Depravity.
Far too depraved!
That was Ren's reflection on himself. He could not help wondering: why had things turned out like this?
Was it because he felt he was already invincible in this world, and had begun indulging himself?
Or was it because the sun burned within his heart, making him a little too "heated"?
In the span of four or five days, he had eaten two—no, that was not right. He should say he had completely vented his desires and poured out two cream puffs.
Was this the fall of morality, or was it—
Forget it.
This was probably just the rare sage-time effect. Once it passed, he would stop thinking like this.
"I'm just an old pervert."
Ren muttered to himself, then rose from the messy room.
As he moved, Hiyori, who had still been half-asleep, woke with a start. She propped up her body, which looked as though it had almost been ravaged apart, and dressed Ren properly.
She had the gentle, demure grace of a classic Yamato nadeshiko.
After finishing, she knelt in front of Ren and leaned her delicate head forward, seemingly wanting to perform the same "good morning bite" as before.
"That's enough."
Ren pressed down on her head. Under Hiyori's uneasy gaze, he said, "It's already enough. Tell Robin about this. She'll give you an answer that puts you at ease."
With that said, he left the place very directly, heading toward the location within his perception.
Light flashed, and in the next instant, he appeared in front of Kawamatsu and Hyogoro, who seemed to be preparing to report.
Kawamatsu was startled. His hand instinctively moved to the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at once.
Crimson Eyes turned, and his entire body froze in place. His five fingers completely refused to obey him.
"Lord Ren."
Hyogoro quickly lowered his head in greeting, while also tugging at Kawamatsu beside him. Only then did Kawamatsu break free from that pressure.
'So strong…'
A chill ran through Kawamatsu's heart. He had met many powerful people, and had also fought against members of the Beasts Pirates.
But he had never encountered someone who could render him unable to move with a single glance.
In reality, Ren had merely used the power of the Float-Float Fruit.
"Did you finish talking?" Ren said.
"Yes. But you need to go somewhere to meet her. It isn't that we failed to handle things properly, but she… is imprisoned."
Hyogoro defended the result, only to see Ren wave his hand.
"That's fine. Give me the address."
Hyogoro honestly told him. Then, he discovered that Ren had vanished.
He stood there dazed for a long moment before looking at his companion, Kawamatsu. "What do you think of him? Is his strength greater than Kaido's?"
"I…"
Kawamatsu thought back for a moment, then said, "I don't know how to describe it, but he's definitely stronger than Kaido."
He had witnessed Kaido in action before. The man was extremely powerful, shocking, and terrifying.
But… Lady Hiyori had personally told him that Wano's opening of its borders had happened because Demon Ren had acted.
That giant cross-shaped star that shone across the sky was one of Ren's techniques.
Added to this close-range encounter, he could clearly feel that the pressure the other party gave him far surpassed Kaido's.
"That's good."
Hyogoro breathed a sigh of relief, then raised his hand to stop Kawamatsu outside the door. "I'll go in alone."
"…Why?" Kawamatsu was somewhat puzzled.
"Her Highness made a great sacrifice…"
Hyogoro stopped there. Then he pushed open the door and entered.
Passing through the grassy corridor and entering the residence, one could see a battlefield in utter chaos.
The oiran's clothing appeared everywhere in the form of torn strips, and many places were marked with traces of water.
Hyogoro's gaze swept across one bed. The fabric on it looked as though it had been fished out of water, and even its color had changed.
He sighed inwardly, then continued walking inside.
The range of the battlefield had basically covered the entire residence. Even beside the trees in the rear courtyard, traces had been left behind.
In the end, he found Princess Hiyori in the attic on the top floor.
"Your Highness…"
Hyogoro glanced at Hiyori, who was draped in thin gauze and sleeping there limply like a puddle of mud. After thinking for a moment, he pulled over a blanket.
To him, this was not unacceptable. Wano needed that man's power.
Payment and sacrifice were unavoidable things.
On the other side, Ren headed directly toward the coordinate point from high in the sky, showing not the slightest bit of caution despite being in enemy territory.
To put it bluntly, the only reason he had not directly flipped the table was because he had grown used to being cautious, and still thought it better to make preparations before smashing through everything.
Of course, Ren had made some preparations, more or less. For example… Observation Killing!
A special technique originating from the Figarland family. Saint Garling and Shanks had both used it before.
It was an alternative use of Conqueror's Haki, capable of erasing one's presence so that it could not be perceived by Observation Haki.
