The Prisoner Mine

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In Wano Country, the Flower Capital buzzes with rumors. The announcer declares, "The talk of the capital is..." and immediately launches into strange reports: "There's been another sighting!!" A frightened crowd repeats, "That ghost appeared again~" and a voice wails, "I'll haunt youuuuuu~" while others say, "Here's an update on the disturbance at the northern cemetery!" The mood then shifts to violence in the streets: "In other news, a street-murder occurred on the 8th street in district 2!!" The wanted image names the culprit as "Kamazou the Manslayer," and the announcement adds, "As you all probably know, the culprit is none other than Kamazou the Manslayer!! Even though he is known throughout the country, he has yet to be apprehended!!!"

Another rumor takes hold over the Flower Capital at night: "Furthermore appearing late into the night... the Witching Hour Boy has returned!!" The thief is described as someone "who is this boy!? Is he an ally of justice, or is he evil!?" because "he steals money from the rich... and shares it with the poor!!" Citizens swoon, "Kyaah~ Mr. Witching Hour~" while a vendor hawks, "Today's issue is full of big scoops!! All right, now! Come on over and check it out!!" A man buys one with "I'll take a copy," and as papers spread through the streets, a different discovery stops the crowd cold. Someone finds the secret crescent-moon symbol and asks, "Who gave this to me!?" Another recognizes it with alarm: "The waning crescent moon...!"

The paper bearing the crescent-moon mark passes from hand to hand, and the reaction spreads silently across faces throughout the Flower Capital. Men and women from different parts of Wano stare at the sign, each understanding what it could mean without speaking openly. The sequence builds from shock to recognition until the question is finally voiced: "Has the Kozuki family... truly returned...!?" The symbol is no ordinary notice; it is a signal that the Kozuki loyalists may be gathering again, and the rumor reaches people who know exactly how dangerous that possibility is.

In the capital, the secret message awakens the old rebellion. One man wonders, "Hey... is this really the work of ghosts?" Another answers with hope, "What will come from questioning it? This is the spark we've been waiting for!!" Someone declares, "I'm going!!" while a cautious voice asks, "If this had happened a decade ago... I would be going, too. But... in any case, how will you two get weapons?" The problem is clear: "Only samurai are allowed to carry swords in this country..." and Orochi has strangled resistance further: "And Orochi has even gone as far as forbidding the use of weapons... in the kendo and karate dojos. He's removed the power-source of any possible rebellion!!" Even so, the excitement cannot be stopped: "This is what I've been waiting for!! Uwooooo!! I'm trembling in excitement!!! I don't care if I have to fight bare-handed!! This is our last chance!!" On the street below, people are invited, "If you've got time... come and have a look!! Sit down, relax, and listen closely--!!"

Inside Orochi's residence, the hidden operation continues under polite conversation. Someone laughs, "Ah ah, ah ah!!" and says, "No, I don't think we need to bring a geisha. Do not let anyone... approach the sitting room." A subordinate answers, "Understood." In the room, Orochi's side discusses logistics: "...Here is the next armament shipment order." The old man at the table reacts, "Oooh, this is a lot of stuff!!" and another asks, "Are they planning to start a war?" He admits, "I'm not familiar with the situation outside this country's borders." Nami, working under the name O-Nami, notes the goal: "Our job... is to make what they ask for." Her partner reminds her, "You're quite the evil one!! Ah ah ah!" while Nami stays focused: "Watch carefully, O-Nami. My eyesight has gotten worse with age." Nami replies, "Huh? You think so?" The older woman warns, "Don't sweat the small stuff!! Just keep an eye on it calmly."

The infiltration collapses when someone notices the attic: "Hm?" then, "Someone's up there!!" The hidden spies are exposed, and the shout spreads: "Who is it!?" Nami, introduced as novice kunoichi O-Nami, bursts out with Shinobu as people scream, "Gyaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!" and "Waa aah!!" The panic becomes worse because Shinobu cannot stay quiet. Nami tries to stop her: "Stay quiet!!" but Shinobu keeps shrieking, "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!" and the guards below yell, "Who is it!? Who is it!? Who is it!?" As the two flee across the roof, Nami snaps, "You're being too loud, Shinobu-chan!!"

