Chapter 194 – The Country of Wano
Early the next morning, Ace said goodbye to Sabo and the others, boarded his speedboat, and left the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army.
After departing from White Earth Island, Ace did not head straight for Sun Island. Instead, he set his course for the Land of Wano.
Because there, someone was still waiting for him — a promise from the past that he intended to fulfill.
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Wano Country was a unique land, even within the New World.
It was divided into two distinct areas — the Outer Sea and the Inner Sea.
The entire nation was surrounded by sheer cliffs and towering waterfalls, with no accessible coastline.
Ordinary ships couldn't reach it by normal means.
Adding to that, the seas surrounding Wano were plagued year-round by fierce storms and unpredictable currents, making navigation nearly impossible.
Because of this, few ships ever approached its borders.
Wano was also a nation of strict isolation — one of the few countries in the world that refused to join the World Government, remaining closed off for centuries.
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Two years earlier, during his own journey, Ace had once been caught in a shipwreck near Wano's waters. Swept by the raging currents, he was cast ashore upon Wano by sheer accident.
It was then that he met a little girl named Otama in the Kuri Region.
Back then, he had made a promise — that one day he would return to Wano.
And when that time came, if Tama had grown into a beautiful kunoichi, he would take her out to see the world beyond Wano's borders.
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Now, the situation in Wano was dire.
The only surviving heir of the Kozuki Family, Kozuki Momonosuke, had been captured and was set to be publicly executed in the Flower Capital.
In response, the scattered remnants of the Kozuki loyalists from twenty years ago were preparing to make their move — a desperate attempt to rescue their young lord.
But the usurper Kurozumi Orochi and his ally Kaido, the captain of the Beasts Pirates, had already set a deadly trap, waiting for the Kozuki retainers to reveal themselves — so they could destroy them once and for all.
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The Kozuki Family had ruled over Wano for generations, supported by five great clans: the Amatsuki, Shimotsuki, Fuugetsu, Ugetsu, and Kurozumi families.
The Kozuki were renowned as master stonemasons — it was their ancestors who had carved the indestructible Poneglyphs eight hundred years ago.
They were also among the few in the world capable of reading and interpreting them.
More than twenty years ago, the Kurozumi Clan conspired to overthrow the Kozuki Family.
Kurozumi Orochi, aided by the impostor Kurozumi Higurashi, assassinated the then-shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki, seizing power and installing himself as Wano's new ruler.
Afterward, Orochi forged an alliance with Kaido, turning Wano into the production base for the Beasts Pirates' vast weapons industry.
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When Kozuki Oden returned from his journey with Whitebeard and Roger, he sought to reclaim Wano from Orochi and Kaido.
A fierce battle erupted — and though Oden initially gained the upper hand, he was ultimately deceived by Higurashi, who used the Clone-Clone Fruit (Mane Mane no Mi) to impersonate his son, Momonosuke.
Distracted for an instant, Oden was struck down by Kaido's Thunder Bagua, defeated, and later executed by being boiled alive.
Before her death, Oden's wife Kozuki Toki used her Time-Time Fruit (Toki Toki no Mi) ability to send her son Momonosuke and three of his retainers twenty years into the future.
She left behind a prophecy — that twenty years later, her son and the Nine Red Scabbards would return to overthrow Orochi and Kaido and restore Wano's dawn.
But what Toki could never have foreseen was the arrival of Ace, the variable that would alter the world's course.
When Momonosuke and his retainers were transported forward twenty years, they appeared amidst Ace's fierce battle against Doflamingo.
Confused and disoriented, they had no time to react before Jack the Drought, Kaido's right-hand man, arrived on the scene.
In the ensuing chaos, Kin'emon, leader of the Nine Red Scabbards, was slain.
Momonosuke was captured by Kurozumi Kanjuro, the traitor secretly working under Orochi's orders, and handed over to Orochi and Kaido directly.
Originally, Kaido and Orochi had planned to execute Momonosuke immediately to erase Toki's prophecy forever.
However, they soon realized they could use the boy as bait — to lure out every remaining Kozuki loyalist in Wano and crush them all in one decisive stroke.
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When Ace arrived in Wano, it was the day before Momonosuke's scheduled execution.
"Hah… so you want me to watch the brat's final moments?"
Ace smirked when he heard the news in Kuri that the execution was set for the next morning.
With a flicker of amusement, he decided to first visit the Flower Capital to witness the event — and then travel to Amigasa Village to take Otama away from Wano once and for all.
With that thought, Ace left the Kuri Region, soaring toward the Flower Capital.
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In the Flower Capital, within the estate of the Kyoshiro Family, the city's most powerful yakuza organization, their leader — Kyoshiro the Sleeping — knelt before a graceful woman.
On the surface, she was Oiran Komurasaki, the most famous courtesan in the Capital.
But her true identity was none other than Kozuki Hiyori, daughter of Kozuki Oden and Kozuki Toki — and sister of Momonosuke.
Twenty years ago, she had been saved by Denjiro, who, under the alias Kyoshiro, protected her in secret.
Since then, Hiyori had survived by disguising herself under his protection, living right under Orochi's nose.
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"Lady Hiyori," Denjiro said solemnly, bowing deeply.
"No matter how much you plead, I cannot allow you to leave this place."
"Whether it's Ashura Dōji, Kawamatsu, or even Raizo — even if Nekomamushi and Inuarashi return from overseas — none of them can stand against Kaido."
"There is no hope of rescuing Lord Momonosuke. If you are exposed now, the Kozuki Family will truly be finished!"
"But…" Tears streamed down Hiyori's face. "How can I just sit here and watch my brother die at the hands of Kaido and Orochi?"
"I cannot do it!" Denjiro's voice trembled, but his resolve did not waver.
"Your Highness Hiyori, tomorrow I will arrange for your escape from the Flower Capital. If possible, you must leave Wano entirely."
"Even if it takes another twenty years, as long as you live, the Kozuki Family's hope will remain. Please, endure!"
He pressed his forehead to the ground, his voice breaking.
"This time, I will act alongside the Red Scabbards — and if need be, die with them and Lord Momonosuke."
"Please, Your Highness Hiyori… live on for the future of the Kozuki Clan!"
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