-Broadcast-
The Sky Screen's examination of Wano Country's future continued, shifting from policy and politics to something more fundamental: the raw power that had enabled one man's vision to reshape an entire nation.
[The Restoration's impact on Wano Country transcended mere economic reform. It fundamentally restructured the nation's very foundation, transforming it from a feudal slave state into an absolute feudal monarchy. The Shogun's authority expanded dramatically under Momonosuke's rule, concentrating power in ways Wano had never experienced. The Kozuki clan's dominion reached its apex—one man now held the nation's fate entirely in his hands, wielding authority over life and death without check or balance.
Yet absolute monarchy carried inherent vulnerabilities. The system's greatest weakness lay in its complete dependence on the ruling monarch's character and competence. A shogun whose moral standards fell below the nation's average could inflict damage equivalent to large-scale rebellion, destroying from within what enemies could never breach from without.
This vulnerability manifested tragically as Kozuki Momonosuke approached his ninetieth birthday. Age brought confusion, paranoia eating away at the mind that had once calculated with such ruthless precision. Believing slanderous accusations from advisors and concubines, the elderly shogun ordered the execution of three of his own sons in a single blood-soaked day. The purge nearly extinguished the Kozuki line's legitimate heirs entirely.
Crisis gripped Wano as succession hung in uncertainty. Only through desperate intervention—what court records euphemistically termed "rectifying the chaos"—did the situation stabilize. When Momonosuke finally died at age one hundred, he left behind a single heir capable of maintaining the status quo, if not matching his predecessor's transformative ambition.
Through the dedicated efforts of descendants and the effective governance of subsequent Kozuki shoguns, Wano's foundations endured. The empire Momonosuke built survived his paranoid twilight years, though scars from that period never fully healed.]
[The Sky Screen displayed court records, execution orders bearing an elderly Momonosuke's seal, then images of the aftermath—a dynasty nearly destroyed by its own founder's descent into madness. Viewers across the seas watched this cautionary tale unfold, seeing how even the most calculating mind could deteriorate.]
[During Kozuki Momonosuke's decades-long reign, Wano achieved something remarkable: it grew prosperous without falling under foreign domination. Unlike the Kurozumi clan, which had served as puppets for the Beast Pirates, Momonosuke maintained genuine independence even while engaging in international trade and diplomacy.
Even after eliminating the samurai class that had traditionally supported the Kozuki family—a self-destructive purge that should have left Wano vulnerable—no external force dared invade the Land of Samurai. This deterrence didn't stem from political alliances or economic leverage.
It came from raw, undeniable power.
Kozuki Momonosuke possessed the hard strength necessary to back his ambitions, the combat capability to communicate with potential enemies in the only language truly universal: violence. Those who might have exploited Wano's internal upheaval thought twice when they considered the tyrant's personal might.]
[The broadcast shifted tone, transitioning from historical narrative to combat analysis. Text and images arranged themselves into a comprehensive power assessment, the kind of breakdown that always captured audiences' attention.]
[When evaluating users of Zoan-type Devil Fruits, one name inevitably dominated all discussion: Kaido, the King of Beasts. His close-combat abilities approached the divine, a benchmark against which all others were measured and found wanting. In pure one-on-one battle, no one could match him—not even Homelander, that beggar's version of Joyboy who styled himself humanity's protector.
On paper, comparing Kozuki Momonosuke's strength to Kaido's seemed laughable, the gulf between them too vast to bridge. Yet if one removed the King of Beasts from consideration entirely, setting aside that impossible standard, a different picture emerged.
Among all Zoan users, Kozuki Momonosuke ranked second only to Kaido himself.
Their basic configurations mirrored each other eerily—the son wielding power derived from his father's murderer. With Wano's geographical advantages amplifying his natural strength, Momonosuke could defend the Land of Samurai against any external threat. Without his deterrent presence, the Kozuki clan's private domain would have faced constant invasion, war bleeding the nation dry despite its economic prosperity.]
[Side-by-side images appeared: Kaido in his azure dragon form, devastating islands with casual strikes, and beside him, a crimson dragon whose power promised to be nearly as terrible.]
[The source of Momonosuke's might lay in the Devil Fruit inhabiting his body: the Zoan-type Uo Uo no Mi (Fish-Fish Fruit), Model: Seiryu (Red Dragon), a Mythical Zoan of the highest caliber.
Dr. Vegapunk had created this fruit through cutting-edge science, extracting Kaido's Lineage Factor and using the Beast King's own Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu (Azure Dragon) as a template. The replication process altered the fruit's color spectrum, shifting from azure to red. Vegapunk, that genius who demanded perfection, deemed the color change evidence of failure and abandoned the project entirely.
Fate, however, had other plans. By sheer chance, young Momonosuke consumed the discarded fruit during his time-displaced journey. The Red Dragon Fruit proved extraordinarily compatible with his physiology, catalyzing a transformation that would eventually place him among the world's T0-tier combatants—the absolute strongest who stood at the apex.
This potential, this promise of overwhelming power, caught the attention of Buggy the Clown. The Yonko recognized valuable capital when he saw it, and Momonosuke's strength made him a worthy ally in reshaping the world order.]
