Chapter 392: An Emperor's Grand Entrance!

The violent current let out a deafening roar, as if countless ancient beasts were bellowing in the abyss.

The thousand sunny was being forcibly dragged by the giant carp that Luffy had firmly seized, climbing frantically up the nearly ninety-degree vertical waterfall that reached toward the heavens.

The sensation of weightlessness and the cold mist rushing toward them made it feel as if the entire ship were sailing on clouds leading to the heavens.

Chopper had long since been scared to tears by this illogical method of navigation.

Using all four limbs, he clung tightly to the mainmast, letting out blood-curdling screams.

Zoro, Sanji, and the others wore grim expressions; they bent their knees slightly to stabilize their stance, their sharp gazes sweeping upward, prepared at any moment for the giant falling rocks and broken trees being swept down by the violent torrent.

Kin’emon gripped the railing tightly, letting the cold droplets of the waterfall strike his face.

He gazed at the light from above, which was drawing closer, his eyes filled with the excitement and anxiety of returning to his homeland.

Momonosuke lay on the deck trembling like a frightened quail, repeatedly letting out terrified cries.

Behind them, Kanjuro feigned a look of panic, but in reality, he kept his head deeply bowed.

A dark expectation quietly flashed in the depths of his eyes, hidden by shadows.

How dangerous this natural barrier of Wano Country was.

He wished nothing more than for this group of reckless pirates to encounter the backlash of the currents while trying to land, meeting their end with their ship destroyed.

“Splash—!”

With the final, all-out leap of the two giant carp.

The bow of the thousand sunny rose high, finally breaking through the heavy curtains of water and successfully leaping to the top of the waterfall.

However, before anyone could cheer, the scene on the sea ahead made everyone’s heart instantly drop into an ice cellar.

In the center of the sea ahead, a massive whirlpool appeared, large enough to swallow the entire island.

The whirlpool was like the abyssal mouth of a deep-sea beast, its pitch-black center radiating endless suction.

A violent centrifugal force instantly acted upon the thousand sunny, pulling fiercely at the hull.

Accompanied by the creaking of planks under the unbearable strain, the entire ship spun like a helpless leaf, on the verge of being mercilessly dragged into the bottomless depths by the sheer power of nature.

“Oh no! We’re going to be sucked in!” Chopper clutched his head in despair.

Just as the ship was about to lose control.

Tatsuya walked slowly to the very front of the bow, facing the wind.

He looked down at the roaring, massive whirlpool, a curve forming at the corner of his mouth as he whispered to himself: “An ‘Emperor’s’ entrance cannot be this pathetic.”

The moment his voice fell, Tatsuya slowly raised his head.

In his deep eyes, the mysterious purple ripples undulated like water, radiating a soul-capturing, eerie light.

He pushed one hand forward, his palm aimed at the center of the arrogant whirlpool.

“Shinra Tensei!”

Boom—!

Accompanied by a terrifying sonic boom so muffled it made one’s chest tight.

An invincible, invisible repulsive force erupted in a fan shape, centered on Tatsuya’s palm.

The massive whirlpool, which could have swallowed everything, was forcibly split apart by this repulsive force that felt like divine punishment!

The violent seawater rolled backward to both sides under the irresistible force, raising walls of water hundreds of meters high.

Tatsuya had carved out a wide, flat path on the sea in the midst of this certain-death predicament!

Pushed by the aftershock of the repulsive force, the thousand sunny sailed steadily forward along the path carved by this miracle.

Behind the crowd, the ecstasy Kanjuro had been feeling while waiting for the ship to be destroyed instantly froze on his face.

He widened his eyes, watching the sea that had been forcibly split apart ahead, replaced by a trembling from the depths of his soul.

This power, which could change the world like a god, was completely beyond his comprehension.

He gritted his teeth and swore silently in his heart.

He must find an opportunity as soon as possible to transmit the top-secret intelligence about this monster named Tatsuya in the Straw Hat alliance to General Orochi and Lord Kaido.

The thousand sunny followed the split seawater, passing through the dangerous barrier without any mishaps, and finally rushed onto a beach in Kuri, Wano Country, without a scratch.

The ship came to a stop after a slight vibration.

Everyone jumped off the ship with excitement, preparing to welcome this legendary land of samurai.

