In another village in Kibi, a similar scene was unfolding.
Sunlight bathed the rustic houses, lending a unique vitality to this otherwise peaceful settlement.
A blue-haired woman moved through the crowd, her face beaming with a warm smile as she held colorful candies in her hand.
She distributed the sweets to the wide-eyed children, who flocked around her like cheerful little birds, hopping about joyfully.
The woman declared clearly, "Remember, where there's oppression, there's resistance! And the Eternal Divine Kingdom will always stand with the oppressed!"
.....
In the slums of the Flower Capital, an atmosphere of decay and despair hung heavily.
Dilapidated houses leaned precariously, sewage flowed through the streets, and the residents' faces were etched with hardship and resignation.
Yet today was different.
The long-oppressed people gazed at the relief supplies descending from the sky, their eyes sparkling with astonishment and gratitude.
The Divine Kingdom's ruler!
Someone from the Divine Kingdom had come to save them!
For the first time, a glimmer of hope ignited in their clouded eyes.
An elderly man who had lost both legs crawled on the ground, his body leaving a deep trail in the dirt.
With tears streaming down his face, he kissed the banner of the Divine Kingdom, his chapped lips trembling as his voice choked with emotion:
"Thank you, Eternal Divine Kingdom! Thank you, Lord Ron! You are the true saviors!"
In his heart, the Eternal Divine Kingdom and Ron were the dawn piercing through the darkness, giving him the courage and hope to keep living.
In just a few short hours...
The previously unfamiliar name "Eternal Divine Kingdom" had taken root like seeds deeply embedded in the hearts of Wano's people, sprouting and stirring waves of emotion within them.
In this turbulent nation weary from endless warfare, the people had long yearned for a force that could bring peace and hope.
The emergence of the "Eternal Divine Kingdom" appeared like a ray of light in the darkness.
Thus, driven by this invisible force, many citizens began taking action.
In some remote villages, people quietly constructed simple altars using rough stones and basic timber.
Though humble, these altars carried the people's aspirations for the future.
They carefully placed fresh flowers gathered from fields or ancestral offerings from their homes, then knelt devoutly, murmuring prayers as they made offerings to Ron whom they had never met.
In their hearts, Ron had already become a savior, a god of hope who could deliver them from suffering.
The shogun they had long trusted failed to save them, but the Divine Kingdom had come, bringing the red will to spread golden stars across the Land of Wano!
Snowflakes drifted down, covering the battlefield where fierce combat had once occurred.
The bloodstains left by the Beasts Pirates gradually disappeared beneath the pure white snow, fading into silence.
.....
In Kuri..
Before a dilapidated shrine, a woman clad in silver-white battle robes slowly approached an injured elder.
Her slender fingers gently touched the old man's wounds, with soothing healing flames dancing at her fingertips.
The flames leaped over the elder's injuries like nimble spirits, the warmth and comfort they brought causing the old man to tremble slightly.
The surrounding villagers gathered around, their eyes fixed intently on the scene before them.
Astonishment and reverence shone in their gazes as they witnessed the elderly man's wounds miraculously begin to heal under the glow of the flames.
A wave of exclamations erupted from the crowd.
"This... this is a miracle!" a child couldn't help but shout out.
Tears welled up in the old man's clouded eyes—an emotional release of the pain and despair long suppressed in his heart.
"Thank you... thank you!"
His body trembling, he tried to kneel before the woman to express his heartfelt gratitude.
However, she gently held him up.
"Elder, this is no miracle," she said, lifting her head slightly, her gaze firm and confident. "I'm a Phoenix healer of the Eternal Divine Kingdom. In the realm of our Lord Ron, every citizen receives such medical care when injured."
She deliberately paused, her eyes slowly sweeping over the expectant faces around her.
Seeing the longing kindled in the villagers' eyes, she felt a secret joy.
"As long as you sincerely believe in the Eternal Divine Kingdom, you too can receive this divine protection and care."
...
The crowd bustled with activity, various voices mingling together.
At that moment, a particularly burly male captain was methodically directing his subordinates as they busily distributed food.
He stood atop the fallen flag of the Beasts Pirates, his eyes scanning the surrounding people.
"Look closely! This food was ruthlessly plundered from you in the first place! Think about it—how much of your hard-earned harvest was forcibly taken by those villains, leaving you to suffer hunger and hardship!"
As he spoke, he abruptly raised his foot and, with all his strength, stomped down hard, shattering the once-arrogant emblem of the pirate crew beneath him, as if to completely crush their past atrocities.
"But in the Eternal Divine Kingdom, such things will never happen!" his voice continued to echo overhead.
"Our Lord Ron is a great being with compassion for all living beings. He despises oppression above all! Under his rule, every citizen will be treated justly. There'll be no more plunder or tyranny. Everyone can live a stable and prosperous life!"
From the crowd, a bold merchant cautiously raised his head, curiosity and hope glimmering in his eyes, and mustered the courage to ask.
"Then... how can we join this... Divine Kingdom?"
Hearing this question, a mysterious smile slowly spread across the captain's face.
He lifted his head slightly, gazing into the distance as if envisioning a bright future, and said slowly.
"When the banner of the Divine Kingdom is truly planted in the Land of Wano, those with sincere faith and a genuine longing for light and justice will naturally have the opportunity to join our hopeful and warm family."
These suggestive words, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, immediately stirred waves of murmurs and whispers among the crowd.
"Can we really join the Divine Kingdom…"
"What are you thinking? We're the Shogun's people!"
"But when I was about to die, it was the Divine Kingdom that saved me."
"That's right, the Divine Kingdom saved me when I was starving. What about the Shogun?"
"The Shogun I believed in never came to save me, even when I was dying…"