An Old Hyourse Knows the Way

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In Ringo, Zoro finally understands Hiyori's confession and reacts, "You're Momonosuke's... younger sister??" He remembers that the truth comes out after twenty long years and realizes she was sent through time differently from Momonosuke. Hiyori is overjoyed that he knows her older brother, but Zoro tells her to hold her horses and let him process it. She reasons through the danger herself: if he knows Momonosuke, he may be helping her brother, but he could also be an enemy trying to capture him. When Zoro says he is an ally, an A.L.L.Y., Hiyori is relieved and asks at once where Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, and Kikunojou are, and whether everyone has gathered together.

Zoro reconstructs the strange timeline: Momonosuke was sent twenty years into the future and stayed eight years old, which is why his younger sister is twenty-six now. Hiyori smiles with O-Toko and says the truth is their little secret; O-Toko is one of the few friends who knows, and her cheerful attitude helped Hiyori keep moving. Then Hiyori's memory turns to fire. She says she will never forget what happened twenty years ago, even though she was just a child, younger than O-Toko is now: inside the raging flames, she saw her brother and everyone else vanish, and on that same day she lost her father, Oden, and her mother too.

Hiyori admits that after losing everything, she had no faith in her brother's uncertain promise to return in twenty years, and at that time she lost the will to live. Zoro asks why she did not go with them. Hiyori explains that if the plan failed, they needed someone left behind so the Kozuki bloodline could survive. That burden was hard, but her father's retainer Kawamatsu the Kappa protected her with immense patience. Zoro is startled by the word "kappa," yet Hiyori insists that even if such a being sounds impossible, Kawamatsu truly exists and is proud of that fact.

Hiyori remembers the night Oden Castle burned, with enemies surrounding them from all sides. Kawamatsu dug a hole into the water channel and escaped with her without anyone noticing. Although she had remained mute since that day, he always tried to cheer her up. He told her, "Princess!! This is the kappa dance!!" and "Princess!! Please hold on!!" then starved himself so she could eat. He would laugh off hunger as a stomach ache, catch fish from the river, roast it, and say, "Kappa!!" Little by little, he made her laugh again. They were separated when Hiyori was thirteen, but she believes the strong samurai Kawamatsu must still be waiting somewhere for the final battle.

O-Toko laughs at Hiyori's tearful face, saying, "I am so happy too happy!" but promises not to cry because she is the daughter of a samurai. Hiyori asks about the others and whether "the doggy and the kitty" are also there. Zoro says they have six people with Momonosuke: Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, O-Kiku, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi, though he has not met the last three yet. Hiyori knows the remaining three names they still need are Kawamatsu, Denjiro, and Ashura Douji. She does not know where they are or whether they are safe, but the chaos in the capital means they will surely appear when they see the picture.

Zoro says the leaked picture may have spread their information faster, but the most important part, the meetup location, was leaked too, and allies are being captured one by one. He concludes that no matter how they look at it, the situation is bad. Hiyori urges him to rest so his wounds can heal, while O-Toko celebrates that her brother is alive. Zoro thinks there may be more boatmen now, but he cannot let a boat move too early, so he should stop thinking and sleep. Hiyori wonders if everyone from twenty years ago will look the same, but also remembers that he is still eight years old and mysterious. She decides they may have to wait until after the final battle to meet them, otherwise they might disturb the plan.

In the Flower Capital's Rasetsu District, the captured rebels are displayed in a prison showcase. Fukurokuju declares that their plan has already been exposed and tells them, "You have failed." The prisoners protest that the crescent symbol is only an old forgotten mark and no proof of rebellion, but Orochi's men point to the riddle they also carried and demand silence. Soldiers shove people inside as traitors, shouting that they lived off the capital's resources while waiting for a chance to rebel. The public is told to look closely at what happens to anyone who opposes Lords Orochi and Kaido. Behind the bars, the captives fear this is the worst possible situation, hoping their comrades do not think they talked, while one insists the captain will believe them.

At Udon's prisoner mines, the crowd roars for the next round of Queen's execution game. The fighters call for Madilloman and Alpacaman, while a shadowed prisoner quietly thinks, "I wanna sumo wrestle, too..." Alpacaman steps forward with his alpaca head and twin blades, singing "Paca-caca!!" Madilloman, a Gifter and armadillo SMILE user, appears with armored plating and guns, ordering his partner to put the weapon away. Queen announces that this is the end of the line for Luffy and Hyogoro: they have Seastone bullets made exclusively in Wano.

The audience complains that the match will end too quickly and calls the setup an execution. Luffy ignores the noise and shouts instructions to Hyogoro: "Gramps!! Run to the right... Bend your knees... and jump!!" Hyogoro obeys, and the old man slips out of danger as Madilloman fires. Luffy keeps calling the next movement, "Run to the right!" then "Bend my knees!" using his observation to guide Hyogoro through attacks that should have killed him. The crowd cannot understand why the old prisoner is suddenly dodging so well.

Madilloman's shot and Alpacaman's assault miss again as Luffy cries, "Jump!!!" The enemies curse at the old man, but Hyogoro keeps moving with surprising agility. Luffy praises him, "Good job, Gramps!!" while Alpacaman screams that Grandpa Hyo is so agile. Hyogoro himself is astonished, asking what that was and whether Luffy can see the future. Luffy grins and tells him the next side to move to, while Alpacaman roars in frustration. The prison audience begins to realize that the frail old man is surviving because Luffy is reading the attacks ahead of time.

Alpacaman spits wildly, yelling, "You baaastard!!" and Hyogoro dodges left as Luffy commands. Madilloman fires from above, but Luffy moves too soon and realizes, "No, I did it wrong...!! This is just normal Armament..." His Haki-covered fist strikes Madilloman, yet the effect is not what he wanted. Madilloman notices that the blow did not hit him properly, and Luffy understands the failure: he used ordinary Armament instead of the advanced force that can strike without direct contact.

Luffy changes approach and turns the danger into training. With Hyogoro tied to his back, he says the heavier the burden, the better. Hyogoro protests that even though Luffy was caught and forced into an execution game, he has been stopping his punches short as though practicing. Luffy admits he does not want to punch the enemies; he wants to fire a punch powerful enough to push them back without touching them. If he can do that, he believes he can break through Kaido's tough scales, but he will not know for sure until he tries.

Hyogoro recognizes what Luffy is describing. He says outsiders may call it Haki, and it is still the Colour of Armament, but Wano has another way to talk about a power that transfers from the user's body into a sword. He explains the principle taught by a sword master: when one does not want to cut something, the sword will not cut even the thinnest paper; when one wants to cut, the sword can cut even the thickest steel. Hyogoro admits he may not be able to teach the technique properly, but he asks Luffy to watch.

Alpacaman charges with everything he has, swinging the sword in his right hand and roaring that something will happen. Hyogoro calmly steps into the attack. Luffy watches, alarmed, as the old man meets the charge with a bare-handed movement. Hyogoro releases a focused burst of force and deflects Alpacaman's attack without taking the hit directly. The blow throws the Gifter back in a huge impact, leaving Luffy shocked because he has just seen the exact technique he was trying to learn.

Luffy shouts, "He deflected it!!!" while Alpacaman is left smoking and defeated. The prisoners erupt: Grandpa Hyo defeated one of the Gifters, and people realize that the old man is truly Hyogoro of the Flower. Hyogoro, breathing hard, asks Luffy if that was what he was trying to do and says that if so, he may be able to help him. Luffy's face lights up. He grabs the opening with absolute excitement and begs, "Please teach it to me!!" The chapter ends with Luffy finding the teacher for the advanced Armament he needs.

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