The ways of those who rule are a balance of reward and terror.
Luo Xing was no saint, but he wasn't a senseless monster either. He had already shown the people of Wano goodwill—buying dozens of ships of grain with his own coin and distributing them ashore. Generosity bought trust; but generosity alone wouldn't bind the local elites. If the provincial gentry refused to accept Yamato as Wano's new shogun, they would meet the same fate as the Kurozumi clan.
Fortunately for Luo Xing, none of the powerful men present were reckless: even the reckless Jack had bowed. They knelt submissively.
Luo Xing gave Yamato a look. She understood at once—he had coached her on what to say.
"Rise," Yamato's voice rang—authoritative but not unkind.
"Kurozumi Orochi's crimes are many. His death does not concern you.
On the contrary, you are the notable gentry of Wano, entrusted with the people's esteem. I will need your talents to govern Wano going forward. Recommend capable kin and retainers to serve in the shogun's mansion."
The kneeling gentry's eyes glittered. Promises of office and influence—this was the bait of real power. Under Orochi they had been little more than serfs; now a new shogun spoke to their standing with courtesy and chance. Gratitude and loyalty sprang up like seedlings.
Luo Xing's smile was subtle. He had used grain to win the people's hearts and political promises to entangle the gentry's interests with the Beast Pirates. Even if a resurrected Kozuki Oden appeared one day, he'd find it difficult to shake Yamato's position.
Brains often beat brute force. Oden had not learned that lesson—and it had cost him everything.
While Wano's regime changed, Luo Xing's sale of Mutant Cells to Big Mom sent shockwaves across the seas.
Charlotte Linlin, who had spent a massive fifty billion beli to buy fifty Mutant Cells from Kaido (via Luo Xing), felt the pain of the expense afterward. The Whole Cake Island's coffers were strained—Linlin was a ravenous eater, and the nation's lavish sweets trade swallowed up treasure. Financial counsel, led by her Second, Charlotte Katakuri, suggested selling some of the cells at a handsome profit.
"Mother," Katakuri advised, "let's sell ten. Price them at two hundred million beli each."
Linlin bristled—these were favors she had extracted from Kaido, how could she sell them? But then a clever idea turned her anger to glee.
"Fine. We'll sell ten and leak the news—force buyers to come to Whole Cake Island. They'll bring money to our docks. People leave, money stays. The Mutant Cells won't."
Katakuri grasped her mother's strategy. It was simple: lure buyers to Totto Land, make the city the trade hub, and—if necessary—swindle them. If anyone complained about a Four Emperess's trickery, well—what could they do? Insult a yonko and live? Few had that courage.
Katakuri still thought the scheme would tarnish their reputation, but the mother had decided. The notice went out.
Word spread fast. The underground market—already alerted by the navy's analysis that Mutant Cells rivaled Devil Fruits—went wild. Underworld bosses scented a chance and moved like predators. Some were cautious, seeing Big Mom's trap. Others were greedy enough to risk it.
They did not come empty-handed. A massive cake was made as bait—Big Mom's favorite—and while her followers were distracted, teams staged chaos on Totto Land. Rebels slipped through and succeeded in stealing several cells.
If not for Katakuri's precognition-like instincts, perhaps all fifty would have been lost. Still, a dozen or so went missing, leaking into the wider black market.
At once the seas were ablaze. Underworld lords clawed at each other for those precious caches. Among the players were three powerful officers formerly of the Shichibukai: Donquixote Doflamingo, Gecko Moriah, and Crocodile (who had deep roots in Alabasta). Add to that Stussy of the Pleasure District, the World Economy News Paper's Morgan, giants from Elbaf, the Germa kingdom's agents, and—rumors even whispered—the Red-Haired Pirates, the Navy, and the World Government's forces watching the chaos closely.
And of course, a furious Big Mom.
The oceans saw large-scale battles multiply—skirmishes, ambushes, raids. Mutant Cells' street price skyrocketed; speculation pushed their value as high as one billion beli per cell—on par with many natural Devil Fruits.
Blood, theft, and empire-lust followed. The sea had been set aflame by a single, monstrous invention: one that twisted lineage and power at the genetic level—and made the whole world greedy.
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