Chapter 164: The Beasts and the Drum Kingdom

A new world.

The Land of Wano.

The outskirts of Onigashima.

Queen's laboratory stood amidst the mountains.

Surrounding it were countless sewage pipes, discharging nearly purple wastewater into the rear of Onigashima.

Inside one of the laboratories.

Queen looked at the test tube in his hand, filled with swirling purple mist, and nodded in satisfaction:

"That fellow Mshuru's ability is like a fish in water when applied to biological weapons."

"With his assistance, the development of the Plague Bullets will be much, much faster."

Having said that.

Queen turned and tossed the test tube in his hand into a laboratory, then immediately sealed the room completely.

He stood outside the glass window, watching several death row prisoners struggle continuously.

In just a few breaths, these prisoners lost all signs of life.

One mushroom after another grew on their bodies, spraying purple spores into the air, quickly obscuring Queen's vision entirely.

"No!"

"There is no need to wait any longer!"

"Even in its current version, the lethality is already astonishing!"

Queen couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration:

"Mshuru's ability is even more outstanding than I imagined."

"If ordinary spores are already this excellent, what level will the spores cultivated inside his body for ten years, or even over ten years, reach?"

"A talent like this should become my right-hand man!"

Speaking of which.

Queen reached out, lit the cigar at the corner of his mouth, took a deep drag, and exhaled a ring of smoke.

Buru Buru—!

A hurried ringing sound interrupted Queen's action.

After he took out the Den Den Mushi and connected the call, a familiar voice rang in his ears.

"Lord Queen, it is me, Mshuru."

"Oh ya, is it you?"

A rare smile appeared on the corner of Queen's mouth as he said:

"What? Have you finished handling matters in the Drum Kingdom?"

"Only here with me can your talents be brought to their limit!"

"No!"

Mshuru shook his head and said:

"I have discovered the whereabouts of Gao Wen and his group in the Drum Kingdom!"

"Silver Moon Port, where we previously tested the plague spores, has been burned to ashes by him, and all experimental data has been lost."

"Knight Gao Wen..."

Queen's tone instantly turned cold:

"Just as well; I haven't settled the score with him for Hanafuza yet, so now is the perfect time to finish it."

"However, since he is a current Warlord of the Sea, with your little combat power, you'd better not provoke him."

"That is not necessarily so."

A smile curled up on the corner of Mshuru's mouth:

"Killing an enemy does not only have one method: crushing them head-on."

Queen's brows frowned slightly.

He naturally understood Mshuru's intentions.

But having never fought against the true monsters of this sea, how could one know the terror of those existences?

Queen couldn't help but admonish:

"Be careful not to lose your life!"

"I will be careful."

"Mm."

Queen acknowledged with a sound but ceased trying to dissuade him.

On this sea, how many capable people are willing to listen to advice?

Hanging up the phone.

Queen halted the experiment at hand, turned around, and walked toward the core area of Onigashima.

Half an hour later.

The news that Gao Wen had appeared near the Drum Kingdom spread through Zhikou to the ears of the Beasts Pirates' high command.

"The man who killed that fellow Hanafuza?"

"Burp~"

Kaido let out a belch, then grabbed the wine flask in his hand and fiercely gulped down a large mouthful, muttering:

"Does this mean the fruit Hanafuza was investigating has also been eaten by him?"

"This is truly infuriating!"

"That is my property!"

Between his words, an invisible aura of dominance spread outward with Kaido at the center, even stirring the thunder in the sky.

Crimson lightning, like thunder snakes, tangled above Onigashima.

Countless pirates of low strength were simply unable to withstand the impact of such domineering will; one after another, they foamed at the mouth and fainted dead away.

Even the various Shinuchi of the Beasts Pirates felt a wave of dizziness cloud their minds.

"Brother Kaido!"

King's brows furrowed slightly; unable to hold back, he spoke to remind him, whereupon Kaido retracted his full-body Haki, though his face still retained that half-drunk, half-awake demeanor.

Whoosh—!

After a long exhalation.

The flush on Kaido's face vanished instantly.

He slowly rose to his feet; his figure, exceeding seven meters in height, even merely standing there, was enough to bring an unparalleled sense of oppression.

Not to mention that body of uncontrollable, domineering aura.

"Ah la la la..."

Kaido raised a hand to his forehead and said in a deep voice:

"King, there should be no problem leaving this matter to you, correct?"

"Whether it is the potential displayed by the knight Gao Wen, or the abilities of the Red Dragon Fruit, so long as we can subdue him, he will become an excellent asset."

"I want him alive!"

King's expression remained unchanged as he said lightly:

"I understand, Brother Kaido."

"Well."

Kaido said:

"Let that brat Who's-Who go along as well."

"Yes!"

A few minutes later.

