On the streets of the Flower Capital, Yamato felt as if she had arrived in an entirely different country.
Gone were the haughty noblemen and wealthy merchants who once strutted about, nor were there any samurai from the Shogun's estate flaunting their power.
The citizens no longer cowered submissively as before—instead, they surged towards the government building as if heralding a new era.
Most strikingly, the Flower Capital was now filled with people from other regions of Wano Country.
Though dressed in tattered clothes, their faces beamed with joy.
In the past, citizens from other regions had been barred from entering the Flower Capital, but now its gates stood wide open.
People from across Wano poured in, some heading towards the military barracks, others rushing to the goverment building—the scene was bustling with energy.
"Mother! I got the job! I'm now part of the goverment working group!"
"Hahaha! I've been accepted as a Marine recruit! Training starts tomorrow and the officer said we'll receive a monthly stipend during training—plus a full year's salary once we graduate! Mom won't ever have to worry about me going hungry again!"
"The Marines offer benefits like that? I'm joining too!"
"Come on, let's all head to the barracks!"
Walking down the street alongside Morgan, Yamato watched as crowds hurried past her towards the Flower Capital barracks.
Echoes of the stories she had heard from the Marine soldiers in prison about Fleet Admiral Orion resounded in her mind.
Back when Orion was still an ordinary Marine officer—long before he became Fleet Admiral—every soldier under his command received his support, especially those from poor families.
Without him, they could barely sustain themselves, let alone support their families.
As Orion rose through the ranks, more and more Marines and officers benefited from his aid.
By the time he became a Vice Admiral, countless officers and soldiers across Marine Headquarters, the Four Seas and even the Grand Line bases revered him as a figure of admiration.
Ultimately, they followed him without hesitation in his coup, forging the Marines into the united force they were today.
If only—
If only Kozuki Oden had rallied his people from the very beginning, she believed Wano would never have fallen entirely into Kurozumi Orochi's grasp.
Even with her father backing Orochi, had Oden refused to surrender, they could have resisted by securing regions like Kibi, Udon, or Kuri, splitting the country in opposition.
Yet, tragically, Oden—despite having loyal retainers—lacked the decisiveness and leadership of Fleet Admiral Orion.
To put it bluntly, Oden was foolishly naive.
He gambled on his enemy's mercy, believed lies no three-year-old would fall for, and danced in the streets for five long years.
Even when he finally realized the deception and fought back, he threw himself into a boiling pot at the critical moment, again betting on his enemy's nonexistent compassion.
The result?
Kurozumi Orochi ruled Wano with brutal tyranny, reducing its people to lives of unbearable suffering—where merely surviving was a crime.
Yamato would undoubtedly have stubbornly believed that Kozuki Oden's actions were tragic yet noble.
But in these short three days, through the stories told by the marines and now witnessing the revitalized Wano Country with her own eyes, she suddenly realized how foolish her past self had been.
Kozuki Oden's story might contain tragedy, but it was far from noble—in fact, it bore no relation to nobility whatsoever.
Unconsciously, Yamato found herself standing before the gates of the Marine barracks in the eastern district of the Flower Capital.
The barracks had already completed its new recruit enlistment, with thousands of civilians who successfully joined the Marines standing in orderly formation on the training grounds.
Before these green recruits stood a makeshift platform, upon which stood two Marine instructors—Douglas and Luke, recently promoted to ensign after defeating six samurai in a two-against-six battle.
"Good afternoon, you pumpkins!" Douglas shouted through a megaphone from the platform, mimicking their Fleet Admiral's tone with enthusiasm.
"I'm Ensign Douglas and this here is Ensign Luke. For the coming period, we'll be responsible for whipping you pumpkins into shape."
"From this moment on, our words are your commands."
"A Marine's duty is to obey orders. Anyone who disobeys during training gets one warning—screw up again, and you're packing your bags!"
At these words, all thousand-plus recruits simultaneously straightened their postures and saluted in unison.
"LOYALTY!"
Hmm... Now that's the spirit!
Douglas narrowed his eyes with satisfaction as he surveyed the recruits from his elevated position.
He and Luke had finally made it.
Of course, with the Fleet Admiral leading them, they needn't worry about their futures—promotion was only a matter of time for those willing to give their all.
After basking briefly in the glory of his rank, Douglas refocused and stepped forward, raising his voice through the megaphone.
"Let me make this clear—we Marines came to Wano to do three things!"
"Justice!"
"Justice!"
"And goddamn justice!"
"Your first order of business? Get those ridiculous hairstyles chopped off!"
"A Marine's appearance must be disciplined!"
*****
At an open-air hot spring pool in the Flower Capital, Orion was enjoying a rare moment of leisure as he soaked in the warm waters.
By the poolside, Crocodile held several thick documents, systematically reporting the progress he made over these three days.
Finishing his report, Crocodile's eyes flashed with curiosity as he asked.
"Fleet Admiral, how did you conceive the policy of reclaiming land for Marine ownership and redistributing it freely to citizens by population?"
"Oh?" Orion opened his eyes to look at Crocodile. "Is the policy unsatisfactory?"
"The results are astonishingly effective!" Crocodile lit a cigar, openly displaying his admiration for the young Fleet Admiral.
"To be frank, had you not seized control of the Marines through your coup and immediately summoned the Warlords, I would have proceeded with my Utopia Plan in Alabasta—the core of which was..."
They created droughts using dancing powder to make the people lose faith in the king of Alabasta!
"But after seeing the chain reactions from implementing land reform policies in Wano Country over these past three days, I started thinking—if we slightly modify this policy and apply it to Alabasta, my Utopia Project wouldn't just proceed smoothly, but I wouldn't even need to worry about my true identity being exposed if the plan fails!"
"Because if I win the hearts of Alabasta's citizens this way, even if the plan fails, I won't lose their support!"
"This can be inferred from the reactions of Wano's citizens. Now that they've all received free land allocations, with their children either joining the military or securing government jobs, they no longer fear the Marines—instead, they wholeheartedly support them!"
"Though some stubborn old-timers still naively believe the Kozuki clan has successfully restored the country, given time, their mindset will inevitably shift, turning them into absolute Marine loyalists."
Watching Crocodile's animated excitement, Orion casually draped a towel over his head and reply casually, "Crocodile, you're truly suited for this job. Since you're so motivated, I'll assign you another task."
"This task relates to your Utopia Project in Alabasta."
"Remember what I told you at headquarters? When I said one of the Ancient Weapons, Pluton, is not in Alabasta, I wasn't lying to you."
"Because Pluton, one of the three Ancient Weapons, is actually here in Wano Country."
"However, despite using Observation Haki to scan all of Wano these past few days, I still haven't found any trace of Pluton."
"So besides managing Wano, your next priority is to locate Pluton!"
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