An emergency meeting was underway at the Shogun's Palace in the Flower Capital.
Dragon informed Kozuki Hiyori of the decision to destroy the surrounding walls.
She was the successor recognized by everyone, the current shogun of Wano—only she had the authority to decide the nation's future.
After learning of this plan, the retainers of the Kozuki clan unanimously urged her to stop the Revolutionary Army.
In their eyes, this was nothing short of destroying Wano itself.
If necessary, they were even willing to go to war directly against the Revolutionary Army.
The two sides, who had previously gotten along quite harmoniously, now fell into a deadlock.
Tension filled the room.
If conflict erupted, the hard-won alliance could collapse on the spot, with everyone going their separate ways.
The choice was placed squarely in Kozuki Hiyori's hands.
The young woman looked extremely nervous—her lips pale, her body trembling slightly.
Yet even under such pressure, she nodded in agreement without hesitation.
She had only one reason.
Opening the country was her father Kozuki Oden's lifelong wish.
Hiyori didn't know whether destroying the walls would truly achieve the so-called "opening of the country," but at the very least, it was a beginning—a direction.
She was willing to try.
Once Kozuki Hiyori made the final decision, the opposition immediately quieted down.
The general trend was set.
Continuing to resist would be meaningless.
After consensus was reached, the wall-breaking operation began at full speed.
Wano mobilized the entire nation—men and women, young and old—all joining in to wear down the massive cliffs bit by bit.
The area near the great waterfall was handled solely by Chu Yang. It was his territory, making things far more convenient.
Queen, Judge, and Caesar were responsible for relocating everything from the laboratories to the mainland. Once the walls fell, the elevated structures would cease to exist.
Chu Yang activated Wood Release, summoning tree giants hundreds of meters tall to wreak havoc. The violent tremors even triggered tsunamis.
A day later, the waterfall entrance collapsed first, revealing a massive breach. As seawater continuously drained out, the water level of Wano's inner sea dropped, exposing even more of the ancient cliffs.
With that, the speed of destruction elsewhere increased dramatically.
Wano's high-profile "opening of the country" immediately caught the Navy's attention and was reported to the World Government at the fastest possible speed.
No one knew what Wano was trying to do—not even the Five Elders, who were utterly baffled.
Could it be that the Revolutionary Army planned to surrender, and so had voluntarily destroyed their easily defensible natural fortress?
The idea sounded ridiculous.
Unless they had water in their brains, there was absolutely no reason to do this.
The World Government held meeting after meeting, large and small, analyzing the situation over and over, yet failed to arrive at a reasonable explanation. In the end, they could only order the Navy to keep Wano under strict surveillance.
News spread across the world, and Wano's situation quickly became the focus of countless eyes.
The Red Force.
"Looks like Yang and the others are doing something pretty interesting. Should we go take a look?" someone asked.
"Up to you. You're the captain—your call," replied another lazily.
Red-Haired Shanks lay on the deck sunbathing, while Ben Beckman stood nearby, cigarette in hand, exhaling smoke.
"If we go, the Navy probably won't just sit back. They'll definitely follow us," Lucky Roux said, gnawing happily on the leg of some unknown creature.
"Those Marines are really annoying. They've been chasing us for days without giving up. How about we stop and beat them up?" Yasopp said unhappily, gazing into the distance.
"That's Garp's warship. Better not provoke him for now. He looks at me like I'm his sworn enemy these days—best to stay far away," Shanks said as he rolled over and sat up, stretching and yawning.
"Forget it. Let's go to Wano! It's been a long time since I've seen that kid Yang. I wonder how strong his Conqueror's Haki is now?"
Ben Beckman smiled faintly, clearly pleased. "After defeating Kaido, his Conqueror's Haki probably isn't much weaker than yours, Captain."
"If that kid comes back, I might have to hand over the vice-captain position to him."
Everyone burst out laughing.
No one believed that Chu Yang, no matter how strong he became, would ever stop being a member of the Red-Haired Pirates.
Shanks gazed into the distance, anticipation written all over his face.
"I really want to get to Wano already!"
Days passed one by one.
Aside from digging mountains every day, Chu Yang and the others did little else. Even the Revolutionary Army operating outside became much more low-key.