Having transformed into the form of a Pteranodon, King grabbed Who's-Who with one hand and swept across the skies of Wano Country, speeding toward the Grand Line.

Countless commoners of Wano Country, witnessing this scene, clenched their teeth tightly, swallowing the hatred within their hearts, left with nothing but unspeakable humiliation.

The sovereign they had once placed high hopes upon had died in a manner akin to a clown.

Those who remained here had long since had their spines broken, simply because no one could be a match for that giant dragon on Onigashima.

Usagi.

The Quarry Prison.

Bing Wulang put down the massive rock in his hands, watching King sweep past high in the sky, and murmured:

"Who could be a match for that evil dragon?"

For a moment.

A familiar figure flashed through his mind, only to dissipate like smoke and clouds in the end; he could only speak with a touch of mockery:

"Another evil dragon?"

"Heh..."

Crack!

The sound of a whip lashing the air rang out beside Bing Wulang's ear.

"Don't think about slacking off!"

"Otherwise, the next lash will fall upon you!"

A member of the Beasts Pirates looked at Bing Wulang, his eyes fierce and revealing an air of absolute authority.

Bing Wulang gritted his teeth, lifted the massive rock before him, and slowly walked toward the distance.

All around.

Were countless prisoners like him, captured by the Beasts Pirates and imprisoned here.

The only fate awaiting them was to labor here until the day of their death.

Several days later.

The Grand Line.

Paradise.

The territory of the Drum Kingdom was far larger than what was depicted in the original work.

It was not merely Dongdao, which stood in the center as the seat of the capital, but also included the countless islands within a range of nearly a thousand nautical miles surrounding it.

It had been a long time since Gao Wen passed through Silver Moon Port.

He had originally thought that by having his subordinates put on masks in time and setting Silver Moon Port ablaze, he could prevent the spread of the plague.

He did not expect that his actions, in the end, were one step too slow.

At this moment.

In the ship's infirmary.

One of the crew members had developed symptoms of fever and difficulty breathing.

Two ship doctors were standing around him, performing basic physical examinations.

A few minutes later.

The two hurried out of the infirmary, their faces pale with alarm.

"How is the situation?"

Gao Wen could not help asking.

One of the ship doctors swallowed hard, his voice trembling:

"Preliminary diagnosis: respiratory infection, most likely caused by fungi, possibly linked to our passage through Silver Moon Port."

"With the supplies we have on board, we cannot possibly provide proper medication."

"And…"

Saying this,

the ship doctor's face flushed with shame and anger:

"Captain, we simply lack the ability to handle such a disease."

"What do we do now?"

Gao Wen reached out and patted both their shoulders, soothing them:

"You've both done well. You've given your utmost."

"Isolate him first, prevent further spread, and temporarily control the symptoms—can you do that?"

The two exchanged glances, then nodded firmly.

"Yes."

"Good."

Gao Wen exhaled in relief.

These crew members, though not officers like Xiang Keluo or Zolon, were elite men he had personally selected from Crow Harbor.

They had willingly followed Gao Wen.

As captain,

Gao Wen naturally had to bring them all back safely.

"We're not far from Drum Kingdom's Dongdao."

"Once we reach it, we'll have won!"

Upon hearing this, the two ship doctors sighed in relief.

Somehow, they felt an instinctive certainty: as long as this man had not fallen, there was still hope.

But at that moment,

a cry shattered the fragile sense of safety they had just regained.

"Young Lady Nami has fainted!"

Inside the cabin,

Sanji let out a startled cry, spilling the orange juice he had prepared for Nami.

Nami lay slumped over her desk, unconscious, a half-drawn sea chart beside her hand.

Gao Wen immediately led the two ship doctors over; they examined Nami, their faces growing even paler:

"Identical to the previous man's symptoms—could this fungal spore really be this contagious?!"

"No!"

"Look over there!"

One of the ship doctors cried out, pointing toward the window.

Everyone turned to follow his finger.

There, ahead of the Crow, appeared an island encircled by purple mist, just like Silver Moon Port.

"Another place surrounded by those spores?!"

Gao Wen frowned deeply.

He had already burned Silver Moon Port to ashes, and no other nearby islands had been contaminated—logically, the plague should have been contained.

The way it was spreading, point by point, strongly suggested human interference.

"Human-caused spread of plague… fungal spores…"

"Wait! Fungi!"

Gao Wen's pupils contracted.

He suddenly remembered what he had overlooked in Silver Moon Port.

"The Mushi Mushi Fruit user, Wapol's older brother, former crown prince of Drum Kingdom—Mushiru!"

"Leaving aside that this guy is originally from a movie alternate timeline, even if he were to return to Drum Kingdom to cause trouble, it wouldn't happen until years later, after the Straw Hats entered the Grand Line."

"Has history changed because of my arrival?!"

(End of Chapter)