The palace guards shout, "There are intruders in the attic!! Get them...!!" Shinobu clings to Nami and cries, "Shinobu-chan!!!!" while the guards misunderstand the chaos: "There's a person and a cat!!" and "What!? It was a cat!?" Nami gives a quick "Meow" as cover, but the pursuit continues. Shinobu opens a cloth and announces, "Ninja arts! Giant glider!!" The two sail away above the Flower Capital as someone below asks, "Where'd they go...!?" and another admits, "We can't find them!!" Nami, impressed despite herself, says, "Wow!! The ninja arts are amazing!!" Shinobu answers that they did get useful intelligence: "By the way, I forgot to mention this, O-Nami... But I have a fear of sharp objects..." Nami scolds, "You're totally unfit for battle!!" Still, she reports, "I saw the name of the port and the day the ship is leaving." Shinobu is delighted: "That's great! Now we know when and where the weapons will be collated..."

Elsewhere in the Flower Capital, an enormous line gathers around a soba cart. A woman wonders, "Why is this line so long!? Is there a sale going on!?" At the stall, Sanji, working under the name Sangoro, welcomes the customers: "Welcome, welcome!! All right... come and have a taste, ladies!!" His stall is introduced as "Soba noodle stall Sangoro," and he boasts, "I've got a sweet al dente that will melt in your mouth!! These are my speciality soba noodles!!" The women praise him: "Sangoro's 'Nihachi' soba noodles... really are speciality soba noodles!!" "The firm bite!!" "Look at the lustre of these noodles!" and "Delicious." But the success draws unwanted attention. Someone says, "No way..." and from the shadows a hostile voice notes, "He hasn't been gathering samurai at all!!" Another asks, "That boy... does he have any idea who this island belongs to...!?"

The story cuts to Wano Country: Udon, the prisoner mines, which are also the weapons factory. Smoke and towers rise over a brutal labor camp where guards bark orders: "Beat the metal!!" "Move the rocks!!" and "If you won't work, at least go die in a corner somewhere so you don't block the way!!!" Exhausted prisoners haul stone under guard while a frail old man receives his ration after a whole day of labor. He wheezes, "Wheeze... Wheeze..." and stares down at the tiny bowl he has earned: "This is all I get... for a whole day's worth of work."

A guard mocks the old man: "You get one piece of kibi-dango for moving five big rock blocks. Are you having trouble earning enough food... as you're getting older, Grandpa Hyou...?" Hyougoro, called Grandpa Hyou, draws attention from the others, and the guard laughs, "Good work. Here's four kibi-dangos." When the old man seems to protest, the punishment is immediate. The guard roars, "Talking back to a guard comes with the punishment of amputation, you know that, don't you!? You're finally about to kick the bucket!!" Nearby prisoners plead, "Grandpa Hyou!!" and another warns, "Don't go against them and just preserve your strength!! Otherwise, you'll die!" Then a giant block crashes through the road as two prisoners charge forward, shouting, "Move, move, move, move!!" and "You're in my way!! I'll kill you all if you don't move!!!"

The prisoners and guards erupt in panic as Luffy and Kid race through the mine carrying impossible loads. They roar, "Muuuuuaaaggggghhhhhhh!!!" while a guard yells, "Wait, wait, this ship can't hold any more rocks!!" Another snarls, "You snails!! Then hurry up and bring another ship!!" The guards count the output in disbelief: "How many rocks have they carried so far?" "We counted up to 500, and then..." The answer is already visible when food is brought over: "We moved the rocks. Now hand over the food!!" A guard stares at the two prisoners and realizes the deeper problem: "What about the seastone cuffs!!? They're still shackled in them!! They're able to do this with their power depleted?!" Another can only wonder, "What would they be capable of without those shackles...?"

