Oden's Gift, The Day of Execution

"Sirius, wake up! Time to go see Oden!"

The next day, Yamato woke Sirius up again.

The moment Sirius opened his eyes, he saw Yamato's smiling face.

He rubbed his eyes and sat up. "Can I have a little privacy? I remember locking my door before I went to sleep."

As it turned out, the lock had still been useful. The two door panels were still perfectly joined together—they had simply fallen over hand in hand.

Yamato paid no attention to what Sirius was saying. She came over carrying his clothes, then reached out to pull back his blanket. "Hurry, hurry, hurry! I'll help you get dressed!"

"Get out!"

After breakfast, Sirius and Yamato went to find Kozuki Oden together.

Yamato wore a smile the whole way, chattering away as she shared her feelings with Sirius. She looked no different from usual, as though the tears from last night had only been an illusion.

Sirius did not ask anything. He simply grinned as Yamato grabbed his hand and dragged him along.

"Oden! We're here!"

Before they even saw Oden, Yamato happily shouted to announce their arrival.

"Oh? You're in a good mood today?"

Looking at the grinning Yamato, Oden said happily, "Hahahahaha! That's how it should be! Kids shouldn't be frowning all the time! Children ought to laugh their hearts out!"

"So, where does today's story begin?" Yamato asked expectantly.

"Hmm, where did we leave off yesterday? Oh, right. Let's start with the Kingdom in the Clouds."

And so, another entire day passed as Sirius and Yamato listened to Kozuki Oden recount his adventures, from the clouds above to the depths of the sea.

The following day was the same.

Time passed quickly, and the third day arrived.

Oden had no time left, because tomorrow was the day of his execution.

Fortunately, the story was nearly finished as well.

"...And just like that, I left Wano Country with Captain Roger and the others, beginning our final voyage." Oden's voice carried a faint note of wistfulness as he reached this point.

Sirius sat cross-legged outside the cell. He knew what Oden was lamenting.

That was where it had all begun.

"And then, Oden?"

Yamato said excitedly, "What was the final voyage like?"

"Though I'd love to tell you, it's a shame, Little Girl."

Kozuki Oden shrugged. "This is where it ends."

"Huh? Why?" Yamato pouted. "Did you forget?"

"Who would forget? Those were the most important memories of my life!"

"Didn't he already say so before?"

Sirius reminded her, "Uncle Oden has to leave out the most important part."

"Oh, oh! Right, right!" Yamato suddenly understood. "The most exciting part is for us to experience ourselves!"

"That's right."

Oden smiled. "From here on, grow up well, you little brats, and then begin your adventures."

"Mm-hm, mm-hm, mm-hm!"

Yamato nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "Starting today, I'll eat properly every day, train hard every day, and grow up as fast as I can! I'll become stronger than anyone, and together with Sirius, I'll find more companions."

"Then we'll set sail and land on every island in the sea! We'll go to every island you've been to, Oden, and every island you haven't!"

"We'll be freer than anyone! Happier than anyone!"

Sirius looked at Yamato. The little girl spoke each word with utmost seriousness.

Kozuki Oden listened seriously as well. Only after Yamato finished did he smile and say, "Mm, I understand. That's a promise, right?"

"Mm!"

Yamato stood up and declared seriously, "This is a promise between friends that will absolutely come true!"

She turned back toward Sirius and asked with a grin, "Right, Sirius?"

"Mm."

Sirius nodded and smiled. "It's a promise."

After thinking for a moment, Sirius looked at Oden again. "It's a promise between Yamato and me."

A vein throbbed on Kozuki Oden's forehead. "What do you mean by that, you little brat? I don't want to make any promise with an obnoxious little brat like you either!"

"But I do."

Yamato tilted her head. "And Sirius is obviously very cute!"

Oden tugged at the corner of his mouth, then shook his head. "Forget it. Getting worked up over two brats means I'm beyond saving too."

His expression turned serious. "Brats, the story's over. So, as a reward for being good children who listened properly, I'll give each of you a gift."

"Huh? There are gifts too?" Yamato asked excitedly. "What are they?"

