One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me

Chapter 356 Wano Country, the New Three Disasters?

Inside the reception room of the Esther.

At this moment, Wu Ma was sitting upright in the hall.

In his hands, starlight was constantly gathering and flowing on the Book of Stars, revealing the scene of Luffy transforming into Nika and throwing that punch in the Trial Grounds.

Meanwhile, Shanks and Rayleigh were also in the living room and witnessed the same scene.

So even the Pirate King's right-hand man and the Four Emperors of the Sea couldn't help but marvel at how amazing they were.

"That Luffy kid."

A smile of satisfaction appeared on Shanks' lips, just like a father seeing his son succeed.

His smile at this moment wasn't just because the danger posed by Luffy's accidental awakening of the "Nika Fruit" had disappeared. More importantly, he saw what he wanted in Luffy.

"I knew I wasn't wrong about Luffy; he really does look like Captain Roger."

Shanks remarked with this thought.

Yes.

He had already discovered it back in the old windmill village.

Luffy is very similar to Roger, who raised him and was almost like a "father" to him.

That innate yearning and pursuit of the sea, and that dream that seems ridiculous to ordinary people, are all like that.

That's why Shanks decisively gambled his arm, the Nika-no-Kami fruit, and Roger's straw hat on Luffy. And now it's proven that he wasn't wrong about Luffy.

"yes."

Rayleigh smiled and nodded.

Thinking of his old friend, he picked up the sake bottle he carried with him and took two gulps before exhaling: "However, it's amazing that the 'loss of control' caused by the awakening of the fruit can be sorted out in this way."

He looked at Wu Ma in front of him with a hint of wistfulness.

Wu Ma did not respond directly to the probing question in Lei Li's words.

He naturally understood what Rayleigh was talking about.

That's right, everything Luffy did from the moment he boarded the Esther to the moment he entered the Trial Grounds was personally "arranged" by Wu Ma. His purpose was to determine the state of the Nika Fruit within Luffy and to help him master this power as much as possible.

As for how to master the awakening of the fruit, Roy can also confirm this in the process.

So far, things seem to be going well.

"The essence of the Nika Fruit is the desire for 'freedom' combined with the world's understanding of the liberation fighter 'Nika' resisting oppression. Once the fruit user's core essence conflicts with this desire and understanding, they will directly 'lose control'."

"However, as the reincarnation of Joy Boy and Roger, Luffy, although he did not fully master Nika's power, his personality matched the personality Nika needed. Therefore, his Devil Fruit did not completely go out of control, but instead showed the previous 'semi-out-of-control' state." So what Roy did was also very simple.

He used the "Flower Fruit Mountain," the trial ground of Shenhou, to bring Luffy closer to "Nika."

After all, it's quite a coincidence that the story of the Monkey King is actually quite similar to that of Nika.

The Great Sage is a naturally intelligent monkey who rebels against oppression and declares war on the Heavenly Court and the gods.

Nika is a liberation fighter who resists oppression and declares war on the Holy Land and the Celestial Dragons.

Both are spiritual symbols of the pursuit of "freedom" and "resistance".

"After the two are combined, Luffy's spirit and personality will be closer to the needs of the 'Nika Fruit,' and he may even be able to initially grasp the power of the Nika Fruit's awakening."

"And more importantly, the speed at which Shenhou's fruit is born will also accelerate, and it will also have some of the characteristics of the Nika Fruit!" For Roy, this was clearly a double blessing.

"This is a good opportunity to make some preparations."

As Roy pondered this in his heart.

Unbeknownst to Shanks and Rayleigh, a faint wisp of starlight slowly merged into Luffy's body, gradually becoming part of "Nika."

Roy had no intention of harming Luffy—in fact, as someone who was also fighting against Im, he had no ill will towards Luffy.

What he is doing now is simply taking out an extra layer of insurance for the future.

after all

"If I'm not mistaken, the 'Nika Fruit' must be of extraordinary significance to Im."

"It's always good to be cautious when we're not entirely sure what Im is planning."

As Roy thought about this, he also felt a little troubled.

