After Ayame proclaimed Ren's decree, Ren turned his attention toward overseas affairs. Wano Country's internal governance was not something he needed to worry about — that had always been left entirely in the hands of the Three Commissions.
There were still major events unfolding abroad that required his attention. Almost concurrently with the day Kozuki Oden died, the execution of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, had also begun.
In the week between the Marines' announcement of Roger's capture and the start of the execution, countless powerful individuals from across the seas gathered at Loguetown.
True pirates naturally dared not show themselves openly, but many talented young people who had not yet set sail also flocked to the area, hoping to catch a glimpse of the legendary man in person.
Among them were those who would one day be known as the "World's Greatest Swordsman" — Mihawk — and Crocodile...
The Marines had believed their public execution would diminish the Pirate King's influence and strike fear into the vermin of the sea. Clearly, their plan had failed.
Roger's death had ushered in the Great Pirate Era, while Shiki's imprisonment had thrown the New World into renewed chaos. The originally balanced power structure suddenly lost a crucial piece, threatening to collapse the entire framework.
Now, the entire Grand Line had descended into pirate hysteria.
This, in turn, caused Inazuma's orders to surge dramatically. Some came from the New World, but a large portion originated from Paradise. The nations of Paradise were only too happy to purchase these weapons to deal with pirates who could not use Haki.
However, this very dynamic had significantly raised the quality of pirates capable of reaching the New World in recent years.
Within Wano Country itself, Kurozumi Mutsuki — no, she should now be called Kurotsuki Mutsuki. She had assumed an entirely new identity and led a large retinue along with a young child to Hakumai.
Since Shimotsuki Yasuie had no heirs, Ren had assigned him governance over Hakumai after he stepped down as Daimyo — a gesture of consolation for the death of Kurotsuki Orochi.
In truth, even Mutsuki felt that Kurotsuki Orochi's death was well deserved. Both she and Semimaru shared this sentiment — having shamelessly wasted so many years of Lord Ren's time, once the plan had succeeded, it was only right that they lay down their old bodies and return to the earth.
However, considering the young age of Kurotsuki Orochi's daughter, Kurotsuki Nobuko, she and Semimaru decided to remain alive a while longer, at least until Nobuko was raised into a proper Daimyo.
The Kurozumi clan had already become a thing of the past. Now, the reborn Kurotsuki clan would carry the eternal will — forever in service to the one they looked up to.
In the period that followed, Wano Country entered a phase of vigorous reconstruction. The Flower Capital had always been prosperous, and its scale had expanded considerably. After receiving funding from the Kanjou Commission, the Yashiro Commission constructed the Narukami Shrine beneath the great cherry blossom tree, and that tree was renamed the Sacred Sakura Tree.
Yuriko assumed the position of the Narukami Shrine's current priestess under the title of a Divine Retainer of Narukami, and was granted the surname Yae. Later, rumors spread through the Flower Capital that the Yae Priestess's true form was that of a fox spirit, so many citizens took to calling her Kitsune Saiguu.
Shutenmaru had returned to Inazuma not long ago. He was thirty-two now, which barely counted as middle age. In truth, that age was still considered young in the pirate world — powerful individuals could still fight even in their eighties.
Still, Shutenmaru had barely set foot back in the country since leaving for overseas. His appointment as the Daimyo of Kuri would give him a chance to settle down for a while and properly recuperate.
Tsuru had returned alongside him. Upon hearing about what happened to Kin'emon, she had been genuinely saddened. Though they had not seen each other in many years, they were childhood friends after all.
After Shimotsuki Ushimaru returned to Ringo, a number of commoners followed him there. Some were originally from Ringo but had left to escape famine, while others were former criminals. When Orochi served as acting Shogun, many nouveau nobles had ridden his coattails to oppress the people.
Those individuals had not been under Ren's control — they were genuine oppressors, and they had now all been purged. A large portion of them were sent to Ringo, which was severely short on manpower.
Kuri subsequently donated a substantial amount of food, and the Flower Capital opened its treasuries to distribute the wealth that Orochi had hoarded over the years. Together, it was barely enough to help Ringo survive the most difficult period.
Shimotsuki Ushimaru felt that he owed Ren an immense debt.
He had originally pleaded with Ren to save this country, offering Ryuma's cherished blade as entreaty. He knew full well that Ren would not be impressed by a mere Great Grade Sword — a fact later confirmed when Shusui appeared in Ayame's possession.
As for Ren eventually claiming rulership over the country, that was simply the spoils of his conquest. Moreover, upon becoming Shogun, Ren had not only distributed the wealth of Kuri but had also distributed the Shogun's own treasury among the people — a testament to his sense of justice and his love for his subjects.
"If a Great Grade Sword will not suffice, then what about a Supreme Grade Sword?" His mind began to race. But a Supreme Grade Sword could not be forged by one man alone — he would need to locate the finest swordsmiths across the entire nation and have them collaborate.
He immediately wrote letters to the Daimyo of the other regions, proposing the idea to them.
In truth, Ren had already been planning to modernize all of Inazuma. In this regard, his concept of eternity differed from that of a certain shut-in who could not cook — eternity was not stagnation; moving forward was also a part of eternity.
After all, the development of all things follows a spiral ascent.
For now, the coverage of modern technology remained relatively low. Ren had previously discussed this with Keiko, and certain infrastructure projects could be implemented during the reconstruction — installing heating in Ringo, for instance, was one such initiative.
The proposition of forging a legendary blade for the current Shogun quickly won the approval of all the Daimyo. They were highly invested in such formal gestures. Kurotsuki Mutsuki even declared boldly that if they were going to forge a blade, it should be something even more precious than a Supreme Grade Sword.
That, of course, was wishful thinking. While Inazuma's swordsmithing techniques were genuinely formidable, Supreme Grade Swords were already the absolute pinnacle of the world's forging arts.
And so, during Ren's absence, the entire nation threw itself into the task of blade-forging.
This was no simple undertaking. In truth, by the time the blade was truly completed, years would have passed.
Ren would eventually name that blade "Musou Isshin," and the five craftsmen who collaborated on its creation — Shimotsuki, Senju, Domeki, Itsuki, and Isshin — would come to be known as the Raiden Goken.
Naturally, with the exception of Shimotsuki Ushimaru, who had inherited his surname, the other four received their family names from Ren only afterward.
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