Arrival in Wano Country

Ace stepped onto the Flame Ship. The moment he activated his ability, flames burst from the back of the little boat, sending it skimming forward like a super speedboat.

"Woohoo! It’s so fast!" Ace shouted excitedly as he took it around in several circles. Yamato wore an envious look as she muttered, "Why can’t the Okuchi no Makami Fruit breathe fire?"

"Even if it could breathe fire, you still couldn’t use the Flame Ship, could you?" Yota imagined Yamato sticking her butt out toward the bow and desperately breathing fire into the flame-conversion jet device at the rear of the ship. He could not help but laugh.

Then Yota comforted her.

"At least you can run on the sea. If Ace falls into the water, he’s really done for. So everyone’s Devil Fruit abilities have their own advantages!"

Most importantly, your Okuchi no Makami Fruit doesn’t have any superior Devil Fruit, so you don’t need to worry about Devil Fruit counters, Yota thought to himself.

When Ace’s Flame-Flame Fruit faced the Magma-Magma Fruit, it was suppressed to an extreme degree. Devil Fruits did not follow any scientific logic. If the Magma-Magma Fruit countered the Flame-Flame Fruit, then it countered it completely. No matter how far Ace developed the Flame-Flame Fruit or how high his flames’ temperature became, he could neither harm the Magma-Magma Fruit nor defend himself against it.

It was like how Enel’s Lightning Ability could theoretically completely vaporize ordinary rubber, whether by voltage or current, yet it could not break Luffy’s defenses at all. Devil Fruit counters and superior Devil Fruits were rare, but once encountered, they could leave you utterly helpless.

With the Flame Ship, Yota’s group of three had their speed guaranteed. On top of that, Yota had the Dark Space to store items and could use the Munch-Munch Fruit to repair the ship. The three of them did not need to make any further preparations and soon set sail directly for Wano Country.

"Pops, should we send someone to support Ace?" Watching the Flame Ship sail away, Phoenix Marco asked with a frown. "Their strength is too lacking if they face Kaido, isn’t it?"

"Gurararara, don’t worry." Whitebeard recalled the marvelous Kamui dimension Yota had shown him the night before, as well as that spatial projection that looked like an insubstantial ghost and could not be struck no matter what. He was full of confidence.

With Kamui abilities and the Kamui dimension, their combat strength was hard to judge, but their ability to escape was unquestionable. As long as they did not encounter some Devil Fruit that countered them, they could even take a stroll around Marine Headquarters without issue.

Still, the Munch-Munch Fruit having such an ability was a little too outrageous.

These thoughts flashed through Whitebeard’s mind. The old man was not one to pry into everything, nor was he interested in Yota’s private affairs. As long as Yota did not do anything to betray his companions, Whitebeard did not care about anything else.

Over the sea, a streak of fire shot across like an arrow. In the distance, the fantastical sight of Wano Country’s inverted waterfall gradually came into view.

The facts proved that the fastest ships on the sea relied neither on sails, fuel, nor cola, but on the legendary—manpower.

Like Hawkeye’s coffin boat and Aokiji’s bicycle, for these top-tier powerhouses, the fastest method was often to rely directly on their own abilities or physical strength.

Though Ace had not reached the level of the sea’s absolute strongest, he stood at the peak of the second tier. His flame ability was also particularly easy to convert into speed, so the Flame Ship was not the slightest bit slower than those top-tier powerhouses. After only three or four days of travel, they had already reached Wano Country.

"Yota, how do we get up there? How about Ace and I merge, then carry Yamato up?"

Looking at the upstream waterfall before them, Ace scratched his head and asked.

Yota’s mouth twitched slightly. He knew Ace meant using the Munch-Munch Fruit to fuse, but why did it sound so awkward?

"No need. I’ve learned a new ninjutsu now." Yota shook his head irritably and casually patted Yamato.

"Earth Release—Super Light-Weight Rock Technique."

Yamato had been somewhat confused, but she quickly began to float.

"Eeeek! I’m flying! I’m flying! I’m flying!" Yamato floated in midair with a face full of amazement, even making a few dog-paddle motions.

Yota ignored Yamato’s antics. With a sweep of black mist from his hand, he stored the Flame Ship away, then flew up himself.

Ace did not need Yota’s help at all. Flames erupted from his hands and feet, and after the three exchanged glances, they flew toward Wano Country in the sky.

"I didn’t expect you to have improved again, Yota. You couldn’t fly before, right?" After landing, both Ace and Yamato were surprised. Yamato especially was utterly shocked by Yota’s ability after her excitement faded. Being able to fly herself was one thing, but making other people fly as well was an astonishing ability.

"That’s right. My ninjutsu has improved a little more." Yota nodded without much concern.

"That’s amazing. Too bad I can’t learn ninjutsu." Yamato spoke gloomily.

In truth, aside from Logia Devil Fruit users, other Devil Fruit users and ordinary people from the Pirate World could also extract Chakra. But even if their physiques and mental strength surpassed those ninjas from the Naruto World, the Chakra they could extract was extremely weak.

With Yamato’s physical strength and the mental power awakened through Conqueror’s Haki, the Chakra in her body was only about equal to that of an ordinary genin. The slight boost it provided was useless, and her Chakra control was unbelievably terrible. Forget tree climbing or water walking—she even struggled to circulate Chakra while moving!

"Hmm, when I think about it, Tama is practically a mutant! That kind of talent might only be considered above average in the Shinobi World, but in the Pirate World, she’s comparable to geniuses like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha!"

"It’s just that this Pirate World’s Hashirama Senju is a bit lacking… With her talent, even if she trained for her entire life, becoming an ordinary jonin would probably be her limit."

The people of the Naruto World had undergone thousands of years of genetic optimization, had abundant Natural Energy, and perhaps even possessed traces of Ōtsutsuki clan bloodlines. That was why they had physiques suited to Chakra. The Pirate World did not have such favorable conditions.

After arriving on Wano Country’s shore, Yota swept his gaze across the surroundings but did not see a single person.

However, he could vaguely make out several chimneys in the distance, and the stench of Wano Country’s industrial emissions seemed even stronger.

"The environment here has gotten worse. Kurozumi Orochi really is committing sins." Yota spoke with disgust.