Time was like a wild stallion charging across the plains. Once it started galloping, nothing could rein it in.
Three days vanished in what felt like a single heartbeat.
The Flower Capital buzzed with electric anticipation as workers put the finishing touches on a magnificent platform in the giant plaza. The structure rose like a monument to power, its polished wood gleaming under the morning sun.
For this momentous ceremony, Kai had personally transported Video Den Den Mushi from the Beast Pirates' stronghold, their camera eyes already focused and ready to broadcast every second of the historic event across the nation.
Throughout Kuri, Kibi, Udon, Ringo, and Hakumai, wherever crowds gathered in taverns and town squares, Kai's projection Den Den Mushi waited like silent sentinels, ready to beam the ceremony into every corner of Wano Country.
The plaza below the platform writhed with humanity. Bodies pressed against bodies in a sea of expectant faces, voices rising and falling like ocean waves.
Denjiro's samurai force formed protective barriers throughout the crowd, their hands resting nervously on sword hilts as they struggled to maintain order among the restless masses.
Upon the platform itself, Kai stood resplendent in formal robes beside Yamato, who fidgeted with barely contained excitement. The various regional daimyo flanked them in their finest ceremonial dress, creating a tableau of authority and tradition.
"Where's Hiyori? Hasn't she shown up yet?" Yamato's voice carried a childlike eagerness that made several daimyo exchange amused glances.
Kai pressed his palm against his forehead with theatrical despair. "Soon, Yamato. Very soon."
Only the gods knew why Yamato had transformed into such an excitable ball of energy after discovering that Komurasaki was actually Kozuki Hiyori. They'd been seeing each other practically every day for months.
"That's completely different! She's Oden's actual daughter!" Yamato's grin could have lit up the entire plaza.
Though she'd abandoned her dream of becoming Kozuki Oden himself, the appearance of Oden's flesh-and-blood daughter still sent thrills of joy racing through her heart.
In her previous mindset, she probably would have immediately adopted Komurasaki as her own beloved daughter.
"Who would have imagined that Wano Country's new shogun would worship Oden more passionately than most of the country's actual citizens?" Kai mused silently before turning toward Fukurokuju with authority. "It's time to begin."
"Yes, Lord Kai. Immediately."
Fukurokuju bowed with perfect respect, stepped forward to the platform's edge, and announced in a voice that carried across the entire plaza: "The sword dedication ceremony officially commences!"
The appointed time was still five minutes away, but when Lord Kai declared it was time, then time itself had to obey. Clearly the clock tower was simply malfunctioning.
"They're coming! They're actually coming!"
A voice from deep within the crowd suddenly erupted with excitement.
Every head turned in perfect unison, thousands of eyes focusing on the same distant point.
Through the parting crowd emerged a vision that stole the breath from every observer. A breathtakingly beautiful young woman glided forward with regal grace, accompanied by an imposing fish-man whose presence commanded instant respect. In her delicate hands, she cradled a long sword that seemed to hum with legendary power.
"It's Enma! The legendary Lord Oden's sacred sword, Enma!"
"And look! That's Kawamatsu himself! One of the legendary Nine Red Scabbards, Kozuki Oden's most devoted retainer!"
"By the gods! That young woman's face... she's the mirror image of Lady Toki! She must be Princess Hiyori herself!"
The crowd's voices swelled like a rising storm, every person confirming the earth-shaking identities of the figures approaching the platform.
Miles away at the Weapons Factory, Tenguyama Hitetsu felt his ancient heart seize with emotion as he watched the live broadcast. Tears streamed down his weathered cheeks as he whispered in a voice barely audible above his own thundering heartbeat: "Hiyori... it's truly you..."
High on Atama Mountain, in the village nestled at its base, Ashura Doji had concealed himself in the shadows to watch the broadcast alongside the unsuspecting villagers. Despite knowing this moment would come, seeing Kawamatsu's unmistakable form still sent shock waves through his chest.
"Has our situation truly deteriorated this far?" he wondered with growing dread.
Deep within Udon Quarry, the prisoners had been granted a rare half-day of rest to witness the broadcast, though most would have preferred to remain in their cells rather than face this crushing reality.
"This has to be some elaborate deception!" one prisoner screamed, his voice cracking with desperation.
Other inmates sat with faces drained of all color, their faith in the Kozuki legacy crumbling like ancient stone. The sound of grown men sobbing echoed off the quarry walls.
Hyogoro's expression had turned to iron, overwhelmed by a helplessness so complete he questioned whether continued resistance held any meaning whatsoever.
"Hahahaha! That's so perfectly characteristic of Kai! Not content with merely killing his enemies, he crushes their very souls!" Queen initially slapped his massive thigh and roared with delighted laughter, but the instant the camera zoomed in on Kozuki Hiyori's exquisite features, his mirth died like a candle in a hurricane.
"How could it be her?! How could it possibly be her?! My beloved Komurasaki!"
Back in the Flower Capital's plaza, Kai nodded with secret satisfaction.
His planted agents had performed their roles flawlessly.
