"Something seems to have happened over there. It's bandits."
Just as Tama finished eating and was thanking Robin, Daniel and the others noticed a thick column of smoke rising in the distance. Using Observation Haki, they quickly realized that a village several miles away was under attack.
"Let's go check it out." Daniel and the others quickly packed up their belongings, and with Tama in Leone's arms, they hurried toward the village.
"Shutenmaru? So it's Ashura Doji, one of the former Red Scabbards. But why would he rob such a poor village? Why not target the wealthy towns or plantations? Is he afraid of Kaido?"
The group soon arrived at the edge of the village. Through the conversations of the people there, Daniel understood what was happening: bandits from the nearby mountains were raiding the village.
Kuri's Kuri Village was an extremely poor village where even the villagers often went hungry. For bandits to raid such a place, and not just once, it was clear that Ashura Doji, one of the former Red Scabbards, wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.
"These bastards." Seeing the chaos in the village as the bandits wreaked havoc, Leone was the first to charge forward, targeting a bandit who was about to strike a woman holding a child.
"The daimyo of Wano, the daimyo of Kuri—originally, it was a single country. But with so many daimyos, it's no wonder things are so chaotic." Watching as Leone, Akame, and Kurome quickly routed the bandits, Daniel couldn't help but think about the structure of Wano.
Wano was divided into six regions: Kuri, Kibi, Udon, Ringo, Hakumai, and Fujiyama. If you included the independent Onigashima, it would be seven regions, but unfortunately, the people of Wano didn't count Onigashima.
Thus, Wano had six daimyos, one for each region. Of course, the daimyo of Fujiyama, also known as the Flower Capital, held the most power and had the authority to appoint other daimyos. Kozuki Oden had once been appointed as the daimyo of Kuri.
This structure revealed Wano's feudal system. Under such a system, Daniel doubted whether Wano had ever truly been prosperous.
Daniel was well aware of the legends surrounding Kozuki Oden and the origins of the Red Scabbards. But did such figures truly possess the talent for governance?
"Damn it, who are you people? How dare you interfere with us? Just you wait, we won't let you off!" Faced with the relentless attacks from Akame and the others, the remaining bandits finally panicked and began to flee. One of the bandit leaders, after escaping to the edge of the village and putting some distance between himself and Akame, turned around and shouted threats.
But the next moment, a stone whistled through the air and pierced his chest. It was Leone's doing. If it had been Luffy's Straw Hat Pirates, they might have just driven the bandits away.
Unfortunately, Leone and the others weren't so lenient. As former members of Night Raid, they retained their assassin habits: once they took action, they showed no mercy. Compared to them, the bandits were amateurs.
Such ruthless methods not only terrified the bandits but also the villagers they had saved. It was similar to the situation after Feng Baobao had wiped out all the bandits.
Faced with this, Leone could only smile helplessly and walk back. As for Akame and Kurome, they didn't care about the villagers' feelings.
"Tama, what are you doing here?" However, not everyone hid in their homes in fear. A beautiful woman with deep blue hair, fair skin, and a tall, slender figure wearing a light yellow kimono walked over. In terms of appearance, she was on par with Akame and the others.
"Okiku!" Tama was overjoyed to see the woman and immediately ran over to hug her leg tightly.
"She's really beautiful, but what a waste."
Looking at the beautiful woman squatting down to talk to Tama, Daniel shook his head slightly. He knew exactly who she was: Kikunojo, one of the Red Scabbards. Of course, this identity meant little to Daniel. What mattered was that Kikunojo was actually a man.
A man whose beauty attracted the admiration of many men. It was said that even some of the Red Scabbards had fallen for him before learning his true gender.
A man more beautiful than most women—how could women not feel inferior? In comparison, his older brother, Izou, was easier to accept.
Both brothers were stunningly beautiful, and both enjoyed wearing women's clothing. What a coincidence.
