Chapter 152: Replacing Whitebeard And Roger
In front of Kahn and Sonia's memory viewing, the cleanup operation in Wano Country was swift and went smoothly.
The so-called Nine Red Scabbards refer to the nine retainers of Kozuki Oden: they are Kin'emon, Denjiro, Kanjuro, Kikunojo, Raizo, Ashura Doji, Kawamatsu, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi.
Among them, Kanjuro was an undercover agent for Kurozumi Orochi, planted among Kozuki Oden's retainers. Inuarashi and Nekomamushi returned to Zou and became the two kings of the Mink Tribe.
Kin'emon, Kikunojo, Raizo, and Kanjuro travelled to the future of the Sea Circle Calendar in 1522 with young Momonosuke.
Of the Nine Red Scabbards, a total of six were not present in Wano.
So, when Kahn captured Denjiro, Ashura Doji, and Kawamatsu, turning them all into dolls, the only remaining Red Scabbards in this era were Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, who were on the back of Zunesha.
Without the Nine Red Scabbards, the strongest person in Wano was Hyogoro the Flower.
In addition to Hyogoro, there were figures like Shimotsuki Yasuie and Kozuki Sukiyaki, also known as Tenguyama Hitetsu, who were part of Kahn's cleanup plan.
Kahn did not target the civilians of Wano, as he saw them as useful tools.
However, anyone who stood in his way of ruling Wano was captured and turned into toys by Sugar. Then, using the Op-Op Fruit's powers, their ability to move and speak was taken away, and they were locked inside a black box, stored in Mary Geoise.
When Kahn needed them again, or once he had fully taken over Wano, it would be time for them to see the light of day once more.
Even Kozuki Hiyori was imprisoned, having been turned into a doll by Sugar.
After removing the obstacles to Cross Guild's rule over Wano, Kahn ordered Monet to exchange the hearts of Kurozumi Orochi and Fukurokuju.
Right after, Kahn completed his revenge, with a satisfied Gecko Moria and Hogback sailing away from Wano aboard the Thriller Bark.
In gratitude for Kahn's help in avenging him, Gecko Moria put away the banner of the "Cross Guild," despite his former status as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea under the World Government.
In truth, Moria had become the third subsidiary force of the "Cross Guild," alongside the Fire Tank Pirates and the Kingdom of Dressrosa.
Whenever Kahn calls for him, Gecko Moria will raise the Cross Guild flag once more and rush to the New World from the first half of the Grand Line to offer his support.
Having achieved his revenge, Gecko Moria didn't intend to start a new path to conquer the New World. Instead, he planned to return to the Florian Triangle and continue building his zombie army.
However, Moria completely liberated the zombie army that fought in the battle.
The pirates who regained their shadows were left on Thriller Bark, their hearts taken by Monet, and they became workers for the Cross Guild.
Wano Country is a large island rich in valuable minerals.
The small island of Morley alone could provide resources for the Cross Guild for several years.
To completely hollow out Wano Country, Kahn needed a large number of workers.
The civilians of Wano, the defeated members of Onigashima, and the various pirates captured by Gecko Moria all became essential miners for Kahn.
After sending Thriller Bark away, Kahn instructed Monet to perform another mind-transplant operation on Kurozumi Orochi.
This time, however, Kurozumi Orochi swapped bodies with a rough-looking Kuja warrior who had mastered Armament and Observation Haki and desired to become a man in the Kuja Pirates.
The Zoan Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Yamata no Orochi, is a very rare Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit.
As the notorious tyrant of Wano, Kurozumi Orochi served a purpose for Kahn. He wouldn't kill Orochi or turn him into a toy because Wano's people still needed to remember their fear of the Kurozumi clan.
Until Kahn mastered the technology to create artificial Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits or the ability to extract Devil Fruits, he would use mind-transplant surgery to control Orochi's body and continue ruling Wano in his stead.
At first glance, it might seem that the "Cross Guild" had turned into a second "Beasts Pirates," with Kahn becoming the new Kaido.
However, unlike Kaido, Kahn wasn't as restrained. He gave Orochi a face and allowed him to stay on Onigashima.
With Kurozumi Orochi now under his control, Kahn finished the cleanup plan for Wano and took Yamato—whom he had ignored for days—on a journey towards Amazon Lily aboard the Grandine.
"I defeated your father. Don't you hate me?" Kahn asked knowingly, lounging on the deck that resembled a grassy field as he watched Yamato, who seemed excited.
"Of course, I don't hate you anymore! Even if you hadn't done it, I would've eventually beaten up that Flying Smelly Daddy and saved Wano myself."
Yamato, still handcuffed by Kahn, grinned widely. "Besides, you didn't kill Daddy, so you must be a good person."
"Oh? You think I'm a good person?" Kahn asked with amusement. "After defeating your father, I plan to continue ruling Wano, just like he did. Do you still think I'm a good person?"
"As long as you don't act like Daddy and do evil things, you're good," Yamato replied without hesitation.
Her response startled Kahn.
Even he found Yamato's simplicity a little scary.
With his innate Observation Haki, Kahn could tell that Yamato didn't fully grasp the concept of evil.
Just like when Ace cared about the children of Wano, Yamato didn't seem to recognize the oppression her father and Kurozumi Orochi inflicted on Wano's civilians.
In her mind, modelled after Kozuki Oden, she only wanted to sail the seas, defeat her father, drive out evil forces like Kaido, and liberate Wano.
These were her goals before she met Kahn.
After meeting Kahn and seeing him as her "Whitebeard" and "Roger," Yamato simply assumed he was a good person and wanted to follow him to explore the world.
Therefore, her insistence on calling herself Kozuki Oden and believing she was like him made sense—though to Kahn, she was clearly out of her mind!
Perhaps her brain had been damaged by one too many Thunder Bagua strikes from Kaido.
In more polite terms, Yamato's naïveté was terrifying.
Kahn had thought that after defeating Kaido, Yamato would see him as the new Kaido and try to drive him out of Wano. Instead, she didn't view him as replacing Kaido at all—in her mind, he was now replacing Whitebeard and Roger!
It was absurd.
Yet, Yamato's innocence had spared her life.
Had she not been so innocent, Kahn would have done to her what he did to Shinobu—have someone else take over her body until he could create artificial Mythical Zoan Fruits or find a way to capture Devil Fruits, and only then would she see the light of day again.
But now, Kahn felt there was no need to go to such lengths.
In just a month, he was confident he could mould Yamato into someone loyal to him.
Such was the confidence of the world's greatest "nurturer."
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