However, when they looked up, the scene that met their eyes caused the smiles on everyone’s faces to instantly freeze.

This was not at all the picturesque, beautiful land of cherry blossoms with falling petals that Kin’emon had described with tears on the ship.

Instead, it was a barren wasteland that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The ground was covered with cracked gullies, and the rivers that should have been crystal clear were now flowing with dark purple sewage that emitted a pungent odor.

All around were vast stretches of withered trees, standing in the wind like dried-up corpses.

On the distant horizon, massive weapons factories rose from the ground.

The towering chimneys were spewing billowing black smoke recklessly into the gray sky, shrouding this land in a layer of desperate haze.

Looking at the devastated, miserable scene before them, Kin’emon and Momonosuke were stunned, as if struck by lightning.

“Thump.”

Kin’emon’s knees went weak, and he fell heavily to his knees on the ground.

He reached out with trembling hands and grabbed a handful of cracked soil that smelled of burning.

Tears could no longer be controlled, gushing from his eyes like a burst spring.

When he left Wano Country, although the country had already shown signs of decay.

But he had never imagined that Kuri, once rich and beautiful, known as a paradise, would be ruined by Kaido and Orochi into this hell on earth.

Just as Kin’emon was overwhelmed with grief and tears.

In the withered forest not far away, there was a sudden sound of fierce fighting and the roar of falling trees.

Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to it.

Through the sparse, withered forest, they saw a giant komainu the size of a small mountain, its bloody mouth wide open, fiercely fighting a ferocious baboon holding a massive katana.

And in the shadow beneath the struggle of these two giant beasts.

Several weird-looking “Gifters” under Kaido, their bodies fused with various animal characteristics, were waving weapons that flashed with cold light, chasing a figure fleeing desperately through the grass with ferocious grins on their faces.

It was a skinny little girl in rags, with her hair tied in a traditional Wano Country bun.

She ran stumbling, her face covered in dirt and tears.

There was no need for Luffy to give an order.

“Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Accompanied by two sounds of breaking air, two afterimages instantly disappeared from the side of the group.

The next second, Zoro’s cold blade light flashed through the forest like a streak of silk, and Sanji’s Diable Jambe, burning with intense flames, also descended simultaneously.

Those arrogant Gifters didn’t even have time to scream before they were instantly defeated by this overwhelming power.

They rolled their eyes and flew backward, smashing into several withered trees.

The crisis was resolved instantly.

But as soon as the tension in the newly rescued O-Tama’s nerves relaxed, a strong sense of hunger surged in like a tide.

Her stomach let out a thunderous “rumble.”

In this wasteland that had lacked clean water and food for years, she hadn’t had a full meal in a long time.

The little girl was so weak that everything went black before her eyes; her body swayed, and she almost fainted on the beach.

Seeing this, Sanji did not hesitate for a moment; he immediately turned around, stepped on the air, and returned to the thousand sunny as fast as he could.

Before long, he returned to O-Tama with a portion of high-quality nutritional food that still had some left.

The rich aroma instantly entered O-Tama’s nostrils.

She took the bowl of warm food, devouring it greedily while unable to stop tears of gratitude from falling, and solemnly thanked the Straw Hat.

Looking at these kind strangers before her, O-Tama choked up as she told them of her obsession.

She said that no matter how harsh the environment here was, and no matter how brutal the rule of Orochi and Kaido was.

She had to be strong and survive in this barren land.

Luffy curiously asked her the reason.

“Because…”

O-Tama raised her head, a determined light shining in her clear, large eyes.

“Because I am still waiting for someone.”

“I am waiting for a young pirate named ‘Ace’.”

“He is the one who promised me that when I grew up, he would come to take me out to sea!”

Hearing the long-lost and familiar name “Ace,” the movements of everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates came to a sudden halt.

Subsequently, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Robin…

Everyone’s gaze turned involuntarily toward Luffy, who was standing to the side.

They all knew what kind of unforgettable bond this name meant to their Captain.

Meeting the complex gazes of his companions, Luffy’s expression froze slightly at first.

He blinked his clear eyes, as if a large question mark had materialized over his head.

He tilted his head in confusion, his tone carrying a hint of incredulous surprise and deep curiosity, as he softly repeated: “Ace?”

“Are you talking about Ace?”