Chapter Text
Mei took a deep breath before soaring into the air, just high enough to glimpse the rooftops of Kaido’s palace, but low enough to avoid being seen. With the sky draped in gray, her figure—dissolved into nothing but wind—was nearly impossible to distinguish, and so she flitted undisturbed above the sea of Kaido’s pirates and rivers of alcohol. She had long since realized that Kaido’s men were slaves to drink and debauchery—her time as a maiko and later a geisha had often placed her at the edges of their revelries. But never had she imagined so many pirates clad in black leather and horns, shouting, singing, and dancing as if celebrating some rowdy country fair.
Kaido’s castle was nothing more than a massive wooden estate, surrounded by a cluster of smaller buildings that resembled the Flower Capital itself, all encased within the hollow of a gigantic white skull. Bright floodlights illuminated a now-empty stage, while the smell of grilled meat and liquor hung in the air like a constant, suffocating presence. Kaido’s underlings had gathered beneath a small wooden balcony covered by an awning, drinking and cheering in honor of the newly declared alliance between Kaido and Big Mom.
Mei drifted gracefully onto one of the many balconies of the structures surrounding the castle, half-dissolved into air and hidden behind a wooden pillar. From there she observed the bizarre celebration with growing unease. She had already been warned that Big Mom had arrived in Wano, and given the Straw Hats’ history with the Yonko, the chances that the enormous empress bore a grudge against them were dangerously high. An alliance between Kaido and Big Mom was the last thing she would have expected—but it seemed the recent upheavals in the New World had driven the two emperors to join forces in pursuit of the goal coveted by all.
It wouldn’t have been a problem, seeing Kaido and Big Mom up close like this—if only Momonosuke hadn’t been shackled near Kaido, displayed almost like a sacrificial lamb. The boy’s face was swollen on one side, and he was surrounded by so many of Kaido’s officers that any thought of saving him seemed impossible.
“As Kaido said, we have formed this alliance with a clear purpose. We could never reach it if we kept cutting each other down. And so, we’ve united our forces. At last, we’ve decided we will claim…” Big Mom’s booming voice paused for a moment before roaring in unison with Kaido: “The treasure—One Piece!”
Mei let out a sharp sigh, her gaze fixed on Kaido flanked by Orochi, Jack, Queen, and King. It was the first time she had seen Big Mom in person, and her ferocious expression and sheer size left her rattled. Between Kaido and Big Mom, it was impossible to say who was more terrifying: two titans whose arrogant, merciless eyes could crush what little courage Mei had mustered. But she had to find a solution—she couldn’t leave Momonosuke in that place, not when it meant watching him die at Kaido’s hands.
“Tonight, we are going to move Onigashima into the Flower Capital,” Kaido declared, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
“Y–You… WHAT?” Mei stammered, her legs suddenly giving out beneath her.
As if the alliance between Kaido and Big Mom weren’t enough. As if Momonosuke chained up on that mock crucifix, surrounded by so many infamous outlaws whose bounties alone could keep her rich for life, weren’t already unbearable. No—of course not. Now she had to contend with the very idea of Onigashima itself being transported into the Flower Capital. What would become of the people living there?
The countdown had already begun, and Mei found herself swept into the chaos at breakneck speed. She drew in a steadying breath, forcing her mind into order before despair could render her useless. Her eyes swept carefully over the crowd. Maybe Kaido’s men failed to notice the infiltrators; perhaps there were simply too many of them to pay attention to “new recruits.”
That was when she spotted her. Nico Robin, standing among the crowd, beside a strange fish-man Mei had never seen before. Just behind a wooden column, slightly lower than Kaido’s balcony, she caught sight of a small, round figure—Shinobu, the kunoichi who had so eagerly accused her crew of betrayal. Mei swallowed her pride, dissolved her body into the air once more, and drifted silently toward her like a whisper of wind.
“Shinobu,” Mei whispered, just a few steps away.
The kunoichi drew two shuriken and turned toward that scattered puff of wind with terror. “W…who the hell are you?”
Mei let out a sharp sigh, then pulled her form back together, revealing her slender figure before Shinobu. “It’s me, Mei.”
The woman’s eyes widened in disbelief, but she quickly gathered herself, speaking with concern: “Did you come here for Momonosuke-dono? I don’t want you involved in this rescue. Momonosuke was captured because I failed to protect him from Kanjuro… I don’t want to endanger you as well.”
