All rights belong to RoosterTeeth, Funimation, Toei Animation, Weekly Shonen Jump, Viz Media, and Eiichiro Oda.
A calm wind could be felt as Jaune, Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, Kiku, and Momonosuke open their eyes to look around there environment. Just a moment ago they were standing in a burning castle and now they were falling to the ruins of a castle that was obviously burned a long time ago.
As the landed, all of then got up with a bit of pain as they began looking around, wondering where they were.
"Where are we?"asked Kin'emon, as he and everyone else looked around, wondering where they were.
"The future."answered Jaune, getting everyone's attention.
"Lady Toki ate the time time fruit, a fruit that gives her the ability to jump into the future, but never into the past. We're still in Oden Castle, only twenty years in the future from when we last stood here."explained Jaune, who knew about Toki's time time fruit from his time out at sea with Lord Oden.
"Jaune, why did we leave my mother and sister behind!"asked Momonosuke through his tears as he grabbed Jaune's kimono.
"She didn't want to do this either Momonosuke. But she knew the best chance of making sure you lived and Wano Country would be saved is by sending us into the future and having Hiyori stay behind in the past in case anything went wrong."said Jaune, as he suspected that's what Lady Toki had in mind.
"But if you knew all of this, why didn't you say anything, Jaune?"asked Kanjuro, wondering why Jaune didn't share this information with anyone else.
"I honestly didn't know if any of this information was fact. I honestly don't know what Lady Toki was thinking. But you don't travel with someone for so long without getting to know who they are and most likely what they're thinking. Don't forget I was there every step of the way Lady Toki and Lord Oden meet, fell in love, and had Momonosuke and Hiyori."said Jaune, as he knew Lady Toki longer than any of them, meaning he knew what most likely she was thinking the in the last moments before she sent them into the future.
"Father... Mother...Hiyori..."said Momonosuke through his tears as he wondered what happened to the remainder of his, while crying at the loss of his mother and father.
"Kawamatsu wouldn't have let anything happen to, Hiyori, Momonosuke! I'm sure she's alive but for now we have to leave Wano!"said Jaune, confusing the others, as they wondered what he meant by that.
"What do you mean, Jaune?"asked Kiku, wondering what her ally and friend meant by that.
"Look over there..."said Jaune as he pointed to something not too far from where they were.
Kin'emon and the other is looked where he was pointing and was shocked to see that there was a bunch of old graves, with their names on them!
"We're...dead..."said Raizo as he looked at the grave with his name on it.
"No, but our enemies think we are and that's for the best."said Jaune, as right now it was better for Kaido and Orochi to think that they were dead.
"I agree. For now we can move freely without worry from our enemies as they think we are no more. Now, although we have jumped twenty years into the future, we must still go to the original plan and head to Zou."instructed Kin'emon, as Zou was still a safe haven for them as they still bared the name Kozuki.
"Agreed!"said Kanjuro, as that was probably the only safe place for them at the moment.
"No!"said Jaune, shocking his companions.
"Jaune, what do you mean?"asked Kiku, wondering what Jaune had on his mind.
"We can go to Zou, but after Lord Oden came back from Laugh Tale, he couldn't stop speaking about twenty years into the future and how the world would be turned upside down. There must be big names out there in the ocean who have the strength and courage to take on Kaido! Lord Oden always said that no one from twenty years ago could take on Kaido, but I believe that's no longer the case here in the future!"said Jaune, who was sure that they were people out there who could take on Kaido!
"I see what you mean Jaune, so what do you suggest?"asked Kin'emon, wondering what his subordinate was planning.
"We need to venture out into the New World and find allies. Orochi and Kaido are one thing, but they're still they're hundreds of thousands of subordinates that work under them! They must have grown in size and strength over the last twenty years! So we need an army if we hope to save Wano!"said Jaune, as there was no way they could fight a war with just a handful of them.
"I agree. We don't have the necessary forces in order to fight. We need allies brave and strong enough to fight Kaido!"agreed Kin'emon, as without Kaido, no one would listen to Orochi.
"Jaune, what should we do?"asked Momonosuke, wondering what the retainer he considered like an older brother figure was thinking they should do next.
"For now, Momonosuke, we need to get a feel on the current situation in Wano! We need to know if there's still people loyal to the name Kozuki! We need allies here as well as allies out there if we ever hope to save this country in fulfill your father's dream! But most importantly, Momonosuke, you absolutely cannot die."said Jaune as he lowered himself to Momonosuke's level vision.
"Jaune..."said Kin'emon, wondering what his fellow Red Scabbard was planning.
