XX-level Hokage

Her face was delicate and pretty, much like Nami from "Cat Burglar" back then, but her orange eyes held a royal majesty and an indescribable wildness—the arrogance inherited from Mashiro's bloodline.

She is one of the princesses of the Ocean Kingdom, the daughter of Mashiro and Nami—Zona.

"Princess Zona, the shield has been deployed! But the vortex ahead is moving faster; it seems a huge creature is approaching!" (The person steering the ship is not human.)

It is not a class, but a Homies autopilot that has been given a soul.

"A giant creature?" Zona's eyes instantly turned into the symbol of Bailey. "Is it a rare sea king? If it's the kind with delicious flesh, then the fuel costs for this voyage will be covered!"

"Can't you act like a princess at all, sister?" A calm and elegant voice came from the sofa next to her.

Amidst the raging storm, on the other side of the deck, another young woman sat calmly in a chair with even a cup of black tea on it.

The chair was firmly fixed to the deck by several enormous arms that appeared out of nowhere, and no matter how the ship rocked, the ancient scroll in her hands did not tremble at all.

The girl had long, straight, jet-black hair with neat bangs and deep, dark green eyes. She wore a dark purple dress with floral embroidery, exuding a cool and intellectual aura, like a solitary orchid blooming in the dark night.

She is Nico Flora, the daughter of Mashiro and Nico Robin.

Behind her, several slender arms made of flower petals suddenly appeared out of thin air. One held a cup of red tea, another held a quill pen and was taking notes, and yet another was gently tidying her hair, which had been ruffled by the sea breeze.

"Huh? Flora, what do you know, you bookworm?" Zona turned around, brandishing the "True Weather Stick" personally modified by Dr. Vegapunk. "Father handed over the financial power of the Ocean Kingdom to Mother and me! Although the treasury is full now, money is being spent like water because of flood control and infrastructure support for the Ninja Kingdom! Every Beli has to be spent on the Power Blade!"

“Awakened?” Zona was stunned. “Wasn’t Father out dealing with the flood? Could there be any survivors?” Just then, the alarm blared.

The sea suddenly burst open, and a gigantic sea monster, the size of a small island, burst from the water. Its body was covered in steel-like scales, its eyes were bloodshot, and it exuded a ferocious aura.

What's even more astonishing is that its back is covered with black, curse-like patterns.

"That's..." Zona squinted. "The chakra fluctuations of the Ninja Kingdom? Why would a Sea King have something like that?"

“This is the fusion rejection reaction that Father mentioned.” Flora stood up, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Although the two worlds have been merged for fifteen years, occasionally there are still creatures that go mad from being simultaneously eroded by the energies of both worlds.”

"What a hassle!" Zona complained, but her face showed no fear; instead, she revealed an excited smile. "Perfect, this is exactly what I've developed..."

I haven't even tried one move yet! Hey, Flora, this is mine, don't interfere!

“Please do as you wish.” Flora sat down again, picking up her teacup. “Just don’t splatter blood on the deck; it’s a hassle to clean.” Zona scoffed, gracefully leaping onto the golden statue at the bow of the ship.

Facing the roaring, charging beast, she swung her weather staff fiercely.

"Listen up, big guy! This sea is Lord Mashiro's backyard. You're not qualified to cause trouble here!"

The light in Zona's eyes suddenly turned sharp, not only from Conqueror's Haki, but also from a special power surging from the depths of her bloodline.

That was the talent bestowed upon her by Mashiro—an absolute affinity for the natural elements: "Magic Weather - Thundercloud Zeus - Fusion Mode!"

The thundercloud Homie "Zeus" (although it was Big Mom's legacy, it had already been subdued by Nami and passed on to her daughter) that was originally floating in the air instantly entered the Clima-Tact.

Next, a dazzling ring of lightning appeared behind Zona, like the Thunder God of the Ninja Kingdom. A perfect fusion of ninjutsu and meteorology—”

Zona raised the Weather Stick high. Dark clouds filled the sky, and a thick pillar of lightning did not fall from the sky, but instead burst forth from the tip of the stick in her hand, transforming into a roaring lightning dragon.

"One-One-Rysh - Climate Cannon!" Boom!!!

Golden lightning instantly pierced through the head of the giant sea monster.

There was no bloodshed or gore, because the extremely high temperature instantly carbonized the wound.

Before the behemoth could even let out a final cry, its massive body was thrown backward by inertia, stirring up a thousand waves.

"Done!" Zona blew on the wisps of smoke rising from the tip of the Weather Stick, looking smug. "See that? That's efficiency! The energy conversion rate of this attack reached 98%!"

