C39 : Onigashima

• [Onigashima of Wano Country] {Year : 20.5} •

"You are good, but..." Ryu raised his index finger and lightly touched the sharp edge of the young man's katana. "...Not good enough to fight me."

*crack*

The katana cracked and began to shatter into pieces before becoming dust. The young man in kimono outfit was shocked to see this. He was arrogant because of his expertise in Observation Haki and his katana techniques, but without a katana, how was he supposed to fight? He wasn't that strong enough to be like Shogun Ryu who could wave a finger and a mountain would be cleaved easily.

The young man in his kimono outfit suddenly felt his world changing when the near-invisible person revealed himself. "S-Shogun Ryu?!"

Ryu smiled at him. He simply smiled and did not say anything, but that frightened the young man more.

The young man in his kimono outfit froze, not knowing what to do next. After all, he had just raised a katana against the Shogun! How was he supposed to react?

"I-I apologize for my impudence, I did not know that it was you!" The young man hastily kneeled and internally cursed his luck. He shouldn't have walked out of his house or even stood from his bed today!

"Nah, don't worry. I don't take such small thing offensive." Ryu really didn't. The things that he would take offensive was anything that pricked his personality. "Anyways, good job on reaching Expert level of Observation Haki. It's rare to see anyone with such high expertise in the whole world as far as I know."

The young man in his kimono outfit was now conflicted. He still felt that he should be punished and yet Shogun Ryu praised him instead. "Sh-Shogun Ryu, please hand a punishment for me! I won't feel at ease if you're going to leave me be just like that."

"Hmm..." The Shogun-in-name rubbed his chin in understanding. He met several situations like this before in his touring around the Wano Country, so Ryu wasn't surprised. "Alright, go take five laps around Onigashima and expand your Observation Haki to its maximum while holding it at that range the whole laps. If your range even budges less, don't move until it's maximized."

The young man in his kimono outfit felt his jaws unhinge itself. Although he did ask for a punishment to relieve his ease, he didn't expect such extreme punishment! That was like holding your urine in and never moving if you don't have it full in your bladder! "B-but tha-"

"Yes?" Ryu widened his smirk and showed his pristine white teeth towards the young man, feeling sadistic.

"U-ugh!" The young man couldn't do anything but bow his head reverently yet self-loathing for even requesting a punishment. "Thank you for your lesson, Shogun Ryu!"

The Shogun-in-name Ryu smirked as the young man left the Blooming Flower in a hurry. He then turned to see all customers in the branch restaurant looking at him with stars. He nodded lightly at them with a smile. "See ya."

With that, he disappeared but did not go away from Blooming Flower. Ryu reappeared within a room in the top floor of Blooming Flower. The branch restaurant had three floors showing its wealthiness for a branch restaurant, but since they intended for the Blooming Flower to be family-oriented, it appeared homely instead of flaunting the business's wealthiness. The top floor was reserved for important guests like Officials and V.I.P.s of Blooming Flower. Within the few rooms in top floor was a room solely for the branch restaurant's manager, a office.

"Oh?" A old man with a beard and a two-part mustache rose one of his eyebrow in surprise. He didn't expect for the Shogun who saved Wano Country from Beast Pirates and Kurozumi Orochi's reign would come here. With his long hair tied into a ribbon over his head, he stood up when Ryu reappeared into his room. "Shogun Ryu, welcome back!"

He laughed heartily, waving his arms along with his kimono sleeves tied.

"I didn't know you'd be back after few months, though! Haha" The old man with a beard and two-part mustache grinned. He then gave Ryu a lecherous wink. "Maybe it was for a certain woman's body? Hehe~!"

"Shut it, old pervert." Ryu rolled his eyes. He was very familiar with this old man's antics. The old man was a retainer of Kozuki Family during Kozuki Shogunate's, Oden's father, reign before being forced into hiding. Although he grew old, his abilities did not wane and still made him above average among Samurais in Wano Country, especially so with Armament Haki he obtained through hard times. "So you're working for Blooming Flower now, Jibuemon?"

