Chapter 912

The Flower Capital was now the only prosperous place left in Wano Country, as Kaidou’s tyranny had turned everything else into a lawless wasteland. About four years ago, Amigasa Village was going through a famine. Everyone had nearly starved to death when Ace and his crew washed ashore, and the villagers tied them up and took their food. Ace escaped but was fine with what happened, and decided to stay in the village for a few weeks, which was when he grew close to Tama. Luffy decides to go looking for a doctor as well as food and water in order to repay Tama, and Hitetsu has him change into a kimono.

While Hitetsu cannot accompany Luffy, he tells the pirate to look for someone to lend him money, or to find one of his allies who will help for free. Luffy decides to take a sword with him to make him look like a samurai, but Hitetsu tries to stop him, revealing that it is the cursed Great Grade sword Nidai Kitetsu that his ancestor Kotetsu made. Luffy does not care, and races off with Tama despite Hitetsu not wanting the sword’s curse to harm Tama. Komachiyo approaches Luffy to give him and Tama a ride, and Tama regains consciousness as she continues asserting that Luffy is lying about Ace’s death. She remembers wanting to join Ace’s crew, and Ace told her that if she was strong when he came back, he would take her along.

Tama hits Luffy as she keeps refusing to believe him, when the two of them come to a massive wasteland outside of the forest of Kuri. Luffy sees several large animals running around and wants to hunt them, but Tama reveals that they are poisonous due to drinking the contaminated river water. She then reveals that Kaidou and the shogun have their own clean farms to eat from before passing out again, and Luffy has Komachiyo head for the quarry and the weapons factory in the distance. Luffy then hears someone chasing after a woman, and wonders if it is Sanji, but sees that it is two scouts trying to rob her. The scouts are then suddenly cut down, and as Luffy sees their attacker rummaging around for booze, he realizes that it is Zoro. Luffy calls out to Zoro, and the two happily reunite. Zoro reveals that he has been hunting the animals around here, which has given him a stomachache. Before they can get going to help Tama, however, they are then confronted by Basil Hawkins, who recognizes the nationally-wanted criminal Zoro and the intruder Luffy. Hawkins says that to survive in Wano Country, they can only either follow the strong or live in hiding, and Luffy and Zoro prepare to fight, saying they will apologize to Kin’emon later for causing a disturbance.