Upon returning to Kuri, Oden and Kin'emon were met with a grand welcome at Kuri Castle—followed immediately by a thunderous lecture.
It was only natural. Oden, the Daimyo of the region, had vanished on a whim, and Kin'emon, who had gone to bring him back, had been missing for days as well. Oden took the scolding with his usual breezy indifference, but Kin'emon hung his head in genuine shame.
Izou, dressed in his elegant traditional robes, let out a heavy sigh as he turned to the dejected Kin'emon.
"So," Izou asked, "how did it go?"
"Lord Oden has abandoned the idea of leaving the country... for now," Kin'emon replied. "Given his usual persistence, I was prepared to guard the ports day and night to stop a stowaway attempt, but it seems that won't be necessary this time."
"What? He actually gave up on his own?" Izou's eyes widened. He knew better than anyone that Oden was a man who didn't understand the word 'no.'
"Yes. To put it simply, his compatibility with the foreign Captain is... disastrous. He actually said that staying on her ship would make him feel like he was suffocating."
Izou blinked. It was a staggering revelation. But Kin'emon wasn't finished.
"Lord Yasuie has invited us all—the Lord's retainers—to Hakumai. We are to participate in a joint training session with the foreigners."
"Joint training?" Izou mused, his hand going to his chin. "And Lord Oden agreed to this?"
"He's practically foaming at the bit," Kin'emon confirmed.
Though young, Oden's retainers were elite warriors. A chance to spar with the forces of Hakumai—and these mysterious outsiders—would be invaluable experience. Still, Izou remained skeptical. Could a group of foreign "merchants" truly push the samurai of Wano to their limits?
"I understand your doubt," Kin'emon said, "but let's gather the others. I'll explain everything."
Following Kin'emon's lead, the retainers gathered, including Oden himself, who looked half-dead from the mountain of administrative work he'd been forced to process since his return.
The group consisted of the ten warriors who would eventually be known as the Red Scabbards:
Izou and his younger brother, Kikunojo.
Denjiro, the most loyal of Oden's early followers.
Kanjuro, the strange artist with the power to manifest his drawings.
Raizo, the former member of the Shogun's ninja force.
The Minks, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi.
Kawamatsu, the Fish-man who called himself a Kappa.
And finally, the mountain of a man who once ruled Kuri's underworld, Ashura Doji.
Kin'emon laid out the details of the upcoming training in Hakumai. Oden, who had been slumping over a cup of tea, sat bolt upright the moment the meeting ended.
"Get ready!" Oden roared. "It's time to show Lord Yasuie what you're made of!"
"That's all well and good," Raizo said, "but are these 'merchants' actually strong?"
"Lord Zen certainly is," Kin'emon said firmly. "I saw him trade blows with Lord Oden. They were perfectly matched."
"Matched with the Lord?!" the group whispered in shock.
"More importantly," Nekomamushi chimed in, "is it true there's another Mink? I didn't think any of our kind had made it to Wano besides us."
"Hah! Did I forget to mention that?" Oden laughed. "He was my teacher!"
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were stunned. They had arrived in Wano by accident; to hear that a fellow Mink had successfully navigated the sea to find this place was a revelation.
"They won't be pushovers," Oden said with a predatory grin. "You don't cross the New World if you're weak. And they have a woman on that ship... a giant! She's ten times the size of a normal human!"
Oden was vibrating with excitement. Not only was it a chance to see more of the outside world's power, but it was an opportunity to prove his growth to Yasuie, the man who had supported him for so long.
However, the moment Kin'emon mentioned the Captain, Oden's face soured.
"Though, we will have to deal with Kanata again..."
"Ouch," Kanjuro whispered as Oden's expression turned to stone. "What happened? I've never seen the Lord look that annoyed by a woman."
"It's a clash of philosophy," Kin'emon explained. "Kanata is the Captain of the fleet. She is a woman of iron discipline and absolute rules. Our Lord, as you know... is not."
"She is favored by Lord Sukiyaki," Kin'emon added, "and she is quite the beauty, for what it's worth."
"You're drooling, Kin," Raizo teased. "I should tell Lady Tsuru. To have a wife like her and still be looking at other women..."
"Don't you dare," Kin'emon snapped, his face going pale at the thought of his wife's temper.
The decision was final. Everyone would go. Izou and Denjiro would stay behind a few extra days to finalize the region's affairs, but an invitation from Lord Yasuie was not something to be refused.
"Someone as strong as the Lord, eh?" Ashura Doji muttered, his hand on his sword. "My blood's starting to boil."
***
A few days later, after clearing the most urgent of their duties, Oden and his retainers arrived in Hakumai. The training was already in full swing. Foreign sailors and local samurai were clashing in high-intensity drills across the proving grounds.
"We're late," Oden noted.
"It couldn't be helped," Kin'emon said. "Lord Yasuie will understand."
They headed toward the castle to pay their respects. Along the way, they saw Feiyun—the Giant—towering over the training field. The sight of a being that massive left the Kuri samurai speechless.
"So that's a Giant..." Izou whispered. "The world really is a massive place."
They met Lord Yasuie, who greeted them with a boisterous laugh. He insisted on accompanying them to the field to watch the progress. Along the way, they spotted Zen taking a break and called him over.
"Lord Zen! How does the training look to you?" Yasuie asked.
"The samurai of Hakumai are impressive," Zen replied. "Their spirit is commendable."
"Excellent! Has anyone caught your eye?"
Zen paused. "To be perfectly honest... no. No one has truly surpassed my expectations yet."
