chapter 446 – wano 01.

    [chapter size: 1900 words.]

    third person pov

    new word.

    ...

    ...

    wano was a very peculiar country, with geography that defied common logic and gravity. surrounding it, at sea level, there were various peaks encircling the country before even reaching it.

    it was situated above sea level, surrounded by an imposing natural barrier formed by steep cliffs and jagged mountains, creating an insurmountable ring around it. between these elevated walls of land, a vast current of water flowed, encircling the country like a moat, hiding its interior from the outside world. meanwhile, those on the outside could only see wano''s waterfalls cascading down from all sides.

    in the waters around the country was onigashima, a smaller island shaped like a giant demon skull. the island, serving as kaido''s fortress, had been a hub of constant activity over the past month. the area was surrounded by over 200 ships, loaded with weapons, provisions, and soldiers, circulating incessantly, reinforcing defenses and intensifying preparations for the upcoming battle. ships entered and exited wano''s ports directly to onigashima, as kaido ramped up resource collection.

    at the heart of onigashima, kaido himself appeared somewhat changed. despite his arrogance, he had felt the power of luffy in their battle at marineford. each punch from the straw hat in that state had made kaido bleed and his body collapse under the impacts. it was a kind of power that prompted an unusual reaction from kaido: he began to train. surprising even his own subordinates, kaido had sporadically dedicated moments over the past year to prepare himself, eager for a rematch against luffy. that moment was drawing ever closer.

    in the country itself, the atmosphere was one of great apprehension. even the most skeptical about the impending war began to feel the weight of kaido''s increasingly oppressive regime. kozuki hiyori was a woman who foresaw this war being won by kaido and his allies, due to the prophecy her mother and even her father had spoken of, awaiting her brother''s return less than a year from now. however, what she witnessed began to shake her beliefs.

    the people were suffering more than ever. even orochi was treated like a dog by kaido, with the calamities themselves taking over the city. from what she heard, in the distant factories and villages, inhabitants had been forced to work harder than ever, preparing resources for the beast pirates and their war.

    across all provinces, starving people begged for food, but not even soldiers were present anymore to hear their complaints or to steal from them. all resources and forces were being directed to onigashima, with the beast pirates'' troops organizing there.

    in the middle of the country, there was a small town where people resembled zombies, wandering back and forth. it had been over a month since all the food was taken from the town, and no one had brought any back, leaving them with nothing but scarcity and a polluted river from the factories to drink from.

    people were so thin that their bones showed through their skin. others lay collapsed on the ground with vacant eyes, and even corpses that couldn''t endure the conditions any longer lay in the streets. yet no one had the strength to remove them, trying instead to conserve energy. people even fell into states of madness, considering cannibalism, but all who acted on this idea were killed by fellow citizens.

    the terror that had plagued wano for 20 years only grew more intense. nearby, there was a large hill with an abandoned castle, where the former family of daimyo? kozuki, who ruled wano before kaido and orochi''s defeat, had resided.

    everything seemed calm there, despite the atmosphere of despair blanketing the country. suddenly, a distortion in space occurred as a door began to manifest. sai opened it, stepping out with other people.

    the ship they had taken reached the skies above wano, but after luffy shrank the ship, sai used his door powers to enter a separate space, allowing them to travel undetected to wano. despite the difficulty of detection, luffy wanted to ensure kaido remained unaware of their presence, so they could stir the country from within before the final battle.

    the samurai, sai, luffy, lucy, zoro, kuina, yamato, chouchou, nojiko, and lami stepped out of the door, landing in the middle of the ruined place. as they all were proficient in observation haki, they quickly sensed the atmosphere for the first time.

    "this...!" yamato murmured. it was her first time in wano, and instead of smiling with excitement, she looked on in shock.

    "so much negative emotion in this place..." zoro muttered, frowning.

    "how... how could they do this to these people!" nojiko murmured with a tone of worry.

    "au..." even chouchou whimpered.

    "..." lami, reiju and kuina remained silent, while only sai and the samurai couldn''t fully grasp what was happening.

    "why... everyone should have the right to eat..." lucy said, her voice carrying a rare tone of anger.

    "calm down. kaido is managing this country worse than i imagined..." luffy commented, glancing out at the city. he hadn''t anticipated wano being in such a critical condition, wondering if he should have come sooner. the situation was truly macabre.

    ''i''m hungry...''

    "woolf woolf!" chouchou barked.

    "i''m looking forward to dealing with some of the people who allowed the country to end up like this," zoro said.

    "this is the land of my ancestors... so let''s go," kuina added.

    "we''ll finally free wano!" yamato said with determination.

    "..." lami, reiju, nojiko, and sai only nodded, while the samurai, still tearful, seemed grateful for their words.

    luffy then smiled for the first time since stepping into this place. "alright then, let''s go. it''s time to begin," he said as they started to take action.

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