Wano Country. A nation completely surrounded by towering, rocky mountains.
Ray now stood at the base of these stone walls.
To get inside, one usually had to climb these peaks or navigate the only entrance—a massive waterfall flowing upstream.
Above the roaring waterfall, several giant carp, each at least 10 meters long, leaped out of the water like dragons.
Seeing these enormous fish, Ray knew exactly how to bring the ship up.
"Cavendish," Ray called out. "Use a rope to lasso one of those carp. Have it tow the ship up the waterfall."
"Huh? That... sounds terrifying isn't it?!" Cavendish exclaimed, his face paling slightly.
But even as he complained, he immediately barked orders at his subordinates to fetch the strongest rope they had.
He stood at the bow of the ship, took a deep breath, and gracefully leaped toward the waterfall.
With a gentle precise toss of the lasso, he snagged a giant koi fish around the body.
Just before falling into the churning sea below, Cavendish spun mid-air, tapped his right foot on a slippery reef beneath the waterfall, and effortlessly leaped back onto the bow.
He tied the other end of the coarse rope securely to the ship's capstan.
"Boss~ Mission accomplished! Wasn't I just dashing?"
Cavendish struck a pose, waiting for praise.
"Huh? Where's the Boss?"
The White Horse was swiftly dragged upward along the cliff face by the powerful giant koi, but Cavendish looked around and realized Ray wasn't on the deck anymore.
At that moment, Frieda spoke up with a slightly playful tone.
"Reporting to the dashing Cavendish-sama... Ray-sama flew up the moment you leaped out to throw the lasso."
"He's probably waiting for us up there by now."
Cavendish sighed deeply, his shoulders sagging.
He had genuinely wanted to impress Ray with his agility, but unfortunately, he failed again.
Over the past few days, he had been desperately trying to show off.
Initially, he just hoped Ray would teach him a few powerful moves.
But after some time, he realized something deeper—he simply wanted to earn Ray's approval.
Just like how he had once longed for someone's genuine approval as a child.
Behind his stubborn display of brilliance and vanity, there naturally lay a shadow in his heart.
…
As for why Ray had flown up ahead of time—
It wasn't that he disliked riding the ship.
Rather, the moment he arrived beneath the waterfall, his Observation Haki had already sensed enemies waiting above.
The Beast Pirates had stationed armed troops at the heights of the waterfall to prevent enemy invasions.
If any unfamiliar ships were spotted, they would attack immediately.
This was a key reason why Wano Country could remain completely isolated from the world.
It wasn't that no pirates tried to enter, but the vast majority couldn't even pass this first layer of defense without getting blasted.
This time, however, the Beast Pirates had bitten off more than they could chew.
…
Stationed on duty here today was Sasaki.
He was one of the Flying Six of the Beast Pirates and a user of the Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruit: Triceratops.
A tall, slightly obese man with long green hair and sharp teeth, wearing traditional wooden clogs and a peaked cap.
He had joined the Beast Pirates less than five years ago but, thanks to the formidable power granted by his unique Devil Fruit and his ruthless nature, he had risen to become one of the Flying Six.
As high-ranking officers of a Yonko crew, the Flying Six were second only to the three All-Stars.
Each day, one of them would be stationed here to guard the entrance, and today, it happened to be Sasaki's shift.
Sasaki was feeling bored out of his mind.
He yawned, blinking drowsily, on the verge of falling asleep in his chair.
Suddenly, his subordinates' frantic shouts reached his ears.
"Sasaki-sama! A stranger is forcing their way through the waterfall entrance!"
Hearing this, Sasaki's drowsiness partially faded.
But as a high-ranking officer, he remained remarkably calm.
"Just blast them to bits you fools! You're disturbing my nap."
His subordinate replied, his voice trembling with fear:
"Sir... if we could have taken care of them, we wouldn't have bothered you!"
"In less than three seconds, all our artillery was destroyed! And many of our comrades outside were killed instantly!"
"I rushed in to report to you immediately!"
Upon hearing this, Sasaki finally snapped awake.
"Hmm... I do smell blood."
"To kill my men and destroy our artillery while their ship is still ascending the waterfall... this guy's got some skill."