To be honest, compared to the current false calm, he would rather go back to the time when the Knights of God and the Five Elders would occasionally launch surprise attacks on him.

After all, as long as Im continued to make moves, Roy could glean some insight into Im's attitude and general direction from their actions. But now, Im and the entire World Government have fallen silent.

Instead, it gave Roy a real sense of unease, like "a storm is brewing."

"No, it's not that we have absolutely no information."

But it was precisely at this point that Roy suddenly realized that it wasn't entirely true that he had no intelligence at all. After all, Shanks had just recently brought him some crucial information.

"Wano Country... Kaido."

He murmured to himself.

The Land of Harmony, the Capital of Flowers.

Cherry blossoms fall, and the city of flowers remains as bustling as ever.

In the castle tower where the Shogun of the Flower Capital resides.

Pirates dressed in the iconic uniforms of the Beasts Pirates were guarding outside a house.

Inside the room.

"What a hassle."

A tall man, wearing a helmet, with a face like that of a wild beast, stood there.

That was none other than "King of Lizards" Hua Zha.

Of course, to be more precise—that former Shichibukai actually died a long time ago, and what appears here now is actually the fox tail clone of "Inu".

"If I had known things would turn out this way, I shouldn't have chosen the identity of 'special envoy' in order to avoid Kaido."

At this moment, the Dog was filled with intense regret.

"Given the current situation, trying to ascertain the situation on Onigashima and the Beasts' current plans would seem rather abrupt..."

That's right.

When he dealt with the King of Assassins, he also took care of Hanazawa and Cracker, two executives of the Four Emperors' crew, and replaced them with his fox-tail clone.

However, these two have different meanings.

The main reason he replaced Cracker was that he was certain he would take action against Big Mom—after all, this Yonko was indeed quite persistent at the time.

The replacement of the flower brochure was a necessary measure given the circumstances at the time.

However, at that time, Roy did not actually intend to take action against Kaido. Replacing Hanazono was partly to prevent Kaido from seeking revenge against the Twelve Constellations, and partly to plant a small spy.

Therefore, after Cracker and Hanazawa returned to Whole Cake Island and Wano Country respectively, their actions naturally differed. Cracker secretly plotted throughout Whole Cake Island, taking the opportunity to replace many members of the Charlotte Family, which led to the subsequent "War of Whole Cake Island". But Hanazawa was different.

As everyone knows, although the entire ocean knows that Wano Country is Kaido's territory, the actual ruler of Wano Country is Kurozumi Orochi, while Kaido lives on Onigashima Island outside Wano Country as the nominal Protector King.

The two cooperated, and Orochi needed to manufacture weapons to give to Kaido in order to gain the status and power of a general.

In exchange, Kaido would help him suppress the people and samurai of Wano Country.

However, deep down, Kaido had long planned to elevate one of his own to the position of Shogun of Wano Country. To do this, he needed to ensure that Orochi remained under his control.

This gave the Dog (戌狗) an opportunity.

To avoid being discovered by Kaido, he specifically applied to Kaido for his current position—stationed in the Flower Capital, nominally responsible for liaison between the two sides, but in reality, he was a "special envoy" specifically responsible for monitoring the movements of Kurozumi Orochi.

This identity is considered a tough job within the Beasts—it doesn't wield much power, nor does it offer much opportunity to amass wealth, and it even arouses the suspicion of Orochi.

Before Kaido completely breaks ties with Orochi, his movements will be severely restricted.

So when Hanaza took the initiative to apply for the position, he was naturally approved without any problems. Kaido was even moved by this and invited Inugami to drink with him for many days in a row. Whenever he mentioned this, he would say, "Brother Hanaza, you've suffered a lot."

The Dog (戌) originally didn't care.

His fox-tail clone was only responsible for lurking; nothing else mattered.

But now, things have changed.

The news Shanks brought made intelligence about Wano Country extremely important.

What is the nature of Kaido's collaboration with Im? What are their plans for the future?

These are all questions that Roy urgently needs to know.