[Despite his father Kozuki Oden's legendary swordsmanship providing a solid physical foundation through genetics, Momonosuke never inherited the sword saint's blade mastery. The Meito (Great Grade Sword) Ame no Habakiri hung at his waist purely as decoration, a symbol of legitimacy rather than a weapon. He lacked even entry-level swordsman skills, unable to perform the most basic techniques his father had made legendary.
Yet this deficiency proved irrelevant.
Kozuki Momonosuke's body had become harder than diamond through years of brutal conditioning. Ordinary Armament Haki couldn't scratch him. Even basic applications of Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) slid harmlessly off his scales. Only the advanced Armament technique native to Wano—Ryuo, which struck internal organs directly—could penetrate his defenses slightly.
And even Ryuo couldn't inflict fatal damage. His internal tissues boasted even greater durability than his impenetrable skin, organs reinforced beyond human limits.
In terms of pure physical resilience, Momonosuke ranked third among all combatants across the seas. First place belonged to the Yonko Kaido, whose "Strongest Creature" title was earned through literal indestructibility. Second place went to Charlotte Linlin, Big Mom, whose body had been abnormally durable since birth.
But unlike those two monsters who'd been born with supernatural physiques, Kozuki Momonosuke earned his resilience through blood, sweat, and agony. He trained relentlessly alongside Douglas Bullet—that demon who had once rivaled the Roger Pirates' strength. The hellish regimen forged Momonosuke's body into something approaching Kaido's natural toughness through pure effort.
Buggy the Clown, recognizing this achievement, bestowed a rare compliment: "hardworking genius." High praise from one who had sailed with legends.]
[Training montages flashed across the Sky Screen—a young Momonosuke enduring punishment that would kill ordinary men, Bullet's merciless instruction hammering weakness from flesh, transforming a pampered child into something monstrous. Viewers saw the price of strength measured in broken bones and spilled blood.]
[Regarding Haki, Momonosuke possessed all three colors that marked top-tier combatants, each developed to deadly proficiency.
His Armament Haki had reached advanced mastery through Ryuo techniques. He could form invisible armor beyond his skin's surface, layering impenetrable defense upon already diamond-hard scales. This external barrier deflected attacks before they even touched him, turning already formidable defense into something approaching absolute.
His Observation Haki remained at entry level—functional but unremarkable. He couldn't predict the future like Katakuri, couldn't read intentions with Luffy's intuitive clarity. It served its purpose for combat awareness but offered no special advantages.
But his Conqueror's Haki—Haoshoku Haki, the rarest color, manifesting in only one person per million—marked him as a true king. He wielded it with devastating skill, employing the advanced technique of Conqueror's Haki infusion that wrapped attacks in that tyrannical force. More impressively, he could infuse Conqueror's Haki into non-solid objects, an application that most warriors never conceived, let alone mastered. His usage proved flexible, creative, adapting the King's will to countless combat situations.
All three Haki types ultimately derived from the same source: Ki, the life energy flowing through every human body. While most people accessed Ki through standardized Haki techniques, Momonosuke's understanding exceeded normal comprehension. He manipulated Ki directly, enhancing physical capabilities and strengthening defenses in ways that transcended orthodox applications.
At critical moments, he could unlock his body's limiters entirely, pushing physical attributes to impossible extremes and turning losing battles into victories through sheer determination. The prerequisite for accessing this transcendent state required a powerful enemy—someone strong enough to shatter the mental shackles binding his potential, forcing him beyond previous boundaries through mortal combat.]
[Weapons held little appeal for Momonosuke. Despite carrying his father's legendary blade, he couldn't wield sharp swords effectively. Blunt weapons proved equally awkward in his hands. Rather than struggle with instruments that felt foreign, he simply fought bare-handed, relying on fists and claws enhanced by Ki manipulation.
During battle, he projected his energy outward, extending his effective striking range to compensate for the reach weapons would normally provide. The technique allowed him to fight weapon-users on equal terms despite having empty hands.
The destructive power of his strikes defied measurement by conventional standards. A single punch could render an adult giant unconscious—those towering beings whose size made them living siege weapons, knocked senseless by Momonosuke's fist. He'd killed a giant with just three blows, each impact pulverizing bones and rupturing organs until the massive body simply gave out.
Monkey D. Luffy had fought him to a standstill on multiple occasions, both combatants claiming victories and suffering defeats in their clashes. Among all the warriors sailing the seas, only a handful could genuinely challenge Kozuki Momonosuke in close-quarters combat and survive the encounter.]
[Combat footage filled the Sky Screen—devastating exchanges where each blow created shockwaves, Momonosuke's fists moving with speed that belied his power, opponents sent flying like ragdolls. The broadcast didn't shy from showing the carnage: shattered bones, crushed armor, warriors far stronger than normal humans defeated with contemptuous ease.]
[The Uo Uo no Mi (Fish-Fish Fruit), Model: Seiryu (Red Dragon)—this Devil Fruit touched mythology itself, granting Kozuki Momonosuke characteristics approaching those of legendary red dragons. Among Mythical Zoan types, it ranked at the absolute pinnacle.
