Seeing Lady Toki's state, Black waved to Stella.
Scarlett, always alert, had already run to Black's side, handing over a Slave collar and Sea Stone handcuffs.
With two precise clicks, Lady Toki was securely restrained.
Even though the wind-up time for the Time-Time Fruit's ability was longer than Kizaru's Light Speed Kick, restraining her ensured no surprises.
Wano Country's Sea Stone craftsmanship was world-class artisans could control purity to create cuffs that suppressed Devil Fruit powers while remaining durable enough for mining work.
Even restrained, Lady Toki stared at Black with cold, expressionless eyes.
Black turned to Hiyori, who was swaying unsteadily.
Seeing her brother's decapitated body had disoriented her, and her vision swirled black with fear.
Black gently placed his hand on her head:
"Don't worry, I won't do that to you. From now on, you'll be my little Slave."
Perona, nearby, pouted and muttered:
"This big bad guy, the moment he sees a pretty girl, he wants to enslave her."
"Huh? Does that mean I'm pretty too? Hehehe…"
The girl giggled foolishly, and Black exasperatedly knocked her on the head:
"What are you laughing at! Is that the sound you should make right now?"
Lady Toki, restrained not far away, noticed Hiyori beside Black, and her vacant gaze flickered once more.
Meanwhile, the battle between Kaido and Kozuki Oden neared its climax.
"Oden Two-Sword Style: Paradise Totsuka!"
Two figures collided; blood spurted from Kaido's massive, blue dragon body, leaving two deep scars across his abdomen.
He struggled to maintain flight and reverted to his human-beast form, crashing to the ground.
"Governor-General Kaido!"
Abel, fighting alongside the Nine Red Scabbards, cried out in alarm.
Queen's eyes widened in disbelief:
"The invincible Kaido… actually wounded?!"
Witnessing this, the Nine Red Scabbards' morale surged, and their earlier distrust seemed to momentarily ease.
In reality, Kaido's wounds were superficial. Animal-type Devil Fruits granted immense regeneration and endurance; the battle's outcome remained uncertain.
Suddenly, a cry rang out:
"Father! Save me!"
Oden looked back, seeing "Momonosuke" in someone's grip, struggling and screaming.
"Momo!"
Oden's heart lurched; instinctively he reached to save him.
The moment he hesitated, a brief gap appeared in his Observation Haki. Kaido seized it, lightning flashing along his kanabo, striking Oden and rendering him unconscious.
"Wuwuwu…"
Though victorious, Kaido's mood was oddly melancholic, even tearful.
Seeing Oden fall, Kurozumi Higurashi deactivated her Mimic-Mimic Fruit, returning to her original appearance.
Her face twisted as she laughed bizarrely:
"Ehh hahahaha… Kaido, the biggest obstacle is gone. Wano Country is ours now."
Kaido's cold gaze froze her in place:
"Who allowed you to interrupt the duel between me and Kozuki Oden?"
Bang!
His kanabo smashed her into the ground dead.
Kaido, unconcerned, whimpered again.
The Nine Red Scabbards, witnessing Oden defeated, were demoralized, barely holding their ground.
Kaido rampaged through the battlefield, knocking them out one by one, fitting Sea Stone cuffs on them.
He glanced at the battered Beasts Pirates:
"Orororororo… The war is over! Send these losers to Flower Capital public execution!"
The Beasts Pirates, bloodied and scarred, cheered loudly:
"Lord Kaido is invincible!"
"Governor-General Kaido always wins!"
"Lord Kaido… Aoooaooo!!!"
The uncultured pirates echoed with wails and howls.
Black, unconcerned with Oden's execution, took Lady Toki and Hiyori back to the entertainment district where they had stayed.
The next morning, news spread that Kozuki Oden was to be executed.
Unlike the original story, Wano citizens' feelings toward Oden had been shaped by Black's rumors.
Oden had never been especially popular, having danced naked for five years; resistance to the execution news was minimal.
Lady Toki and Hiyori looked sorrowful.
Black, intrigued, said:
"Let's go! We're going to watch."
"Stella, did you bring the visual den den mushi?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Stella produced the device and handed it to Black.
He weighed it in hand and led the way to the execution platform.
Kozuki Oden's execution mirrored the original story.
Despite a traitor among the Nine Red Scabbards, he endured the boiling oil alone.
Witnesses were transformed into Oden admirers.
A villain doing something heroic even once became a legend.
The World Government's brainwashing was trivial; true influence came from Kozuki Oden himself.
Oden used an old man's bones as firewood to cook a pot of oden.
Just after eating, he made a nostalgic remark, and the granddaughter thought him heroic.
What separated him from the Celestial Dragons? Many would lack even that sense of cunning.
"Did you record it?" Black asked Stella.
Stella held up the visual den den mushi:
"Your Highness, everything has been recorded."
"Good! Time to show off my skills as an editing master!"