But his status as a special envoy kept him away from Ghost Island and the core of the beasts.

"Suggesting going back to Ghost Island now? Hmm... won't that arouse suspicion?"

"But that's not necessarily true. After all, the Three Disasters have been dead for so long, yet the position of the top commander is still vacant. This means that the Flying Six are not satisfying Kaido, and he is currently short-handed."

The dog pondered to itself.

And it was at this very moment.

"Hanafuda-sama."

But the dog heard a clear, crisp sound.

"Um?"

He turned his head and saw that a crow had landed on the windowsill right next to him.

There was a piece of paper stuck to the crow's face, with an eye drawn on it.

"It's me, Lady Hanazono."

Under Hua Zha's watchful gaze, the crow continued to make its clear, crisp sound.

"Protect the emperor?"

Upon seeing the piece of paper, the Dog naturally understood the other party's identity.

One of the "True Fighters" of the Royalist Hundred Beasts Pirates, and also Kaido's secretary.

It possesses a special ability that is not a Devil Fruit power, but is suspected to be related to the ninjutsu of Wano Country. That is, by covering its face with this piece of paper, it can share the vision and hearing of all the animals with the paper on them, and can also "broadcast" in this way.

In other words, she is the information transmission center of the entire Beasts Pirates.

"Did Brother Kaido give you some instructions?"

Therefore, it was only natural for the Dog (戌狗) to ask the question at this moment.

"Yes, Lady Hanazono."

The royalist didn't hide anything: "Lord Kaido has something he needs you to do."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, the expression on Xu Gou's face remained completely unchanged.

But in his heart, he was both surprised and delighted.

The joy lies in the fact that he was just looking for a reason to investigate Wano Country and Onigashima, and Kaido actually gave him a mission, which was like a pillow being delivered when he was sleepy.

But the surprise also lies in this—he understands that Kaido's sudden order at this time is likely related to his cooperation with the World Government.

"I'm going back to Ghost Island right now."

He made this statement decisively.

But almost as soon as he finished speaking, Baohuang interrupted him: "No, Lord Huazha, you don't need to go back to Ghost Island."

She looked at the dog: "You may not know that Lord Kaido has appointed you as one of the new Three Disasters, the 'Beast Disaster'."

"Your mission is to go to the Kuri region, take over the mission of the former 'Drought' Jack, serve as the 'Regional Manager' of the Kuri region, and accelerate the production of weapons in the region as much as possible, and send enough weapons back to Onigashima by ship in a short period of time."

"In addition, there will be another major figurehead, codenamed 'Ice Disaster'. She will inherit the mission of 'Plague Disaster' Queen and be responsible for managing areas such as Udon."

"Also, access to Ghost Island will be restricted for a period of time, managed by the last major leader, 'Death Calamity,' with only ships transporting weapons allowed to enter and exit."

As she continued speaking, Xu Gou's brows gradually furrowed.

"A giant signboard? The new Three Disasters? Manufacturing a large number of weapons in a short period of time?"

Something was definitely wrong.

He had already realized that something was wrong.

It should be noted that this occurred after the Three Calamities perished in Dressrosa.

Even though the Flying Six members of the pirate crew have mentioned it many times over such a long period of time, Kaido has not appointed any new "Three Disasters" as his top lieutenants.

Even Wano Country's traditional weapons manufacturing and trade have become much more low-key recently.

But now, Kaido has not only suddenly appointed new Three Disasters, but also ordered them to produce a large number of weapons in a short period of time. All of this indicates...

"Kaido is preparing for war? He plans to attack somewhere?"

The fact that a large number of weapons are being manufactured can only mean that Kaido is likely to launch a war against a certain place.

More than that.

"He also sealed off Ghost Island, which means that there must be some changes happening on Ghost Island that cannot be known by anyone."

"And the fact that one of the Three Disasters is in charge of managing Onigashima—does this mean Kaido might leave Wano Country soon?"

The dog pondered in its heart, but could not guess the specific situation.

But it's clear that he can at least be sure of what he should do.

"Whatever the enemy tries to do... I just need to thwart their plans!"