The morning after the banquet, while Shogun Sukiyaki and Zen were still recovering from a night of heavy drinking and nostalgia, Kanata remained in the guest house. She was busy cross-referencing the rubbings of the Road Poneglyph with her own charts when a sudden ruckus erupted outside.
Peering out, she saw a man nearly double her height standing defiantly before the innkeeper. He was a mountain of a man, radiating an aura of wild, untamed energy.
"I'm telling you, I just want to see the guests my father is hosting!" the giant roared.
"Lord Sukiyaki gave express orders! 'Absolutely no meetings!'" the innkeeper pleaded, nearly in tears. "Please, for the love of the gods, just go home!"
Sensing an impending headache, Kanata pulled her head back inside and returned to her work. In the next room, Dragon called out, "What's the noise about?"
"Sukiyaki is trying to keep someone away," Kanata replied. "Best we stay out of it."
Dragon, who seemed bored with the domestic paperwork, opted to slip out the back exit to observe the city from the shadows instead.
The argument outside lasted for nearly an hour. Just as Kanata finished her calculations, she glanced out the window again—only to find the giant staring directly up at her. He had noticed her.
"There you are!" the man bellowed. "I just want to talk! Come down here!"
"Lord Oden!" a group of samurai shouted, rushing up to try and pacify him. But the man—Kozuki Oden—wasn't moving an inch.
Realizing that his presence was going to ruin the inn's business for the day, Kanata sighed, set down her pen, and walked down the stairs to the front entrance.
"You're a loud one," she said, stepping into the street. "Is 'quiet' a concept you're unfamiliar with?"
"Hoh!" Oden's eyes widened. "So you're the merchant from across the sea? You're quite the beauty. The rumors didn't do you justice."
He grinned, looking her up and down with unabashed curiosity.
"You look like a lady, but you feel like a storm. You're strong, aren't you?"
"Strong enough," Kanata replied coolly. "And you look like you'd give my officers a decent workout."
Compared to her, he was still raw, but he likely sat on the same tier as Dragon or Junxi. Oden's grin sharpened, and his hand drifted toward the hilt of his sword. "You've got confidence. I like that."
"Lord Oden!" one of his retainers, a man named Kin'emon, cried out in panic. "Please, no swordplay in the streets! It would be a disaster!"
"Oh, right," Oden said, slapping his forehead. "I didn't come here to fight. I came here for a request."
He looked Kanata straight in the eye. "Take me out to sea on your ship!"
"Sure," Kanata said.
"Even if you say no, I'll—wait, what? You said yes?!"
"You're the one who asked. Why are you the surprised one?"
"You can't, Lord Oden!" Kin'emon shouted. "Wano has strict laws against leaving the country! It's a capital offense!"
"Shut up, Kin'emon! She said yes, and that's all that matters!"
Kin'emon, realizing his lord was a lost cause, turned his attention to Kanata. He explained the severity of Wano's isolationist laws and begged her not to take Oden away. Kanata, however, remained unmoved.
"I don't turn away those who want to come, and I don't chase those who want to leave," she said. "If he wants to go, that's his business."
"See?! She gets it!" Oden laughed. "Alright, let's get ready to sail!"
"Hold on," Kanata interrupted. "I want to hear your reasons first."
She led them to a nearby tea house. Over tea and dango, she listened to Oden's grievances. He spoke of the "suffocation" of Wano—how the laws and traditions felt like a cage that was far too small for him.
"This country is cramped!" Oden declared.
"Cramped? Wano is larger than most islands in the New World," Kanata noted.
"I'm not talking about the acreage! It's all 'don't do this' and 'you can't do that'... it's tiny in here!" He tapped his chest.
Kanata nodded. He was a man who hated being bound. He had the strength of a king and the charisma to be followed, but he lacked the temperament for the throne. However, that was exactly why he wasn't fit for her crew.
"In that case," Kanata said, "you shouldn't join my ship."
"Why the hell not?"
"A ship is an organization. It requires discipline. And honestly? My ship has more rules than your father's palace."
As Kanata began to list the daily routines, the chain of command, and the strict codes of conduct she expected from her subordinates, Oden's face grew increasingly pale. Finally, he slumped over the table, defeated.
Kin'emon blinked in utter shock. "L-Lord Oden? Did you just... give up?"
"I'll pass... for now..." Oden groaned.
Kin'emon fell out of his chair. It was the first time in history anyone had ever successfully talked Oden out of a reckless idea.
Kanata took a bite of her dango. She knew that Oden viewed the outside world as a land of total freedom, but the sea was a harsh mistress. If he couldn't handle the regulations of a crew, he was better off staying in Wano. She ran a tight ship—if Oden joined and broke her rules, she would have to discipline him, and that would lead to a feud she didn't want.
"Are you satisfied, Kin'emon?" she asked.
"I... I am stunned, but yes, I am grateful," the retainer stammered.
Oden looked up, dejected. "If your ship is out, I guess I'll have to try building my own again. But I'm a terrible sailor. Every time I try to leave, the currents just spit me back out."
"Consider yourself lucky you're still alive," Kanata told him. "The sea around Wano is a graveyard for the unskilled. If you can't navigate, you shouldn't be on the water."
"But I want to see the world! I want to see what's out there!"
"Then find a navigator you can trust. Or learn to follow orders. Until then, you're just a big fish in a small pond."
