Kozuki Sukiyaki

Inside the keep at the center of the Flower Capital, built atop a great tree, lay a spacious hall.

"General Ian!"

An elderly man with a full head of white hair knelt on the floor. He raised his head in astonishment and looked at the child lounging on the cushion at the head of the hall. "You said you intend to abolish the title of shogun?"

Quite a few others knelt there alongside the old man. Most were middle-aged or older, dressed neatly in elegant kimono.

"That's right."

The child seated at the head of the hall—Wano Country's newly appointed shogun, or rather, someone who was about to no longer be shogun—Lord Ian spoke lazily. "Don't you think that title sounds inherently inferior? It'd be embarrassing to meet other kings in the future."

"You absolutely must not, General Ian,"

the old man hurriedly said. "This is a tradition Wano Country has upheld since ancient times. It has never once been changed."

This old man had been a high-ranking official under the former Orochi Shogunate. His post was Elder Council, the equivalent of a shogun's adviser, something like a chancellor.

There were four officials holding this position, and all four were currently kneeling before Ian.

Behind them were the lower-ranked senior bureaucrats.

It could be said that Orochi had only managed to govern Wano Country so convincingly for all these years because of their assistance.

However, it was hard to say that these people held any real loyalty toward Kurozumi Orochi. After Fukurokuju sent Ninja to invite them before Ian, every last one of them smoothly dropped to their knees.

The old man's words drew much agreement. The other high-ranking officials also pleaded, "Lord Ian, please reconsider! Neither the Kozuki Family nor the Kurozumi Family ever changed this tradition!"

"Which is why both the Kozuki Family and the Kurozumi Family have perished."

Ian glanced at them. The boy, who could still be called adorable, said flatly, "Do you want to join them in preserving tradition?"

The ministers, who had just been acting as though ancestral laws could never be altered, instantly lowered their heads. Their foreheads pressed against the floor as they trembled.

Ian chuckled softly.

In the world he had lived in before transmigrating, a ruler's authority came from the people and from the ruling class.

But in this world, authority could also come from one's own strength.

Ian drawled, "From today onward, I am the King of Wano Country. Address me as Your Majesty!"

"Yes, Your Majesty Ian."

Everyone seemed to have suddenly lost their memories, becoming exceptionally obedient.

"Excellent. From here on, you have only one task: stabilize the situation within the country."

"Yes."

The meeting ended, and all the officials respectfully took their leave.

Wasn't this quite simple?

Ian understood Kurozumi Orochi's happiness.

He did not need to trouble himself at all. These elite bureaucrats could handle Wano Country's affairs themselves and keep the nation running.

As shogun—oh, he should be called king now—Ian only needed to make the final decision on certain major matters.

That was how Kurozumi Orochi had done things.

There were even measures in place to deal with officials embezzling funds and joining forces to deceive him.

"I will continue keeping watch over them, Your Majesty Ian. I will never give them the chance to act recklessly."

After the officials departed, a black shadow flashed into the hall and knelt before Ian. That shiny bald head of his reflected the lamplight so brightly that it nearly dazzled Ian.

Fukurokuju and the Ninja under his command did more than fight.

They were also Ian's eyes and ears.

They would report every movement those officials made to Ian.

Being king really was easy. Teacher Kai had been absolutely right.

"Oh, right, Your Majesty Ian. There is someone I believe you should meet."

Fukurokuju raised his head and suddenly spoke.

"Oh? Lead the way."

Fukurokuju led Ian to a secret passage within the keep. They followed it downward, soon arriving outside a locked room.

"The one imprisoned inside is Kozuki Sukiyaki, the previous shogun of the Kozuki Family,"

Fukurokuju said respectfully. "He did not actually die. For certain reasons, Lord Kaido and Orochi kept him imprisoned here."

That old bastard was still alive too.

