He suddenly thrust his hand toward the distant ruins, veins bulging as he roared,
"What are you laughing at?! Open your eyes and look carefully—this old man has capital to grow stronger now too!"
With that shout, scattered scraps of rusted steel in the distance seemed to answer an invisible call, clattering as they flew over.
Under the stunned gazes of the others, the metal rapidly adhered to his arm, recombining and reshaping.
In the blink of an eye, it formed a massive mechanical steel arm, radiating a cold, murderous gleam.
…
Year 1511 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
A year destined to be recorded as one of upheaval.
Not long after the New Year, the sea known as the pirates' paradise—the New World—erupted into a peak battle that shattered all common sense.
First, Big Mom and the Beasts Pirates joined forces to ambush Wano, only to be smashed head-on by Tenma and sent fleeing in utter defeat.
The balance of the Four Emperors, maintained for years, collapsed overnight.
Countless ambitious opportunists caught the scent of blood and began stirring, eager to carve up the remnants of the emperors' territories.
Immediately after that, the instigator himself—the Flying Sky General, Tenma—clashed head-on with Whitebeard… and won.
That battle cemented his status as the world's number one powerhouse, while Wano leapt in a single bound to become the new overlord of the New World.
The turmoil raged on for a full month. Just when everyone thought the dust had settled, another bombshell exploded.
That was the question of Kaido's home base—who would inherit it?
Originally, several of Whitebeard's division commanders wanted a slice of the pie.
But once Whitebeard was defeated, their courage evaporated instantly.
At that moment, a pack of long-waiting wolves pounced.
The most aggressive among them was the old pirate Wang Zhi, along with an allied force formed by two former Warlords of the Sea—
the "Swamp Fiend" Russell, and the "Colossal Battleship" San Juan Wolf.
Behind them trailed a large number of underworld factions hoping to scavenge leftovers.
Their scheme clattered loudly:
If Kaido was finished, then whoever seized this fat piece of meat would own it.
Swallow Kaido's territory and resources, and maybe—just maybe—they could ride that momentum and ascend as new Sea Emperors.
Reality, however, slapped them across the face.
No one expected that the Kaido rumored to have been beaten half to death by Tenma… would come back alive and kicking!
That day, a massive azure dragon descended from the sky, its terrifying draconic might blanketing the entire sea.
Not only was Kaido not crippled—he looked as if he had been reborn in flames, even more terrifying than before.
By sheer force alone, he completely reversed the situation on the battlefield.
This time, Morgans truly went insane, ordering overnight reprints of the newspaper.
The dominance Kaido displayed in that battle was outright apocalyptic.
Like crushing ants, he flattened Wang Zhi and the two former Warlords, showing the world what a true "emperor" really meant.
The fighting lasted seven days and seven nights.
Facing opponents who were inferior to both Tenma and Whitebeard, the awakened Kaido was simply an undying monster—
his grotesque recovery and defense were enough to drive anyone to despair.
In the end, Wang Zhi fled in utter disgrace.
Russell and San Juan Wolf were beaten into submission, kneeling on the spot to surrender.
As for the rest of the rabble—they ran faster than rabbits.
The reborn Kaido defended his old nest with absolute force, and even took the opportunity to absorb a massive influx of manpower, partially making up for his previous losses.
Once this news broke, the seas shook yet again.
Some of the more fanatical "Tenma supporters" even seized the chance to stir things up:
"See that? Even a monster like Kaido was beaten by Tenma—just how strong do you think Tenma really is?!"
At this moment, Tenma couldn't care less about the noise outside.
All his attention was focused on the construction of the Floating City.
First came zoning.
The Flower Capital, home to General's City, remained the absolute core.
But this time, everything around it received a comprehensive upgrade.
Military bases, research centers, even a Merfolk Coast specially built for Shirahoshi, and an Amazon Fortress constructed to satisfy Hancock's demands—all were arranged to encircle the core zone.
As the central area, it wasn't just the political heart—it was also the living paradise for Tenma and his retainers.
In addition to preserving the Flower Capital's bustling streets, the research and construction departments wracked their brains to recreate every feasible entertainment facility Tenma remembered from his previous life.
The second major zone consisted of Wano's original five regions.
Here, the pristine scenery and famous landmarks were preserved, continuing to produce each area's specialty resources.
With the addition of the Totto Land islands and the heaven-defying powers of the Ripe-Ripe Fruit, food and products were produced in quantities bordering on absurd.
As for the third zone, it comprised the Totto Land islands orbiting the core like satellites.
These islands retained their dessert-themed characteristics and were transformed into massive leisure resorts and strategic buffer zones.
Tenma ordered the construction of floating skywalks and aerial yachts to link all the islands together—
facilitating movement while allowing instant switching between defense and offense.
The current Wano—or rather, the Flying Sky Kingdom—had grown so vast and prosperous that it could now wrestle head-on with superpowers like Alabasta.
An unprecedented project of this scale naturally drew the highest level of vigilance from the World Government.
Atop the Red Line, in the Holy Land Mary Geoise.
Inside the Room of Authority, symbol of the world's supreme power, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.
Five elderly men sat together, each with a darker expression than the last.
In recent months, the frequency of their meetings exceeded that of the entire previous year.
CP0 had already delivered all relevant intelligence to their desks.
They had once hoped Whitebeard would blunt Tenma's edge—
instead, Whitebeard proved shockingly fragile, becoming nothing more than Tenma's stepping stone.
Now that Tenma was recognized as the strongest pirate crew in the world, his fame was closing in on that of Gol D. Roger himself.
What troubled the Five Elders even more was that Tenma wasn't like Roger, who only cared about adventure.
This man was practically a second Rocks D. Xebec, aggressively expanding his power base with naked ambition.
Yet more than territory or titles, what truly concerned the Five Elders was Tenma's black technology.
The elemental weapons that shone so brightly on the battlefield, and those combat suits capable of granting various abilities—
They overlapped heavily with the projects Vegapunk was researching.
If they could obtain those technologies, their Seraphim Project would advance by leaps and bounds.
Unfortunately, every attempt to negotiate had been bluntly rejected by Tenma.
The man even dared to make an outrageous demand—
asking Vegapunk to work for him for an entire year.
Utterly delusional.
That said, the reconstruction of the Sky City presented a rare opportunity for infiltration.
"At present, the only one who can even get a word in with Tenma is that woman—Stussy,"
said the bald elder with the sword, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.
"Besides that, we should send in some fresh faces."
The curly-haired elder's eyes flashed with calculation.
"Since he's building some kind of Sky Kingdom, he'll definitely need a large population. We can slip people in—start with the islands of the third zone."
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