“Huh?”

  “Why did I ge back?”

  “I’m small again…”

  “Why is Eden still an adult?”

  “Hurry, Eden! Make me an adult again!”

  “Nope, hoho~…”

  Before long, as the powers wore off, Thor, Sif, Dal, and the others stared at their reverted child-sized forms. They all rushed over to Eden—who still retained her t adult appearance—cm for her to use the ability on them again.

  “By the way, El-sama…” Watg the children pying around, Sally seemed to recall something. She smiled and asked, “Is it time to close the on Wano try? Besides, I’d like Ruth to return and help out!”

  It had been no small effort to cultivate Ruth, only for her to be held up in Wano for so long. While the operation had yielded some bes, the intelligence bases affiliated with the Hell Trading pany were under stant threat of raids by d the Navy. As the head of intelligence, Sally felt immense pressure and needed capable hands to assist her.

  “Wano?” El raised an eyebrow, then nodded. “Yes, it’s time to close the —and we should bring Little Oars back too.”

  Wano try was now in utter chaos, its people suffering greatly. After the annihition of the Kozuki bloodline, Kozuki Sukiyaki underwent a dramatic ge in character. Onown as a wise and just leader, he had desded into indulgend depravity—vishing in hedonistic pleasures and imposing increasingly oppressive taxes under flimsy pretenses.

  He systematically persecuted other daimyo, using fabricated charges to strip them of their titles. Among them, only Shimotsuki Taro o passed away naturally due to illness; the rest were forced to drink poisoned sake or driven to their deaths by other means.

  Sukiyaki doubled head taxes and grain levies, ruthlessly extrag resources from the people. He fiscated their limited surplus grain, leaving many to starve to death. All extra grain, as well as mined seastone and other mineral resources, were sold tn buyers at exorbitant prices, filling the shogunate’s coffers. The treasury overflowed with gold and silver, while citizens of Wano sank deeper into poverty and despair, with tless dying from hunger.

  For five years, Kozuki Sukiyaki had utterly lost the favor of Wano’s popuce, who hated him with a fiery passion. Iy, the graione, and other resources were all sold to the Hell Trading pany at fair market value. However, this wealth was merely held in trust by the shogunate on behalf of the pany. In essehe Hell Trading pany had turned Wano into a hidden vault for Totto Land, amassing reserves of wealth for future use. These mountains of gold and silver further alienated Wano’s people, ensuring they would pletely turn against Sukiyaki.

  “Summon Shimotsuki Kouzaburou, Shimotsuki Ushimaru, and their samurai,” El ordered Sally without hesitation. “Expiuation to them. Let them serve as the vanguard. They’re well aware of Wano’s current state and shouldn’t object.”

  Over the past five years, the samurai taken from Wano try had met varied fates. Some, like Shimotsuki Kouzaburou and Shimotsuki Ushimaru, rose to prominence, making names for themselves on the Grand Lihers perished in battles against pirates or the Navy, their lives ending in the depths of the sea.

  Shimotsuki Kouzaburou, in particur, underwent a transformative jourhrough blood and fire. Once a renowned swordsmith and swordsman of Wano, he had bee a true Great Swordsman. Like Helen, Sally, and Lillian, he possessed the qualifications to pete for a spot among the “Eight Vajra” uhe Fallen Angel Pirates. Yet Kouzaburou, more hermit-like by nature, showed no i in such titles. Three years ago, on Totto Land’s dy Isnd, he married a local woman. Within a year, they had a son, Shimotsuki Koshiro.

  Meanwhile, Shimotsuki Ushimaru, his “brother-in-w,” ied the exceptional swordsmanship talent of his aor, Shimotsuki Ryuma. At only twenty years old, after rigorous training under both El and Kouzaburou, Ushimaru had already bee a formidable swordsman. El eveowed upon him the Uma Uma no Mi: Mythical Zoan Model - Pegasus, earning him the title of “Pegasus Swordsman.”

  “Wano try?” The noisy group of children perked up their ears.

  Eden, haviivated her Age-Age Fruit powers auro her childlike form, ran up a into El’s arms. “Daddy, are you going to campaign in Wano?” she asked, eyes sparkling. “ Eden e too?”

  She blinked her rge, shimmering eyes, pleading early. “I want to go too!” Thor, Sif, and Dal all rushed rabbing El and cm to join.

  “None of you troublemakers are going!” Gerd said sharply, hands on her hips. “Do you think this is some sort of vacation?”

  Lillian frowned, darkly, and reached to grab Dal by the ear.

  “It’s fine,” El said, stopping Lillian. “After all, we’ve kept these little ones cooped up on Atntis for years to keep them safe. Let’s bring them along to Wano—it’ll be good for them to see the world.”

  El smiled, holding Eden and Dal, then turo the others. “If you’re worried, why not e along too? Treat it as a vacation to rex.”

  Though Wano still had some skilled warriors, El wasn’t ed. Even without their guardians, the children themselves were far from ordinary, boasting incredible physical strength, Devil Fruit abilities, and a Lunarian bloodlihor and Sif, especially, were born monsters—impervious to ons and practically iructible.

  “Yay!”

  “Daddy is the best!”

  “This is awesome—we get to go on a trip!”

  “Are Wano’s samurai really that strong? Uncle Ushimaru isn’t that great!”

  “Uncle Kouzaburou is amazing, though. Last time I saw him practig his swordsmanship, he split the sea with orike!”

  “Hoho, but he’s still not as strong as Mom Linlin or Daddy!”

  “Well, obviously not,” another child chimed in fidently. “Daddy is the stro person in the world!”

  Bleam