The Spark of Rebellion

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In the middle of a crisis, Law walks away from the others and makes his reason plain: "Don't forget that you doubted my friends today." He refuses to let people he does not trust watch his back on the line between life and death. Usopp panics that Traffy got angry and stormed out, but Nami understands Shinobu's fear because Wano's people have waited twenty years for this day. Outside, the group admits that if Bepo and the others leaked the plan, they could not blame them; torture might break anyone. When someone suggests that he might last only three seconds under torture, the answer comes back brutally: "That's it?!"

A harsh voice echoes through Ebisu Town: "Get out of my sight! I won't help lowlifes like you lot!" The townspeople identify the newcomer as the man kicked out of the capital the day before, originally from the capital, and also as the "crazy spirit lady." Yet when the anger turns to laughter, the story behind it becomes clear. The man they call Bingo was an arsonist who paid off officials; night after night the underling Bungo set fires to buildings, and only those fiercely loyal to the shogun, who could pull money from their rear end, were allowed to live in the Flower Capital. The victims were poor, but the perpetrators had been conducting ugly business.

The explanation continues: Bingo ran a lumber store that sold wooden beams used in house repair, so his friends could profit from the fires. Bongo the monk and Bingo the mortician then exploited grieving families and fire victims, charging outrageous prices. On the surface, Bingo, Bongo, and Bungo seemed besotted with Komurasaki's beauty like everyone else, but their hearts were rotten. They bribed officials and were never caught. Shinobu realizes the courtesan must have known exactly what they were doing. Tonoyasu laughs that perhaps someone really is watching from above, since Komurasaki bankrupted the criminals herself.

Tonoyasu, still smiling, explains that even though he helped the three men, they remain on their high horse because he loves helping people even when they are bad to the bone. He had seen them before during Komurasaki's procession and knew they were going wild. Then he turns to the rebellion itself. Thanks to the little coded card, the allies learned the day of the final battle, but so did the enemy, and the plan has fallen apart. Yet Tonoyasu says the allies might believe this too: the reverse crescent moon on the ankle is not even something he knew about, exactly the kind of secret mark allies would use.

The rebels prepare to move again. Tonoyasu tells them things will get busy now and promises to fight alongside them, warning that many of them may not make it through the week before the final battle without dropping dead. Then he casually announces, "And now I'm off!" and runs out to see the town girl, calling out to the handsome man and beautiful lady on his way. The others remain baffled. Even after hearing the old man's explanation, they still do not know exactly how he is connected to them, only that Tonoyasu is an unusually cheerful man.

The group admits they do not know who Tonoyasu really is. Shinobu says she does not know either, though he may have been important in the past because asking would be rude. Nami wonders whether he might be a childhood friend, teacher, or older student from Kin'emon's lessons. Others complain that they let him talk on and on despite knowing nothing about him. Outside, a shout rises: "Gramps, gramps, how's your nausea?" and the name follows after the confusion: "Oh, Tonoyasu." The mystery remains, but the people of Ebisu know him intimately.

Tonoyasu moves through Ebisu Town like a beloved neighbor. He tells one bedridden person that lying in bed surely sucks, worse than working, and leaves millet and water while urging them to eat. He checks on a seaweed granny's medicine, jokes with a silver-tongued heartstealer, and offers extra grains of millet to someone who says just seeing his face helps them feel better. Children and townspeople call out to him everywhere: "Oh! Yasu!" "Mr. Retiree! How's the knee?" "O-Saki! How's the baby?" "Hogya!" "Yasu! Let's play!" Tonoyasu gives what little he has and keeps smiling.

The others realize Tonoyasu has extra cash only because his daughter Toko works in the capital and sends back whatever she makes to him. He sells his own labor for almost nothing, but he spends his days spreading Toko's money among people who cannot work, whether or not he gets to eat. When someone calls him a man, he laughs, "But I'm not a man!" and keeps grinning. His face and body do not look the part of a saint, but he has been loved by everyone in Ebisu for as long as anyone can remember. To them, he is their Buddha.