This eerie calm made the World Government restless, like the suffocating stillness before a storm.
The Navy was stretched thin suppressing pirate uprisings across the world and couldn't spare the forces.
The World Government could only rely on CP0 to keep watch over Wano. Even if they wanted to launch an attack to stop it, they couldn't assemble matching combat power in the short term.
Compared to the Celestial Dragons sitting on pins and needles, Chu Yang was in high spirits—because he was about to see the legendary ancient weapon, Pluton.
When the mountain walls were destroyed halfway, the inner sea had almost completely drained away. The Wano of 800 years ago gradually revealed its true form before everyone's eyes.
A far more magnificent and grand complex of buildings emerged, with ornate and diverse designs—every district rivaled the Flower Capital in splendor.
Rainwater wasn't seawater, so its corrosive effects on the structures were limited. Even after 800 years, the buildings didn't look particularly dilapidated.
Chu Yang was the first to walk along the damp streets, admiring the surroundings as he searched for Pluton.
Considering Pluton's sheer size, if it really was here, it should be easy to find.
After some time—
Chu Yang located the shogun's palace from 800 years ago and entered it with a try-and-see attitude.
It was large, but not large enough to house Pluton.
Staring at the empty palace, Chu Yang suddenly recalled that the later shogun's palace had a secret passage leading underground, hiding a Poneglyph.
Could this palace also have a secret passage?
With that thought, Chu Yang smashed the resplendent floor to pieces within minutes.
Sure enough, he found a passage.
Following it downward, he entered a dark, damp underground cavern that grew wider the deeper he went.
A colossal, fearsome warship lay silently docked on an underground river.
Pluton was even larger than Chu Yang had imagined—more than a hundred times the size of the Red Force.
It was far larger than the Golden Emperor's massive ship, Gran Tesoro.
Rather than a warship, it was more like a fortress capable of freely sailing the seas.
"You wouldn't even need to fire a cannon. Just ramming alone could sink an entire Marine fleet, right?" Chu Yang muttered sincerely as he looked down at Pluton.
"The cannon barrels are practically the size of ships themselves…"
"One shot from that, and wiping out an island would be easy."
"No wonder there's a legend that Pluton can destroy the Red Line. The Five Elders have good reason to fear it."
"I wonder how many shots I could take?"
Chu Yang flew straight onto Pluton's deck, peering into the bottomless cannon barrels and marveling nonstop.
After circling the deck once, he heard footsteps approaching in the distance. Looking up, he saw Dragon and Tiger arriving with others.
Their reactions upon seeing Pluton were even more exaggerated than Chu Yang's—each of them froze in place like statues.
"Don't just stand there! Get down here and figure out how to pilot it!" Chu Yang shouted up at the petrified crowd.
Dragon and Tiger snapped out of their shock and followed the stone steps down into the cavern, arriving before Pluton.
Seeing it head-on was even more terrifying than viewing it from above.
Pluton was jet-black, as if forged from a single block of steel—its shape seamless, without a single visible joint.
Chu Yang moved to the side and dropped a rope ladder so they could climb aboard.
Just climbing the ladder took nearly half a minute.
"There should be other entrances. We need to check the control room layout. Otherwise, climbing up and down every day would be exhausting."
"If only there were a shipwright here who really understood Pluton's design," Tiger complained as he climbed onto the deck.
His words reminded Chu Yang of something.
He could go find Shanks and borrow the legendary shipwright Tom.
Chu Yang was confident that as long as he asked, neither Shanks nor Tom would refuse.
One by one, people boarded the ship—Revolutionary Army members, Fish-Man Pirates crew, and Wano's samurai.
Naturally, their current shogun, Kozuki Hiyori, was among them.
Chu Yang led Dragon and Tiger into the control room located in the rear half of the ship.
Unlike most pirate ships, Pluton's layout was closer to that of a modern vessel—things like the helm were all located within the control room.
Chu Yang didn't activate Pluton recklessly. After observing for a while, he led the others into the interior.
Living quarters and storage rooms weren't important—there would be plenty of time to explore them later. What Chu Yang wanted to see most right now was Pluton's power core.
The Thousand Sunny was a pirate ship Franky built by referencing Pluton, capable of using cola as an energy source in critical moments for attack, defense, and escape.