He had casually stolen a few looks at it, then learned it through his powerful talent.
'This thing is somewhat useful. At the very least, it can directly ignore Future Sight.'
Ren transformed into light and streaked across the sky before landing on a tiny island.
It was not very large, so his perception instantly captured a strong presence.
His feet moved in rapid flashes. His Crimson Eyes turned, locking onto a beautiful figure.
She had long white hair with a gradient, changing from white at the top to green, then to blue at the ends.
Her hair was parted down the middle, with locks at her temples naturally hanging down to her chest.
A pair of red demon horns grew from the top of her head, and the hair at the back of her head was tied into a ponytail with two orange hairpins.
Gold earrings hung from both ears.
Her figure was tall—astonishingly tall, at two meters and sixty-three centimeters.
She wore a sleeveless white fitted kimono. Because her figure was far too good, her extremely full upper body propped up the kimono's lapels, while the sleeveless side openings exposed the curves at her sides.
The kimono had blue patterns, and two diamond-shaped patterns at the chest covered the points that had no undergarments beneath them.
A massive shimenawa rope was tied around her waist. On her lower body, she wore a red skirt, and her bare feet were slipped into red-strapped geta.
On her hands was also a pair of extremely sturdy shackles. They should have been put on her by Kaido.
Seastone explosive shackles that would detonate once she left the island.
At this moment, Yamato was sitting bored on a large rock, looking up at the stars in the sky.
For her, trapped here, the only thing she could do was count stars.
Although she had escaped from the prison because of the samurai, the shackles on her wrists, which would explode if she left the island, still prevented her from leaving this country and becoming the "Kozuki Oden" she wanted to become.
Her mood sank for a while, but Yamato immediately pulled herself together and took out Oden's logbook, which she had read countless times, from her pocket.
'If I show this to them, I should be able to gain their trust and join the group rebelling against that bastard of a father of mine.
I heard their leader is someone from the Kozuki family. I wonder what they'll be like…'
Yamato seemed extremely expectant, giggling foolishly to herself.
Without warning, a questioning voice sounded beside her ear. "Is this Oden's logbook?"
Yamato froze. Before she could react, the logbook in her hands had vanished.
Her expression changed, and she jumped up. Turning her head, she saw a stranger several meters away flipping through the logbook.
"Give it back!"
Yamato grabbed the kanabo beside the large rock, furious and ready to attack.
But… abruptly, her entire body became unable to move.
'The air…?'
Yamato noticed that something was wrong. The air around her seemed to have become solid, firmly imprisoning her in place.
She was already being suppressed by Seastone Handcuffs, and her remaining strength was not enough to break free from the restraint.
'It's self-praise from start to finish…'
Ren flipped through the logbook and roughly understood what Kozuki Oden had written.
In truth, there was nothing particularly magical about it. It was merely that, from his personal perspective, he had exaggerated his own accomplishments.
If any experienced person read it, they would not treat everything in this diary as completely true.
But Yamato was clearly an exception.
First, she had witnessed Oden's execution by boiling—the legendary one hour—and had planted the impression in her heart that "Oden was incredible, the strongest samurai."
After that, she came into contact with Oden's logbook, so naturally, she would not doubt anything.
On the contrary, because of her original impression, she magnified the contents of the logbook and became a starstruck fan.
As everyone knew, starstruck fans were basically the unreasonable type.
Of course, Ren had no intention of doing anything good.
In his values, what Oden had done was not enough to bear the title of hero.
He had an aversion to stupidity, so by association, he did not have much favorable impression of Yamato either. All the favorable impression he had now came from… her beauty and absurdly good figure.
Yes. He was very honest.
"Who are you? Are you here to take me back?"
Yamato seemed to think Ren was someone from the Beasts Pirates. Anger appeared on her pretty face. "I won't go back! I'm a man who will become Kozuki Oden!"
"Man?"
Ren tilted his head, his gaze landing below Yamato's neck. "Obviously, you're a woman."
Putting everything else aside, they really were large. From her outfit alone, one could feel the temptation of a beauty.
"Hm?"
Yamato froze for a moment, then said, "I'm a man. A man who will become the next Kozuki Oden!"
After saying that, she anxiously began struggling. Even while suppressed by Seastone, she could still shake the air restraint.
Clearly, like her father, she was also of the Oni Race. Her physique far surpassed ordinary people's.
