Wano — Kuri, Ebisu Town.
After days of overcast skies, the clouds finally parted. The sun peeked out, casting its light impartially upon this land and upon the numb, hollow-eyed people living on it.
A day in Ebisu Town began with waking up, breathing in air polluted by factory exhaust, then taking a sip of "clean and sanitary" river water—just enough to feel a bit more alive.
Since both the river and the farmland had been contaminated, this land had been barely able to produce crops for the past two years. On top of that, Shogun Orochi had always held a grudge against Kuri, and deliberately ordered garbage from the capital to be dumped in this area.
Whether this was fortune or misfortune was hard to say.
With farming no longer an option, the people of Ebisu Town found a new way to survive—
scavenging trash.
They rummaged through the refuse hauled out of the Flower Capital, searching for leftovers from the rich and items that weren't completely broken. Then they would take those things elsewhere and resell them, scraping together a living.
In this impoverished village, a man wearing a headscarf walked in, his steps weary. On his back, he carried a baby.
Yet on his face bloomed a smile as bright as the sun.
Just the night before, he had received news that Kurozumi Orochi, the shogun who had tyrannized Wano, had been slain.
Orochi was the man he hated most in the world. Hearing of his death, his first reaction was naturally joy.
Of course, joy and misfortune went hand in hand.
After Orochi's death, the new shogun turned out to be Yamato, the daughter of the Yonko Kaido. That news dulled his happiness, replacing it with fresh worry for Wano's future.
Still, he believed that no matter how hard life became, as long as one endured, light would eventually appear—
Just as even in despair, he could still be healed by something small and soft.
He shifted the baby girl from his back into his arms.
Wrapped in cloth, the infant smiled innocently, her rosy little mouth blowing wet bubbles. Seeing the man's face, she stretched out her tiny hand, trying to touch him.
The man's smile grew even wider.
"Yasuie-sama… what's that?"
A villager who knew him passed by and asked in confusion upon seeing the baby.
"A child I found along the road," Yasuie explained gently.
"Poor thing. She must have been abandoned by her parents."
Shimotsuki Yasuie had once had a wife, but she passed away from illness before they could have children. He never remarried after that. Many had urged him to, but before he could change his mind, Kaido invaded the country, Kurozumi Orochi usurped power, and Wano's peace was shattered.
As a daimyo loyal to the Kozuki clan, Shimotsuki Yasuie naturally became a target for purges. With no other choice, he concealed his identity and hid in this remote corner of Kuri.
"Yi-ya~"
The baby's babbling pulled him back from his thoughts.
He had found her on his way back from the Flower Capital, where he'd gone to gather information. She'd been abandoned in the mountains, clearly left behind by parents who could no longer feed her—yet still couldn't bring themselves to commit the cruelty of killing or exchanging children for food.
So they left her in the wilderness, to fate.
Yasuie had been drawn by her cries. He searched through the grass and found the infant.
The moment she saw him, she stopped crying—and smiled instead.
That smile healed the gloom in his heart.
Even though feeding himself was already difficult, he picked her up and resolved to raise her to adulthood.
"Yasuie-sama, isn't this reckless?" a villager advised kindly.
"We can't even feed ourselves. How can we raise a child? You should put her back—maybe someone kinder will take her in."
Yasuie shook his head.
In these times, returning the child would be the same as killing her. Most people in Wano could barely eat. The rich in the Flower Capital weren't kind enough to adopt a child with no ties to them.
Seeing that persuasion was futile, the villager said no more. He understood what kind of man Yasuie was, and went off to begin the day's scavenging.
Yasuie watched the villagers bustling about, a trace of sorrow flashing through his eyes.
He knew that scavenging trash could never sustain life forever.
As pollution worsened, the land would grow more barren, until not a single grain could be produced. Living in appalling sanitary conditions and surviving on trash, people would slowly fall ill and die.
In the end, this village—once still sizable—would wither down to a few hundred people, perhaps even just dozens.
To Yasuie, this was Wano's future in miniature.
If even Kuri was like this, other regions—though slightly better—would only take longer to reach the same end.
He was heartbroken.
He had always wanted to lead Wano's people toward a good life, but he lacked both power and authority.
Once, he had placed his hopes in Kozuki Oden. But that unruly scion ultimately failed to defeat Kaido, and Wano's people remained trapped in misery.
Yasuie wanted to change the country himself.
Yet he had neither influence nor personal strength. If he revealed his identity, he would likely be captured and executed by Orochi the very next day.
Now, hearing that Orochi was dead and Yamato had become shogun, his sorrow only deepened.
He had once believed Wano to be a great nation. Now its dignity was being trampled underfoot.
At least Orochi's usurpation had involved schemes—fake Kozuki authority, a gradual transition from acting shogun to full ruler.
But Yamato?