Chu Yang believed Pluton must have a similar design.
And given the sheer size of its cannons, ordinary shells wouldn't suffice—there had to be something else used as ammunition.
Dragon headed toward the weapons room.
Tiger, meanwhile, led the Fish-Men around to explore at random.
Only Chu Yang headed straight for the power chamber.
Pluton's power source stood quietly at the deepest part of the room, like an enormous heart.
Chu Yang even had the illusion that it was beating.
He walked closer and examined it carefully, discovering that the surface of the power core was made of an unknown metal.
When he reached out to touch it, it didn't feel hard at all. When he pinched it between his fingers, it even felt somewhat soft.
The texture was similar to cartilage…
"Don't tell me this is actually the heart of some gigantic living creature?"
The thought startled Chu Yang himself.
After observing it for a while longer, he left the power chamber and returned to the resting area.
By then, Dragon and Tiger had also finished their inspections.
Everyone's eyes turned to Chu Yang, waiting for his next instructions.
"I took a look earlier—the river doesn't have an outlet at the end. We still need to get this ship up to the surface."
"The wall-breaking operation needs to continue in parallel. Once Pluton is brought up, it has to enter the sea immediately."
"There are World Government forces and all kinds of factions watching outside. The moment Pluton emerges will be the moment the war begins. Be ready for battle, and don't let your guard down."
After Chu Yang finished speaking, Dragon, as the leader of the Revolutionary Army, added a few words, followed by Tiger and Kozuki Hiyori.
They were mostly words of encouragement.
Once back on the surface, everyone worked even harder. Pluton's appearance had massively boosted morale.
Chu Yang was considering going to find Tom. Only he truly understood Pluton.
Letting a bunch of amateurs try to operate it would be a complete waste.
The sea was vast—finding the Red-Haired Pirates wouldn't be easy.
When Chu Yang left back then, he hadn't left a Flying Thunder God mark as a coordinate. Thinking about it now, that had been a bit careless.
"With Wano's natural defenses gone, my main body can't just leave. I'll have to send shadow clones instead."
Shadow clones were too fragile and came with many uncertainties, so Chu Yang could only dispatch a large number at once to increase fault tolerance.
The next day.
When the CP0 agents tasked with monitoring Wano saw countless Chu Yangs flying out of Wano's skies, they were completely dumbfounded.
Trembling, one of them pulled out a Den Den Mushi to report to the Five Elders—only to get viciously scolded on the other end, accused of being drunk.
He put the Den Den Mushi down, eyes vacant.
"What are we supposed to do now…?"
After sending out the shadow clones, Chu Yang brought Queen and the others to move the laboratory onto Pluton, occupying most of the living quarters.
The remaining space was more than enough for everyone else.
In any case, no one planned to live on Pluton long-term. Once the Celestial Dragons were dealt with and the world was liberated, who would care about this warship in times of peace?
Time continued to pass. Another week went by.
The mountain walls surrounding Wano had almost been completely cleared, and the architecture from 800 years ago was fully revealed to the world once more.
Because of the earlier bizarre actions, many forces had already gathered around Wano. Big News Morgans was circling overhead, ready to grab the exclusive scoop.
People barely had time to marvel at the grandeur of the ancient city before their attention was seized by a colossal warship.
Only then did the World Government finally understand what Chu Yang and the others had been doing.
Although no one had ever seen Pluton before, the moment it appeared, everyone who laid eyes on it knew…
That massive warship was Pluton!
Morgans was utterly shocked.
He hovered in midair for a long time, stunned, before excitement flashed through his eyes. Then he shot straight up into the sky and vanished.
"This is the kind of news that can truly overturn the world!"
"Ahahahahaha!!!"
His wild laughter echoed over the skies of Wano.
The news of Pluton's emergence was spread by the News Coo to every corner of the world. Even the World Government's attempts to suppress it failed.
East Blue, Windmill Village tavern.
The village chief held the newspaper in his hands. After seeing the headline, his entire body began to tremble slightly.
"Chief, you're not old enough for dementia yet, are you? Why are you shaking?" the villagers joked as they drank.
The chief promptly knocked them one by one on the head with his cane, and they finally shut up.