The fruit bestowed abnormal regenerative capabilities, allowing Momonosuke to recover from injuries that would cripple others permanently. Beyond healing, it provided extraordinary anti-magic properties—the ability to offset portions of other Devil Fruit effects, including dampening or neutralizing Devil Fruit-generated domains. This resistance made him partially immune to reality-warping abilities that would overwhelm normal fighters.
Most devastatingly, the Red Dragon Fruit granted mastery over flames that surpassed even the Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit). Where Ace's fire burned hot, Momonosuke's flames exceeded even the Magu Magu no Mi's (Magma-Magma Fruit) extreme temperatures, reaching heat levels that transformed matter itself.
Fire erupted from every part of Momonosuke's body during combat. Each strike carried burn damage alongside physical impact, attacks that simultaneously crushed and incinerated. But the Red Dragon Fruit's most unique ability lay in elemental absorption—Momonosuke could consume attribute-based attacks through his mouth, negating the damage while adding those properties to his own arsenal.
Examples illustrated this terrifying versatility:
After absorbing light-based attacks from Admiral Kizaru, Momonosuke could unleash Flame Dragon's Roar—dragon breath carrying both light and fire attributes, the beam searing with doubled elemental fury.
After absorbing electrical damage from Admiral "Thunder Rat," he could release Thunder-Flame Dragon's Roar, lightning-wreathed fire that electrocuted and burned simultaneously.
After absorbing ice damage from Admiral Kuzan, he could produce Ice-Flame Dragon's Roar—paradoxical flames that burned with absolute cold, simultaneously freezing and incinerating targets in ways that broke natural law.
He could even absorb shadows from former Shichibukai Gekko Moria, creating Dark Flame Dragon's Roar that combined life-draining darkness with purifying fire.
The combinations extended infinitely, limited only by available enemies. Any elemental attack Momonosuke absorbed granted temporary immunity to that attribute—subsequent strikes of the same type dealt no damage, absorbed and incorporated into his own power instead. In principle, no upper limit existed to how much elemental damage he could consume.
This made him the natural predator of Logia-type Devil Fruit users. Those who relied on elemental intangibility found their advantages negated, their attacks feeding Momonosuke's strength rather than harming him. Only those capable of breaking through his physical defenses through pure force—Armament Haki users, physical specialists, fighters who relied on crushing power rather than exotic abilities—could hope to defeat this tyrant.
Logia users who couldn't reinforce attacks with Haki stood no chance. They were prey, walking batteries that charged Momonosuke's power with every futile strike.]
[Demonstration footage showed the absorption ability in action: Momonosuke catching Kizaru's light beams in his jaws, swallowing lightning whole, breathing out combined elemental devastation that carved trenches in the earth. The Sky Screen emphasized the versatility, the horror of facing an enemy who turned your greatest strengths into his weapons.]
[The Red Dragon Fruit carried one notable side effect, though whether it qualified as drawback or blessing remained debatable depending on perspective.
It massively amplified Kozuki Momonosuke's lustful impulses.
Dragons were inherently licentious creatures in mythology and apparently in Devil Fruit physiology as well. If Momonosuke didn't bed a woman daily—at minimum—he experienced profound physical discomfort. Under normal circumstances, he relied on Ki manipulation to suppress these urges during official duties, channeling sexual energy into other pursuits.
Yet the dragon's constitution granted him proportionally superhuman stamina in carnal matters. Servicing hundreds of women through a single night posed no challenge to his enhanced endurance. For normal men, such capability would represent paradise rather than affliction—a "shortcoming" that brought nothing but pleasure.
This side effect partly explained his aggressive concubine policies during the Yamato Restoration. What critics condemned as pure hedonism had biological components, the dragon's nature demanding satisfaction. Whether this excused his behavior remained hotly contested among historians.
Regardless of moral judgments, the truth remained clear: Kozuki Momonosuke's strength derived from multiple sources—inherited genetics, brutal training, a Mythical Zoan fruit of legendary power, and mastery over all three Haki colors. Combined, these elements created a warrior who stood among the absolute strongest in the world.
The tyrant shogun possessed both the vision to reshape Wano and the power to protect his transformation from all who would tear it down. Perhaps that combination—ruthless ambition backed by overwhelming might—was precisely what the turbulent era required.
Or perhaps it was simply the recipe for a monster who would be remembered in history books with equal parts admiration and horror.]
[The Sky Screen's glow pulsed steadily as the power assessment concluded. Across the seas, viewers absorbed this analysis with varied reactions. Some felt relief that such strength protected Wano from external threats. Others felt horror that such power concentrated in one man's hands—especially a man whose moral character the broadcast had already thoroughly dissected.*
Marines watching from their bases exchanged troubled glances. If this analysis proved accurate, Kozuki Momonosuke represented a threat comparable to the current Yonko. And unlike Kaido, who ruled through simple domination, Momonosuke wielded political cunning alongside physical might.
Pirates viewing in taverns and hideouts saw opportunity and warning both. Wano's wealth might be tempting, but its shogun made Kaido look approachable by comparison.
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