Chapter 182: Return to Wano! Traces of the Heart Pirates!
It only took a few days for everyone to get used to having a top-tier pastry chef on board.
Ever since Chiffon joined, afternoon tea had quickly become the girls' favorite fixed event on Rayquaza.
Desserts from all over Totto Land appeared on the table one after another, expertly recreated by her hands with Sanji's deft assistance.
People were already calling Rayquaza "Little Totto Land."
Charlotte Linlin's years of raiding and plunder had paid off. Nearly every specialty dessert recipe in the world could be found in Totto Land's archives.
Now, those precious recipes all belonged to Kai's crew.
After some time at sea, Rayquaza finally sailed back into Wano's waters.
Kai received a welcome unlike anything he had ever seen.
Every Beasts Pirate on Onigashima who was not in the middle of something dropped what they were doing and rushed to the harbor.
"Kai! Kai! Kai!"
The moment his figure appeared at the rail, the chant rolled across the island like thunder.
Pirates jumped and waved, shouting themselves hoarse. Some even had tears in their eyes.
How dazzling he was, this Kai-sama.
"Fifth Emperor! Fifth Emperor! Fifth Emperor!"
They screamed the title with all they had, like fans at an idol concert.
After his clean win over Charlotte Linlin, Kai's prestige among these strength-worshipping pirates rivaled Kaido's own.
Even King's position as de facto second-in-command suddenly looked less steady.
"Do not use that title again," Kai said.
Facing the tidal wave of praise, he only shook his head and sighed. "You are all making my life harder."
"Kai, you are really popular here," Loki said as he stepped onto the quay with his hammer over his shoulder.
Even in Elbaf, his father had never been greeted this fervently.
"He rivals even our giant fighters in size, and his aura seems even stronger," someone whispered.
"Idiot. You seriously do not recognize him? That is the Cursed Prince, Loki. A 2.6 billion Berry pirate. Even King-sama might not match him," another snapped.
Only then did the pirates really register the moving mountain at Kai's side.
With a few quick explanations from those in the know, they grasped Loki's reputation and bounty, and jaws dropped all along the dock.
Someone that strong—and Kai had brought him in as an ally.
And they were not supposed to call him the Fifth Emperor?
…
Onigashima, banquet hall.
After settling Loki and Chiffon, Kai came here to report.
Formally, to Kaido.
In practice, mainly to coordinate with the Beasts' chief steward, King.
Kaido was best used as a living good-luck charm.
The Beasts Pirates would grow just fine on their own.
"Jack and the others are already on their way to take over the five islands the Charlotte Family ceded. We expect to have basic defenses in place within half a month," King said, as calm as ever.
"The Elbaf trade route is open as well. Giant-made goods are already building a name in the New World. We have recovered nearly seventy percent of our initial investment."
For all his misgivings, until the day they truly clashed, King was as reliable as ever. He had not dragged his feet or sabotaged anything just because Elbaf was technically Kai's personal domain.
Kai nodded.
King was still King.
After a quick run-through of Beasts business, King shifted to another matter Kai had flagged as important.
"You asked me to watch for any sign of Trafalgar Law. We have something."
"According to our latest information, the Heart Pirates were last confirmed near Notice Island in the North Blue."
Off to the side, Kaido, who had been quietly drinking, perked up. "What is so special about that brat?"
"He is the Ope Ope no Mi user," Kai answered openly.
"I see."
Kaido grunted in sudden understanding and dropped the subject, tipping his gourd back again.
The words "Ope Ope no Mi" explained everything.
It was a fruit worth five billion Berries.
Higher than his own bounty by four hundred million.
King could not help turning his head slightly.
He had not expected Kai to know such a secret.
When the Ope Ope no Mi had briefly appeared on the open market, it had set off a storm. Factions had fought over it fiercely, and then it had vanished.
No one had imagined it would end up eaten by a rookie with no name.
"If you want to find them, you should move soon," King added. "Our information says their ship is a well-built submarine. As long as they stay below the surface, without making landfall, they will be very hard to pin down."
"Got it. Thanks."
With a solid lead on Law, Kai did not linger.
He waved a hand and strode out of the hall.
Back at his house on Onigashima, he gathered his crew and laid out his plan.
"That is dirty," Yamato huffed, cheeks puffing like an angry pufferfish. "Sneaking off on a trip without us."
"Come on. This is a retrieval, not a vacation. I will make it quick," Kai said, spreading his hands.
And he was not exactly going alone.
He still needed Viola.
Without her Glare-Glare Fruit and the ability to scan thousands of kilometers, finding one submarine wandering the seas could take months.
"Heh. Now you see how important I am," Viola said, hands on hips, chin high. She stopped just short of saying, "Fighting is overrated."
"All right, enough showing off. The sooner we go, the better."
Kai did not drag it out. He wrapped an arm around Viola's waist, transformed into a dragon, and shot into the sky, angling toward the North Blue.
…
North Blue, Lvneel Kingdom.
Once home to the legendary explorer Mont Blanc Noland, the country was now famous as a tourist spot, prized for its scenery and rich collection of historic artifacts.
Centuries of royal funding for exploration had sent expeditions to every sea. Over time, the kingdom had built an impressive hoard of relics and cultural treasures.
In the great national museum in the capital, visitors could wander through exhibits on foreign cultures and architectural wonders.
The building was laid out by sea and civilization.
There was a model of Ohara's Tree of Knowledge library from the West Blue, a golden scepter from Alabasta on the Grand Line, and even tools once used by giants.
"Come look at this, Law. That scepter is beautiful. Are those gems in it?" a big, white-furred bear said excitedly, paw pressed to the glass case around the Alabasta scepter.