"Chief, are you feeling unwell?" Makino, the tavern owner, asked with concern.
"It's not me who's unwell—it's the world," the chief sighed, a shadow crossing his face. "Ever since the Revolutionary Army put bounties on the Celestial Dragons, the whole world has been swept into a raging current. Now that current has turned into a tsunami. I don't know how many people will die in this disaster."
Makino smiled gently. "I think you're worrying too much. The Marines have heroes like Mr. Garp—nothing too terrible will happen."
The chief drained the rum on the counter in one gulp and gave a bitter smile. "I don't even know whether I hope Garp will be useful… or not."
Makino looked puzzled. The chief seemed different today—his words were hard to understand.
The chief murmured softly, "The world has been yearning for a new order for far too long…"
Shimotsuki Village, dojo.
Shimotsuki Koushirou was also reading the day's news. Seeing the large characters spelling out "Wano," his expression grew complicated.
That was his homeland—one he had never seen.
"Sensei, what are you reading?" A green-haired boy suddenly popped into his view.
Koushirou smiled. "Zoro, shouldn't you be training? Why are you here?"
Zoro clutched the huge bump on his head and said nothing about how he had just provoked Kuina and gotten beaten instead.
Koushirou knew exactly what had happened and shook his head helplessly. Zoro would never give up—there was no point trying to persuade him.
"Sensei, what's Pluton?" Zoro asked, pointing curiously at the newspaper.
"It's something very terrifying," Koushirou said solemnly. "Its power is enough to destroy the world."
"Huh? Then is it going to destroy the world now? But I haven't beaten Kuina yet—what am I supposed to do?" Zoro asked in a panic.
Koushirou patted his head gently. "Pluton can destroy the world… but it can also change the world."
West Blue, the ruins of Ohara.
Once revered as a sacred land of knowledge, Ohara had been reduced to rubble by a single Buster Call.
A young man rode a bicycle across the frozen sea, creating a path of ice, and came to a stop here.
His expression was complicated.
"Does anyone still care about the truth of history anymore?"
"No matter who wins this war, everything will turn to dust in the annals of history."
Twin Capes.
The lighthouse keeper, Crocus, lay on a deck chair reading the newspaper. Nearby, Laboon continued to ram into the Red Line.
Seeing the news about Pluton's emergence, Crocus froze for a moment before sighing. "Roger… the era you spoke of seems to be arriving earlier than expected."
Alabasta.
King Cobra sat upon his throne, listening as his subordinates reported the latest intelligence from Wano.
Beneath the palace slept the Poneglyph recording Pluton's location. Now that Pluton had truly surfaced, Cobra's feelings were deeply conflicted.
"Your Majesty, the World Government has issued a summons, requesting that we send soldiers to Mariejois to protect the Celestial Dragons."
"Other allied nations have received similar orders."
The royal guard captain, Igaram, reported respectfully.
"I've heard the Revolutionary Army has been expanding rapidly. I never imagined the situation would deteriorate to the point where Mariejois needs outside help to defend itself!"
"This hasn't happened in hundreds of years."
Cobra rose from the throne and paced back and forth, seemingly making a very difficult decision.
"The rule of the Celestial Dragons… it's time for it to come to an end."
Water 7.
Iceburg and Franky were fighting over the latest newspaper, which carried news of Pluton.
To shipwrights, Pluton was a name of singular significance.
It represented the pinnacle of shipbuilding craftsmanship.
The ultimate goal a shipwright could pursue in a lifetime.
No shipwright could honestly claim they weren't interested in Pluton.
"I got it first!"
"Bullshit! I paid for it!"
They beat each other black and blue, bloodied and bruised, clothes torn to shreds, yet neither let go. In the end, battle-hardened Franky had the upper hand and snatched the paper away.
Staring at the colossal figure in the photo, Franky felt like his soul was about to leave his body.
Pluton!
So this is what it looks like!
If only I could see it with my own eyes!
If possible… let me touch it too…
Franky wore a perverted grin, drool spilling everywhere.
Taking advantage of Franky's daze, Iceburg snatched the newspaper back and finally saw Pluton's true form.
His expression grew excited as his fingers traced the photo.
"Should we go take a look?"
"That thing's final destination seems to be Mariejois."
