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Chapter 999: Fate Must Be Grasped by Oneself
Chapter 999: Fate Must Be Grasped by Oneself
Liu Sheng Shi Hu, a famed artisan from Wano Country, was renowned not only for crafting blades but for his mastery of Seastone and superior Weapon manufacturing techniques. His artisan status far surpassed that of ordinary smiths.
Indeed, most renowned swords originated from Wano Country’s artisans.
Beyond his craftsmanship, Liu Sheng Shi Hu had served under Kozuki Oden two decades ago, when the late daimyo still lived. During Oden’s voyage and Kaido’s subsequent invasion, Liu Sheng Shi Hu fought daily against Kaido’s forces, preventing their advance into Wano Country.
When Oden returned, Liu Sheng Shi Hu had been full of hope, believing they’d finally rallied under their leader to drive Kaido away. United, they could repel Kaido at any cost, even with heavy losses.
This was Liu Sheng Shi Hu’s conviction—even when Oden’s officers brought news of defeat, he still believed. Defeat meant rallying again, fighting onward.
But things changed. Oden’s officers became fools, stripping bare to Dance endlessly for three years, convincing Wano’s people he’d truly lost his mind.
Liu Sheng Shi Hu initially refused to understand. Why, with Oden apparently unharmed, wouldn’t they keep fighting Kaido’s forces? Why stop them?
He couldn’t comprehend—until Kamizuki Visoko revealed Kaido’s threat. To spare Wano’s people, Oden had agreed to humiliate himself daily, dancing naked.
Liu Sheng Shi Hu couldn’t fathom this. Oden was Wano’s daimyo, and he a samurai-artisan—bound to obey. Perhaps Oden was right. For three years, Kaido refrained from violence. Afterward, they could depose Blackbeard’s Giant Serpent and restore the Kozuki shogunate.
But when Blackbeard’s Giant Serpent callously boiled Oden alive, Liu Sheng Shi Hu expected resistance. A single raised fist, and Wano’s samurai would unite under Oden. Yet Oden did nothing.
Why not fight? Why accept this trap?
But Oden, their lord, commanded submission. Despite his doubts, Liu Sheng Shi Hu held back—or rather, he was bewildered. His mind became chaos. Should he rebel? Yet as daimyo, Oden refused resistance. What right had he, a mere samurai, to defy? He owed loyalty to his lord. But this was no time for obedience—it was time to fight.
When Oden died, the “Nine Red Scabbards” fleeing, Liu Sheng Shi Hu fell into profound contradiction.
Was he furious? Furious at Oden’s folly? At the “Nine Red Scabbards” for their blind obedience? Or should he smile, relieved they followed Oden’s decree—for the greater good?
These warring thoughts transformed him. Three days after Oden’s death, he became a man who laughed when enraged, raged when joyful—his emotions and expressions inverted.
He fled Wano, wandering the Grand Line aimlessly, joining pirate crews. He never plundered civilians, but he’d deliver the same ultimatum Kaido and Blackbeard’s Giant Serpent once gave Oden: surrender, or perish.
Those who agreed lived; their islands still fell. Watching their despair, he remembered the past. Had Oden lived to see pirates ravage his homeland, would he have despaired? Would he have resisted—or succumbed?
But it was only “if.” Oden was dead, his righteousness forever unjudged. Liu Sheng Shi Hu could never ask him why.
Instead, he asked others—those naively believing his words—whether they regretted their choices. Some answered without fear; others fought back. But none were Oden.
Until now.
Until this moment!
He saw someone who utterly defied him, who dared resist!
Others had resisted before, but without the resolve to die, or the will to drag others with them. That was merely a different kind of naivety. Alone, a pirate’s solitary death couldn’t halt Kaido’s expansion.
This time was different. They rallied everyone nearby—even civilians. Their eyes.
Just like his own eyes once were. Willing to die. If Wano’s people, even Oden, had looked thus, would Blackbeard’s Giant Serpent still sit as shogun? Would Kaido have withdrawn?
“Captain, stop wasting words with them,” a pirate interrupted.
Bang!
Liu Sheng Shi Hu swung his arm. A shockwave from his gauntlet shattered the speaker—and those around him, blood raining, leaving a gaping hole in their ranks.
“Why?” Liu Sheng Shi Hu turned to Wilbur, demanding answers. “Why are you so certain? Maybe I’d truly spare you? Just bow, believe my words, and your lives and this island are saved!”
Wilbur narrowed his eyes. “Why trust you? You’re the enemy. We trust only our will and our weapons. Even death is a choice we make ourselves!”
“What of prophecy?” Liu Sheng Shi Hu’s eyes widened, desperate. “If prophecy told you to wait, to endure for ten, twenty years until salvation comes—”
“Spouting nonsense!” Wilbur spat. “Kuro Mr. once said, ‘If someone predicts your doom, tell them you’ll bring the doom today!’ I didn’t get it, but I understood the last part: Kuro Mr. said, ‘Fate must be grasped by oneself, because one must believe in oneself.’”
The words struck Liu Sheng Shi Hu like thunder. He trembled, his small eyes widening, bloodshot.
“Fate grasped by oneself… Belief. Yes! Belief!!”
His expression softened into sorrow, no longer twisted. His eyes, his voice—all rage, all grief.
“Oden! You’d rather believe enemies, believe prophecies, than trust us!!”
Blood tears streaked his face as he hunched, roaring: “Never once! You’d rather trust enemies than us—your subordinates! We obeyed you for twenty years, enduring endless suffering for your prophecy! Why must Wano suffer for nothing? Why?!”
(End of Chapter)
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