At Udon's prisoner mine, the crowd cheers as Hyogoro keeps moving with surprising spirit. They call for Madilloman to crush him and shout that Old Man Hyo has spunk. Hyogoro explains the thing the outsiders call Haki is called Ryou in Wano, and the word means that it flows. He demonstrates by letting the Haki flow through him, shaping the force rather than merely hardening his fist. Luffy watches closely, recognizing the idea he has been chasing: the power must move through the body and gather where it is needed.

Luffy tries to copy the flow at once, but the attempt goes wrong. Hyogoro tells him not to force it and to let the Haki in the parts of his body where it is not needed flow into his fist. Luffy yells, "Damn it! No!" again and again as his attacks knock enemies around without achieving the technique he wants. The guards complain that he is beating too many of them, and Madilloman is struck along with the others. Luffy is not satisfied by simple hits; he is trying to learn control, not just win the exchange.

The execution game drags on late into the night. Luffy lies hungry in the ring, hoping to be fed soon or else he will become a mummy by morning, while Queen complains that if the fight continues tomorrow he will be ruined by hunger too. Prisoners are told to go to bed, but Luffy is more interested in Hyogoro. The old man asks why he wants to fight Kaido when he already lost once in Kuri. Luffy's answer is blunt: he is the man who will become Pirate King, so he has to beat all the Yonko.

Hyogoro asks whether Luffy knows who the Yonko are. Luffy says not really, and Hyogoro explains they are the four great pirates known as the Emperors of the Sea, with Kaido as one of them. When Luffy compares Pirate King to Roger, Hyogoro says Roger landed in Wano a long time ago, and Kin'emon once mentioned it. Luffy is startled that Hyogoro knows Kin'emon's name. Before the old man can explain, Raizo appears, and Luffy blurts out in shock, "Wha? Whaaa?! Raizo?!" Hyogoro is equally shocked by the ninja's sudden arrival.

Raizo asks to explain everything to Hyogoro, and Hyogoro admits he would never have believed that Luffy had been Hyogoro himself. Raizo says Lady Toki's magical powers brought them from twenty years ago, but Caribou immediately refuses to believe it. Luffy snaps that Caribou should not say such things, while Caribou protests that he is now Luffy's subordinate and can help if Luffy takes him on his ship. Luffy's only question is practical: "Oh, so you can't get home?" The prison has become the meeting point of impossible survivors and opportunists.

Luffy agrees to use Caribou if he really has changed, which terrifies Caribou because the Seastone cuffs are only a trap and he would be shot as soon as he escapes. Raizo and Hyogoro then share the greater revelation. The Red Scabbards are alive, Oden's son Momonosuke is alive, and the fires of rebellion still blaze. Hyogoro had accepted dying in the dark, but now he learns the old cause survived. Luffy points out that this old man was once the grand boss of all the yakuza in Wano, making him an ideal ally. Raizo asks Hyogoro to join them, saying there is still something only he can do.

Hyogoro explains why Udon matters. While allies are currently searching in the Flower Capital, Luffy coming to Udon may have been fate. The mine has four other places the same size as their current location, and there are tens of thousands of prisoners here. Not all were arrested for theft or assault; many are imprisoned for rebellion against Orochi, and the anger of the whole country festers inside the camp. The yakuza bosses who once upheld Wano from the shadows are here too. Hyogoro says he will speak to them, and they will gladly fight for the Kozuki name.

Raizo brings up one last issue: the cell. Luffy already knows. Raizo has spoken with Kawamatsu and intends to release him first. Luffy immediately understands the larger plan: after they destroy this place, everyone in Udon can become their allies. Raizo warns him not to speak so loudly and not to expect it to be easy. Far away in the Udon wastelands, O-Lin and her group have already reached Udon. Big Mom, still thinking as O-Lin, is sleepy and hungry and asks how much longer until the oshiruko. Kiku worries whether reaching Udon is a good thing, while the old crocodile carrying them is visibly tired.

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