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Wano Country, at the Shogun's Residence.
"Daichi, you're finally back."
"Waaahhh wahhh wahhh!"
Yamato hugged Daichi, wailing loudly.
Daichi's head ached from the noise, and his brow furrowed involuntarily.
"Stop crying!"
"Oh!"
Yamato quickly bit her lip, sucked back her snot, and stood there with big tears hanging from the corners of her eyes, looking utterly wronged.
Daichi's expression softened slightly, and he comforted her. "I was only gone for a while. It's not like I wasn't coming back. Why are you crying?"
"I was lonely."
Yamato wiped away her tears.
She didn't want to stay in this rotten Wano Country for another second!
She wanted freedom!
She wanted to go on adventures at sea!
Daichi sighed helplessly.
Look at how this child had been cooped up, like a husky in a cage with nowhere to expend her energy.
"Did you finish visiting the Kin Inari Shrine?"
"Yes!"
At the mention of the Kin Inari Shrine, Yamato immediately perked up.
"Daichi, I saw so many shrine maidens!"
"And Priestess Ann—she has pointy ears and a fluffy fox tail. They say she's a messenger of the Inari God!"
"Oh, and on the mountain path leading to the shrine, there were torii gates stretching as far as the eye could see, with cherry blossom trees planted on both sides. It was so beautiful!"
Yamato chattered away, recounting her experiences at the Kin Inari Shrine.
The Kin Inari Shrine was the most important shrine in Wano Country. The Inari God worshipped there symbolized the god of grain and food, overseeing harvests. Therefore, it was highly revered by the people of Wano Country.
Recently, the living standards of Wano Country's people had improved significantly. At least they could fill their stomachs. Thus, there was a continuous stream of people visiting the shrine.
So many people!
"The offerings must be quite substantial, right?"
Daichi stroked his chin.
What harvest god? Now he was the harvest god of Wano Country. He was the one who allowed the common people to fill their stomachs.
How could divine authority be allowed to run rampant in his territory?
All the offering money should be his.
He would immediately have artisans carve a Groudon statue and send it to the Kin Inari Shrine. It must be placed in the main hall!
Hmph, daring to steal his money.
And that fox priestess, pretending to be a divine messenger—she must be from the Mink Tribe. Given the long-standing relationship between Wano Country and the Mink Tribe, it wasn't surprising for Mink Tribe members to appear in Wano Country.
This country still held many secrets.
He would settle them one by one when he had time.
He was too busy right now. Even the executives who wanted to drink with him had to queue up. Even Queen wanted to get research funds from him.
Yamato looked at Daichi expectantly.
"Daichi, when are you leaving?"
"In the next couple of days."
Daichi replied casually.
The fleet to suppress the rebellion was being prepared and would take some time. This expedition required large amounts of supplies, especially food.
Several months had passed, and now it was harvest time again in various regions. Large quantities of grain were being transported to granaries. In this war-torn world, food was hard currency—even more useful than berries for common people.
Yamato's eyes lit up, and her fluffy tail even popped out, wagging vigorously.
"Daichi, can you take me with you?"
"Take you with me?"
Daichi looked at the young woman and nodded.
"Alright."
"Eh?!"
Yamato's brain instantly froze.
He agreed?
Could she really go out to sea with him?
She had thought Daichi would definitely refuse!
"Hahahahaha!"
When she came back to her senses, she excitedly jumped onto Daichi, hugging his head and giving him a flurry of kisses.
"Daichi! I love you so much!"
"Alright, alright."
Daichi pushed Yamato away, disdainfully wiping the drool from his face. How old was she? When would she develop some femininity?
Wano Country was stable, and it made no difference whether Yamato stayed or not. She was just a figurehead anyway, completely clueless about managing a country.
Shimotsuki Yasuie could handle it. As long as the Kozuki clan didn't return, Shimotsuki Yasuie wouldn't have any ulterior motives.
Mainly, he worried that Yamato would develop problems from being cooped up.
Before, when Yamato was on Onigashima, she was either getting beaten or on her way to getting beaten. She didn't have so many worries then.
Indeed, people shouldn't be too comfortable.
"Come out for a walk with me."
"Oh!"
Hakumai, Port.
The river was filled with ships transporting grain from various regions to Hakumai's granaries. After being tallied, it would be transported by Beast Pirates ships to the hidden port.
"The Shogun is here!"
"And Daichi-sama!"
When Daichi and Yamato appeared, the port workers immediately put down their work and greeted them with immense excitement.
In less than a year, their lives had undergone earth-shattering changes. Although work was still hard, it was infinitely happier than their past difficult days.
Life had direction!
"You all keep busy. Don't mind us."
Daichi smiled and nodded.
Tsk tsk, their morale was pretty good!
It seemed the taxes were too low. They needed to be increased!
Too much happiness in life would lead to countless troubles, just like Yamato. This bad tendency had to be nipped in the bud.
Besides, even the Heavenly Tribute was being taxed more these days!
The two walked through Hakumai.
"La la la!"
Yamato clasped her hands behind her back like a little girl, bouncing happily, overjoyed at the thought of going out to sea.
Crying sounds came from afar.
Daichi glanced over, raising an eyebrow.
"Yamato, look over there!"
"Hmm?"
Yamato looked over in confusion.
It was a funeral procession, cremating their deceased loved ones at the crematorium entrance. Adults and children alike were crying.
Yamato was puzzled.
"Daichi, what's wrong?"
"I heard that Kozuki Oden once cooked oden using the flames from someone's bones at a funeral."
Daichi looked at Yamato with a casual expression.
"Aren't you going to copy him?"
"Daichi, don't underestimate me!"
Yamato angrily put her hands on her hips.
"I'm not the same person I used to be. I read a lot now. I've become smarter, so don't try to make fun of me anymore!"
"Oh?"
Daichi's eyes showed doubt.
Yamato snorted and turned her head away.
"I would never desecrate the dead!"
"Oden truly did wrong, and I won't defend him. I also know that the Oden I imagined and the real Oden are not the same person."
"The current me will no longer be fixated on becoming Kozuki Oden. I want to become myself. I want to live my own life!"
"I've grown up!"
The young woman proudly held her head high and puffed out her chest.
You must open your eyes and see how she's changed!
She was no longer the silly fool she was as a child. She had read many books and understood many profound truths!
Daichi once told her:
To become someone, you must first understand them!
After becoming Shogun, she had been collecting stories of Kozuki Oden's deeds. There were many things she liked about Oden, but also many things she disliked or even detested.
She disliked gambling and fighting, disliked acting arbitrarily and causing trouble for others, disliked eating oden on corpses, and especially disliked abandoning the people who trusted him.
She could distinguish between willfulness and the pursuit of freedom!
She was already a mature adult!
Dahahaha!