Kozuki Oden, still wearing handcuffs, laboriously turned around, picked up the things behind him, and passed them out through the gaps in the prison bars.

"Take them, brats."

Sirius looked at the long package before him in surprise. He reached out to take it, opened the mouth of the bag, and pulled it downward.

The item inside was revealed.

It was a purple katana, its sheath engraved with floral patterns and its guard shaped like three petals.

Sirius turned to look at Yamato and saw that she was holding a sword as well—a white one.

"These are my treasures, brats. I'm entrusting them to you from now on," Oden said casually from inside the cell. "The brat's is Enma, and the little girl's is Ame no Habakiri. But be careful. Neither of them is a sword an ordinary person can use."

"Although I really should say thank you at a time like this,"

Sirius examined the sword in his hand. The famed sword Enma, said to be capable of destroying even hell itself, one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Swords—it was certainly a fine thing.

But this thing was dangerous. It would absorb its owner's Haki on its own and unleash overwhelmingly powerful slashes. Anyone not strong enough would be sucked dry into a mummified corpse in an instant.

Was this really something you gave to children?

And that wasn't even the only issue.

Sirius raised his head to look at Kozuki Oden, who seemed utterly unconcerned and exceptionally forthright. "But Uncle Oden, if I had to choose a weapon, I'm not really fond of katanas. I prefer heavier weapons."

Because he was very strong.

"Mm-hm, me too."

Yamato nodded beside him and agreed, "I think a spiked club would be better too."

"Give them back!"

Oden slammed his entire face against the bars, desperately trying to squeeze it through the gaps. His face twisted grotesquely. "You two little bastards! If you don't like them, give them back!"

"Hahahaha, what are you talking about?"

Sirius laughed and took a step back. "What kind of bastard adult takes back a gift he gave to children?"

"Even if I can't use it, since it's a gift from Oden, I'll treasure it properly!" Yamato said with a giggle, hugging Ame no Habakiri.

"Tch, you little brats."

Only then did Oden plop back down, snorting softly. After thinking for a moment, he said, "You don't have to force yourselves if you don't like swords. In Amigasa Village in Kuri, there's a man called Tenguyama Hitetsu. He's one of Wano Country's finest swordsmiths!"

"Go find him. Have him help you reshape these two swords into something you like."

"Huh? But Oden," Yamato paused, "didn't you say these were your treasures?"

"What stupid nonsense are you saying, you little brat?" Oden said dismissively. "What kind of treasure is there if it can't be put to use?"

"Got it."

Sirius nodded with a smile. Setting aside the fact that it was a sword, Enma really was an exceptionally powerful weapon. In the original story, Zoro had forcibly leveled up twice with it.

Sirius liked it quite a bit.

"Oh, right. Take this too."

As Oden spoke, a small package flew out of the prison cell. Sirius instinctively raised a hand and caught it.

When he opened it, he found the sheets of paper he had previously given Oden.

But now, they were filled with writing.

It was like a vocabulary list from his previous life. The words at the front were incomprehensible, and the ones at the back were incomprehensible too. The difference was that he truly could not understand any of the words at the front, while he could barely recognize a few words at the back through the memories of his original body.

Sirius froze.

Could this be—

He suddenly looked up at Oden.

The man in the cell had already sprawled lazily across the floor and said casually, "If you want to hold a feast on every island, you can't do without this."

"Uncle Oden—"

Even Sirius could not help but be moved at this moment. This man!

But Oden gave him no chance to ramble, only saying lazily, "All right, the story's over and the gifts have been handed out. Time for you two brats to get lost."

"Let me have a proper look at the sunset."

Sirius turned around. The sun was already setting, and the sky was awash in red clouds.

"Mm, then we'll head back first."

Yamato took Sirius's hand and called out with a bright smile, "Bye-bye, Oden."

She pulled Sirius along as they turned and left.

After they had gone quite a distance, Sirius heard a voice from behind them.

"Grow up well, brats."

That was the last time Sirius heard Kozuki Oden's voice.

The next day, the time of execution arrived.