"You are a Kozuki! Lord Oden's blood is running through your veins! You are his oldest child, meaning the responsibility of the name Kozuki is on your shoulders! I know this is a lot to ask out of a child, but you are the last hope Wano has! You are who the warriors of Wano will follow! You are seen as the hope for a better future! You must not die as if we lose you we lose all hope for Wano!"said Jaune as Momonosuke began crying, before he hugged Jaune.
"Don't cry! You need to be strong for the people! You need to be strong for the samurai still loyal to the Kozuki Clan! We can't have the leader and figurehead of our forces appear weak in front of his subordinates."said Jaune, knowing that he was asking a lot out of a child but he knew it was the only way.
"I agree with you, Jaune. For now let us head down the mountain and see if we can find anyone friendly enough to tell us what is going on."said Kin'emon, with everyone agreeing as they began heading down the mountain.
As they did, the distinct smell of factory smoke could be felt all around them. And as they descended the mountain they couldn't believe what they saw as their blood boiled at what they saw happened to Kuri!
It was basically nothing more than a barren wasteland as they saw a bunch of people who look like they were nothing but skin and bones, like they haven't gotten a proper nutritious meal in a very, very long time! Kiku immediately wanted to run over and see what happened but Raizo stopped her.
"We cannot interact with the locals at this moment as we don't know if any of them are secretly spies for Orochi. For now we have to move in the shadows until we have the essential manpower necessary in order to take the fight Kaido and Orochi."said Raizo, as Kiku bit her lip as she know that he was right, no matter how much she wished he wasn't.
So the Red Scabbards and Momonosuke secretly move to past what was left Bakura Town and went into the outskirts of Kuri, where it was more obvious that Wano has suffered greatly in the last twenty years they have been gone.
"My goodness!"said an old man as he and his companions run up to them.
Kin'emon pulled out his sword, ready to face them, but Momonosuke motioned for him to stop as they didn't appear hostile.
"Your all really alive! Lady Toki's last words were true."said the old man as he and his friends bowed before Momonosuke.
"My mother's..."said Momonosuke, wondering what his mother's last words were.
"Lady Toki's final words... suggested the revenge of the Kozuki Clan in twenty years time. And despite our incredulity, as if to anchor her claim... not one of the bodies of the Ten Red Scabbards was ever found!"said the Old Man, as the fact that no bodys were found made Lady Toki's claim seem ever more possible!
Jaune and the others let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that, as that means that Dogstorm, Cat Viper, Kawamatsu, Ashura, and Denjiro were possibly still alive! And that they survived the whole ordeal twenty years ago by most likely escaping before they could be captured or killed!
"So on the slim chance... that you might reappear twenty years later... and lead us to victory over the wicked Orochi... every man who has prepared to fight at your side on that portentous day... indicated his willingness... with the mark of the moon on his ankle, just like so!"said the old man, pointing to how he and his companions all had a crescent moon shaped tattoo on their ankles.
"You mean... after twenty years, we still have allies?!"asked Kin'emon, glad to see that people still believed in the name Kozuki.
"We still need to rouse our forces without alerting anyone!"said Kin'emon, as they needed to gather up their allies in secret without alerting those loyal to Orochi or Kaido!
"We will take care of that."said the old man, as tears of joy fell down his face as the hope he has been carrying for the last twenty years hasn't been for nothing.
"While they do that, we can focus on going out to sea and gathering allies."said Jaune, as he was sure there were people out there who wanted Kaido's head!
"But we need to split up..."said Jaune, surprising Momonosuke and his fellow Red Scabbards, wondering what he was thinking.
"Jaune, what on earth are you thinking?"asked Raizo, wondering what exactly was going on in Jaune's head.
"One of us need to stay here and monitor everything that happens Wano! And I believe that needs to be Kiku!"said Jaune, as he believed this was the best course of action.
"Me?!"said Kiku as she pointed to herself.
"You ore at least threatening looking out of all of us, and with a bit of makeup you can easily pass off as a frail woman who wouldn't hurt a fly. With your looks and natural kindness you'll be able to secretly extract information from Kaido and Orochi's forces by serving them tea or something."said Jaune, as the best person for gathering information was Kiku.
Since she was beautiful and with a bit of makeup she could easily pass off as just another beautiful woman that lives in Wano, meaning she could get information out of stupid guys who are drunk or enticed by her looks.
"I suppose you have a point, Jaune. I will do my best to gather information as you all venture out to gather allies."said Kiku, knowing that she was the one most qualified for the job of gathering information.