Those voices first confirming Kozuki Hiyori's identity belonged to disguised ninjas strategically positioned throughout the crowd.
After all, beyond the famous sword Enma, Kozuki Hiyori possessed no other distinctive tokens to prove her royal heritage.
Fortunately, Kawamatsu's unique appearance was unmistakable throughout all of Wano Country. Otherwise, the evidence would have seemed even more questionable.
Just as the pair approached the platform's base, two voices erupted with murderous fury.
"Execute the traitor!"
"Death to Kozuki Hiyori, who betrayed our nation!"
A pack of desperate samurai burst from concealed positions like rabid wolves, their blades gleaming as they charged directly toward Kozuki Hiyori with killing intent blazing in their eyes.
"Princess! Take cover!" Kawamatsu's reflexes activated like lightning. His sword sang from its sheath as he positioned himself as a human shield between the attackers and Hiyori.
The sharp ring of clashing steel echoed across the plaza as Kawamatsu single-handedly deflected every incoming blade with masterful precision!
On the platform above, Kai rose to his full height, his gaze falling upon the chaos below with a smile as cold as winter ice. "It appears I've been far too merciful lately."
As his words fell like a judge's gavel, the previously crystal-clear sky transformed with supernatural speed. Sunlight vanished behind churning storm clouds that gathered with unnatural fury.
"Kawamatsu! Get Hiyori to safety immediately!" Kai's voice carried the weight of divine command, suppressed anger making the air itself tremble.
Though Kawamatsu didn't understand the reason, he trusted the order completely and swept Hiyori away from the battlefield with protective urgency.
The instant they cleared the danger zone...
"Thunder." Kai's voice whispered across the plaza like death itself.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Over ten bolts of pure lightning tore through the heavens like the wrath of angry gods, each guided by Kai's Observation Haki with surgical precision, striking down toward every samurai who had dared raise arms against the ceremony!
"AHHHHHHH!"
The attacking samurai released blood-curdling screams that could wake the dead.
One by one, their voices fell silent as their bodies collapsed, charred black and smoking, filling the air with the nauseating stench of burned flesh and shattered dreams.
"Denjiro. Clean up this mess." Kai's voice carried arctic coldness directly to Denjiro's ears.
"At once, my lord!"
Denjiro didn't dare hesitate for even a heartbeat, immediately commanding his subordinates to remove the grisly evidence.
Kai waved his hand with casual dismissal, and the thunderclouds retreated like obedient servants. Golden sunlight once again bathed the plaza in warmth, as if the apocalyptic scene moments before had been nothing more than a shared nightmare.
"Lord Kai's divine power encompasses the world!" The Hakumai daimyo recovered from his shock first, his voice shaking with awe and fear as he shouted his praise.
The other daimyo snapped from their stupor like men waking from dreams, internally cursing the man for stealing their thunder while hastily adding their own voices: "Indeed! This is truly the miracle of a living god!"
"Enough flattery." Kai cut through their meaningless praise with sharp efficiency and turned toward Fukurokuju. "Continue the ceremony."
"As you command, Lord Kai."
Fukurokuju acknowledged the order and directed his subordinates to resume the historic proceedings.
Below the platform, Kozuki Hiyori and her loyal guardian continued their approach.
The samurai assassins had come and gone like smoke, their violent interruption failing to derail the ceremony's momentum.
The crowd swiftly restored order under the firm guidance of Denjiro's forces, creating a respectful pathway for Kozuki Hiyori and Kawamatsu to complete their sacred journey.
Hiyori drew a deep breath that seemed to encompass all her ancestors' strength, clutched Enma's scabbard against her chest, and ascended the platform steps with the weight of history on her shoulders.
She approached Yamato with measured, graceful steps.
Yamato fought valiantly to maintain a serious expression befitting her role as shogun, attempting to project proper dignity, but the curiosity and excitement dancing in her eyes threatened to overflow like an overfilled cup.
"I am the daughter of Kozuki Oden. My name is Kozuki Hiyori."
Hiyori's voice rang crystal clear and solemn across the silent plaza, each word carrying the power to reshape a nation: "Inspired by Shogun Yamato's legendary reputation for wisdom and benevolence, I have come to present my father's treasured sword, Enma, as a token of the Kozuki clan's complete submission."
"Ahem."
Yamato cleared her throat with theatrical dignity, forcing down her burning curiosity and following Kai's carefully prepared script with surprising formality: "As long as you sincerely accept my rule and guidance, then you shall be welcomed as an ordinary citizen of my Wano Country, free to live here in peace and prosperity."
With those words, Yamato accepted Enma's ornate scabbard and raised it high above her head like a trophy of conquest. The blade caught the sunlight and cast brilliant reflections across the crowd as the Video Den Den Mushi captured every historic detail.
Her gaze pierced through the camera lens with the intensity of forged steel as she proclaimed with absolute authority:
"I, Yamato, swear by my sacred honor as Wano Country's rightful shogun! As long as any remaining Kozuki loyalists sincerely repent their resistance and submit to my rule, I shall let bygones be bygones and welcome them as my people!"