[RLOP] Chapter : 12 - Samurai are bad?

“Samurai-sama! You already collected my grain not long ago!”

“This is all my family has left! If you take it, we’ll starve to death!”

“Silence!” The burly samurai snarled and kicked the villager to the ground.

Before the poor man could recover, the samurai snatched the ragged sack of rice he had been protecting with his life.

“We are the samurai of the Kozuki Clan! If you refuse, it means you despise the Kozuki name!”

He slung the sack at his waist, a mocking grin curling his lips.

“What now? Are you one of those stubborn fools—like the mountains refusing to bow, the rivers refusing to flow? Orochi has rebelled, and you wish to follow his example?”

“N-No, I…”

“Enough!” The samurai leaned close, his shadow falling over the terrified villager. “As a subject of Wano, your duty is to obey the Kozuki Clan without question. To resist is… treason.”

His teeth gleamed as he mimed drawing a blade, lowering his hand to the villager’s throat. “And the punishment for treason is simple… you’ll lose your head.”

Not long after, the last of the village’s grain was seized.

Five or six “samurai” stood gathered around the burly man, waiting idly as the villagers sat in silence. Their faces were pale, hollow eyes staring into nothingness—the look of people who had lost all hope.

“Oi, Babanuki,” one of them muttered, nudging the big man with an elbow. “Isn’t Speed that horse-girl who ate the Horse-Horse Fruit? Where is she? Shouldn’t she be here already?”

Babanuki covered his mouth with his hand and whispered conspiratorially, “Who knows? And remember! Out here, call me Babanosuke! I’m a loyal retainer of the Kozuki Clan now, got it?”

Suddenly—

“Wicked samurai! How dare you bully the people of the Beasts Pirates? I, Speed the Horse Girl, will never forgive you!”

A furious cry tore through the air.

The villagers’ heads snapped toward the voice, just in time to see a young woman with black-and-white hair and horse ears sprinting towards them like a charging Valkyrie.

The next instant, her clash with the burly man erupted into a shockwave, sending dust and leaves flying.

“Speed, what took you so long?” Babanuki hissed between blows.

“I passed another village,” she answered quickly, ducking a kick, “Samurai were looting and burning. Took some time to… resolve.”

“Good. Remember the plan—make it convincing. And your human-skin mask is crooked.”

“Relax. I know.”

Their fists collided again, throwing sparks of air. To the villagers, it looked like a desperate battle.

Bang!

Babanuki went flying backward, crashing hard as the ground cracked beneath him. The shockwave even toppled a distracted “samurai” nearby.

“Damn pirates!” Babanuki roared, tugging at the edge of his mask. “Remember this—we’ll return!”

“Fall back, men!”

In an instant, the once-arrogant “samurai” scattered like rats, leaving behind a few bags of grain.

The villagers, wide-eyed, turned their gaze to the girl standing before them.

She stood tall, her expression fierce yet compassionate, like a guardian descending from the heavens.

“Don’t be afraid. The Beasts Pirates are here now,” she said, placing the grain before them. “And soon… the skies above Wano will clear.”

Meanwhile, deep within the forest, the fleeing “samurai” regrouped. Their masks tugged free, their true identities obvious—Lucci’s pirates, the second wave he had sent into Wano.

His orders had been simple:

Some were to play the part of cruel Kozuki samurai, looting and terrorizing villages.
Others would arrive as saviors, striking down “evil” and winning the people’s hearts.
All while quietly searching for Kozuki remnants, marked by the crescent moon tattooed on their ankles.

“Hahaha! Daifugo, you were pathetic! Knocked flat by a breeze! I swear Big Brother Lucci wasted the Hippo-Hippo Fruit on you!”

“Acting! It was acting!” Daifugo snapped, his face twitching between anger and embarrassment. “So what if I was knocked flying? I was playing a Wano samurai! That doesn’t dishonor Big Brother!”

After speaking, and before anyone could tease him further, Daifugo quickly turned to Babanuki.

“So, Babanuki… what did that ‘mountains refusing to bow, the rivers refusing to flow’ nonsense even mean? You looked so dramatic when you said it!”

“Who cares? Big Brother gave me the line, I memorized it, and that’s all that matters.”

With that, Babanuki went quiet.

The bushes ahead rustled.

His hand slid instinctively to his sword.

The other pirates followed suit.

Rustle~

The sound grew louder until a figure finally stepped into view.

Kimono. Chonmage. Geta. Katana.

And on his ankle—small feet marked with a crescent moon.

A Kozuki remnant!

The pirates exchanged a glance, confirming the identity matched Lucci’s description.

The very next moment—

Babanuki burst out laughing and ran forward.

“Brother! Do you remember me? I’m Babanosuke! I even bowed to Lord Oden when I was a child!”

Flower Capital

As the heart of Wano, the capital was undeniably prosperous.

No starving peasants, no crumbling houses, no leaking roofs.

But beyond that façade… nothing truly impressive.

Inside a palanquin, Lucci gazed at the bustling streets through the curtain, then pulled his eyes away and focused on the book in his hand.

Today’s reading: The Legendary Pure Gold.

To his left, Yamato sat curled up, hugging her knees.

She had barely spoken in seven days—except to eat or drink.

Then, suddenly—

“Do pirates… truly have righteousness?”

Here it comes.

The question stirred something in Lucci, though outwardly he remained composed, turning a page with calm indifference.

“And why can’t pirates have righteousness?”

“That’s because… the samurai said so!” Yamato’s voice shook. “The evil pirates allied with Orochi, they invaded Wano and destroyed the Kozuki Clan! Even Lord Oden—he died at my father’s hands!”

Lucci shook his head and fell silent.

But Yamato couldn’t hold herself back.

What she had witnessed these past days had shaken her young heart.

From Blade Harbor to the Flower Capital was only a day’s journey… yet Lucci had deliberately taken a week.

During that week, everywhere they stopped, he didn’t just pass through—he solved problems. He spread money—no, warmth.

Time and again, those problems traced back to the same source: the samurai.

Yamato had even seen one slice down a peasant simply for refusing to hand over his last handful of grain.

And whispers kept surfacing in her mind, whispers she didn’t want to believe:

Could the samurai I admire… truly be this vile?

So now, her voice carried both desperation and defiance. “Why are you shaking your head? I must be right!”

“Princess Yamato…” Lucci’s tone was steady as he turned another page. “Wano does not belong to the Kozuki. It belongs to its people.”

He let that sink in, then added, “In my homeland, there is a saying. Allow me to tell you.”

With a flick of his fingers, the metal of their shackles glowed red-hot, melting away until Yamato’s wrists were free.

“Seeing is believing. Hearing is not.”

After some time, Lucci drew the curtain closed again.

Only his silhouette remained in the spacious palanquin.

He stared at the book in his hands but found his thoughts restless, unwilling to settle.

“Truth is… even seeing isn’t always believing.”

With a soft sigh, he closed the book, lost in thought.