you!! And youâre the one who said âwho caresâ!! Said you werenât interested in history!!â
âWell yeah, I donât care about history, but if Iâd known I couldâve gotten in his way!!â
âThen itâs your fault for forgetting!!â
With that, I grabbed my trident and readied it. At the same moment, Kaido hefted his kanabo. If neither of us was going to admit fault, then this was the only way. I have to hit this idiot.
âPlease, stop, Kaido-san!! Nue-san!! Y-you guys, do something!! Theyâre gonna tear the place apart again!!!â
âDonât say something so crazy, Queen-sama!! Like we could stop them!?â
âExactly!! Weâd be turned into ground meat in an instant!! Youâre the one who should stop them!!â
âY-you morons!! You want me to get roasted like pork belly!? Even if I wanted to stop them⌠Wait, yeah! I just rememberedâI was planning to inspect the Flower Capital today⌠Yep, so Iâll leave the rest to you guys!!â
âYouâre clearly running away!!â
âThere was some kind of squabble going on behind me, but right now I only had eyes for Kaido. We both slammed our weapons together, loaded with Haki.
âOOOOOHHHH!!!â
âGYAAAAHHHHHH!! THE SKYâS SPLITTING!!!?â
âTHE BOSSES ARE FIGHTING!!! EVACUATE FROM ONIGASHIMA!!!â
âForget Roger, this is way worseâŚ!!â
âFor now, letâs just grab the ships and carpenters and run before we get caught up in thisâŚâ
My trident and Kaidoâs kanabo clashed right in front of us, sending out a massive shockwave. Heâs as monstrously strong as ever, but Iâm not going down that easy. Iâve got speed on my side too. Itâs been a while since we had a full-on brawl like this, but this time⌠Iâm definitely gonna beat Kaido to a pulp!!
âDuring a banquet on Onigashima, what began as a petty âyou said, no you didnâtâ argument over the Roger Piratesâ visit quickly spiraled into an all-out brawl between the Beasts Piratesâ Captain and Vice-CaptainâKaido and Nue. The clash grew so intense, it didn't just shake Onigashimaâit sent the weather itself into chaos.
From places like Udon, close enough to see Onigashima from the beach, people pointed at the raging skies above the island in fear.
âThere, high in the sky, were two colossal figures. A monster-on-monster showdown.
âW-What the hell is thatâŚ!?â
âT-Theyâre monstersâŚ!!â
âAm I dreaming!? A dragon and a yokai going at it like thatâŚ!?â
Yesâthis week-long brawl on Onigashima didnât go unnoticed by Udonâs residents. At first, the surreal sightâlightning, firestorms, a swarm of flying saucers darting through the skyâwas so absurd, most thought it had to be a dream or hallucination. But after hoursâdaysâno one could deny the terrifying reality.
Rumors started circulatingâlikely overheard from fleeing underlingsâthat the two figures were Kaido and Nue, Captain and Vice-Captain of the Beasts Pirates. That knowledge only added to the terror.
âWhenâs this gonna endâŚ?â
âBeats me⌠All we can do is pray we donât get caught in it.â
âThey trampled our fieldsâŚâ
âMan, youâre really taking this hard⌠You okayâŚ?â
Meanwhile, Kaido and Nueâs subordinates had evacuated all the way to Udon, watching and waiting as the battle raged. A few crew members had collapsed to their hands and knees in despairâbut never mind that. Just as suddenly as it started, the fight ended.
The seas calmed. The endless rumbling stopped. The animals, fish, and birds that had fled in terror slowly began to return.
At King and Queenâs command, the Beasts Pirates started heading back to Onigashima. They knew the routine. After one of those fights, Kaido and Nue would demand an obscene amount of booze and food.
When they arrived, carrying offerings like tributes to angry gods, they found the two at the center of a shattered rocky plainâalready drinking.
ââWorororo!! Alright, Nue!! Letâs smash the whole damn world!!â
âAhahaha!! Of course, Kaido!! Letâs mess everything up!!â
âWhoa⌠theyâre already drinking⌠Where the hellâd they get boozeâŚ? Meat, well, they probably just found it somewhereâŚâ
Kaido and Nue sat among the rubble, banged up and bloodied but laughing and chugging sake like nothing happened. The crew was puzzled where theyâd gotten supplies, but considering Nueâs power included flying UFOs, she could probably summon alcohol and food mid-fight. Better not to overthink it.
Even as King, Queen, Joker, and the other top brass approached, the two were still grinning and drinking. But when they noticed their subordinates, they raised their voices cheerfully:
âHey, you lot!! Rejoice!! Worororororo!!â
âThatâs rightâcelebrate!! Ahahaha!!â
ââŚWhat now?â
Queen muttered back with a half-dazed look. He was already tired of dealing with drunk idiotsâespecially when those drunk idiots were Kaido and Nue. But he braced himself and listened anyway.
The two downed more sake and shouted:
âWe already have one of the keys to ruling the world!!â
âJust three more to go and the world is ours!! Or if we grab the other stones, maybe weâll just destroy the whole thing!!â
âA key⌠to ruling the worldâŚ?â
âThey were talking about the Poneglyphs, werenât theyâŚ?â
ââŚItâs true. The Poneglyphs supposedly hold info on the Ancient Weaponsâthe ones the World Governmentâs so afraid ofâŚâ
The top officers furrowed their brows at the implications. Only Jokerâaka Stussyânodded knowingly. Sheâd heard whispers of those secrets before, and silently thanked her luck she hadnât been dragged into that brawl. Sheâd also assumed Kaido already knew everything from Nue. If she'd been accused of withholding info⌠she'd be in hell by now. So she sighed in relief and kept listening.
The two were still riding their drunken high.
âHeh!! Maybe this stuffâs too much for us nowâbut we will get it one day!!â
âDamn right!! Weâll become the strongest pirate crew, get our hands on everything, and tear the world apart!! No need to rush!!â
ââŚI donât get it⌠but hey, at least the fightâs overâŚâ
"...Oi, Stussy. Start explaining."
"Sure. Though it'll only be what I know."
This time, Queen looked visibly relieved. Then King turned to Stussy, requesting an explanation. Yet, Stussy couldnât help but think:
It might just be that the information these two somehow have is deeper than what she, as a government intelligence agent, ever learned. Considering their backgrounds, that was entirely possible. Wanting to confirm that, Stussy proceeded to share everything she knewâher knowledge and insights about the Poneglyphsâexplaining it all to the Beast Pirates, including the top executives.
But while she did so, Kaido and Nue were drinking and making a ruckus.
"Hey, go get that Orochi guy too!! This is a damn celebration!!"
"Y-Yes! Right away...!"
"We gotta get the stone later too!! Once the mansion's done, weâll stash it somewhere safe!!"
"Brilliant idea!! Tell Orochi that too!! Hand over the damn stone!!!"
"I-I'll let him know immediately...!!"
"Uorororororo!!!"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
On Onigashima, the laughter of Kaido and Nueâtwo of the worldâs most dangerous calamitiesârang out loud. Today, even though it had practically been in their hands for some time, they finally secured the "Road Poneglyph," bringing them one step closer to building the strongest pirate crew in the world.
âAnd this happened just one year before Gol D. Roger would complete his journey around the world.
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