The Spark of Resistance
System space.
Akuta, having reopened his eyes, lay on the floor of the system space, listening to the system announce the results of his last challenge.
"Challenge successful. Settlement in progress..."
"Challenge successful... Huh?!" Akuta was startled and sat up abruptly from the ground.
What's going on?
Didn't he fight to the very last moment before committing suicide?
How could the system determine that he succeeded in the challenge?
"Through his own life, the host awakened the spirit of resistance in Wano Country, and with the combined efforts of everyone, successfully drove Kaido out of Wano Country, bringing peace and prosperity to its people!"
"Does the host choose this challenge as the final result to submit?"
Please note that once the results are submitted, they cannot be modified.
"Don't submit!"
Akuta flatly rejected the system's submission request.
He was completely bewildered and had no idea what had happened.
Akuta suddenly remembered something and speculated with some malice:
"System, do you not want me to stay in the One Piece world anymore, so you deliberately changed the challenge result to a success?"
Whether it was just his imagination or not, Akuta had a feeling that the system wasn't entirely satisfied with his journey in the One Piece world, and had a general sense that it wanted him to leave quickly.
"Please refrain from making malicious speculations about this system. This system only summarizes the challenge results; it is purely impartial and without any subjective malice."
"If the host has any questions, they can verify them themselves by observing the subsequent developments in the world."
The system's response surprised Akuta slightly.
Because he had succeeded in his recent challenges, Akuta had forgotten that the system could also watch the world's development after his challenges failed.
"Alright!" Akuta nodded and immediately said, "Then let's see what happens next. I want to see what really happened in the world after I died!"
The Moria Divide in the world of One Piece.
Mustard Seed Calendar, Day 1.
The suicide of the Akuta had a great psychological impact on King and Kaido.
They never imagined that someone could be so composed when facing death!
Because the Akuta had delayed Jhin for a long time at the quarry, by the time Jhin realized what was happening and went to chase after the prisoners, the prisoners had already boarded a boat and disappeared.
The second day of the Mustard Seed Calendar.
The prisoners, now free, did not simply disperse and return to their homes.
The image of the Akuta clashing with Kaido's Conqueror's Haki for the sake of this group of complete strangers was deeply etched in their minds.
If a complete stranger from out of town is willing to fight to the death against Kaido, an invader, for the sake of the people of Wano Country, then what about the locals of Wano Country?
To save his country, and to live up to the sacrifice of Akuta.
Led by Fujio and others, the prisoners who escaped from the quarry formed a resistance army and vowed to fight Kaido!
Although their strength is weak, they are probably no match for Kaido.
But the thought of the sacrificed Akuta filled them with courage.
Even if we can't defeat Kaido, we will fight him to the very last moment!
The 5th day of the Mustard Seed Calendar.
After a brief rest, the rebels launched an attack on Kaido's forces.
This was a battle destined to be lost.
The rebels were courageous, but they were still far inferior to Kaido.
Even the Beasts Pirates' top officer didn't show up; the pirates below simply wiped out the resistance.
As the battle drew to a close, Fujio looked at the few remaining rebels and refused the Beasts Pirates' demands for surrender.
He recalled his days working in the quarry. He no longer wanted to work for Kaido, this invader, nor did he want to provide Kaido with even the slightest bit of power to invade his country.
With his last breath, he gave his final orders to the rebels.
"Rebels, heed my command! Fight to the last moment, then commit suicide!"
Led by Fujio, the rebels refused to surrender and fought to the last moment.
The 6th day of the Mustard Seed Calendar.
News of the resistance reached the Ghost Island headquarters.
Kaido was furious at the rebels' refusal to surrender.
What will happen to all his weapons factories in Wano Country if no one surrenders?
What would happen to his dream of world domination without these factories?
In order to intimidate the people of Wano Country and reduce their resistance, Kaido ordered the corpses of all the rebels to be displayed publicly and sent men to destroy their hometowns as a warning.
King originally wanted to offer some advice in response to Kaido's orders.
But faced with the enraged Kaido, King had no choice but to obey.
The 10th day of the Mustard Seed Calendar.
Under the attack of the Beasts Pirates, the rebels' hometown was destroyed one after another.
At the same time, they publicized their actions extensively, spreading them to every corner of Wano Country.
Before long, even the villagers of Wano Country heard that a group of righteous people who dared to rebel against Kaido had appeared at the quarry in Udon!
Kaido, located on Onigashima, was very satisfied after the news successfully spread throughout Wano Country.
In his view, with such punishment, the people of Wano Country would surely be too afraid to resist, and then his weapons factory could continue operating smoothly.
The 15th day of the Mustard Seed Calendar.
Something Kaido didn't expect happened: the people of Wano didn't seem to be afraid of Kaido's "punishment."
Although the regional daimyo of Wano Country, under the combined orders of the current shogun Orochi and Oden, forcibly suppressed the voices of resistance against Kaido.
However, Kaido overestimated the control the daimyo of Wano Country had over the country.
Wano Country is a very isolated ancient civilization.
Most people here still maintain a very ancient way of life, and many remote areas only nominally obey the orders of the powerful.
Many samurai from remote areas were enraged to see their daimyo so groveling before pirates!
Those in power immediately decided to hold the most traditional ceremony in Wano Country.
The bottom overcomes the top!
The 20th day of the Mustard Seed Calendar.
The first to take action were samurai from a small village in the Hime region.
Half of the able-bodied men here were taken to factories to do hard labor, but very few returned.
When the Beasts Pirates came to the village again to conscript men, he, as the strongest man in the village, did not stand idly by as before.
He drew his sword and fought desperately against the pirates who came to capture him.
Under his leadership, the other young people in the village also stood up.
They grabbed pitchforks, hoes, sickles, and even sharpened bamboo poles and fought the pirates.
In the ensuing chaos, most of the pirates who came to conscript men were killed, with only a few managing to escape in panic.
Once the news spread, it was as if a fuse had been lit.
Suzuo, Bai Wu, Rabbit Don, Guri...
One by one, remote villages began to spontaneously resist.
Initially, it was just sporadic violent clashes, which the Beasts Pirates didn't take seriously, only sending a few small teams to "clean up" the area.
But they soon discovered that this operation had become exceptionally difficult.
In the past, simply mentioning the names of Orochi or Oden was enough to make the people obediently submit.
But now, even though they've drawn their knives, people are still rushing out of the houses to fight them to the death.
A 30-man squad of the Beasts Pirates was surrounded and attacked by hundreds of villagers while transporting supplies in the Kuri Mountains.
By the time reinforcements arrived, only a few members of the squad had survived, and all of them were wounded.
The squad leader, his face filled with fear, reported to his superiors:
"They're insane! These guys are all insane!"
"These are no ordinary villagers; we must take decisive action!"