Jibuemon nodded and said. "I'm still in Kozuki Family as its representative, so I'm working for both of them. That young miss thought I'd be annoyed of the politics in Flower Capital, so she sent me here. What a nice young miss, haha!"

"Or she's just showing respect to dying old fogies..." Ryu silently smirked when Jibuemon, the old man with a beard and two-part mustache, became ashen-faced.

"Brat, even if you're the Shogun, I'll have you know that I'm still healthy as a horse!" Jibuemon glared at him. If anything, his age was the most offending thing to mention for him because while it was true that he was healthy, his age would still get him. "Hmph, hmph! I pity the young woman who's infatuated with you!"

"Which young woman?" Ryu 'innocently' asked, clearly already knowing which woman. He was just insulting the old man's relationship abilities as a failure in such. He then smugly declared as he pushed his chest outward, ready to enrage the old man. "Nowadays, I've been seeing several young ladies falling lovestruck when they see my dashing handsome looks! Unlike a certain old fogy in front of me!"

"You f*cking brat!" Enraged, Jibuemon moved over his desk and pulled his arm. "Armament Haki!"

*shnzz~*

Tough blackness eroded his arm and looked menacing to anyone else. Ryu simply grinned at the old man like a fool, purposely jeering him into attacking him more. He knew Jibuemon's personality and toyed with it.

"I'll f*cking smack that grin off your face!" Jibuemon's arm suddenly gained orange flames all over it and he did not seem to be in discomfort as he punched Ryu's face.

Ryu wasn't even hurt the slightest. Jibuemon clearly saw this and went on to moving his other fist to punch. Armament Haki covered both of his fist, but they had an equivalent amount of Armament Haki used in both fist. The similar trait of orange flames also went onto both of the fists, Jibuemon continued to punch the Shogun-in-name as he roared.

"Oi, f*cking brat, why aren't you moving?! Damn it, my Fire Fists definitely hurts right?!"

"Nope~!" Ryu chuckled and rose his palm against the next orange flame and Armament Haki covered fist moving to his face. "Alright, that's enough of that."

"Hmph!" Jibuemon huffed and saw that he accidentally destroyed the entrance to his room in his blindness. "Oh no!"

He hastily went to the broken door and slammed it into the spot, but it clearly wouldn't work as before because of its hinges. Cold sweat dripped on his back.

"Young miss is gonna yell at me for spending more money on reparations at my actions!" Jibuemon inwardly cursed at himself for being too easily toyed by Ryu, but knew that only few people could do so. "Hey, brat, you're gonna fix this up for me, 'ight?!"

The Shogun-in-name rolled his eyes. "Why would I? I didn't do it."

The old man with a beard and two-part mustache poked his tongue out of his mouth childishly. "Bleh! Stingy!"

Ryu internally thought that Jibuemon was too bipolar for umpteenth time. "I pity Kozuki Family for having someone unreasonable like you..."

"Hmph! I'm not always like this!" Jibuemon huffed as he brought out a toolkit in the room and moved to fix the door, looking as if he had done it before repeatedly. "Besides, I'm only a cursing b*stard when I'm around you, and you damn know why it happens."

"Hehe." Ryu grinned at his back but didn't continue it as he moved onto the reason why he came here. "Anyways, I came here because I felt your presence here. Since you were here, I thought I'd get something from you."

"...What is it?" Jibuemon spoke in a deep tone, showing he was serious. He knew when it was needed and when it wasn't. As a handpicked representative of Kozuki Family, his abilities for politics was above average as required, and his power as a Samurai made him a highly regarded representative in Wano Country. "For you to get something from me when you could have done it yourself means it's information, is it not, Shogun?"

"Yes." Shogun Ryu nodded. "How's the state of Kyoshiro Family? I know that they're managing Onigasima as a whole instead of splitting it into parts for other appointments of daimyos."

