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'System, sign in!'
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have received 'Origin Explainer' x1 (Purple)!]
[Origin Explainer: A magical tool resembling a laser pointer. It compresses what you want to say into a packet and transmits it directly into the target's mind.]
'Finally! No more having to explain everything from scratch!'
"Tom!"
The moment he called, Tom shot out of the cat bed he had claimed for himself.
The second he appeared, Kaito pulled out the Origin Explainer and shone it directly at him.
"Meow? (What's going on?)"
Tom stared at Kaito, visibly puzzled as to why there was a laser pointer pointed at his face.
'Hey! System, it's not working!'
[...The Host's intelligence is genuinely concerning. Tom was summoned by you. He already knows your entire origin. What exactly were you hoping to explain to him?]
'...'
The realization of what he had just done crept over Kaito, and his face went red.
"Nothing. Go play."
Tom gave him a look, then sauntered out of the room with the unhurried, splayed stride of a cat who had somewhere better to be.
"Huh? Where's he going? Whatever, he won't cause any real trouble."
One Piece World
"Kaito-nii, are we heading back now?"
Midori Fuse, the white-haired girl, looked up at the cool, expressionless Zegion with wide, innocent eyes.
"Yes. If we wait much longer, the Chairwoman is going to start worrying."
"Mm mm... okay. I really don't want Shizu-sensei to get upset."
"Same, same!"
The girls all shuddered at roughly the same time, as though the same image had just crossed all of their minds.
It wasn't that Shizu-sensei would yell at them. She would never yell. She would simply sit them down, look at them with those gentle eyes, and explain, calmly and thoroughly, exactly what they had done wrong. For about three hours. Somehow that was much worse.
"Commander! What do we do about the one who got away earlier?"
One of the garrison captains turned to Zegion with a tight expression.
"Leave it. He's nothing. Not worth the attention."
"Yes, sir!"
Zegion took one last look at the place called Wano Country, then turned and boarded the training ship.
As the vessel pulled away, the members of the Beast Pirates began cautiously emerging from wherever they had been hiding.
"Woo woo woo... They're finally gone. Another day of that and I was going to do something drastic."
"Where did those people even come from? They put Boss Kaido in the ground like it was nothing!"
"We still don't even know if Boss Kaido is alive..."
The pirates let it all out at once, relief and disbelief tumbling over each other.
Meanwhile, in Whitebeard's territory, the Whitebeard Pirates were having a conversation of their own.
"Pops, Kaido going missing like this... it could throw the whole balance of the New World off."
Marco, his hair in its usual pineapple shape, spoke with a measured expression.
"Agreed. And whoever drove him out of Wano Country is no ordinary person. That much is clear."
Flower Sword Vista stroked his gentleman's mustache thoughtfully.
"Mm. Whoever it was, that's not our concern right now." Whitebeard Edward Newgate shifted in his seat, and there was a flicker of something behind his eyes that didn't often show up there. "Has there been any word from Ace?"
"Not yet. But don't worry, Pops! Ace can handle himself. He's just chasing after Teach, nothing he can't manage."
"That's right, that's right!"
His sons' reassurances had the opposite of their intended effect. The unease in Whitebeard's chest only settled deeper.
"Marco."
"Pops?"
He had made up his mind.
"Send someone to find Ace and bring him home. Tell him to stop chasing Teach."
"But--"
"Find him."
Marco looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
"Understood. I'll get someone out there right away."
"And Kaido's territory?"
"Hahaha! Let someone else worry about that. Even if someone out there managed to beat Kaido, so what?" Whitebeard's laugh filled the room. "I am Whitebeard."
Marco and the others looked at him, and something straightened in all of them at once.
Right. Their Pops was the strongest man in the world. There was nothing to worry about.
Whole Cake Island
"Mama! Kaido's gone! Should we move on his territory?"
Cracker leaned forward in his seat, eyes bright with excitement.
"Mama mama mama! The fact that someone actually drove Kaido out of Wano Country means they're not someone to take lightly!"
The enormous woman at the head of the table was Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, one of the Four Emperors, the same as Whitebeard. Many people made the mistake of writing her off as an arrogant, self-indulgent woman.
They were wrong. When she wasn't in the grip of one of her cravings, she was razor sharp. You did not become one of the Four Emperors by being a fool.
"We hold. Wait and see." She waved a hand. "Someone will always get greedy first. Pirates always do."
"Mama mama mama!"
"Mama is absolutely right!"
"Mama sees everything!"
Katakuri listened to his brothers and sisters falling over each other to offer compliments, and quietly let out a breath.
Under Mama's rule, his younger siblings spent every day walking on eggshells. They had learned that flattery was safer than silence.
His eyes hardened slightly as he looked at her.
"Katakuri. You're quiet."
Big Mom's gaze settled on him, her tone dropping just enough to carry a warning in it.
"Mama's decision is sound. I have nothing to add."
"Is that so."
She kept looking at him. The silence stretched. Katakuri kept his face still and his breathing even, but by the time she finally looked away, his back was soaked through.
News of Kaido's disappearance was spreading across the world in every direction, debated in every territory and on every ship. But as for the people actually responsible for it, nobody had any idea where they were.
"So let me get this straight. You drove Kaido off, and then just... stayed? In his territory? This whole time?"
Kaito looked at the girls and Security Force members standing in a neat, slightly guilty line in front of him.
"Kaito-nii, we weren't lording it over anyone! It was an internship! We covered a lot of ground, actually!"
Ririka explained this with great conviction and a very serious face.
"Ririka. Save that explanation for Shizu-sensei and see how far it gets you."
"Mm mm mm... then what do we do?! Kaito-nii, you have to help us! I cannot sit through another lecture! It's terrifying!"
That broke the line. The girls swarmed him immediately, grabbing at his sleeves from every direction.
"Alright, alright, let me think. Maybe we can work something out before she hears the full story."
Kaito was still turning the problem over in his head when Zegion, who had been standing quietly to one side, spoke up.
"Kaito-sama. The Chairwoman specified that the internship report must be one hundred percent accurate. No alterations of any kind."
"That's not an alteration, it's a presentation choice. There's a difference. You understand what I mean by presentation, don't you?"
Kaito gave him a look that said this was a nuance Zegion probably lacked the experience to appreciate.
"The Chairwoman also asked me to observe the entire internship and report the actual situation directly to her."
"...Zegion, I want to ask you something."