"So she was raised crooked, huh? Then how about this?"
Ren sighed and took out a black-and-gold card.
As a pale golden domain unfolded, he slightly loosened the air restraint on Yamato's body, then showed her the proof Hyogoro had given him.
With one glance, Yamato, who had originally planned to break out and fight, froze. Suspicious and uncertain, she said, "You're with the resistance?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you attack me?"
"Because I had to see whether you were qualified or not. You should understand how strong Kaido is, and your identity is what it is."
As Ren spoke, he picked up the logbook. "But after reading this, I can confirm that you truly have no problem."
"Of course I have no problem!"
Yamato seemed to feel that she had been doubted, and slapped her chest somewhat angrily, producing a very subtle bounce.
Ren's eyelid twitched. He was somewhat speechless at Yamato's sense of contrast.
She was clearly a delicate and beautiful woman, yet she acted like a man.
She was clearly Kaido's "son," yet every sentence from her mouth was about wanting to become Kozuki Oden.
She had clearly just been attacked and should have been on guard, but the moment he showed proof, she threw all of that aside.
If there was anything that was truly important, it was—
"Among you resistance people, there really is someone from the Kozuki family, right?!"
Yamato excitedly grabbed Ren's hand, her beautiful eyes filled with anticipation.
"Yes."
Ren nodded. "To be exact, it's Kozuki Oden's daughter, Kozuki Hiyori."
"That's great!"
Yamato was unbelievably happy. "I've always been looking for people from the Kozuki family. I want to overthrow my old man's rule together with them and become the true Kozuki Oden."
"That's good. However…"
"However what?"
"However, you have to show sincerity first. After all, your identity…"
Ren guided her patiently, while the pale golden domain had already enveloped the surroundings.
Yamato seemed to sense something and looked at the golden halo around them. "Is this the sincerity test?"
"You could say that."
Ren thought about it, then affirmed, "Stay here and don't move. It'll be done shortly."
"Okay!"
Yamato revealed a brilliant smile, and truly endured that strange sensation without moving at all.
When the golden domain finished covering the area, Ren sighed. "The test begins, Miss Yamato."
"I'm not a woman!" Yamato frowned and corrected him.
"That doesn't matter. Listen closely to the contents of the test. This is a roleplay."
Ren's Crimson Eyes lit up with a brilliant halo, as though the blazing sun were gazing at the tiny person before it.
When every hair on Yamato's body stood on end, and she even felt a bit of fear, a cold voice rang out and drilled into her mind.
"I am a doctor. You are ill, gravely ill.
I need to treat you, and you need to cooperate with my treatment.
Do you understand, Miss Yamato?"
"Yes… but I'm not a woman…"
"Do not question the doctor. Otherwise, the test fails."
"Huh? Fine…"
"Then let's correct this again. You are a woman who wants to become Kozuki Oden."
"Yes!" This time, Yamato's voice became firm.
"So, it is you, who are Kozuki Oden…"
Ren cut off his words and slowed his speaking pace. The power of the pale golden domain continued invading Yamato's thoughts.
He was conducting a test. A test that might perhaps be necessary.
"Yes…"
"…'s woman."
"Yes…"
"Then, as the heir to the Beasts Pirates and Kaido's daughter, why can you become the already-dead Kozuki Oden?
It is because Kozuki Oden is a symbol, a spiritual meaning, correct? That is why you can become him too."
"Correct!" Yamato's voice became firm again.
"In other words, since someone with your identity can become Kozuki Oden, then can other people also become Kozuki Oden?
As long as he liberates Wano, frees Wano from Kaido's rule, and opens Wano's borders, he can call himself Kozuki Oden, right?"
"Y-yes." Yamato hesitated for a moment.
But she still agreed with this logic, because that was exactly what she wanted to do.
"Repeat it once. Anyone can become Kozuki Oden, as long as they can defeat Kaido and open Wano's borders.
And you are someone who wants to become Kozuki Oden's woman, correct?"
The halo inside Ren's Crimson Eyes became dazzling. Mountain-like pressure bore down on Yamato's mind, making her thoughts grow increasingly dry and sluggish.
In the end, she nodded.
"Yes."
"Very good. Next question."
Ren guided her patiently. "Are the words spoken by 'Kozuki Oden' the truth?"
"Of course."
"Then will you not question them, regard them as truth, and carry them out?"
"Of course!"
(End of Chapter)