"Hmm..." Jibuemon took a moment to grasp the near ends of his two-part mustache and weaved through it. "Denjiro has officially established his Kyoshiro Family's residence on Onigashima, which was one of the reasons why Kyoshiro Family was chosen to become the sole daimyo of Onigashima as a whole. Because of the amount of retainers in Kyoshiro Family after Denjiro was discovered to be the real Ushimitsu Kozo, the thief who stole from wealthy and provided their riches to the poor, a lot of branch families were set up all over the Onigashima."

"Ah." Ryu made a understanding noise. Before, he used his Observation Haki over the Onigashima and saw the Kyoshiro Family's symbol, Kyo, a lot. "They're that large..."

"Yes." Jibuemon nodded seriously. "So large that the Ten Officials felt it was threatening if they ever decided to rebel. After all, half of its retainers are Samurais, and half of those Samurais has obtained at least one type of Haki. There were some rumors of few of Kyoshiro Family's Samurais possessing both Haki, Observation Haki and Armament Haki."

"..." The Shogun-in-name was surprised by this information. Possessing both Haki was extremely rare to see in the New World too.

"Also..." The old man with a beard and two-part mustache stood up after he finished fixing the entrance to his office. A solemn look on his face as he turned to the Shogun. "...Kyoshiro Family has two Conqueror Haki Users."

Ryu widened his eyes, two Conqueror Haki Users? Moreover, they were both in Kyoshiro Family... "Who are they? I'm sure I would have found out when I came here."

"Well..." Jibuemon suddenly adopted a mischievous look. "They're both babies, maybe that's why your almighty sensory abilities couldn't find them, ehehe~!"

"..." Ashen-faced, Ryu held back the urge to smack the f*ck out of Jibuemon. However, he understood now why he didn't find them. Babies born with Conqueror's Haki were always weak due to its new stage as well as their will were newborn. But for them to be born with Conqueror's Haki meant that they had ancestors who were overwhelmingly strong but their descendants did not awaken it until then. "I wonder who their ancestors were..."

"Hmm?" Jibuemon looked at him questioningly.

"Nothing."

"Anyways..." Jibuemon snorted before stating. "The fact that Kyoshiro Family has two Conqueror Haki Users isn't known all over the Wano Country, only the higher-ups of Kozuki Family and Kyoshiro Family does. They're still children, so people could take advantage of them and raise them wrongfully."

Ryu nodded in agreement, as he released Observation Haki and searched for the lingering Haki abilities all over Onigashima. Whether any signs of the usage of Haki would show or not depended on the Haki users' control on spiritual energy. Since the two Conqueror Haki Users were still children, they would leave out signs of it due to their emotional control.

As expected, after a minute, Ryu easily found two of them. The rest were either from teens training their Haki or people clashing against each others while using Haki. "Hmm... They're in that castle where Kaido used to reside in?"

"Oh?" Jibuemon looked surprised that Ryu already figured out their location easily. That surprise however elevated when he learned that they were in the location where Kaido used to live in. "What?! They're there?!"

"Yeah?" Ryu looked confused at his outburst. "I don't see anything dangerous in Kaido's former residence, so it should be fine for them."

"No, they're not supposed to be outside of the capital of Onigashima, Zugai Capital! Those brats probably ran off again..." The representative of Kozuki Family in Onigashima sighed annoyed. He then tentatively looked at the Shogun and asked. "Since you're probably going to meet them, mind picking 'em up?"

"..." The Shogun-in-name rolled his green eyes. What was he? The Strongest Human in the World or a babysitter? "Whatever. Just tell me this, how is she doing?"

"...Ehehehe~!" Jibuemon knew exactly whom he was talking about and pervertedly laughed. "Oohh la la~! You should surprise her in bed!"

He suggested before donning a serious look.

"I'm serious, by the way. Rin looked stressed out the last time I saw her." Jibuemon then smirked. "Maybe some physical activity between you two will relie- kuah!"

