The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

The "Three Calamities," Jhin and Queen, two once-renowned figures in the New World who struck fear into the hearts of countless people, are now sitting side by side against the cold stone wall.

Both men were wrapped in makeshift bandages, some even stained with blood, clearly hastily applied and not receiving effective treatment.

Jin's remaining half of a black wing drooped limply, its feathers disheveled.

Quinn's massive body was charred in many places, his mechanical arm flickered with unstable electrical sparks, and a piece of his signature sunglasses was shattered.

Negativity, despondency, resentment, anger...

All sorts of negative emotions fermented here.

“Jhin.” Quinn’s hoarse voice broke the suffocating silence, his mechanical arm’s fingertips unconsciously digging into the rock on the ground.

"Captain... Brother Kaido... he... he's really..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.

Deep within the magma, there was no sound; even the domineering aura, as violent as flames, could no longer be sensed.

"Shut up, Quinn!!!"

King suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and said sharply, "Mr. Kaido will be defeated, but he will never die!"

"He is the 'world's strongest creature'! The strongest!! A monster who has crawled back from the brink of death countless times!"

Even Whitebeard's shockwave and the Heavenly Tremor slash couldn't kill him back then!

Just a straw hat kid who has just awakened.

How could it be... how could it really be...!"

His words were resolute, as if he were persuading Quinn, but even more so, he was persuading himself.

But by the end, even he himself could hear a slight wavering in the confidence in his voice.

Quinn gritted his teeth, his fat face twitching: "But... Jhin! I can't feel the captain's domineering aura anymore!"

There's not a single thing left! This godforsaken place doesn't even have a decent doctor or medicine!

Who knows when those brats outside will finish their victory celebration? What if they decide to wipe them out...?

We might still make it if we sneak away from Changying Port now!

The new world is so vast, with our...

"Impossible!" Jin roared, struggling to stand up, but the movement aggravated his wounds, causing him to groan in pain.

"I would never abandon Mr. Kaido and run away alone!"

This land, this country, was conquered by Mr. Kaido!

Go your own way...

Before he could finish speaking...

Both of their bodies trembled violently at the same time!

It wasn't a physical tremor, but rather a frantic warning from a top-tier expert's Observation Haki!

An indescribable, terrifying aura, a mixture of coldness, heaviness, and boundless majesty, was slowly approaching from the direction of the quarry entrance!

This aura... surpasses that of the heavily injured Kaido, and is even more profound and dangerous than the oppressive feeling that Kaido at his peak brought them!

Jhin and Quinn turned their heads sharply at almost the same time, their eyes fixed on the dim entrance to the quarry.

A light dust rose.

A figure, against the faint light filtering in from the entrance, slowly entered their field of vision.

His tall stature, the long sword wrapped in white cloth at his waist, and that calm face that sent chills down your spine...

And the two people he was dragging along.

When he saw the two people being dragged along, barely breathing but absolutely unmistakable, Jin's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints!

Quinn's mouth gaped open, and his entire body of fat froze.

“That…that man…” Jin’s voice was dry, like sandpaper scraping, “How could that be…?”

"Hey! Jhin!!!" Quinn's voice suddenly rose, filled with uncontrollable horror and fear, even cracking.

"That...that's Shanks, right? It's him!!"

"And...that one next to him...that one in green...could it be...?"

They witnessed a scene that terrified them even more than Kaido's defeat and fall into the lava, causing their worldview to collapse!

Grand Admiral, "Skyquake" Gern Reginald Sigmar

He was actually dragging along one of the Four Emperors, "Red-Haired" Shanks, with one hand, and the Revolutionary Army leader, Monkey D. Dragon, with the other.

Like dragging two captured prey, they appeared at the Beasts Pirates' last hideout!

The impact of this was far more direct and terrifying than learning of Kaido's defeat!

That's Red Hair and the leader of the Revolutionary Army! The strongest person on the entire sea!

How could... how could we have ended up in such a state?!

Gern seemed completely oblivious to the ghostly expressions on the two "Three Calamities'" faces and the momentary deathly silence that followed, followed by suppressed gasps and gasps in the quarry.

He simply dragged the two of them and stopped not too far from King and Queen, his gaze calmly sweeping over the wrecked quarry and the terrified pirates.

Then, a "gentle" smile appeared on his face.

"Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the Flower Capital from here?" Gern said.

He paused, then added, seemingly somewhat helplessly, "I finally made it up from Changying Port, but the people around here..."

Hmm, I don't seem to know much about the Navy, so asking for directions might be a bit difficult.

These words nearly caused Jhin and Quinn's brains to shut down.

Asking for directions? To the City of Flowers? At a time like this? In this way?!