"Thank you for taking care of Tama." After speaking with Tama, Kikunojo brought her to his side and glanced at Daniel and the others. Although he addressed Daniel, his attention was clearly on Akame.
Daniel wasn't surprised by this. After all, Akame was holding Shusui, the national treasure of Wano. Ryuma, the "Sword God," was still revered in Wano, with shrines dedicated to him and Shusui.
As one of the Red Scabbards, Kikunojo naturally recognized this legendary blade. Although Shusui was only one of the 21 Great Grade swords, not one of the 12 Supreme Grade swords, to the people of Wano, Shusui's status surpassed even the Supreme Grade swords.
The legend of the swordsman Ryuma slaying a dragon was not just a myth in Wano—it was a historical fact. When a vicious dragon suddenly appeared and wreaked havoc on Wano, it was Ryuma who stepped forward and slew the beast, saving the country.
The dragon Ryuma faced was far more powerful than the one Zoro encountered on Punk Hazard. Shusui had the potential to become a Supreme Grade sword, but it seemed that the battle with the dragon had prevented Ryuma from achieving this.
But now that Shusui was in Akame's hands, it was only a matter of time before it reached that level.
"No need to thank us. We just happened to come across her." As Daniel spoke, he turned his attention to the returning bandits. At the front of the bandits was a black ox, its hooves leaving deep craters in the ground with each step.
On the back of the ox lay a fat man with pink curly hair, his chest exposed. Despite the ox's rapid movement, the man remained perfectly still, occasionally taking sips from a bottle of sake in his left hand.
"You should leave. That's Shutenmaru, the leader of the bandits in this area." Seeing the approaching figure, Kikunojo immediately urged Daniel and the others to leave.
"He's my prey." Before Daniel could respond, Esdeath leaped into the air, charging toward Shutenmaru.
"Uh." Daniel watched as Esdeath charged forward, swallowing the words he had been about to say to Akame. Shutenmaru, as one of the Red Scabbards and a renowned swordsman of Wano, would have been a suitable opponent for Akame. But since Esdeath had already taken action, there was nothing he could do. Fortunately, Akame didn't seem to mind.
"Hmph."
As Esdeath landed on the ground, she looked at the charging black ox and let out a cold snort. With a stomp of her left foot, a field of ice spikes erupted from the ground, stretching nearly a hundred meters ahead. The sudden attack instantly impaled the black ox.
Just as the spikes were about to pierce Shutenmaru, who was lying on the ox, he reacted quickly, leaping into the air to avoid the ice.
"You—!" Shutenmaru, now in mid-air, looked down and immediately flew into a rage, his eyes filled with murderous intent. Esdeath's attack had wiped out all of his followers.
Feeling Shutenmaru's killing intent, Esdeath snorted again. A massive ice spike erupted from the ground in front of her, shooting toward Shutenmaru.
*Boom!*
Shutenmaru, still in mid-air, drew the katana at his waist. Both his hands turned pitch black as he gripped the hilt and the blade, instantly turning the katana black as well. He then used the flat of the blade to block the massive ice spike.
Although he managed to block the attack, the sheer force of the ice spike sent him flying backward. Seeing this, Esdeath immediately gave chase.
"I hope she doesn't waste too much time."
Everyone was well aware of Esdeath's strength and wasn't worried. They found a clean spot outside the village to rest and wait for her return.
Tama had invited them to the village, but considering the villagers' earlier attitude, Daniel and the others had no interest in imposing.
"Tama, you've been out long enough. It's time to go back, or your master will worry." After observing Daniel and the others, Kikunojo's eyes showed a hint of concern. He then turned to Tama and urged her to return.
Although Shutenmaru had reverted to his old ways, Kikunojo, having once been his comrade and fellow Red Scabbard, naturally didn't want anything bad to happen to him. From Daniel and the others' demeanor, it was clear they had absolute confidence in their companion.