Ryu punched his stomach lightly but Jibuemon felt like a miniature boulder struck him there. The old man panted before looking up at the Shogun who was smiling yet not.

"Shut up."

*woosh*

"...F*ck you brat! I'll have your ass smacked even if I have to tell on you!" Jibuemon roared out, feeling that Ryu wouldn't bother to come back when hearing of this to beat him up. "Hmph, hmph!"

…

"Maybe we should go back..." A little girl in a kimono for high nobility timidly said to the older girl beside her. Both of them looked nervous and afraid by the menacing feeling emitting out from the former residence of Kaido. They didn't know whose it was but they originally came out just to see beautiful sights, not a scary ghost mansion. "L-let's go back!"

"O-okay!" Both of them immediately turned away from the mansion and moved to run together when a handsome man with green eyes in casual clothes appeared before them. He grinned at them and they were startled by the sudden appearance, falling onto their bums. "AHH!"

"Haha!" Ryu laughed as the two little girls whined, pouted with teary eyes, and stood up. "So you're the bad kids who ran away from them? You shouldn't have done that! Now I can take you away forever and never to return!"

"N-n-no!" The littler girl stuttered as she yelled, afraid. "W-we will be good girls and listen to them!"

"Y-yeah!" The bigger girl nodded quickly. Both of them huddled together when Ryu took a step towards them. "Eek!"

The Shogun-in-name slightly frowned at this. They were the holders of Conqueror's Haki, moreover born with it? He felt that they shouldn't be this afraid when they hold Conqueror's Haki, otherwise they'd never be able to fully use it or even use it at all next time. "Nope! I don't believe you, so I'll be taking you two away from Wano Country, hehe!"

"Nooo!" The littler girl screamed as she hugged the bigger girl, who was likewise, afraid. However, there were no signs of Conqueror's Haki coming at all. This made Ryu confused.

He was sure that he felt that the two girls held Conqueror's Haki ability within their soul, yet it was as if it was sealed, making them ordinary as possible.

"Alright, alright." Ryu sighed and held out a placating gesture for the girls to see. They whimpered before he said. "I won't take you away, but you'll have to come with me to Zugai Capital."

"O-okay!" The bigger girl readily believed him and nodded quickly. The littler girl looked dubious but nevertheless went along.

"Come on then." Ryu held out his arms for them to enter in, which both girls tentatively entered. He then grabbed them up and said. "Get ready, just make sure you're not falling."

Although he knew that they wouldn't fall because of his control, Ryu still wanted the girls to think that they'd be abandoned if they fell and they did, so, they held tightly.

The littler girl suddenly looked excited despite being in a 'extremely scary' man's arm. "Are you going to go super fast like those ninjas?"

"Ooh!" The bigger girl looked at Ryu with stars in her eyes, as if she forgot the situation she and the littler girl had been in. "Go, go!"

"Yeah, yeah..." After rolling his eyes and nodding, Ryu internally smacked himself. Why did he feel like a damn pet? With that thought, he moved forward and took few steps.

*woosh*

In those few steps, the two girls felt their world shifting so fast that it blurred. Their eyes went swirly and their throat contracted slightly. "Uwaah!"

They weren't used to this kind of speed, never having anyone do it for them. The two girls held onto Ryu tighter than before.

The few steps took them over half of Onigashima and to the skull-like landmark which had a large city surrounding it. Comparable to Flower Capital, a lot of businesses were built there and tons of house residency were also built there. There were also at least five clans established in Zugai Capital, one of them being Kyoshiro Family. There were also a lot of civilians residing in the large capital and walking about.

'This all happened in a few mere months?' Even though Ryu already searched through this area, he was still surprised to see a lot of large cities established on Onigashima in a few mere months. It'd only been at least seven months since he left Wano Country.

"Ugh!" The two girls immediately flailed when Ryu stopped for a few seconds. They began to retch but nothing came out of their stomach since they ran away before they ate lunch.

The Shogun-in-name smirked but the girls didn't see it. He could've used a different movement technique where they wouldn't have notice that they moved already.

