CHAPTER 399: CHAPTER 42: WANO TO DO WHEN BORED

Beside Sengoku, Tsuru stared incredulously at the Den Den Mushi, her sharp gaze locked onto the little creature’s face.

"Young Darren... what are you doing in Wano Country?!"

Darren’s voice was calm—too calm. That easy, confident tone.

Sengoku felt a chill crawl up his spine.

He knew that tone all too well.

He’d heard it the night before Darren went toe-to-toe with Byrnndi World in the North Blue.

He’d heard it again during the Celestial Dragon murder investigation.

At the Elite Officer Training Camp graduation.

And just days ago—before the brazen assault on Totto Land.

Every single time, Darren spoke with this same glib, unbothered lilt.

Every single time, it meant disaster was looming.

And now, he’d waltzed into Wano Country?

Of all places?

Sengoku’s heart began to race. He didn’t need precognition to see it—the image of Snack Island’s Swollen Town being flattened in an instant flashed vividly in his mind.

Don’t tell me... this lunatic plans to do the same thing in Wano?!

"Admiral Sengoku," Darren said lightly, as though explaining an afternoon stroll, "I just wrapped up my mission and had a little time to kill. So, I figured... why not drop by Wano for a visit?"

His voice was casual, almost lazy.

Sengoku felt like vomiting blood.

Time to kill?! Why not just relax at Headquarters? Go to the red-light district! Watch some dancers! Why—of all damn places—did you pick the one country that could trigger a geopolitical meltdown?!

His face twisted with frustration.

"You reckless little brat!" Sengoku snapped. "Do you have any idea what kind of powder keg Wano Country is?!"

"It’s a political nightmare! A nation run by sword-worshipping fanatics, crawling with entrenched samurai factions. The whole country’s allergic to outsiders!"

"If you clash with even one samurai clan, this won’t be some pirate-hunting skirmish. It’ll become an international incident!"

Wano’s policy of isolation had kept it cut off from the world for decades—but that hadn’t stopped the Marines from gathering intelligence.

The rumors about its warriors were more than enough.

They were fanatical, bound by honor, with no regard for their own lives.

Draw your sword, and they’d answer with blood.

Win, and they’d try to kill you anyway.

Lose, and they’d commit seppuku to preserve their name.

Even the World Government tread lightly around Wano. It wasn’t a matter of power—just a headache no one wanted.

The Marines weren’t afraid of samurai.

But dealing with them? That was another story entirely.

And if Darren kicked that hornet’s nest?

It would spiral far beyond anything Headquarters could spin.

"Darren!" Sengoku barked, slamming his hand on the desk. "Withdraw immediately! Before anyone spots you—before you so much as sneeze—get out of there!"

Darren, unfazed, replied with a chuckle. "Of course, Admiral Sengoku... but I think you’ll want to hear what I found first."

"I don’t care what you found! Just—"

"I’ve discovered a massive weapons manufacturing complex," Darren interrupted coolly. "Bigger than the Beast Pirates’ facility at their former stronghold."

Sengoku’s breath caught.

Across the room, Tsuru’s hand froze mid-page.

They exchanged a sharp glance.

That couldn’t be right.

The Beast Pirates’ production line had been enormous—enough to arm twice the number of active Marines around the world. The scale alone was terrifying.

But Wano?

An isolated, self-sufficient nation?

The samurai abhorred firearms. Their entire culture was rooted in swordsmanship. What could they possibly need with a massive industrial weapons factory?

"Are they preparing for war?" Sengoku murmured, a deep frown creasing his brow.

He straightened, voice firm. "Darren. Are you certain?"

"You know I don’t joke, Admiral Sengoku," Darren replied, his voice still maddeningly calm.

Sengoku’s teeth ground together.

"But," Darren added, with that smug grin Sengoku could practically hear, "if Headquarters isn’t interested, I’ll just follow your orders and withdraw."

"..."

Sengoku clutched his chest.

Tsuru closed her eyes, exhaling slowly.

"Just... spit it out already, you brat!" Sengoku snapped.

---

Far above the clouds, Darren hovered silently over the mountainous Kuri Region of Wano Country.

Beneath him sprawled an industrial complex—an enormous web of structures woven through the mountains. Dozens of soot-black chimneys choked the skies with smoke. Steel, coal, fire—the lifeblood of a war machine.

From this vantage, it looked like a black sea rolling through the mountains.

Darren narrowed his eyes.

His lips curled into a faint smile.

"I see the Beast Pirates’ flag."

Silence.

Dead silence.

Then—

gacha.

Back in Marineford, the Military Den Den Mushi went quiet.

Sengoku and Tsuru stared at it.

"...Did he just—hang up on me?" Sengoku whispered, as if struggling to comprehend the act.

His eye twitched. Slowly, his face turned from white to purple.

"...That brat hung up on me!"

Tsuru, watching him carefully, coughed. "Could’ve been a bad connection."

She didn’t sound convinced.

To be continued...