The geisha rolled her eyes in exasperation. How many more people were going to tell her what she could or couldn’t do? That everything was too dangerous, that she would only end up getting hurt? Whether they liked it or not, she was a pirate now—and that child strung up like a crucifix was her cousin. Did everyone really think she would just sit idly by?
“We don’t have time for this talk,” Mei said firmly. “Momo is the one in danger, and we need to find the right moment to save him.”
And indeed, there was no time left to waste. Kaido had his back turned, speaking to Momonosuke, while the boy stared at him in terror, tears brimming in his eyes. Kaido wanted to execute him to put an end to the Kozuki line, but not before crushing him psychologically. Momonosuke was just a child, yet his path in Wano had already been written. It would not be Hiyori to lead the country, nor Mei. The retainers of Oden were risking their lives to liberate Wano, placing all their hopes on Momonosuke—the one destined to become Shogun and lead the nation to its rebirth.
During her time away from Wano, Mei had come to understand that the strength and stability of a country depended on having someone at the helm who could make their people feel safe, someone who could ignite their spirits with the courage to fight, someone whose very presence could win the trust of their people. Momonosuke had to become that figure. He could not falter, nor allow himself to be seen as weak before his followers.
Mei clenched her fists tightly. She wanted nothing more than to break the chains binding Momonosuke and flee with him. But before that, she had to make him realize that she was closer than he thought—that he was not alone, and that his people needed his strength.
The gears in her mind began to turn, recalling everything she had read in Nami’s books. She couldn’t shout out to encourage Momonosuke, nor reveal herself before so many pirates.
Sound could travel as waves, and waves changed their intensity through refraction—shifting when carried by the wind. She drew a deep breath and began whispering, channeling the wind around her voice, pushing the sound higher and higher—so high that she could see the strands of Momonosuke’s ponytail stir as if moved by an ordinary breeze.
“ Momonosuke, I’m here with you. Do not yield to Kaido. We will free this country—stand strong… ”
Momonosuke froze, sniffling sharply. His eyes darted across the crowd below him, then instinctively dropped to the bracelet Mei had given him. A faint glimmer in his gaze told Mei her message had reached him, and the determination that quickly replaced his terror showed that courage had returned to him.
The boy clenched his fists, slammed his arms and legs against the wooden beams that held him prisoner, inhaled deeply, and then shouted: “ My name is Kozuki Momonosuke, and I am the man who will become the Shogun of Wano !”
“Momonosuke-sama…” Shinobu whispered.
*Amidst the general turmoil—shouts of protest from Kaido’s crew and choked sobs from Oden’s loyal followers—the doors behind Momonosuke were smashed open, and from them emerged onto the balcony the Red Scabbards. In that moment there was no time to think or devise a plan: Kaido’s All-Stars clashed with the Scabbards in a swift battle, without wasting words or speeches. It was a quick fight, yet chaotic enough to force Kaido to transform into a dragon. And precisely in that unexpected chaos, Mei leapt out of her hiding place and slipped behind the wooden boards restraining Momonosuke. Though King and Queen were still standing guard over him, time was running out to save him, and who knew when Mei would ever have another chance like this.
Mei stretched her slender hands along the chains binding Momo, discovering with a certain excitement that they were not made of seastone. She tried to break them with sheer physical strength, but it was a rather useless attempt given her lack of power. She heard a rustling from above, and her amethyst eyes met Shinobu’s gaze as the kunoichi slipped through an opening in the ceiling to reach her. Anxiety began to creep into Mei’s mind, her hands trembling—the only possible solution to break the chains was to blast them with pressurized air. But that would make a lot of noise, with Kaido’s two strongest subordinates standing only a couple of meters away.
The answer to that question came swiftly: King turned abruptly the moment Shinobu joined Mei, and the two women found themselves face to face with the black giant whose eyes burned red like fire. King’s hand shot out with incredible speed, but it passed harmlessly through Mei’s neck, instead seizing Shinobu’s body. A flash of terror crossed Mei’s eyes as Shinobu’s body passed straight through her wind-made form, dragged away by King’s strength.
“M…Mei,” whimpered Momonosuke, struggling in vain to free himself.