***
The group eventually made their way back to the castle, where they ran into Zen. The moment Oden saw the horse-mink, his jaw hit the floor.
"GAH! Lord Zen?! You're back?!"
"Oden," Zen said, a knowing smile on his face. "I see you're still as troublesome as ever. The rumors of your exploits in Kuri reached even my ears."
"Uh... well, you see..." Oden actually looked intimidated.
"Wait, you two know each other?" Kanata asked.
"I was his tutor for a time," Zen explained. "He was a nightmare of a child. Breaking into the red-light districts with the Shogun's money, brawling with gamblers... I see becoming the Lord of Kuri hasn't dulled your edge."
"He was a delinquent," Kanata summarized.
"Hey! That was a long time ago!" Oden barked. "And I don't regret a second of it!"
Oden was clearly uncomfortable. Many people in the castle knew of his past, but Zen was different. As Sukiyaki's former friend and Oden's teacher, Zen was the only person who had ever been able to physically restrain him.
"Lord Zen was always too strong to beat," Oden muttered. "But I'm not that kid anymore. I wouldn't lose to you now!"
"Hoh? Is that a challenge?" Zen's eyes gleamed. "You may have mastered Ame-no-Habakiri and Enma, and you might be the strongest in Wano... but the world is full of monsters, Oden. You're still just a frog in a well."
The two legendary blades—both Great Grade Blades—were at Oden's hip. He was the only man in Wano capable of wielding them both.
"Fine! I'll show you how much I've grown!"
The two of them charged out of the castle toward a training field, sparks practically flying between them. Kin'emon followed as a witness, though Kanata doubted he could do anything to stop them.
Kanata found Sukiyaki in the main hall, nursing a massive hangover.
"Zen... how is he so energetic...?" the Shogun groaned, clutching his head.
"If you're unwell, you should rest," Kanata suggested.
"I wish I could... but to be seen like this by a guest... it is a shame I will carry to my grave."
"Don't worry about it. Zen can handle himself. Dragon and I are heading back to Hakumai today to check on the trade progress and our men."
"Very well," Sukiyaki said, leaning on an attendant. "Take Zen with you. If he stays here, he'll just drink all my sake anyway."
Kanata headed out to find Zen before leaving. She followed the sounds of clashing steel to the outskirts of the capital. There, she saw Oden swinging his twin blades with terrifying power, while Zen parried and countered with his spear, moving with a fluid grace that kept him half a step ahead.
Zen was winning, but only barely.
Kin'emon watched from the sidelines, his eyes wide. "To trade blows with Lord Oden like that... he is a master of the spear unlike any I have ever seen."
"He's one of the strongest on my ship," Kanata said, coming up beside him. "There aren't many in this world who can match him."
The duel lasted for hours without a clear victor. Eventually, Kanata called it off, informing Zen that they were returning to Hakumai. Oden and his retainers joined them for the journey back, still buzzing with the excitement of the fight.
***
That night, in a secluded house within the capital, three figures sat in the dark: Kurozumi Orochi, Semimaru, and Higurashi.
Higurashi, the elderly crone, pointed a bony finger at Orochi. "Do not move. Under no circumstances are you to take any conspicuous action right now."
"Stay still?" Orochi hissed. "This is the time to gather influence! If we don't move now, when?"
"Kyahaha... you are still young, Orochi," Higurashi cackled. "Influence can be bought at any time. But your life? You only have one. If you cross that woman, your head will be off your shoulders before you can blink."
"What...?"
Higurashi leaned in, her eyes reflecting the dim candlelight. "That woman... she is someone you never want to be involved with."
Higurashi had spent years outside of Wano, serving on a certain legendary pirate crew. She had used her abilities to survive the power struggles of the sea and returned to Wano with the Snake-Snake Fruit she had given to Orochi. She had been scouting for a powerful backer to help Orochi seize the throne—until Kanata arrived.
"If she hadn't bonded with the Kozuki, we might have recruited her," Higurashi whispered, a shiver running down her spine. "But she is linked to them now. It is suicide to interfere."
"Is she really that dangerous?"
"It's not just her! Her eyes... they are the same as her mother's. Kyahaha... 'The Echo'..."
Higurashi remembered the Rocks Pirates. On that ship, murder was a daily occurrence. There were only a few people you never, ever touched: the Captain, the Vice-Captain, and a few rising monsters.
Among them, the Captain and Vice-Captain were in a league of their own.
"The Captain was a 'Devil' who destroyed those who opposed him and dominated those who served," Higurashi murmured. "And the woman by his side—they called her The Echo. With a single word, she could bring a kingdom to its knees. If that girl is her daughter, then her will lives on."
In an era where Roger and Whitebeard were still finding their footing, the "Devil" had been the undisputed king of the world. And Kanata was a spitting image of the woman who stood beside him.
"She is beyond our control, Orochi," Higurashi warned. "Know your place. To fight her is to invite total annihilation."
Orochi grumbled, but he couldn't ignore the genuine fear in the old woman's voice. He would wait.
"If she takes Oden out to sea with her, it might actually work in our favor," Higurashi mused. "But for now, we watch. We wait for her to leave."
The dark conspiracy of the Kurozumi continued late into the night, but for the first time, their shadows retreated in the face of the "Echo" that had arrived in Wano.
***
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