They simply killed Orochi and declared her ascension.
More laughable still was the excuse they gave—
Kurozumi Orochi committed treason.
This kind of grief could only be felt by someone who truly loved the country and was capable of independent thought.
It felt as though the nation itself were nothing but a toy, its leadership decided at whim by those holding supreme power.
On his way back, Yasuie had even thought of committing seppuku—ending his pitiful life.
But then he heard crying in the mountains.
He saw this baby girl.
And suddenly realized—
Even on the most barren land, life could bloom again. Even in the most wretched nation, new life could still smile.
To protect those smiles, he decided to try once more.
Even if it meant becoming a bandit—robbing the rich to help the poor—he would protect his people, preserving the tiny sparks of Wano's future.
As he thought this, the baby in his arms began to cry again.
"There, there… don't cry," Yasuie soothed her.
"Are you hungry? I'll find you something to eat."
After calming her, worry crept in.
In such a destitute village, where could he find someone producing milk? Even if there were such a household, their own children wouldn't have enough to eat—why would they share?
By his estimate, the baby was only three or four months old. Even if she could eat thin gruel, the food still needed to be clean and nutritious.
Feeding her scraps from garbage piles would likely kill her within weeks.
Realizing this, despair welled up again.
Yet Yasuie's face remained radiant.
Many villagers were watching him. If even someone as optimistic as him gave up, then truly, no one here would ever see the sun again.
Lost in thought, Yasuie suddenly sensed a commotion at the village entrance. Curious, he turned and walked that way.
Nearby villagers were already running, as if they'd heard incredible news. As they passed Yasuie, one even shouted kindly:
"Yasuie-sama! They say the authorities brought grain for disaster relief—hurry up and grab some!"
Yasuie froze.
Grain… for disaster relief?
He wondered if he'd misheard.
Since Orochi took power, taxes had been raised to the extreme. Almost all production was seized, then sold back at exorbitant prices, squeezing the people dry.
Such a man would never distribute grain to famine victims.
And the new shogun was an actual pirate—the daughter of Yonko Kaido.
Shouldn't she be even more brutal?
Filled with confusion, Yasuie followed the crowd to the village entrance.
When he saw the endless line of grain carts, he was stunned.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen so much food—let alone imagine it being delivered by the authorities for the starving.
"Line up properly! No pushing—there's enough for everyone!"
A black-clad man standing before the convoy spoke with commanding authority, an invisible pressure calming the restless crowd.
"Rations are distributed per person:
Ten kilograms of rice per adult, one bag of bean products, two fruits, and one strip of dried meat.
Children receive half."
Yasuie stared in disbelief.
He recognized the man.
He had seen the shogun's succession ceremony while infiltrating the Flower Capital. This was that man—the rising star of Wano, a new officer of the Beasts Pirates, Yamato's most trusted aide.
Someone so close to the peak of power… personally delivering disaster relief?
And ten kilograms of rice per person? With beans, fruit, even meat?
Even back when he was daimyo of Hakumai, he had never dared to send relief so generous—this even accounted for balanced nutrition!
For a moment, Yasuie felt deeply uneasy.
Was the new shogun plotting some shocking conspiracy?
"Waah—waah—"
The baby's cries cut through his thoughts.
Whatever the truth was, the priority now was simple—
Get food. Cook some thin porridge for the child.
The villagers of Ebisu Town didn't think so far ahead.
Hearing these dreamlike terms, they erupted in cheers. Yet none dared to rush forward. They lined up obediently.
Some had initially suspected a trap, but once they saw people receiving heavy bags of grain from the soldiers, all doubt vanished. The line instantly grew longer.
When it was Yasuie's turn, Kurosaki Rei glanced at the baby in his arms, slightly surprised.
Then he turned to the soldier beside him.
"There's a child. Give him an extra half portion."
Yasuie accepted the food, his emotions tangled beyond words. Still, he bowed politely.
"Thank you, sir."
Ebisu Town wasn't large. Even now, with many still alive, there were only one or two thousand residents. The distribution ended quickly.
Watching the villagers kneel in gratitude, kowtowing and stumbling over their words, Kurosaki Rei spoke again:
"Do you know who gave you this grain?"
Many looked blank.
They were busy surviving day to day. Few understood the changes in the nation's politics.
"Wano has undergone a transformation," Kurosaki Rei said.
"Kurozumi Orochi has been executed. The new shogun is Yamato, daughter of the Bright King."
He looked over the crowd.
"Remember this—these supplies were requested by Shogun Yamato from the Beasts Pirates.
She did not hoard them. She did not sell them at high prices.
She gave them to you."
Seeing the confusion still on their faces, Kurosaki Rei asked calmly:
"Do you know why?"
The people grew even more bewildered.
They didn't understand why pirates, of all people, would become shoguns—
And then feed the starving.
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