Far up in the sky above a certain country in the New World, an old man, who was hiding in the clouds, narrowed his eyes at the geographical marvel before him.
An elevated region with a radius of nearly 40 Kilometres, formed as a result of massive walls that rose as high as 800 metres into the sky from the surface of the sea, had a sea of its own inside it, whose water spilling over the surrounding walls and descending into the New World sea, forming, perhaps, the tallest waterfalls in the entire world.
And it was in the middle of this elevated sea where the Island Nation of Wano existed.
The old man, who was wearing the eternal Log Pose of the country on his left hand, and carried two swords on his back, wearing a dull grey cloak, could not help but become transfixed by this beautiful place.
He was also aware that the water that was spilling over those walls was not seawater, but mostly fresh water. And the sea inside those walls was not exactly a sea, since the water inside it was not seawater, but brackish water.
It was something that the man who had given him this eternal log pose had informed him about.
The old man slowly moved above the Land of Wano, still hiding inside the clouds, and having sensed no prying eyes and ears, he let her Observation Haki engulf the Islands of Wano one by one.
He picked up several strong signatures but frowned as he found them well below his expectations.
The biggest signature was on the Island with a skull dome on it, and it was the Island where the strongest people in Wano were. And then there were several weaker signatures on every other Island.
Those people were not exactly weak, but the old man did not find a single signature that was stronger than him in the entire country.
Now, he was certain that someone weaker than him would not be one of the Four Emperors of the Seas, and this only meant that the King of the Beasts was not on the Island today.
The main force was likely out on some expedition, and a smile crossed the old man's face at his fortune.
He quickly retracted his Observation Haki and then chose to land on the central Island, where the famous Mount Fuji was.
There was a reason why this old man had come to this country, and that was to check on the Ancient Weapon known as Pluton. And as soon as he landed on the ground, he quickly covered the entire Six Islands under his Observation Haki again, this time to listen to people.
He sat down under a tree for nearly an hour, collecting information from the conversations that the people were having with each other.
A frown appeared on his face as he sensed the deteriorating state of people and the motion, and he quickly locked onto certain people of Interest, one of them being the current Shogun of Wano, Kurozomi Orochi.
Right now, the Shogun was in his Castle, grunting as he indulged in carnal desires with the whores from the Red Light District, and when the old man sensed a vile and disgusting Will from the man, everything made sense to him.
The country was being ruled by a leader who had no goodwill towards them and whose heart was filled with hatred. How could something under the rule of such a person prosper?
He sighed in his heart and then decided to keep listening, taking a gamble as he understood that he might have to keep on listening for a day or two to gather anything valuable.
Luckily, he had chosen a place where no one could be found for miles, and he put himself into a half-asleep state where his mind was focused on everything that was happening in the country.
Time passed, night fell, dawn arrived, and the sun rose to the sky and sank again, only to rise the next morning.
Exactly two days later, the Old Man opened his eyes with electricity pulsating inside of them, and then he stood up to stretch his stiff muscles.
Despite being 70 years old, and standing 9 feet tall, his muscular but wiry physique was still as powerful as ever, lacking any signs of old age except for his greyish-black hair and beard, coupled with some wrinkles on his face. So, it was not a surprise when a woman, who was collecting berries from the nearby shrubs, blushed at seeing him stretch his body.
"Can I have some?" The old man smiled and asked, pointing at the Fruits in her basket, and the woman immediately nodded to him as she walked over and allowed him to pick what he wanted from her basket.
"You can have more." She gently said when she saw him only pick up an apple and a few berries.
"It's fine. Thank you." He said to her and then tossed a gold coin up in the air, which then landed in her basket.
The woman was stunned as she looked at the coin in disbelief, and then a few tears brimmed into her eyes.
She was in terrible need of money, her body started trembling in her emotions.
By the time she regained her composure, the old man had already left, and she could not find any trace of him.
She did not understand why and how, but she was confident that the old man had done this to help her.
"Thank you!" She loudly said, but received no reply in return. And then she ran back to the Flower Capital, where her family was waiting for her.
The old man, on the other hand, was running towards Kuri at a break-neck speed, expertly avoiding being sensed by people, and terrified the Beasts who had sensed him with precise bursts of his Conqueror's Haki.
He passed through the region of Kibi and then entered Kuri before heading towards his destination.
The old man only stopped after he arrived at the edge of a village called Amigasa, and despite running a great distance, his breathing was still even.
A few minutes later, after he scanned the Village, he headed towards the house where his targets were.
People curiously looked at him as he passed by them, and some politely greeted him, which he returned, and eventually, he arrived outside a small house, whose front door was closed.
He knocked on it and knocked again when the person inside did not respond to him.
His eyes narrowed when he sensed the old man inside the house become alert, and he was quite impressed by his instincts.
However, on the third and last knock that he intended, the door was finally opened, and a man wearing a funny tengu mask with an extremely long nose.
"Yes?"
"Let's go inside before we talk." The off man smiled at the owner of the house, whose heart nearly kept to his throat as he looked into his eyes.
Sensing that things could take a very ugly turn, the masked man invited the guest inside his house and closed the door.
"I sensed the presence of some very interesting swords, Old Man. And I am here to see them."
"Who are you?" The masked man asked, and his voice was much deeper than before.
"You can call me the Devil, or Zeus if you would prefer it." The old man said and then unceremoniously walked towards the sword that was hung on the wall. "A Cursed Blade, eh?" He smiled as he picked it up and pulled it out of the scabbard. "And quite magnificent."
The masked man wanted to take the sword away from his hands, but when he sensed the presence of the sword that Zeus was wearing on his back, hidden under his cloak, he stopped.
He smelled blood, and the stench chilled his heart.
"You are crazy!"
"And you have very sharp instincts for an ordinary man." He said, still interestedly looking at the blade in his hand. "A Great Sword. Nidai Kitetsu?"
"Yes."
"So, who are you, Old Man?" Zeus asked as he put the sword back in its scabbard and then proceeded to tie it to his waist, making his intentions clear.
"You can't take that blade!" The masked man shouted, but a cold glare from Zeus froze him in his place.
"I know you don't want to die, Old Man. So, don't make me kill you." He warned as he walked to the next room and slid a wooden tile on the floor, revealing the two hidden swords.
As soon as he reached for those blades, he heard the masked man drop to his knees.
"Please, don't take them!" He begged, however, Zeus ignored him and picked the swords up, carefully inspecting them.
"Who was the last wielder of these swords?" The old man curiously asked and then narrowed his eyes as he remembered the chat he had with the person who had given him the Log Pose for Wano. "Are these Oden's swords?" He guessed, and he sensed the fear that crawled into the masked man's heart. "I see. So, these are Ame no Habakiri and Enma. I am quite curious why you have these blades."
Zeus arrived in front of the kneeling masked man and then sat down with his legs crossed.
"Speak."
"Please, don't take these two blades..."
"Why not?" He smiled.
"They are for my grandchildren."
Zeus narrowed his eyes at the old man's words, sensing his pain and attachment to these blades.
"Who are you?"
The masked man stayed silent at his words for a few seconds before he raised his hands to take off his mask.
"I am Kozuki Sukiyaki." He answered with his head lowered.