Yasuie laughed, unbothered. "Zen is a hard man to please! But look, Oden has brought his own men. Oden, introduce them."
Oden went through the list, and when he reached Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, Zen held up a hand. He recognized the names from the descriptions Duke Hitsugisukan had given him back on Zou.
"You two... did you leave the Mokomo Dukedom about two years ago?" Zen asked.
The dog and cat Minks flinched. "We did... how do you know that?"
"I visited Zou before coming here," Zen said, his voice softening. "The entire country was worried sick about you."
The two Minks looked away, sheepish. Zen sighed. "I left the island young myself, so I won't lecture you on your wanderlust. But I'll make sure to let them know you're safe the next time I visit. Regardless, you should find a way to send word home. You shouldn't leave your family in the dark forever."
"Right... we'll think of something," Inuarashi muttered.
With the introductions finished, Zen led the group toward a secluded part of the field. "Let's find Kanata. It's best if she gauges everyone's strength herself."
They found Kanata in a cleared area, currently taking on Dragon and Junxi at the same time. To the shock of the samurai, she was wearing a blindfold.
Even without her sight, she was untouchable. She parried spear thrusts and sword swings with a silver spear of her own, moving with a fluid grace that made the two-on-one fight look like a choreographed dance. To a master of Observation Haki like Kanata, a blindfold was a training tool, not a handicap.
"Captain! The men from Kuri are here," Zen called out.
The three fighters lowered their weapons. Dragon and Junxi were visibly winded, their clothes damp with sweat. Kanata, however, looked as though she had just finished a light stroll. She removed the blindfold, her piercing red eyes scanning the newcomers.
"She's definitely a beauty," Raizo whispered.
"But look at that aura," Izou countered. "She's like a glacier."
Kanata's gaze lingered on Ashura Doji for a moment, but she quickly looked away, seemingly unimpressed.
"They have potential," Kanata said, her voice cool and clinical. "One of them is on par with Oden. The rest are a step or two below."
"They're the best warriors I've got!" Oden barked. "You got a problem with that?"
"No problem at all. They'll be good sparring partners for my crew. Training is useless if the gap in strength is too large."
Kanata herself was the biggest victim of that gap. Even fighting Dragon and Junxi simultaneously felt more like a chore than a challenge. Oden, sensing her hidden boredom, drew his twin blades.
"Then how about you spar with me?" Oden challenged with a smirk.
Zen had said they were matched, and Kanata figured it was better than nothing. She stepped back and leveled her silver spear.
"I'll give you the first move. Come at me with the intent to kill."
"I might accidentally take your head off!" Oden laughed.
"My head isn't so easily taken by the likes of you."
Oden roared and lunged. The air screamed as his blades met her spear in a shower of sparks. Despite Oden's massive frame and legendary strength, Kanata didn't budge an inch. She redirected his power with a flick of her wrist, countering with a series of strikes that forced him to stay on the defensive.
"She's handling Lord Oden like he's a child!" Kin'emon gasped.
"She spars with Giants," Zen reminded them. "Oden's strength is impressive, but to her, it's nothing she hasn't seen before."
Oden's face grew more focused, his playful smirk vanishing. "I've never had someone shut me down like this!"
"Be glad you're learning this here instead of on a battlefield," Kanata said. "Now, it's my turn."
She coated her spear in a dense layer of Haki and swung. The force was so immense that even though Oden blocked with both blades, the sheer pressure sent him flying. He skipped across the proving grounds like a stone on a lake, finally crashing into a sand embankment thirty feet away.
"What was that?!" Oden shouted, spitting sand out of his mouth as he scrambled back to his feet. "I've never felt an impact like that!"
"It's Advanced Armament," Kanata explained. "What you call Ryuo. You use it, don't you?"
"I do! But mine doesn't hit like a falling mountain!"
Kanata had refined her Haki to the point of absolute efficiency. She wasn't just hitting him; she was focusing the shockwave to bypass his guard.
"Don't expect me to hold your hand through the explanation," she said. "If you're a warrior, watch and steal the technique for yourself."
"Hah! You've got quite the mouth! Let's go again!!"
The two collided once more, and this time, the air itself began to crackle. Their Conqueror's Haki surged, sending out ripples of black lightning that shook the entire Prove grounds.
"Second round," Kanata said, a rare, cold smile touching her lips. "Try to make this interesting."
"I'll do more than that! I'm gonna make you eat those words!"
***
An hour later, Oden lay flat on his back, bruised and gasping for air. Kanata stood over him, perfectly composed. She signaled for the medical team to take him away.
"Incredible," Yasuie whispered. "To dominate Oden like that..."
"Oden is strong," Kanata admitted, "even by the standards of the New World. But he's still unrefined. He hasn't faced the kind of monsters that forced me to grow."
He had the spirit of a king, but he lacked the durability of someone like Kaidou. He'd lasted an hour before his stamina gave out.
"Dragon, Junxi—get ready," Kanata called out. "Break time is over."
"Don't you want to rest after that?" Dragon asked.
"I'm barely warmed up."
The training would continue. She had one month to turn her crew into a force that could survive the coming storm. She sent the Red Scabbards to join George's group, where they would begin learning the fundamentals of the Six Powers.
Oden, as he was being carted off for treatment, managed to croak out a command to his men: "Don't... don't worry about me. Go! Learn everything they have to teach! Don't let these outsiders look down on Kuri!"
Despite the bruising defeat, the fire in Oden's eyes had never been brighter. He had found a wall he couldn't climb—and he was going to spend every waking second figuring out how to tear it down.
***
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