“Don’t be afraid, Momo,” she said hastily.
As King yanked Shinobu and hurled her violently over the balcony, Mei’s body moved before she could even think. She created two orbs of pressurized air and hurled them with force against the chains running behind the wooden planks. The wood splintered with a cracking sound, and Momonosuke was thrown forward by the gust. At once Mei slipped like an eel through the broken boards, wrapping her human arms around Momonosuke’s torso, and pushed herself off the balcony to take flight.
“If Kaido doesn’t execute him, then I will,” declared King, the massive flame blazing behind his head brighter than the sun as he spread his wings black as night.
King struck with a sweep, but Mei shielded herself by conjuring a sphere of compressed wind. The shield held for an instant, but the next blow pierced through it as if it were butter. Mei used the propulsion of her dematerialized legs to avoid the kick—but someone intercepted King’s leg, stopping it before it could truly harm her.
“Mei-swan, I’ll protect you!” cried a resolute voice from right in front of her. King’s leg, frozen midair, was now braced against Sanji’s, who had turned invisible thanks to a strange Suit Mei had never seen him use before.
“Sanji!” Mei cried.
“Leave this to me—take Momonosuke and go!” he shouted, forcing King’s kick back toward its owner.
Mei hovered in the sky for a moment, staring at him, with Momo in her arms just as stunned as she was by what had happened. “Alright—thank you, Sanji,” she said at last, flying off with Momonosuke.
Without a second thought, she cast a glance toward the spot where Shinobu had been flung and saw her gliding down on a tattered sheet, battered but alive. Mei darted quickly to her, then stretched out an arm and pulled her close with the wind, carrying her away from the chaos.
[...]
Bringing Momonosuke and Shinobu along turned out to be easier than expected. Maybe if she had to carry them with her bare hands it would have been a problem, but turning her body into wind made certain weights lighter—a sign that her Devil Fruit was growing stronger and stronger. She landed lightly on another wooden balcony, in a rather elevated area, far enough from the battle raging beneath them.
“Kaido’s subordinates probably still have orders to kill Momonosuke,” Mei began, before turning to look at Shinobu’s bloodied face. “If you stay still, I can bandage the wound so it’ll stop bleeding…”
“Shinobu, let Mei treat you,” Momonosuke insisted.
The kunoichi shook her head firmly. “The priority is to keep Momonosuke safe. I’m fine.”
Mei sighed in frustration. The samurai had such a rigid code of honor that she had long since stopped chasing after all their principles. She stared at Shinobu’s wounds—most likely, the bleeding would stop soon enough… she wasn’t in any real danger. Maybe Mei’s captain would have scolded her for leaving someone injured in that condition, but for now the priority was to find a safe place. Even though Mei was starting to seriously think that there was no such thing as a safe place on this island right now.
And in fact, their hiding spot was discovered in no time.
A figure, towering at two meters and sixty, appeared before them, screaming like a madwoman. A young woman, with a pair of reddish horns, dressed in a white-colored kimono top and red hakama pants tied with a white-and-purple shimenawa, rushed toward them. Her hair swayed from side to side, a long white ponytail tipped with green flowing behind her, while her wooden geta clattered against the boards at each step.
“I found you!” the imposing woman shouted. “I’m so happy to see you here! Kozuki Momonosuke, Mei Kozuki!”
“You followed me all the way here??? And who the hell are you?” Mei muttered in despair.
The woman leapt high into the air, like a lion, before crashing down just a few meters away from them. Mei immediately drew her katana, raising a wall of wind to separate the three of them from the bizarre figure who had closed the distance so fast. “S…stay back!” Mei howled.
“Hey! Mei, Shinobu!” Luffy’s voice rang out as he appeared on the landing with a snap of his arms. “She’s an ally, you can trust her,” said the Straw Hat, stretching his mouth into an enthusiastic grin before flinging his arms toward the gutter of the opposite building to swing away.
“EHHH? WAIT, LUFFY!” Mei yelled, shifting her gaze from the enormous girl back to Luffy. But her voice never reached the Straw Hat captain, leaving them at the mercy of someone who… supposedly was their ally.
And that wouldn’t have been a problem—if only Luffy weren’t so soft-hearted. Mei had always admired Luffy’s wild spirit, a boy with a golden heart always ready to help anyone. She strongly doubted he would leave them at the mercy of someone who meant them harm. And yet, Luffy had the bad habit of… trusting people too easily.
