Before truly experiencing this world firsthand, Valthior had always felt that it wasn't very big. After all, in the original story, the Straw Hat Pirates could be on one island one day, and after just a few days of sailing, suddenly appear somewhere else—sometimes even crossing multiple seas.
But in reality, that was just because the most tedious parts of ocean travel had been skipped over.
Take now, for example—it had already been nearly two months since they left the battlefield between Prodence and Galzburg.
And only now had they barely reached the outer waters of Wano Country.
This was with the advantage of having a permanent Log Pose to Wano. Otherwise, they would've had to travel island by island, which would take far longer—just storing a single magnetic field could take ten days to half a month.
It was like the Reverie, held once every four years. At the start of the year, the World Government would dispatch large numbers of Marines to escort representatives from various nations. Yet it was usually only by mid-year that everyone would finally arrive at Mary Geoise to attend the conference.
Just attending a meeting could take half a year—or even longer—round trip.
This situation only began to improve after the development and widespread use of Sea Train technology.
From their current course toward Wano, it was clear that back on Veracruz Island, the crew had ultimately decided to head to Wano first before going to Totto Land.
On one hand, it was closer along their route. On the other, they were worried about missing Professor Clover's group of scholars.
After all, Charlotte Linlin rarely left Whole Cake Island at this stage—they could visit her anytime. But the scholars were constantly on the move.
Early in the morning, a figure was already busy at work on the deck of the Oro Jackson.
Douglas Bullet, wearing a black tank top and army-green work pants that showed off his powerful build, held a deck brush in hand. After rinsing it in a bucket, he carefully scrubbed the deck.
Not long after, the cabin door opened. Buggy and Shanks came out, each holding a towel. When they saw Bullet, they didn't question anything—without a word, they stepped forward and started helping wipe down the deck.
These were the three apprentice crew members of the Roger Pirates.
That's right—ever since Bullet came aboard, Shanks and Buggy were no longer just kids being taken care of with no responsibilities. They had officially "leveled up" into apprentice crew members as well.
Because Bullet absolutely refused to accept that the two of them did no work. He argued, with complete conviction, that back in Galzburg, four-year-olds like Shanks and Buggy would already be carrying explosives and clearing mines on the battlefield—how could they live carefree lives like useless freeloaders?
Roger and the others felt it was about time for Shanks and Buggy to start doing what they could, so they didn't object. And just like that, Bullet became the leader of the three-man apprentice group.
At the same time, a sort of mentorship system gradually took shape aboard the Roger Pirates.
The "Big Three"—Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban—took turns training Valthior. Valthior trained the wild-grown Bullet. And Bullet, in turn, ruthlessly "trained" Buggy and Shanks.
At first, Bullet joining the crew could be seen as having no real choice. But after more than two months of sailing together—eating, living, everything side by side—their relationships had gradually become much closer.
Unlike in the original story, where Bullet believed only in strength and acknowledged only Roger, now he truly saw himself as a member of the Roger Pirates.
Once the three apprentices had nearly finished cleaning the Oro Jackson, Valthior came out of the cabin, yawning.
"Oh, still as diligent as ever, you three," he greeted them.
Bullet immediately stood upright, planting the brush beside him and snapping to attention. "Good morning, Young Master!"
Shanks and Buggy weren't nearly as formal, greeting Valthior with casual grins.
Valthior looked at Bullet's rigid posture and rubbed his temples with a bit of helplessness. "I've told you, there's no need to be so formal. We're crewmates on the same ship, Bullet."
"But aside from that, I am still your retainer, Young Master," Bullet said proudly.
A retainer wasn't the same as a servant—it carried real status. At the level of Celestial Dragons, a true retainer would have to be a high-ranking noble.
Of course, in reality, the Celestial Dragons had no such system. To them, everyone below them was a slave—that was the tradition. What "retainer" nonsense? Only low-tier nobles played those games. What status did you think you had, to become a Celestial Dragon's retainer?
And yet, Valthior had made an exception for Bullet. Right there on the Oro Jackson, he had officially dubbed Bullet as his knight.
And knights were indeed part of the nobility system—which made Bullet extremely satisfied.
Sure, the whole "ceremony" was rather ridiculous, almost like a joke.
But it depended on who was doing it.
Valthior was a genuine Celestial Dragon—his words carried absolute authority. By declaring Bullet his knight, it held full legal weight. The only thing missing was formal notification to Mary Geoise. Otherwise, the Jaygarcia family would have officially granted Bullet noble status and recorded it in the World Government's archives.
"…Do whatever makes you happy," Valthior muttered, watching Bullet. The image he once had of Bullet as a cold, hardened soldier was steadily collapsing in his mind.
Of course, that only happened when Bullet was facing Valthior. Most of the time, he was still that same stoic, ironclad figure.
In short: tough, quiet, and to the point.
Like when Roger talked to him—he'd usually just respond with "mm," "yeah," or "oh," and that was it.
Only during banquets, when everyone was drunk, would he loosen up and blend into the lively atmosphere.
"Boring! This is way too boring! Aren't there any enemies popping out of the sea or something? How far are we from Wano!? I'm dying of boredom here!" Roger burst out of the cabin early in the morning, shouting loudly.
Looking out over the sea, Valthior smiled.
"Just look at the ocean—you can tell we're close. The New World really is something else…"
The New World truly was remarkable. Each sea region had its own unique traits. On their way to Wano, for example, they had passed through a "Boiling Sea"—an area where underwater magma had been active for centuries, causing the seawater to reach extreme temperatures, bubbling as if it were boiling.
More importantly, even in such an extreme environment, countless strange lifeforms still thrived and reproduced in the scalding waters.
Now, as they approached Wano's waters, the sea itself had begun to change in a noticeable way.
Both the ocean and the clouds above gradually took on a ukiyo-e art style—the entire visual atmosphere looked completely different.
Roger glanced at the sea and grew excited.
"Looks like we're almost there. I heard there are special fish in these waters that you can't find anywhere else—something called koi sea carp? Supposedly delicious. Let's catch a couple and try them…"
Valthior ignored that and instead asked, "What do you think of Wano?"
"Never been there, so no real opinion," Roger said, rubbing his chin. "But based on the Poneglyphs, Wano seems to be an enemy of Imu, right? So that would make them our allies?"
"I don't like Wano," Valthior said bluntly. "If I get the chance, I'm going to slaughter my way through that country."
"Huh?" Roger blinked in surprise. "Don't tell me you're actually a spy sent by Imu?"
"I would've poisoned you a long time ago if I were," Valthior scoffed.
At that moment, Spencer walked over from nearby, brushing his teeth. Clearly, he had overheard the conversation. Speaking unclearly through the foam, he said:
"Don't develop goodwill toward Wano just because of what's written on the Poneglyphs. In reality, that country is extremely xenophobic and completely closed off. There's no way for us to land there legally—and they usually attack anyone who sets foot on Wano without discrimination."
"Is that so?" Roger stroked his chin again, then glanced at Valthior. After a moment, he said, "Then we might really have to go on a killing spree…"
"Hahahahaha! Just what I want!" Valthior laughed loudly.
At this stage, the Roger Pirates had no need to claim territory. Otherwise, Valthior might've even considered taking Wano as their base.
After all, Wano had incredible geographical advantages—easy to defend, hard to attack. It was rich in resources, possessed advanced weapon-forging techniques, and reportedly held the largest reserves of Seastone in the world.
Oh, and if nothing unexpected had happened…
The Ancient Weapon—Pluton—was also in Wano.
...
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