At the sound, a man in a furred spotted winter hat with a sword at his hip and a hard, threatening gaze strolled over.
"The plaque says they are rubies from Flevance," he replied.
Trafalgar Law's tone was calm and patient, at odds with his intimidating eyes.
Bepo nodded, curiosity satisfied, and turned to look for something else.
Then his gaze skimmed across a silver-white, finely worked Amber Lead statue.
He flinched.
Almost without thinking, Bepo shifted to stand between Law and the statue, trying to block his captain's line of sight.
"Uh, Law…"
His voice shook a little. He pointed his paw toward another display. "I suddenly want to see what is over there. Will you come with me?"
Law did not really understand, but he did not argue. Seeing Bepo so on edge, he nodded.
He was only here to humor his crew. The exhibits themselves did not interest him much.
If he had his way, he would have been back on the submarine with a medical text.
Just as he was about to turn and go with Bepo, a man's and a woman's voices drifted over at just the right moment.
"Kai, look. So this is one of Flevance's Amber Lead works? The sheen really is beautiful. It looks like moonlight," the woman said.
"Pretty, yes. But it was also the source of all of Flevance's misfortune," the man answered.
The source of its misfortune?
Law's feet stopped.
It was the first time he had ever heard anyone outside Flevance call Amber Lead that.
To the rest of the world, Amber Lead, with its massive commercial value, had always been marketed as the symbol of Flevance's prosperity and happiness.
He turned.
In front of an Amber Lead statue, a masked man and woman stood side by side.
The man's face might have been hidden, but his relaxed posture still radiated a power that made Law instinctively tense.
Curiosity and wariness mixed in his chest. He stayed where he was.
Sensing Law's eyes on him, Kai smiled under his mask.
"Amber Lead is poisonous. When it is still in the ore, it is fine. Once you start mining, dust gets into the air. People breathe it in," he said.
"The worst part is, the toxin builds up in the body. It passes down the bloodline. Every generation that keeps mining stacks up another layer of poison. That is why people in Flevance died younger and younger."
"In the end, almost every newborn in that country died before ten."
"Flevance had its entire future stripped away."
Viola's brows drew tight, quiet anger threading her voice. "The World Government really is inhuman. They actually claimed the fall of Flevance was due to an uncontrollable infectious disease."
Kai shrugged.
The World Government had never been human.
Wiping out entire countries for profit was a routine page in their history.
Their words fell into Law and Bepo's ears like thunder.
Someone dared to insult the government this openly?
Did they have a death wish?
Shock faded into something else.
For the first time, they were hearing strangers speak both the truth about Flevance and open scorn for the Government that had buried it.
A strange warmth edged into Law's guarded heart.
After a moment's thought, he stepped up, lowering his voice. "Watch what you say. Bad-mouthing the World Government in public does you no good."
This was Lvneel's national museum, a public institution.
They were only lucky that no one else happened to be in this hall at the moment. Otherwise, it would not be him coming over to "warn" them, but the guards.
The man only chuckled, faintly mocking.
"Compared to the other things I have done, those Celestial Dragons would probably prefer I limit myself to talking trash about them in museums."
Law's brows pinched.
Who was this man supposed to be?
Even Doflamingo did not talk like that.
"Suit yourself," Law said.
If someone insisted on courting death, there was no talking them out of it.
He turned, already planning to drag Bepo away.
"Do not be in such a rush. It took a lot of work to find you. Stay and talk," Kai said lazily. "Survivor of Flevance, Trafalgar Law. Or should I say your full name, Trafalgar D. Law?"
Even Bepo froze at that.
So they had been the target all along.
"Who are you? You are not laying a hand on our captain," Bepo growled, stepping in front of Law on instinct.
"You must be that 100 Berry Bepo. Funny coincidence. There is someone on my crew with the exact same bounty," Kai said with a soft laugh.
As it faded, an invisible, crushing weight spread from him.
A few scattered visitors at the far edge of the hall dropped where they stood, eyes rolling back without a sound.
Conqueror's Haki.
With that kind of control?
Law's heart pounded.
From that alone, he knew he was hopelessly outmatched.
Run.
He swept the hall with the corner of his eye, measuring exits and sightlines, and hid his hand behind his back, fingers forming the sign for "Room."
None of this escaped Viola's notice. She folded her arms and smiled. "I would not bother. You have no chance of getting away from Kai."
"Do not be so sure," Law said with a crooked grin.
His hidden hand snapped.
"Slaughterhouse."
A translucent dome expanded from him, enveloping Kai, Viola, himself, and Bepo.
Got it.
"Bepo. Get to Shachi, Penguin, and Ikkaku. Leave with them. I will handle this," Law ordered.
"Right."
Bepo knew he would only be in the way if he stayed. He gritted his teeth and bolted for another hall.
Across from them, Kai and Viola stayed where they were, making no move to stop him.
Watching them stand still, treating this like a show, made Law's gut sink.
Then his fighting spirit rose to fill the gap.
Until they actually traded blows, no one could say for sure how a fight would end.
Ever since he had left Swallow Island, too many enemies had dismissed him because of his age.
He was still here.
They were not.
"Injection Shot."
Law's eyes flashed. He raised two fingers and slashed them toward Kai.
Take down the most dangerous man first.
A heartbeat later, his pupils shrank.
The trick that had never failed him hit Kai's body and vanished without a ripple.
No matter how he strained his Devil Fruit, Kai did not move a millimeter.
"Done fooling around?" Kai asked.
His voice was utterly flat, but the pressure in it pressed on Law's lungs.
"Then it is my turn."
A precise, measured lash of Conqueror's Haki slammed into Law.