"Kiku, if you're agreeing with this plan then you need to find Tsuru. I'm sure that she's still alive and that she'll help you integrate with the populace so no one will ask any unnecessary questions."said Kin'emon, as he was sure that his wife/ childhood friend was still alive.
And that she will be able to help Kiku blend in!
"Agreed, now as for myself I need to go alone. While the rest of you head to Zou."said Jaune, once again shocking his companions.
"Jaune, want are you thinking at this point!"said Kanjuro, wondering what exactly was going on in Jaune's head.
"Unlike the rest of you, I'm a wanted pirate out there in the New World and Grand Line in general. Meaning that if I went with all of you there is a chance that all of you will be hassled by the Marines and Pirates at want my head for my bounty. So the best course of action is that I go out to see separately from all of you while you go to Zou and meet up with Dogstorm and Cat Viper."said Jaune, as unlike the rest of them he was a infamous pirate who suspected that his bounty was still active.
Meaning they couldn't move with discretion if he was with Momonosuke and the others.
"I'm sure they're alive and they're right now in Zou with their fellow minks. So the best course of action is for all of you to head Zou while I look for allies by myself."
"But Jaune, you're the only one who's ever been out to sea."said Kin'emon, as Jaune was the only one who knew how to navigate a boat properly.
Jaune just smiled as he handed Kin'emon a vivre card that he got from Dogstorm.
"Use this to find Zou. And, Everyone, this isn't the only reason I won't be going with you."said Jaune, as is companions listened in.
"I know how to sail the New World, that much is true. But you forget I was also a member on Roger's crew. Pirates may be considered scoundrels of the ocean, but we still have unspoken rules and honor. If I hope to gather allies I cannot be seen with Momonosuke. As although it sounds horrible there's no way they'll listen to someone who answers to a child."said Jaune, as he didn't like saying it even though he knew it was true.
"But.."said Raizo, as Jaune continued speaking.
"The name Kozuki means a lot here in the land of Wano, but only the name Kozuki Oden means anything outside of this country. I am a samurai, but I'm also an infamous pirate with a high bounty on his head. If I can find pirates who know my name out there, I may be able to convince them to join us in the fight against Kaido and Orochi."
"Jaune, are you sure there isn't another way?"asked Kiku, but Jaune just shook his head.
"I will try looking for known enemies of Kaido. I'm sure after twenty years he must have made plenty of enemies. So I'm betting that if an infamous member of the Roger Pirates were to ask them for their help, they would gladly agree if it meant getting Kaido's head! We need to be smart about this, as although you all know the hearts of samurai, I know the hearts of pirates and know that unless they're Pirates like Roger or Whitebeard, they will not listen unless it's a big name they're taking on and they have something big to gain out of it."said Jaune, as most pirates wouldn't listen to him if they knew that he answered to a child.
The name Kozuki may hold a lot of significance in the Land of Wano, but only the name Kozuki Oden meant anything out there in the ocean. Meaning Momonosuke has no real power outside of Wano!
"I hate to say this, but you do have a point, Jaune. Unlike the rest of us your name actually means something out there on the Grand Line. We will head to Zou and meet up with Dogstorm and Cat Viper."said Kin'emon, because as much as he hated to admit, Jaune did make a good point on why he should go alone.
"Jaune!"said Momonosuke, as Jaune noticed the young boy approach him.
"Please be safe out there and don't die. We need you for the final battle and I can't stand losing any more people than I've already lost."said Momonosuke, as he hugged Jaune.
"I will, after all I can't wait for the day you become Shogun."said Jaune, as he was sure that Momonosuke would become Shogun one day after they defeated Kaido and Orochi, along with anyone loyal to them!
"Now, if you excuse me I need to go acquire a boat."said Jaune as he parted ways with his companions, who had tears in their eyes as their companion disappeared into the horizon.
Jaune on the other hand reached a small boat that had several Beast Pirates in it.
"Who are you?"asked one of the Pirates, as Jaune pulled out his katana.
"Arc style: Crescent Moon Slash!"said Jaune as he struck down the Beast pirates with one mighty powerful slash of his sword, creating a powerful slash wave in the shape of a crescent moon that struck them with such force that they were knocked off the boat as cuts appeared on their bodies.
"Now to head out to see to find allies."said Jaune as he grab the nearby kasa hat and began to sail out to sea.
The oceans around Wano are difficult, but unlike Oden, Jaune knew how to navigate them thanks to his time with the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates. So after an hour of careful sailing he made it down the waterfall and officially left the Land of Wano!