However, just as the behemoth collapsed, its tail lashed out at the ship. It was a final, instinctive struggle, but the force was enough to destroy a warship. "Watch out!" the helmsman cried out.

Zona has just unleashed her ultimate skill; her old power has dissipated and new power has yet to emerge.

"Honestly, always so impulsive." An elegant voice rang out.

Countless pink petals danced in the air, instantly coalescing into two enormous arms on the side of the ship, firmly catching the lashing tail. "A Riot of Colors - Giant Tree - Blessing!"

Flora remained seated on the sofa, not even spilling a drop of tea from her teacup.

The two enormous arms not only caught the attack, but also twisted gently, pushing the beast's body away to prevent it from colliding with the ship. "Thanks, nerd." Zona jumped back onto the deck, and although she was being stubborn, she still awkwardly thanked them.

"In return, I'll give 30% of the money from the prey's materials to research funds," Flora said with a smile. "These chakra-mutated bones are very valuable for studying the relationship between the main branch of history and the origin of the art of deception."

"Thirty percent?! Why don't you just rob me! At most, it'll be ten percent!" Zona instantly exploded.

"25%, or I'll tell Mom about how you secretly took money from the national treasury to buy a rare designer bag last time."

"Deal! You win big!" Zona gritted her teeth. Location: New World Seas, boundary of the doldrums. Weather: Storm turning clear with localized thunderstorms.

In the latter half of the Grand Line, the climate of the New World remained as unpredictable as a raging beast. One moment it might be sunny and bright, and the next it could be a raging storm with towering waves.

Amidst the raging waves, a medium-sized sailboat, pristine white and flying a uniquely styled royal flag, resembles a spirit dancing on the edge of a mountain.

It skillfully cuts through waves tens of meters high.

"Hard to port! Fold the foresail and deploy the lateral airflow indicators!" Zona's clear and energetic voice echoed across the deck.

"Zona, according to the barometric pressure reading, there will be a strong downdraft in ten seconds, accompanied by thunderstorms on the left," Flora casually reminded her.

"Got it! This kind of weather is much more interesting than that place in the ninja world called Amegakure!" Zona smiled confidently and swung her three-section staff fiercely.

Instead of pulling on the ropes like a normal navigator, Zona's long staff suddenly crackled with blue-white arcs of electricity, and a peculiar energy fluctuation spread out instantly.

"Improved version of Weather Stick - Thundercloud Trap!"

With a delicate shout, the several thick bolts of lightning that were originally striking the ship seemed to be drawn by something, their direction twisted in mid-air, and were absorbed by the long staff in Zona's hand, then transformed into propulsion.

"Wind Cannon - Modified!" Boom!

A powerful burst of compressed air shot out from the stern, and the white sailboat shot off like an arrow, forcefully breaking through the giant wave that was powerful enough to smash a warship, and soaring into a calm layer of clouds.

Sunlight streamed down instantly, as if the storm just moments before had been an illusion.

Zona let out a long sigh of relief, wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead, and turned around triumphantly: "How about that, Flora? This time it only took three minutes."

I've crossed a level 4 storm circle. Has my navigation skill improved again?

Flora closed the book in her hands; it contained follow-up research materials on the "Void Century." She gently picked up her tea, took a sip, and smiled, "It was indeed fast, but if you hadn't lured that passing pirate ship into the whirlpool earlier, we might have been thirty seconds faster."

"Tch, who told them to dare block my path while flying their flag?" Zona scoffed, a sly glint in her eyes. "Besides, I checked it out; there's nothing valuable on that ship. Poor pirates should just go feed the fish at the bottom of the sea."

“If Mom heard you say that, she would definitely say you’ve surpassed your mother.” Flora shook her head helplessly, then stood up, and the several giant arms behind her turned into flower petals and disappeared. “Have we arrived? The coordinates that Father specified.”

Zona pulled out a jewel-encrusted permanent compass from her pocket, glanced at it, and her expression turned serious: "We've arrived. It's right below. According to the sea chart left by my father, this should be the site of a sunken, unknown kingdom from an ancient era, which is said to contain a fragment of a red Poneglyph."

The two walked to the side of the boat and looked down.

In the middle of a vast blue sea, a solitary island stands abruptly, covered with dense primeval jungle, where ancient stone buildings can be vaguely seen hidden among the trees.

"Prepare to land." Zona adjusted her gloves, her eyes gleaming with a glint like the Beryl symbol. "Although we're helping Father find the Poneglyphs, it's only fair to also loot some ancient treasures along the way, isn't it?"

"Just don't sink the island," Flora said softly. Although her tone was calm, the faint phantoms of petals appearing behind her showed that she was also ready for battle.

