At the very moment Ro-star (Rox) was returning to Wano with Zoro, a different scene played out in Shells Town — the place Zoro, Johnny and Yosaku had planned to visit before meeting Mihawk.
A straw-hatted kid stood tooth-bared before an axe-wielding, Navy-coat-clad brute and shouted, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy — the man who'll become the Pirate King!"
Luffy would never know that during his fierce duel with Axe-Emperor Monka, he had already lost forever the right hand that once belonged to his dream of being Pirate King.
…
In the New World, at Red-Haired Shanks' ship: Mihawk had returned from East Blue and, rather than go home, had come straight to Shanks' banquet.
Seeing Mihawk, Shanks laughed, cup raised: "Mihawk — perfect timing. Come test your drinking with me!"
Mihawk eyed Shanks' tipsy face and said bluntly, "Shanks, you've let yourself go."
Shanks slipped an arm around him and squinted, smiling, "What do you mean — a proper pirate throws a party. Don't forget who we are!"
Mihawk pulled free and said, "I heard on the road you visited Whitebeard's crew and came back with egg on your face."
Shanks' joking mask dropped. He sighed: "I went to see Whitebeard for Ace, but Whitebeard wouldn't listen."
Mihawk's voice grew grave: "I have a premonition — the era is about to change."
Shanks rarely spoke like that; when he did, something big was afoot.
Mihawk answered with heavier words: "Not only will the era shift — a massive war that shakes the whole world looks unavoidable."
Shanks was about to ask who or what could cause that when Benn Beckman cut in: "Mihawk, are you injured?"
Mihawk's belt and abdomen were wrapped; the room tightened. Shanks blinked, suddenly sober. "You were traveling through East Blue — you're hurt? How?"
Everyone stared; who could wound Mihawk? Mihawk looked puzzled, then said calmly: "In East Blue there are things like the Near-Sea King; my being injured there wouldn't be strange. But this time I didn't meet the Near-Sea King. I met another unexpected presence — the one that likely sparks that huge war."
Shanks leaned forward. "Who?"
Mihawk answered: "The Beast Pirates' prince — Ro-star (Rox)."
"Who?!" Shanks' eyes widened; Benn Beckman jumped up; the crew froze. Rox's name as a Five-Emperor already carried terrifying weight.
Mihawk repeated: "I met the Five-Emperor Ro-star and saw him face-to-face."
"Was he the one who wounded you?" Beckman asked.
"No," Mihawk said. "It was a raw young kid."
Shanks nearly laughed — it sounded impossible. "A green kid wounded you?"
Mihawk explained: "At first the kid certainly couldn't touch me — I easily beat him with a small dagger. But Ro-star fed him a monster cell. The boy's power exploded a hundredfold. He seemingly awakened Conqueror's Haki, and in a moment of carelessness I was cut."
Stunned silence followed. A young rookie eats a monster cell, power surges a hundredfold, awakens Conqueror's Haki, and wounds Mihawk? It read like a fable.
Beckman took a breath and surmised: "He must have eaten a higher-grade monster cell — the same top tier the Three Calamities used. Otherwise such an overnight transformation would be impossible."
Beckman's insight landed; all the Red-Hair officers looked at Mihawk with envy and hunger. Who wouldn't want such power?
Then Shanks asked the crucial question: "Mihawk — you're likely the first outsider to see Ro-star's true face. What sort of man is he?"
Mihawk paused. He'd challenged Ro-star twice; Ro-star refused both times, once saying he disliked fighting, and that if he ever did fight, it would be to kill. That calm authority had unsettled Mihawk.
After thinking, Mihawk chose one word: "Unfathomable."
The word fell and the Red-Hair ship went solemn.
…
Back in Wano: days of travel later, Ro-star, Yamato and company finally returned. It had taken longer than necessary because Yamato — traveling outside Wano for the first time — wanted to stop and see everything; Ro-star indulged her every curiosity.
Zoro leapt ashore and inhaled deep: "Is this Wano territory? Even from far away I can sense so many beastly strong auras!"
On the voyage Ro-star had taught Zoro a basic use of Haki; Zoro's comprehension was keen and he'd already gained a modest grasp of Observation Haki — that's why he sensed Wano's power.
Ro-star smiled: "The Beast Pirates are all beasts. You won't be short of opponents."
Zoro's excitement deepened. Though he'd eaten a dragon-grade monster cell and grown monstrous strength, he still had gaps to fill — and vowed to train relentlessly to one day beat Mihawk and be the best swordsman.
Behind Zoro stood his master Shimotsuki Kengsaburō and Kengshirō. They hadn't been home for a decade; stepping onto Wano soil brought tears to their eyes. They had left because Kaido and Kurozumi (Black Charcoal) had driven them out. Hearing Kengsaburō and Kengshirō recount the changes, they could hardly believe their ears.
Wano was not merely cleaned up — it had been utterly transformed. Had they not seen some familiar elders, they might have thought they'd landed in a different country.
They heard villagers calling Yamato "General Yamato, fairest commander," and calling Ro-star "Young Lord." Kengsaburō and Kengshirō fell silent, stunned.
Kengsaburō sighed: "Even if the previous lord Oden had lived and become shogun, this country wouldn't be better than this."
They agreed. They were no close retainers of Oden; they had opposed the tyranny of Black Charcoal and Kaido and left. Now that Wano had been renewed, there was no reason to oppose Yamato's rule. Together with other elders like Tengu Yamafuku, they tacitly accepted Wano's new order, and no longer spoke of the old Kozuki household.
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