Three days after the Xia Te Pirates and the Beasts Pirates reached their agreement—
After several days of thorough searching, the Flower Capital had been completely purged of all samurai forces.
Only geisha, chefs, shipwrights, and other logistical workers were allowed to remain.
Those expelled were either taken by Kurozumi Orochi to temporarily reside on Onigashima, or scattered into wastelands like Kuri and Hakumai.
Xia Te had no intention of feeding freeloaders.
As a result, the Flower Capital—once home to over a hundred thousand people—was reduced to only a few thousand.
Then—
Xia Te placed his hands on different points around the city.
"Our new ship is ready."
Inside what was once Orochi's shogunate palace, Xia Te smiled faintly and slowly raised both arms.
Under the stunned gaze of Komurasaki and the remaining citizens below—
the entire Flower Capital…
began to rise.
Like a balloon lifting into the sky.
Birds and clouds drew closer and closer.
Meanwhile, the rest of Wano—Hakumai, Udon, Kuri—shrank smaller and smaller beneath them.
It… it's flying!
The entire Flower Capital… is flying!
—
Across Wano, countless people were left dumbfounded.
From Ashura Doji deep in Kuri's mountains, to Kawamatsu hiding in Udon—
everyone stared wide-eyed at the Flower Capital ascending into the sky, disappearing into the clouds.
Their jaws nearly hit the ground.
The Flower Capital… had separated from Wano!
The Nine Red Scabbards could hardly believe it.
Their young lord Momonosuke had yet to return—
and Wano had already been carved up by pirates.
At this rate… how could they ever reclaim their country from Orochi and Kaido?
—
Meanwhile, Xia Te's crew members scattered around the Flower Capital all wore faint smiles.
This—
was the first step toward conquering the world.
As if the entire world now lay beneath their feet.
"Stunned, are you? Komurasaki?"
Gazing at the clouds drifting around the city, Xia Te pulled her into his arms and chuckled.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
After a long pause, Komurasaki finally snapped out of it and forced a smile.
"I-it is beautiful… but… I still prefer a complete Wano…"
Like the Scabbards below, her brother Momonosuke's fate was unknown.
And now Wano itself had been split apart.
She couldn't imagine what future awaited her homeland.
Xia Te simply smiled.
A journey filled with the unknown—
that's what made it interesting.
—
"Four days left until Portgas D. Ace's public execution!"
On Onigashima, the Beasts Pirates' headquarters—
Kaido gulped down sake from his gourd, let out a loud burp, and shouted drunkenly:
"Hurry up and notify that brat Xia Te—time to move out!"
With Orochi and his people crowding the island, even Kaido felt the place was getting cramped.
His impatience to attack Whitebeard's territory only grew.
"No need, Kaido-sama."
King stepped forward and reported:
"They're already here."
"Hm?"
Kaido raised a brow.
King jerked his thumb outward.
"Right outside."
—
Stepping out, Kaido saw it—
and even Orochi and the others froze in shock.
Above Onigashima—
a massive island floated in the sky.
As if it could crash down at any moment.
"What a convenient ability…"
Queen muttered with envy.
"I want it too…"
Orochi, meanwhile, felt like his heart was bleeding.
That used to be his territory!
"Tch. Just the Golden Lion's trick. Nothing special."
Kaido scoffed.
Having once sailed with Shiki on the same ship, he had seen this ability plenty of times.
But even so—
he couldn't deny its terrifying power.
If an island fell from the sky—
any pirate crew would be wiped out.
Even in the Rocks Pirates' golden age, only a handful—himself, Linlin, Whitebeard—could withstand it.
—
Kaido leapt into the air, transforming into his Azure Dragon form as he flew toward the floating Flower Capital.
He had no intention of letting Xia Te's hands touch his base.
Under the overwhelming pressure of a Yonko's Haki, rookies like Law's crew—who hadn't even mastered Haki—trembled uncontrollably.
"I've given you what you wanted. You know what to do next, right?"
Kaido roared in dragon form.
"Two-pronged attack. I take the inside, you take the outside. If anything unexpected happens, we communicate via Den Den Mushi."
Standing at the front, Xia Te showed no fear, his expression calm and commanding.
"The richest territory once ruled by the Rocks Pirates has been held by that old man Whitebeard for decades…"
Kaido snorted, smoke billowing from his nostrils.
"It's time for a new owner!"
—
The next day—
With Xia Te controlling the floating Flower Capital,
and Kaido leading his forces—
King and Jack accompanied him, while Queen and the Flying Six stayed behind to guard Wano—
the combined fleets of two pirate powers
set sail in grand formation—
toward Whitebeard's territory.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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