Ancient Ruins Deep in the Island

The air here is humid and sultry, and huge vines entwine the ruins, as if telling the story of the ruthlessness of time.

Zona and Flora did not bring any attendants. As Mashiro's daughters, their education from a young age went far beyond just book knowledge.

Zona inherited Nami's keen sense of weather and Mashiro's powerful physique, while Flora perfectly developed the Flower Flower Fruit's abilities and fused it with a hardening technique similar to Armament Haki.

“Something’s wrong with the vegetation here.” Flora stopped and gently stroked a huge carnivorous plant with her long, slender fingers. “They seem to have been catalyzed by some kind of force; they’re very aggressive.”

Before she could finish speaking, the seemingly still carnivorous flower suddenly opened its blood-red maw and lunged at Flora. "Six-Wheel Flower - Palm Strike Combo".

Flora didn't even turn her head. In an instant, six slender arms grew from the stem of the man-eating flower and mercilessly slapped the flower itself with lightning speed.

Clap clap clap!

The ferocious carnivorous flower was instantly swatted, its head drooping limply. "How rude, Flora," Zona, who was walking ahead, turned around and complained. "That's called efficiency," Flora replied calmly. "Besides, there seem to be some guests ahead."

Sure enough, as the jungle ahead parted, a wide-open altar appeared before the two of them.

Around the altar, a group of armed personnel dressed in haphazard armor and wielding heavy firearms had gathered.

Judging from their flags, they are not pirates, but rather remnants of the old era who refused to submit to the "Ocean Kingdom", or smuggling gangs from the underworld.

"Who goes there?!"

The guard spotted the two girls and immediately raised his gun.

"How can there be two girls in this godforsaken place?" A burly man with a scarred face, who seemed to be the leader, stepped out, his eyes greedily scanning Zona.

Flora, "She looks like a lost noble lady... Hehe, maybe we can capture her and sell her for a good price."

Zona stared at the dark gun barrels, not afraid at all, but instead frowning and saying to Flora with disdain, "The same old lines again. Father has ruled this world for fifteen years, how can there still be such clueless fools? Don't they read the news?"

"Maybe the signal is bad in this area," Flora analyzed seriously. "Enough talk! Fire!" Scarface, enraged by their disregard, waved his hand. Bang! Bang!

A hail of bullets rained down.

"What a nuisance." Zona sighed, and suddenly spun the Weather Stick in her hand, "Mirage Fairy!" The air instantly distorted, and Zona's figure split into five. The bullets passed through those afterimages and all hit empty air.

The real Zona had already vanished from the spot by using the refraction of hot and cold air currents. "Where did she go?!"

"Right above your head, old man."

Zona's voice came from mid-air, and then dark clouds rapidly gathered above the altar.

"Ray Shih - Thundercloud Storm!" (Note: Although it is called Ray Shih, it is actually a physical lightning amplified by the Weather Stick, but it also incorporates a trace of chakra nature transformation taught by his father.)

A thick bolt of black lightning struck precisely in the center of the crowd.

A massive shockwave, accompanied by an electric current, spread instantly. The group of armed men didn't even have time to scream before they were electrocuted, their bodies charred black, foaming at the mouth, and collapsing to the ground.

The scarred leader, being physically strong, barely managed to stay upright, though his legs were trembling violently: "Evil...a Devil Fruit user?!" "Wrong answer, I'm all natural." Zona landed lightly on a stone pillar of the altar, looking down at him. "But over there..."

Only those in positions of power are truly capable.

Scarface turned his head in horror and saw the quiet, black-haired girl walking slowly towards him.

She gently raised her hands and crossed them in front of her chest. "A riot of colors, a colossal tree."

Countless arms sprouted out of thin air behind Scarface, quickly converging and intertwining to form two giant-like legs that descended from the sky, stomping down with ferocious force.

The earth cracked open, and smoke and dust rose everywhere.

When the smoke cleared, the scarred leader was half-buried in the ground and had completely passed out.

“That’s too violent, Flora.” Zona jumped down and poked Scarface’s head with her Weather Stick. “I was just trying to calm him down a bit.” Flora remained unfazed and walked straight to the center of the altar, where a moss-covered stone tablet stood silently.

She reached out, her fingertips tracing the ancient characters, her gaze becoming focused and profound.

“Found it. It is indeed a record of the whereabouts of fragments of the ancient weapon ‘Pluto’s’ design blueprints.” Flora said softly, “Although Father doesn’t need such a thing to rule the world, it’s better to retrieve it to prevent unruly individuals from getting their hands on it.”