His son, Kozuki Oden, had screwed over all of Wano Country, and Sukiyaki was no better. After escaping in the original story, he did nothing, hiding his name and identity for twenty years while allowing this country to languish in hell.

"Open the door."

Ian said.

"Yes."

Fukurokuju took out a key and unlocked the small door.

The space inside was unexpectedly spacious. As Ian stepped in, he felt a trace of chill, and the floor was damp as well.

Ian saw a row of shelves lined with many beautiful girl dolls.

A man sat upright in front of the shelves, fiddling with a doll.

Now I remember. This old bastard was a figure enthusiast who liked collecting beautiful girl dolls.

Kozuki Sukiyaki turned around and froze slightly when he saw Ian.

A child?

"Have you actually remembered me again? I thought I'd long since been forgotten."

Ian sized up the man as he slowly spoke. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties, yet his hair and beard had already gone completely white. "What do you want with me now? Haven't you already gotten your hands on that stone you hid so carefully?"

Ian remembered that beneath this room was another passage leading to a deeper secret chamber, where Wano Country's Road Poneglyph was kept.

But Teacher Kai had gotten that stone long ago.

The present-day Wano Country had been built halfway up the mountains after the original Wano Country, which had once been surrounded by walls encircling the entire nation, was flooded.

The secret chamber holding the Road Poneglyph had long since been submerged.

Although Teacher Kai did not know about the secret passage, he could reach the chamber directly through the waters outside it.

Ian suspected that was the direct reason Jack had been picked up, because he was a fish-man.

That had happened a year ago. When Jack had first been brought back, he had not yet eaten a Devil Fruit. Teacher Kai had brought him to the Flower Capital once, and after they returned to Onigashima, Jack said that Teacher Kai had made him retrieve a stone from the water.

"I heard that the Kozuki Family is Wano Country's most renowned family of stonemasons."

Ian walked over to the shelves and picked up a doll.

Honestly, it did not suit his tastes. It was a classical Japanese-style doll, while what Ian liked was the kind of anime style that made him go, "Holy shit, Genshin!"

"Yes, Your Majesty Ian."

Fukurokuju hurriedly replied, "The Kozuki Family is not only Wano Country's long-standing royal family, but also the foremost family of stonemasons in this country."

"Your Majesty?"

Kozuki Sukiyaki froze outright. He turned to look at Ian. "Just who are you?"

He was clearly just a child!

"Standing before you is the King of Wano Country! Kaido-sama's prized disciple, His Majesty Ian!"

Fukurokuju dutifully introduced Ian's identity. "You should show humility before him!"

"King!!"

Kozuki Sukiyaki muttered to himself.

How could he be a king!

How could he be a child!

"What... happened?"

he asked in terror.

"Kozuki Oden launched a rebellion and was publicly executed yesterday after being defeated by Kaido-sama."

Fukurokuju spoke bluntly. "Kurozumi Orochi's ambitions swelled, and he attempted to oppose the Beasts Pirates. He was also personally killed by His Majesty Ian. Now, His Majesty Ian is the true ruler of this country!"

"..."

Kozuki Sukiyaki's lips trembled, his expression blank.

Oden was dead?

Orochi was dead too?

Kaido's disciple was now the shogun of this country, and Wano Country had fallen completely under the control of the Beasts Pirates?

The doll in his hand suddenly fell to the ground, its exquisite, gorgeous little clothes immediately stained with dust.

Ian looked down at the doll. This guy had lived a pretty leisurely life these past few years.

"Back to the matter at hand."

Ian looked at Kozuki Sukiyaki, whose face was slowly filling with grief. "I also heard that the Poneglyphs were carved by the Kozuki Family's ancestors."

The sorrow on Kozuki Sukiyaki's face froze in that instant.

Fukurokuju, meanwhile, looked somewhat baffled. Was that true? Even he, a native of Wano Country, had never known.

"If that's the case, then you understand the Ancient Text, right?"

Ian asked. "Teach me."