"Now to go find some allies."said Jaune as he hoisted a sail just as a air current started forming, allowing him to move his small boat away from Wano and into the New World!
-=O=-
Days have passed since Jaune left Wano. He was sure by now that Momonosuke and the others already headed off to Zou, while Kiku stayed behind to meet up with Tsuru so that she could blend in with the populace and gather information on Kaido and Orochi's forces.
"It's and days and although I did take some fresh water with me, I'm running out of it and I'm kind of tired of eating fish."said Jaune as something inside of him resonated.
"It feels like something is calling out to me."said Jaune as he noticed that a nearby Marine warship was on what looked like patrol.
Jaune quickly ducked behind a nearby rock formation in the ocean, before feeling that sensation again as something was telling him that there was something he wanted on that Marine warship. It was like his warrior spirit was telling him to go get something on that warship.
'There's something on that worship that might be useful in the war against Kaido and Orochi.' thought Jaune as he decided to sneak a board and acquire whatever his instincts were telling him to get.
Jaune quickly pulled out a bandana that he had on him and placed it over his face as he began to carefully sail towards the Marine warship, noticing that one of the sales had the mark G-5 printed on it.
Jaune heard about this Marine unit, knowing that there were a bunch of troublemakers as he got closer to the ship and used his hands to start scaling it. Several Marines who are dressed in casual clothes with some remnants of their uniform were seemingly slacking off on their duties as Jaune got on board the ship and knock them out with two karate chops to their necks.
'Last thing I need is any unnecessary attention, I'll just knock them out and make it look like they're slacking off so I don't draw any suspicion from the rest of the crew.' thought Jaune as he could feel that something was calling to him.
It wasn't so much in words, it was like something in his soul was telling him to go acquire whatever was calling out to him as he made his way deeper into the ship! As Jaune made his way through the ship he ducked into a nearby dark hallway as what appeared to be a bunch of drunk, out of control Marines passed by him.
He waited for them to pass before he continued on his way, and before long he could feel that warrior instinct inside of him throbbing as he stood in front of a room that look like it belonged to a captain or something.
Jaune stepped into the room and saw that it appeared to be the room of a female member of the Marines and it was full of stuff you would associate with a Marine. Unlike the rest of the ship the room was nice and neat as it looked like it was well taken care of and regularly cleaned.
As Jaune wondered what exactly was in this room to make him feel like he needed to get on, he noticed that there was something on the wall.
There in front of him was katana with a round golden tsuba with a green tsuka and a matching golden kashira. The scabbard was green. Now to the untrained eye it appeared to be your run of the mill katana, but Jaune recognized this very katana.
"Meito: Skifull Grade Class: Kashu."said Jaune, recognizing that the katana in front of him was in fact Kashu, one of the skillful grade class of swords under the Meito grade!
This sword in front of him was an infamous sword made by a master sword maker and was one of the best weapons in the whole world! Jaune immediately pulled it out of its scabbard and inspected the blade.
Just as he suspected it was indeed Kashu, as a samurai like him could never mistake the quality of a sword of this nature.
"What a way to let a sword whose name means flower providence go to waste. You are one of the most powerful weapons in the whole world and here you are being wasted away as a mantelpiece."said Jaune as he drew one of his regular katanas and tossed it aside as he Kashu into one of his scabbards.
"I have a feeling you'll be more useful in my hands."said Jaune, satisfied that he was now more ready to face Kaido with one of the skillful grade swords of the Meito series now in his hands.
Jaune considered looking for more swords of the Meito Class, but what was the chances they were others when Meito swords are extremely expensive and hard to come by.
"Now to get out of here quietly."Jaune said to himself as he left the room, but as he did he noticed that several Marines were just approaching him, although they didn't know he was there until they made eye contact.
"Damn."said Jaune under his breath!
"An intruder! And he was just in Captain Tasigi's room! Kill him!"said one of the Marines as they pointed their rifles at him.
Jaune quickly launch themselves towards them and knock them out with several sumo slaps that he learned from Kawamatsu! Jaune really didn't want to get any unnecessary attention but the alarm was set so he needed to get back to his boat and get out of there with Kashu!
As Jaune made his way to the outside of the ship, several more Marines fired their rifles at him but it was clear they were terrible shots as they kept on missing!
"What is going on?!"asked a female wearing a purple tropical shirt, blue jeans, and had a pink version of the Marine coat draped over her shoulders.
"Captain Tashigi, some intruder was just in your room and he stole Kashu!"said one of the Marines as he pointed to the silhouette of Jaune running.
"What?!"asked Tashigi, angry that the sword she acquired from Mr 11 was now in the hands of another criminal.