"Speed isn't that fun, huh?" Ryu stated for the two girls who pouted as they looked at him. "We're here. Zugai Capital's right in front of us."

He told them as they immediately entered the capital without anyone knowing except for those with expert level of Observation Haki, the others would only notice the sudden brush of light wind.

"Oh! We're here!" The bigger girl looked surprised then she looked at Ryu's handsome face. "How did you do that, big brother?"

"Yeah!" The littler girl chimed in, unwilling to be left behind even in a conversation. "Are you a ninja too?"

"No..." Ryu muttered while he looked at the bigger girl with a strange look. "Don't call me 'big brother', alright?"

"Oh." She just nodded innocently and turned her head away. The littler girl tilted her head, confused. "Let's go to the play ground!"

"I'm not your babysitter!" Ryu rolled his eyes and held them in his arms. He finally stopped before a large chinese-like gate to a clan campus. "Alright, get off."

Both of the girls were about to but they suddenly seemed to remembered something at the same time as they shook their heads in unison. "No!"

"Whatever." Ryu shrugged his shoulders, they barely weighted anything.

The entrance gate opened on its own and two figures came out of it. "As I thought, it was you, Shogun Ryu. Welcome back to Wano Country!"

"Yes, greetings to Shogun Ryu!" When their voices came, the two girls turned their heads into Ryu's body and hugged him tighter, looking afraid. "Oh, you also brought back the two girls. We thank you for that!"

"Big brother, they are baddies!" The bigger girl whined when Ryu was about to place them on the ground. "You must save us from them!"

The Shogun twitched his eyebrows. Did they already forget that he was the one who was supposed to be the bad man?

The litter girl nodded with big eyes directed at Ryu. "Baddies!"

"Hoho! You think he would save you both from your teachings?" The first figure chuckled with a evil smile. "You'll have triple the time of usual if you don't be obedient girls!"

"Eek!" The word 'obedient girls' set both girls off as they became scared and quickly looked at Ryu, finally realizing that they'd nearly forgot about their promise. They quickly scrambled off the Shogun's arms and stood in front of Ryu while facing the two figures. "We'll be good girls, don't let him take us away!"

"Huh?" Both of the figures who came out of the entrance gate of Kyoshiro Famiy's residence looked confused and appalled that they were even suggesting that the Shogun would actually kidnap them.

"I don't know what they're talking about, so don't look at me." Ryu smiled at them while his green eyes glinted. The two girls looked further scared and nodded quickly as if understanding something. They never understood that he was the Shogun though...

"Oh... okay." The two figures felt something amiss but shook it off and the first figure took a step towards the two girls who tentatively looked at them. "Go on in, you know that she doesn't like it when you run away."

"Mmn." The second figure nodded and signaled the two girls to follow them. The first figure stayed for Ryu.

"So, has Shogun Ryu visited us for Onigashima's change?" The first figure asked.

The Shogun nodded. "One of the few reasons."

"I'd expected that. Kyoshiro has informed me and others that he will be coming right away, but in the mean time, why don't you come in?"

Both of them walked in and the entrance gate closed on its own again. It was as if Big Mom gave it a soul that it would do such thing... 'Speaking of Big Mom... Wasn't there a time when she and Kaido made a deal and then a alliance...?'

Ryu finally remembered that Big Mom once sent Dogtooth to request a meeting between them. Perhaps Kaido went to Totto Land and met Charlotte Linlin, his former mate as Rocks Pirates and made a deal as well. His green eyes went cold and the surrounding abruptly became frigid and tense when he thought of both of them going after the land he saved.

*clatter*

Teeth clattering against each other snapped Ryu out of his thoughts. He looked and saw that the first figure looked extremely frightened and a pool of urine laid below the figure's feet. He realized that he unconsciously unleashed his killing intent for a moment.

"Whoops!" The Shogun changed to his casual and lazy demeanor as he grinned at the first figure.