"I'll deal with him myself."
After speaking, Sasaki grabbed the long, mechanized sword from his waist.
He exerted force with his legs, shattered the window with his body, and leaped out in an instant.
Being impatient, he completely failed to notice what his subordinate was shouting after him.
"Sir! He didn't come by ship—he flew up...!"
…
When Sasaki reached the platform of the artillery position, he indeed saw the figure of the newcomer.
A man dressed in luxurious attire stood with his back to him.
His long golden curls fluttered in the wind, and his elegant clothing highlighted his noble demeanor.
The man sensed Sasaki behind him and slowly turned around with a vibrant red rose held in his mouth.
However, the man's gaze seemed somewhat... dazed.
Confused, even.
...
Flashback a few minutes.
Cavendish was truly speechless.
A few minutes earlier, he had ridden the White Horse upstream with great effort, finally reaching the top of the cliff.
Aside from the massive whirlpool in the inland sea opposite the cliff, he saw the artillery platform littered with corpses and cannon wreckage.
Standing amidst the pile of bodies was his boss, Ray.
Just as his ship was about to crest the waterfall and potentially plunge into the inland sea's whirlpool, Ray suddenly leaped from the platform.
The white "scarf" draped over Ray's shoulders elongated, catching the White Horse mid-air and steadily supporting it.
Then, Ray wrapped a whip of energy around Cavendish and dragged him to the center of the platform.
"After you deal with that underling, catch up on your own."
With that, his boss, flew across the inland sea carrying the entire ship, heading toward the main land of Wano below the cliff.
Leaving Cavendish utterly bewildered, disheveled in the wind, standing alone on a cliff full of dead bodies.
'Damn! If you can use your scarf to make the ship fly, why did you make me tie up the fish earlier?!'
'And how long does it take to deal with one underling? Couldn't you wait five minutes for me?!'
Cavendish was extremely frustrated but still obeyed Ray's command.
He placed the rose from his chest pocket into his mouth, entering his elegant combat mode!
…
Back to the present.
When Cavendish saw Sasaki, his relaxed and elegant expression turned serious.
He also had some proficiency in Observation Haki, so of course, he could sense the strength of the fat man before him.
'Crap! This guy might be even stronger than me... This is an "underling"?!'
'Well... to Boss Ray, he probably is just an underling.'
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Cavendish's eyes widened in disbelief.
The overwhelming frustration in his heart could no longer be contained.
He shouted toward the direction where Ray had disappeared, ignoring Sasaki completely.
"Then in your eyes, Boss, am I just an underling too?!"
Sasaki was baffled by Cavendish's shout of "Boss."
The cool opening line he had prepared got stuck in his throat!
"If you want to acknowledge me as your boss, you didn't have to kill all my men, did you?" Sasaki sneered, misunderstanding the situation.
"Who does things like that?"
Already seething with frustration, Cavendish exploded when he heard the enemy before him claiming to be his boss.
"Can't you understand human language?! Was I even talking to you?!"
"How could a fatass piece of trash like you ever be fit to be this Prince boss?!"
SHING!
After saying this, Cavendish drew his sword Durandal, and launched a series of "Elegant Sword Strikes" at Sasaki.
Seeing that this pretty boy dared to attack him, Sasaki flew into a rage!
"You pretty boy! How dare you mess with me?!"
CLANG!
He immediately drew his two-meter-long blade and met Cavendish's attack head-on.
…
Meanwhile.
Before long, Ray had already docked the White Horse at an unnamed, deserted beach in Wano Country.
The moment he set foot on the black sand, he immediately caught the stench of industrial pollution.
The air was heavy.
The entire nation was permeated with the smells of chemical contamination and old bloodshed.
This aligned perfectly with Ray's impression of Wano from the original story.
Kaido's factories had ruined the land.
Moreover, the beach where they currently stood seemed somewhat familiar.
"Help! Someone help me!"
Just then, a child's cry for help reached his ears.
Not only him, but Frieda and the crew members on the ship also heard the faint, desperate pleas coming from the forest nearby.
"Ray-sama... shall we go take a look?" Frieda inquired tentatively, holding her notepad.
Ray responded without hesitation.
"No need."