Kikunojo could have left directly, but he was also worried about Tama and wanted her to leave first.
"Tama, are you going back? Take some food with you. I think things will get better here soon." Hearing that Tama was leaving, Robin took out some food and handed it to her.
"Master, I understand. Thank you. Tama will always remember you." Although Tama didn't want to leave, thinking of her master and the delicious food in her hands, she decided to return and share the food with him.
Tenguyama Hitetsu was Tama's master and, apparently, a renowned blacksmith who possessed one of the 21 Great Grade swords, the Nidai Kitetsu.
In the past, Daniel might have been interested in this sword, but now he had no interest at all. If he were to collect swords, he would aim for the Supreme Grade swords. Wano happened to have two of them: Ame no Habakiri and Enma, both once wielded by Kozuki Oden.
The scars on Kaido's body were inflicted by Kozuki Oden using these two swords. Ame no Habakiri was said to be a sword capable of cutting through the heavens, while Enma was even more extraordinary—it could automatically absorb the user's Armament Haki and release it.
In a way, Enma was also a cursed sword. If the user couldn't tame it, it could be life-threatening. Enma's absorption of Armament Haki had no limits, and if it absorbed too much, it would be like a ninja overusing chakra.
If it weren't for the fact that the Shodai Kitetsu truly existed, Daniel might have mistaken Enma for it.
Now that he was in Wano, Daniel naturally wouldn't miss the chance to acquire these two swords. As for Zoro, there was still the Nidai Kitetsu. If he could also get his hands on the Shodai Kitetsu, Zoro would have the entire Kitetsu series.
Of course, whether Zoro could wield all three Kitetsu swords was another matter. After all, they were cursed blades, and even the Sandai Kitetsu was difficult for most to handle. If Zoro could fully master all three Kitetsu swords, his strength would undoubtedly be at the level of a top-tier swordsman, capable of rivaling Mihawk.
"I never expected a man to be so beautiful." After Kikunojo left with Tama, Leone couldn't help but remark. Daniel had already told them about the Red Scabbards, so they knew Kikunojo's identity as soon as they saw him.
But Daniel had no intention of targeting Kikunojo. He wasn't like Kurozumi Orochi, who was so terrified of the Red Scabbards that he wanted to eliminate them all.
In fact, the Red Scabbards were already a shadow of their former selves. Twenty years had passed—for Kin'emon and the others who had traveled through time, it might have only been a few minutes, but for others, like Ashura Doji, it was a lifetime.
With Kin'emon dead and Ashura Doji defeated, the Red Scabbards had lost two members. Momonosuke had become a giant child, and the prophecy of the Kozuki clan had long since been shattered due to Daniel's interference.
Without the artificial Devil Fruit, Momonosuke had become one of Caesar's giant experiment subjects.
"The battle over there is over. Let's go."
Not long after Kikunojo and Tama left, Daniel and the others sensed that the commotion from Esdeath and Ashura Doji's battle had ceased. They immediately knew the fight was over.
Esdeath's strength was now on par with the Four Emperors. Although Ashura Doji was a master swordsman, he was still far from the level of Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman. Faced with Esdeath's ice abilities, if she hadn't wanted to prolong the fight, it would have ended much sooner.
Arriving at the battlefield, they found a frozen wasteland spanning a kilometer. In the center of the ice field was Ashura Doji, frozen in a look of shock and disbelief. In his right hand was a shattered katana, but to Daniel's surprise, he was still alive.
"What a waste of a fine sword." As one of the Red Scabbards, Ashura Doji's katana was no ordinary weapon.
"Kurome, he's quite strong. He's yours."
"Understood."
As soon as Esdeath finished speaking, Kurome drew her Imperial Armament, Eight Arms Reload, and plunged it into the frozen Ashura Doji.
"Esdeath is really good to her subordinates." Only then did Daniel realize why Esdeath hadn't killed Ashura Doji—she had left him for Kurome to recruit.
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