“Are you really an ally?” Shinobu asked.
“Yes,” the half-oni nodded vigorously.
Mei sighed, sheathed her katana, and allowed the enormous woman to come closer. The unrestrained enthusiasm on her face unsettled her, and yet Mei couldn’t bring herself to dislike her. She had such a bright, energetic presence.
“So then… who are you?” Mei asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
The woman lit up once again, then burst out: “I am Kozuki Oden !”
An unsettling silence fell over the trio. For an instant, Momonosuke and Shinobu looked at the woman as if they had seen Oden’s ghost, then clung to each other even tighter and began staring at her with suspicion. Mei stood frozen, staring at her with her mouth open—maybe she too had seen a ghost. Luffy had left them in the hands of a strange horned woman who claimed to be her uncle Oden? Why did things always become so bizarre and surreal whenever Luffy was involved?
“Well, I’ve never seen my uncle but…” Mei began, scratching her cheek as she drowned in a thousand thoughts, each one more confused than the last. “I’ve never seen Oden, maybe …”
“But you have boobs!” Momonosuke shouted, “and horns!”
“You’re far too suspicious,” Shinobu intervened, pointing an accusatory finger at her. “You’re definitely an enemy.”
Shinobu tried to grab Mei’s arm, but it slipped through her fingers just like it had slipped through King’s moments before. However, now too frightened and too suspicious to form a clear thought, the woman pulled a small ball from her pocket before shouting: “Ninja Art: Smoke Screen!”
A thick curtain of smoke rose around Momonosuke and Shinobu, and the two vanished from sight, leaving Mei’s body alone amidst the haze.
“HEY, HEY!” Mei shouted, waving her arms to disperse the smoke from that smoke ball. But when the smoke cleared, her eyes locked directly onto the towering figure of the oni-woman. Mei glanced around, realizing that Momonosuke and Shinobu had escaped without her, then turned her gaze back to the woman.
“KYAAAAA THEY LEFT ME ALONE!” Mei howled, dissolving into wind and blowing frantically in all directions, completely panicked.
“Why have they run away?” the half-oni said, sounding disappointed. She turned to watch the wind swirling all around her and began gesturing with her hands to try and get the attention of a Mei in the middle of an emotional breakdown. “Please, stop! I don’t want to hurt you, I’m your ally,” she tried once again.
The wind gradually calmed until Mei’s slender figure reformed right in front of the woman. The height difference between them was considerable, and Mei had to tilt her head far back to look her straight in the eyes. Her lilac eyes met the woman’s orange ones, and for a brief moment, they stood there staring without blinking: the dark-haired girl studying her every smallest move, trying to gauge how much she could trust her, while the other was too overwhelmed, too emotional, and too regretful about what had just happened to break the moment.
“You can’t be my uncle… he’s dead ,” Mei said coldly. “Why are you pretending to be someone who no longer exists?”
Yamato stiffened at those words. The iciness with which Mei had spoken had somehow wounded her. “I witnessed Oden’s execution,” she murmured. “I inherited his will to open Wano’s borders to the rest of the world. But don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you from now on!” she declared, stretching her lips into a determined smile.
Mei tilted her head to the side, more confused than before. This enormous woman had witnessed her uncle’s execution and had inherited Oden’s will to the point of… calling herself Oden? Perhaps her admiration for Oden was genuine—so much so that she was willing to risk her life to save his heirs. Part of Mei kept saying it was terribly stupid to trust someone like this, but another part of her wanted to trust Luffy, wanted to trust this woman’s admiration for her uncle.
“Okay… but well… who are you really? You must have a name…” Mei asked hesitantly.
“I am Yamato, aka Kozuki Oden, the son of Kaido,” the woman replied, placing her hands on her hips theatrically.
“Son? But you’re a woman…” Mei muttered, her gaze lingering on Yamato’s ample chest.
“Kozuki Oden was a man, so I became a man,” Yamato answered with such enthusiasm that Mei didn’t have the heart to argue. Well, if she—or rather he—saw himself that way… did it really change anything? Absolutely not.
“No, wait…” Mei stammered, almost choking on her own saliva, “ARE YOU KAIDO’S SON???”