Hearing Franky's suggestion, Iceburg felt tempted. For the first time, he thought that maybe he and Franky were actually on the same wavelength.
At the same time.
All across the world, countless people set their sights on the "Holy Land" Mariejois.
Some wanted to become witnesses to history.
Others wanted to become participants in it.
…
Chu Yang's luck was pretty good.
Just as all the shadow clones he had sent out were wiped out, the Red Force actually appeared at Wano.
Seeing Shanks again—
He still wore that familiar smile.
Sincere and warm.
The crew were the same.
Vice-captain Benn Beckman was the first to step forward and welcome Chu Yang back.
Welcoming him home.
Then came Lucky Roux, Yasopp, Hongo, Snake, and the rest…
It felt as though Chu Yang had never gone far at all, as if he had always been by their side.
Everyone was in high spirits, shouting about throwing a banquet.
The Marines were already gathering their forces, yet no one paid them any attention—as if they were never taken seriously to begin with.
The banquet was held in the old Wano.
Night fell.
The feast began.
Music and the sound of roasting meat rang out together.
Kozuki Hiyori also brought samurai and civilians to join in.
Everyone sang and danced.
Under the flickering firelight—
Shanks and Tiger chatted happily, hitting it off at first sight. One was a man who revered freedom; the other was someone who brought freedom to others.
Shanks, however, didn't exchange a single word with Dragon. They only shared a brief glance.
Everyone knew they weren't on the same path—the things they valued were fundamentally different.
When the banquet reached its liveliest moment, countless Marines stood outside, glaring helplessly. No one dared to make a move.
Shanks sat beside Chu Yang, with no one else around them.
Everyone else was either passed out drunk or dancing wildly.
Shanks smiled."From the very first day you boarded my ship, I could feel your hatred toward the Celestial Dragons. Even back then, I had a feeling you'd end up walking this path."
"If you need it… in this battle, I can stand by your side."
Shanks had close ties to the Celestial Dragons.
The king of the Celestial Dragons, Imu, commanded a mysterious personal guard known as the God's Knights.
Members of the God's Knights held status far above ordinary Celestial Dragons and even possessed the authority to judge them.
Because they represented Imu himself.
Among the knights, the Figarland family was the lineage Shanks came from.
And the current supreme commander of the God's Knights was named Saint Figarland Garling—whose appearance in his youth was almost identical to Shanks.
Their relationship ran deep.
This also explained why the Five Elders clearly treated Shanks differently from other pirates.
But the Five Elders themselves were no simple figures.
The World Government's five most important departments were each ruled by beings powerful enough to be known collectively as War Gods.
The War God of Finance, Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro—with the "V" and "Nus" combining to form Venus, representing the planet Venus.
The War God of Agriculture, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, whose name evoked Jupiter.
The War God of Justice, Saint Topman Warcury, whose name referred to Mercury.
The War God of Environment, Saint Marcus Mars, whose name symbolized Mars.
And the War God of Science and Defense, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, whose name represented Saturn.
The so-called Five Elders corresponded to the five ancient planets—gold, wood, water, fire, and earth—orbiting the sun.
Linking their titles to their roles made Imu's ideology clear: ruling the world through overwhelming military force.
Each of the Five Elders was a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user, and all of them had reached Awakening.
Among them, Jaygarcia Saturn's transformed form resembled a bull-headed demon.
The others differed—
Marcus Mars resembled Marco's phoenix-like form.
Shepherd Ju Peter's transformation was similar to Big Mom's soul incarnations.
Though the exact Devil Fruit names were still unknown, when the five stood together, they looked like demons straight out of hell.
Imu himself was also a Mythical Zoan user. His transformed form resembled a gigantic salamander.
Considering a salamander's terrifying regenerative ability, it was likely that once this Devil Fruit awakened, its user could gain near-immortality.
If Imu then underwent the Ope-Ope Fruit's Perennial Youth Operation, eternal life would be easy to achieve.
Living 800 years? Even 8,000 years wouldn't be a problem.
Even now, Chu Yang still couldn't be certain of Imu's true combat strength.
Among the original Twenty Kings, aside from Queen Lily of Alabasta and Imu, there had been eighteen others.
