Gods and ghosts are legendary beings. Influenced by the teachings of the Arceus Cult and Wano Country’s traditional beliefs, the people firmly believe in the existence of deities.
If they believe in gods, it’s only natural they believe in ghosts as well.
The Spooky Plate has yet to be found, and Wano Country hasn’t seen the mass emergence of Ghost-type Pokémon. While Rotom is also a Ghost-type, it was born from the power of the Zap Plate.
Those flying, high-tech entities are more akin to artificial intelligence; no one associates them with the ghosts.
Moreover, Ghost-type Pokémon often fall into two extremes. Some can’t stand loneliness and always think about playing pranks; Rotom is a good example, while others are very reserved, with Honedge being a prime example.
For years, these two Honedge remained dormant on their sword racks, rarely moving, only “hunting” in the dead of night to consume pre-prepared Berries, Poffins, or occasionally souls bought from Totto Land.
Because of this, there have always been rumors about ghosts in the Flower Capital.
Few people ever witness such things firsthand, and those who do usually dismiss them as hallucinations. But now, things are different.
This is Kozuki Oden’s grave, and his swords are flying through the air, attacking people. The power they wield aside, their psychological impact is overwhelming.
As new regional forms of Pokémon, the two Honedge retain the appearances of Enma and Ame no Habakiri. They have even inherited some of Kozuki Oden’s swordsmanship. The flying slashes from earlier were a clear example.
While they cannot exert the power they had when Oden was alive, they still easily overpowered these relatively strong humans, causing a massacre.
Pokémon have a gentle side, but they also have their ferocious nature. In the Alola region, a large number of people suffer broken spines every year due to Bewear’s hugs, and those stung by Tentacool are equally many.
But compared to those, Ghost-type Pokémon often cause a greater impact.
While the crowd was frozen in shock, the ribbon at Enma’s hilt extended and wrapped around a man’s wrist. Moments later, he withered at a visible speed, his body shriveling until he was nearly a skeleton.
Enma has always been a Cursed Sword. Even its wielder risks being drained of Haki and dying if they’re not careful. Kozuki Oden was the only one who ever fully controlled it; without him, Enma had struggled to find a suitable user.
Now transformed into a Honedge, it seems to have inherited Enma’s inherent nature, making it far more brutal than Ame no Habakiri.
After becoming Honedge, their master became Arceus. As their creator, Arceus’ commands are their duty, and among the commands given by Arceus, there is one that includes protecting Kozuki Hiyori.
Thus, when someone attacked Hiyori, the Honedge immediately marked them as enemies.
The single eye on Enma’s hilt opened, revealing a pleased expression. Compared to the souls purchased from Totto Land, it seemed to relish the fear it was consuming.
Even after draining the man dry, Enma didn’t let go. A strange energy emanated from its body, manipulating the corpse to stand and rush into the crowd, fighting like a zombie.
In contrast, Ame no Habakiri was much gentler. Its actions were less terrifying, focusing instead on circling around Kozuki Hiyori and occasionally slashing out to clear away the gathered minions.
It was fulfilling its duty, while Enma seemed to be playing, avoiding large-scale attacks and opting for singular, deliberate slashes.
…
From the moment Enma and Ame no Habakiri appeared, the group shouting “Sunacchi!” lost their nerves. Not because the swords were overwhelmingly strong—Denjiro and others could easily crush them—but because, before, they had the resolve to charge in shouting “Sunacchi” and fight to the death.
But Enma and Ame no Habakiri shattered their resolve completely. Even though they had come to assassinate Kozuki Hiyori, they truly believed they were acting for Wano Country’s sake, hoping to restore its rightful rule.
But “Kozuki Oden’s ghost” dealt them a devastating blow. They didn’t know what a Honedge was; to them, this was a manifestation of Oden’s restless soul, and he approved of his daughter’s actions.
The collapse of faith often happens in an instant. Many of them simply stopped resisting, standing dumbfounded until Enma’s blade cut through their bodies. They fell to the snowy ground, confusion lingering in their eyes.
“Why?! Why?! Why is this happening?!”
The clash between their twisted beliefs and the cruel reality left some of the people shouting in rage. Pulling themselves together, they charged forward again.
“Die! Just die, woman!”
But this was only a portion of the group.
“I’m sorry! We were wrong! We shouldn’t have doubted this…”
“I don’t want to die here… I don’t want this!”
Among them were those who fled in panic, those who knelt, begging for forgiveness—human nature exposed in myriad forms.
In truth, even Denjiro and Kozuki Hiyori couldn’t fully comprehend what was happening.
Especially when Enma and Ame no Habakiri combined, unleashing an even stronger Oden Two-Sword Style.
As Oden’s former retainers, they had learned swordsmanship from him and could recognize his techniques instantly—though now wielded by blades rather than people.
One after another, those still fighting were felled by Enma and Ame no Habakiri. Kawamatsu and the others didn’t even need to lift a finger—no one could breach the line guarded by the two swords.
The people fighting fell one by one, and as the fleeing ones gained some distance, Enma and Ame no Habakiri stopped pursuing. They hovered in place.
“Hah… hahaha…”
While Denjiro and the others hesitated about what to do next, the one they had sworn to protect, Kozuki Hiyori, suddenly began to laugh. Her laughter carried a mix of sadness and madness, growing increasingly unhinged.
“Hey, if you’re willing to listen to me, could you kill all of them? Except for those kneeling—leave no one else alive.”
“Lady Hiyori, they might have just been misled. In the past—”
“Denjiro, I wasn’t speaking to you. I was addressing Enma and Ame no Habakiri—let’s call them that for now. I was speaking to them.”
These people had once been Oden’s loyal followers. When they attacked Hiyori, Denjiro saw them as enemies and had already killed several of their leaders without hesitation. But he couldn’t bring himself to go further and wipe them out entirely. He believed there was still a chance to save some of them.
He originally wanted to give these people a chance. According to the Beasts Pirates’ usual practice, they would at least be thrown into the mines to work for over a decade, and the rest would be decided when the prophesied time came.
But Kozuki Hiyori’s tone felt unfamiliar to him, as though she had become someone else entirely—no longer the Kozuki Hiyori he once knew.
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