Luffy and Eustass "Captain" Kid sit amid huge empty bowls, eating after moving mountains of stone. Kid snaps, "You idiot!! I'm the one who pulled ahead of you!!" Luffy answers with his mouth full, "I moved one more than you did!!" The guards stare at the result and ask, "How many did they move to get so much kibi-dango!?" Their rivalry immediately turns into insults. Luffy shouts, "Don't mess with me!! You didn't pull ahead at all, Jaggy-guy!! You bastard!!" Kid fires back, "Do you know how to count!? You dumb monkey bastard!!" When the guards ask, "Are you their mother!?" and "What's with their bodies!?" someone explains the absurdity: "Those two were seriously injured, weren't they...? They've been working, eating, then sleeping... and with that, they healed up in just a few days..." Even the prisoners ask, "How the hell are we supposed to break their spirits!? Say something!!"

The mine's deputy warden arrives in monstrous fashion. Someone calls, "Master Dobon is here!! His fusion with the hippo is so weird!!" Dobon, a headliner and Hippo Smile user, towers over the prisoners from inside the mouth of a massive hippopotamus and demands, "Which one of you prisoners... cleared out all of the rations we had in the storage...!?" The hippo grunts, "Hippo...!!!!" and nearly crushes Hyougoro beneath its bulk. Prisoners panic, "Grandpa Hyou!!" and "Ah!! He's crushing Grandpa Hyou!! Crawl out from under there, Gramps!!" A guard points out, "But, Master Dobon... they earned their food!! They worked hard and exchanged their work for food, so we couldn't stop them from getting it!!" Another realizes the absurd problem: "He's trying to say something from inside there!!" because "The hippo decided to close its mouth on a whim, so now we can't hear Master Dobon anymore!"

Luffy and Kid appear with swollen bellies, having eaten far beyond what the prison expected. One guard reports, "I've brought the prisoners that you're looking for!!" Another says, "They ate way too much!!" and a jealous prisoner complains, "I've never seen someone have a bloated stomach in here!! I'm so jealous!!" Kid burps, "Burp... Gimme a second! I need to digest this food..." Dobon identifies them at once: "So it was you two!!! How dare you!! Your gluttony is why I, a man known as a big-eater, was only able to get three kibi-dangos!! Look at this mouth!!! Does that seem like enough food to you?!" A nearby prisoner notices, "Huh...? Those guys... are shrinking in size!" Dobon warns, "Here's a word of warning for you two!! If you try and fight back against a guard... your arms will be cut off the first time you do it... and your legs will be cut off if you do it again!! The third time you do it, will be your last!! You'll be executed on the spot. Keep that in mind."

Kid answers Dobon's threat with the practical truth: "Hey, we're just weaklings whose strength has been depleted because of this seastone." Luffy adds, "All we did was take our work seriously!!" Dobon refuses to accept that: "That's how it works here!! You don't have the right to fight back!!" He declares judgment from inside the hippo's mouth: "Your crime is eating all of my food!! You need to be discipli--" and the hippo snaps them into its mouth before the sentence can finish. The guards cry, "Waaah!! They got eaten!!" One says, "What a shame... Inside that mouth is Master Dobon's murder chamber..." The hippo begins thrashing from within, the page shaking with "Hippo!!!" and heavy impacts, until a final "Thud!!" makes even the watching guards freeze.

The hippo's mouth bursts open with a crash, and Dobon is left beaten unconscious. Guards shout, "Deputy Warden Dobooooon!!" while Luffy and Kid walk out calmly, still chewing, as if they merely stepped through a door. A guard panics, "You've done it now!! You're gonna be executed!!" but Luffy asks the essential question: "Where's your proof?" The guards stare at the impossible scene, with no witness able to prove what happened inside the closed mouth. Luffy and Kid stand together in front of the stunned prisoners, and the narration captures the mood: "The worst! Won't tolerate this!!!" Yet for the prisoners, the two troublemakers have become something else entirely: "You two are the prisoners stars of hope!!" Kid laughs, "Way to gooooo!!!" as the chapter ends.

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