Those eighteen weren't fools—without overwhelming power to suppress them, how could they have willingly submitted?
Eight hundred years had passed. Even a pig would've grown into Marshal Tianpeng by now.
Imu was definitely stronger than the Four Emperors and Admirals.
The real question was: how much stronger?
Stronger than five-times-powered Ryomen Sukuna?
Imu's strength remained a mystery. And within Pangaea Castle lay a weapon comparable to Pluton—capable of annihilating an entire nation in an instant.
After an island was destroyed, the resulting void couldn't be filled. The overflowing seawater would raise sea levels.
Used repeatedly, that weapon could even flood the world.
That was why Mariejois had been built atop the Red Line.
If things ever spiraled completely out of control, Imu would activate that weapon—drown the world and wipe out his enemies.
The God's Knights were another unknown. They might each possess Admiral-level combat power.
There were simply too many uncertainties.
That was why Chu Yang had insisted on obtaining Pluton.
With Pluton, a massive portion of the pressure could be offloaded.
In the end, it all came down to a lack of intelligence. Chu Yang had been too focused on researching lineage factors and hadn't paid enough attention to these matters. If he had known more, he would've stormed the Holy Land alone long ago.
As for Shanks' offer—
Chu Yang didn't respond.
If Shanks truly had deep ties to the God's Knights, there was no reason to drag him into this.
Just like Garp's dilemma at Marineford—on one side was Marine justice, on the other was Ace, whom he loved like his own son.
Facing Shanks' sincerity, Chu Yang could only shake his head and refuse.
"This is my own matter."
Shanks stared at him in shock, clearly not expecting that answer.
"Then what about them?"Shanks looked toward Dragon and Tiger.
"The Revolutionary Army was founded to overthrow the Celestial Dragons. As for the Fish-Men—you know their situation better than I do. Their goals have aligned with mine from the very beginning."
Chu Yang didn't dare look at Shanks' face, afraid he'd see disappointment there.
Every member of the Red-Haired Pirates treated each other like family. They made each other's affairs their own. Chu Yang's stance would inevitably hurt them.
Sure enough, Shanks hesitated, his expression dimming. As captain, there was no feeling more complicated than being told your help wasn't needed.
Still, as Chu Yang had said, this was his choice alone. Shanks couldn't decide for him.
"If you want to challenge the Celestial Dragons, that's fine," Shanks said firmly."But before that—you have to beat me."
The only thing Shanks could do now was confirm that Chu Yang truly had the strength to challenge the God's Knights.
Chu Yang smiled easily and even winked at him."You've been holding it in all this time, waiting for this moment, haven't you?"
"You want to see just how strong my Haki is—how I managed to defeat Kaido."
"But let me warn you first. I didn't beat Kaido relying purely on Haki, so prepare yourself mentally."
Shanks replied confidently,"I know your swordsmanship is terrifying—but mine isn't bad either. Don't get scared."
Chu Yang stood up, brushed the dust off himself, and walked toward the shore.
Shanks followed.
The Red-Haired Pirates began whispering among themselves.
"What are they doing?"
"No idea. They were whispering over there for a long time."
"What did they say?"
"You dare sneak over to listen? Afraid the captain won't beat you up? I sure as hell wouldn't!"
"This scene feels kind of familiar…"
"Don't tell me… the party's not even over and they're starting again?"
Tiger suddenly stuck his face in."Starting what?"
A massive Fish-Man face startled everyone nearby.
Yasopp almost shoved his gun barrel straight into Tiger's mouth.
Beckman sighed helplessly."Just watch. You'll know soon enough."
Curious, Tiger stared at the figures of Chu Yang and Shanks as they walked away.
At the same time—
The CP0 agent monitoring Wano had already started nodding off.
There wasn't much to watch—just singing and dancing.
Watching any longer only fueled his jealousy. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything, while they were having the time of their lives.
Not to mention he had been viciously scolded by the Five Elders not long ago.
What kind of job was this?!
The nearby Marine warships showed no signs of activity. Everyone was asleep. Only he remained, standing guard from day into night.
Just as he was about to curse—
Two terrifying bursts of Haki suddenly erupted.
Dark clouds instantly gathered in the sky.
Thunder roared.
(End of Chapter)