Before they could even recover from this absurd question...

As if suddenly remembering something, Gern turned slightly to the side, gesturing to the two people he was dragging.

His smile deepened, and his tone became as light as if he were attending a reunion with old friends.

"Oh right, I almost forgot to mention."

"I'm here to celebrate with Straw Hat Boy."

"Look, I even brought a 'gift' for our first meeting."

......

Suddenly, Jhin seemed to remember something. Ignoring Quinn's attempts to pull him up, he slowly stood up and stared at Gern.

"I'll take you there!"

Ember's words echoed in the deathly silent quarry, carrying an almost resigned calm, yet more impactful than any roar.

Quinn grabbed his tattered clothes, his voice trembling: "Jhin! Are you insane?!"

Unfortunately, Jhin ignored Quinn.

Gern's smile remained unchanged; he simply tilted his head slightly.

"Oh?"

"You'll lead the way? Interesting." His gaze swept over Jin's rudimentary bandages and tattered wings.

"However, in your current condition, are you still able to walk?"

“That’s enough to get to the City of Flowers.” After saying that, Jhin broke free from Quinn’s hand, staggered forward a step, swayed, but finally steadied himself.

He knew this was a road leading to the end, whether it ended with the unfathomable admiral before him or with that "victory celebration" in the City of Flowers that didn't belong to them.

But as he said, it's better to wait here in despair like a stray dog, or be easily captured by the other side.

He preferred to end things in this way, for the Beasts Pirates and for the years he had followed Mr. Kaido.

Quinn slumped to the spot, watching Jhin's retreating figure. He opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't utter a word.

"ember....."

"Quinn, let's go!"

"Anyway, the fact that this man is here means that Wano Country will belong to the Navy!"

Chapter 615 The courtyard was deathly silent.

Wano Country, the City of Flowers, the Shogun's Residence.

The carnival that lasted for several days was finally showing signs of fatigue.

Although the aroma of wine and meat still lingered in the air, the noisy voices had thinned out.

Law and Kid's pirate crews went to other areas to relax, while the Nine Red Scabbards, except for Kin'emon, had all returned to their respective territories.

It can be said that now, only the Straw Hat crew, who are preparing to leave Wano Country, remain at the Shogun's residence the day after tomorrow.

After all, they are Luffy's heroes, and no matter what their reasons are, there is nothing wrong with them living in the Shogun's mansion!

.......

At this moment, the mansion was peaceful, save for the gentle sound of water being tapped lightly against a stone bowl in the courtyard by a bamboo tube filled with water.

"Clack...clack..."

Under an ancient cherry tree in a corner of the courtyard, Zoro leaned against the thick trunk.

Three swords—Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and the newly acquired Enma—were placed at hand.

With eyes slightly closed as if dozing, breathing evenly, he blended into the tranquil courtyard.

In the corridor not far away, Hiyori Kozuki hesitated several times, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

In the end, he simply sat there with his knees drawn up, quietly watching the solitary figure under the tree, without going up to disturb him.

After an unknown amount of time, the tranquility was broken by the perception and footsteps of a top swordsman.

Zoro slowly opened his right eye, his gaze fixed on the gate of the general's mansion.

He didn't get up, or even change his posture.

“I didn’t expect you to come,” Zoro said calmly.

As the words fell, a tall figure, clearly bearing signs of dejection and injury, stepped over the high wooden threshold of the general's mansion and into the courtyard.

The sunlight outlined the shape of his tattered black wings and the bandages that were seeping blood all over his body.

The former leader of the Beasts Pirates' "Three Disasters," King the "Wildfire"!

"Did you walk all the way from the quarry in Udon to the general's mansion in the Flower Capital?"

Zoro's gaze swept over King, especially his broken wings and the numerous wounds beneath the bandages, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He remained in the same reclining posture, but his right hand was now resting naturally at his side.

On the dark red hilt of the "Enma" sword, his thumb gently pressed against the guard.

"You came all this way from the quarry like this?" Zoro's tone was clearly questioning, his speech slow but each word sharp.

"What about Nozomi and Kuri's daimyo? Inuarashi and Denjiro..."

They won't just stand by and watch you, the top officer of the Beasts Pirates, swagger through their territory.

They've come all this way without making a sound.

As he spoke, his aura began to subside.

The air in the courtyard seemed to grow heavier, and even the clattering sound of the bamboo tube being filled with water sounded abrupt.

Hiyori has already run back to get help!

Jin stopped in the center of the courtyard, facing off against Zoro, who was standing several feet away from him under the tree.

He didn't disappoint Gern, staring directly at Zoro and calmly said...

“I killed them.”

Zoro's pupils suddenly contracted!