"Lots of big things have been happening on the seas lately."
Yukiko leaned against Ren, speaking as she flipped through a newspaper.
Ever since Wano Country had been officially renamed Inazuma, the small outlying islands had also changed their names. They were now collectively known as the Seirai Five Islands, though in broader circles, the entire region was still referred to as Wano.
In truth, Wano's sphere of influence in the New World had grown enormously by now.
Even though Ren wasn't particularly aggressive about expanding his territory, years of steady growth had led many islands to willingly join his domain.
At present, twenty-four islands were under his direct rule, and even more flew Wano's flag.
"What happened this time?" Ren asked in return.
"Shiki the Lone Lion — that pirate you and Jasmine worked with before — was recently captured and thrown in prison too." Yukiko said.
"Word is he actually defeated the current Fleet Admiral in a one-on-one fight!"
"Him, huh."
"First Roger, then Shiki, now Shiki the Red — and if you count Kaidō... the era of legends is coming to a close."
Ren shook his head with a faint smile. Soon enough, it would be his era!
His one collaboration with Shiki had gone smoothly enough, though the two of them could hardly be called friends.
Ren felt a mild sense of pity at the news, nothing more.
If there was one lesson to draw from this, it was that you couldn't survive on the seas without reliable crewmates.
Shiki the Red was strong enough on his own, and yet he still ended up behind bars.
Shiki was the same — insisting on going to Mary Geoise all by himself.
While individual strength in this world was enough to carve a path across the ocean, the flip side was that your enemies were just as powerful.
If Shiki the Red had had a capable subordinate, they might have been able to carry him to safety when he was exhausted.
"Speaking of which, how are Buggy, Enel, and those kids doing? Have they made names for themselves yet?"
"Their bounties are climbing pretty fast. After all, they started out from the New World."
Yukiko flipped through the recent newspaper pages and read aloud with mock seriousness.
"Buggy the Clown — 70 million Berry bounty. Enel the Explosion Man — 65 million Berry."
"Cat Viper the Big-Faced Cat — 40 million Berry. Only those three have bounties so far."
"Big-Faced Cat? Cat Viper must be absolutely furious about that one."
"I think it's rather fitting." Yukiko laughed.
"Oh, and that kid you found in the North Blue a few years ago — he's turned into quite a big-time pirate by now."
"Donquixote Doflamingo."
"That one's a real piece of work. Word is he's been causing trouble everywhere."
"People on the sea are calling him a 'Sea Thug.'"
Yukiko set the newspaper down as she spoke.
"There are some changes in the Marines too. With the capture of Shiki the Red, the current Fleet Admiral has now overseen the imprisonment of so many major pirates."
"He'll probably be promoted to a position in the World Government."
"That means a new Fleet Admiral will need to be decided soon."
"The Marines' three Admirals have been short-staffed for a while now."
"Ever since Zephyr the Black Arm retired, Sengoku has been holding the line practically alone. They'll probably appoint a new Admiral within the next few years."
"There were a few promising recruits a while back, though they're still short on battle merits..."
Yukiko chattered on.
Normally, she wore such an icy expression around others that she could freeze them on the spot. It was only in front of Ren that she opened up like this.
"Oh, by the way, Lord Ren — is Shutenmaru really stepping down as squad captain?"
"Retiring at thirty-two? That's so lazy of him!" she fumed.
That Shutenmaru was truly hopeless. If it hadn't been for Lord Ren, he'd still be nothing more than a mountain bandit leader.
And yet after only a decade or so of fighting for Lord Ren, the man up and left with his wife.
The nerve!
Shutenmaru: I fought for over a decade. Can't a guy enjoy some peace and quiet?
Actually, what really irritated Yukiko wasn't so much that Shutenmaru had retired.
It was that the oaf had taken Tsuruko with him when he left, which meant Yukiko could no longer get her fix of Tsuruko's dango whenever the craving hit.
"By the way, Yukiko, you're thirty-two this year too, aren't you? Same age as Shutenmaru."
Ren patted her head.
"How about I let you retire too? You could go to the Flower Capital and do something relaxing with Yuriko and the others."
"No way! I want to stay with you, my lord!"
Yukiko twisted around and straddled Ren, straightening her back and wrapping her arms around his neck.
Yukiko's waist was slender, her whole body as light and graceful as a snowflake. Her fingers were cool to the touch.
"And stop bringing up a woman's age so casually, my lord. It's incredibly rude!"
"Sorry about that."
"But as long as I'm around, even when you're a hundred years old, you won't turn into a little old lady." Ren chuckled.
Somewhere in Paradise, a group dressed like adventurers made their way through dense jungle undergrowth, following the remnants of an ancient path.
"Olvia, are you sure it's around here?"
The expedition members, tired after trekking through the primeval forest for what felt like forever, directed their complaints at the white-haired woman who had been guiding them.
"Quiet. Don't disturb the beasts in the jungle."
Olvia lowered her voice before answering.
"That's what the documents say. If the documents you gave me are accurate, the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom should be on this island."
"Seriously..."
Even after hearing her explanation, some of them still muttered under their breath.
Truth be told, quite a few members of the expedition had their own opinions about this woman.
Olvia was undeniably attractive — years of fieldwork in the wilderness had done a number on her complexion, but she still turned plenty of heads in the group.
It was only because the expedition captain had been looking out for her that nothing untoward had happened.
The captain's interest in her wasn't romantic, though.
Olvia's skills as an archaeologist were genuinely impressive. More importantly, she had zero interest in treasure.
Every time the expedition found valuables at a ruin, Olvia quietly funneled her share to him under the table.
With a capable crew member who didn't care about money, why would the captain let anything happen to her?
Women were easy enough to find once you had money.
The group pushed through the jungle and, sure enough, caught sight of weathered ancient ruins in the distance.
The other expedition members brightened with excitement and immediately began preparing to search for potential artifacts.
Olvia also perked up, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of a Poneglyph.
She searched the ruins inside and out for quite some time, but found no trace of one.
"Not here, then?"
She sighed, though she wasn't particularly disappointed. Poneglyphs were exceedingly rare by nature — it would have been surprising to find one so easily.
With no Poneglyph to study, she turned her attention to the ruins themselves, which held their own cultural records.
She set to work documenting everything she found.
[
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