She quickly pulled out her sword Shigure and started going after Jaune!
"Wait, you criminal! Hand over Kashu at once!"said Tashigi as she swung Shigure at Jaune.
Jaune saw this attack coming a mile away and he quickly pulled out Kashu and swung back, intercepting Tashigi and forcing her back as she looked surprised to see how skilled he was with a sword.
"Grade sword: Shgure. Why are you using a sword of a lower grade when you had access to Kashu?"asked Jaune, wondering why this Captain was not using a sword of a greater grade.
Tashigi didn't say nothing as she while Jaune quickly figured out what was going on.
"Oh... I see now. The reason you couldn't use Kashu was because you couldn't tame it. That's why you stuck to using Shigure."said Jaune as Tashigi charged in and slashed at him several times.
But it was clear that she was an amateur as none of her strikes were striking him as they were too predictable and easy to figure out.
Suddenly Jaune avoiding an attack as a man with slickback white hair, covered in smoke tried to strike him with some kind of pole. It was clear to Jaune right away that this man was on a different level than the captain he faced as he knocked off his bandana.
"I'm guessing you're the one in charge of this ship."said Jaune, figuring that the one standing in front of him was a vice admiral.
"The name's Smoker...wait! How on the world do you still look like your wanted poster from all those years ago!"said Smoker as he seemed to recognize Jaune.
"Do you know him vice admiral Smoker?"asked Tashigi, as reinforcements arrived.
"He still looks so young but that's impossible. All of you, be careful! This is a former member of the Roger Pirates, "Crescent Moon" Jaune Arc!"said Smoker, shocking the G-5 Marines as they couldn't believe that one of the Roger Pirates was on their ship.
"Roger Pirates!"
"But how is that possible as he's not an old man?!"
"Yeah the Roger Pirates disbanded 20 years ago! How does he look so young?!"
"But now that I think about it he looks like the one that poster I saw on the bulletin board! The one of missing and assumed still active Pirates!"
The G-5 Marines look like they were extremely afraid as every member of the Roger Pirates was a monster who could take on literal squads of Marines like they were nothing! And now it appeared they were facing a member of the Roger Pirates who still looks like he was in the prime of his youth!
"I'm surprised any of you still recognize me, especially considering that more than twenty years have passed since I've been active as a pirate."said Jaune, as he was sure he would have been forgotten by now.
"The crimes of the Roger Pirates will never be forgotten by the Marines. All of your wanted posters are still active until every last one of you are captured and executed like your Captain!"said Smoker as he charged in, but Jaune easily intercepted the strike.
"How?! Kashu was never capable of doing that!"said Tashigi, as when she wielded Kashu, it never intercepted strikes that easily.
"This is what happens when an adequate swordsman wields an adequate blade. You have potential but you're still too green."said Jaune as he forced Smoker back.
As soon as the vice admiral was away from him did Jaune noticed that his boat was floating just beneath where he was and jumped off the warship. Smoker and the rest of the G-5 Marines looked on to see Jaune sailing away.
"After him!"ordered Smoker, as the Marines on the warship got to their stations to move the ship.
Jaune on the other hand knew that he needed to lose them, and he saw his opportunity when he saw a nearby storm. So without a moment of hesitation he sailed into the storm to avoid the Marines, as he knew a ship that size couldn't possibly survive such an intense storm!
"Damn!"said Smoker as he knew they need to turn back, otherwise the ship would be capsized!
Jaune on the other hand was realizing that the storm was more intense than he thought and was struggling to stand on his boat as the storm raged on! As Jaune was trying to figure out a way to get out of the storm he noticed that his boat started getting pulled in by something! And when he looked to see what it was, he saw it was a massive whirlpool being struck by lightning!
"Damn!"said Jaune as he tried to sail away but the current was too strong and he was immediately pulled into the giant whirlpool.
As Jaune was trying to figure out a way to get out of the whirlpool, a bolt of lightning struck something in the ocean that seemed to cause a massive amount of light! The light was so intense that Jaune had to shield his eyes as he was pulled in!
-=O=-
Jaune passed out for who knows how long as he woke up all groggy, wondering how long he was out as he stood up and inspected himself. Sure enough Kashu was still in it's new scabbard as he began looking around. And Jaune quickly recognize the environment he was in.
"No way..."said Jaune as he decided to look up to the sky, and sure enough in front of him was a shattered Moon.
"I'm at Beacon. I'm... home."said Jaune to himself.
As to say he was shocked was an understatement!
Happy Easter everyone! I hope you enjoy this surprise chapter!