Super Card System

Out of consideration for protecting his country, the Shogun of the Tokugawa family at that time agreed to the pact.

They knew that if the World Government truly wanted to deal with Wano Country, they had ways to do so. He couldn't allow Wano Country to be destroyed by war.

Thus, the agreement was made. From that day on, Wano Country cut off all communication with the outside world, enacted laws forbidding citizens from going to sea, rejected all trade, and focused on self-sufficiency within their own land.

In that era, the seas of the New World didn't have as many pirates, and global technology was similarly underdeveloped. So after Wano Country closed its borders, no more information about the Poneglyphs spread out. Wano Country not only preserved the Poneglyphs but also sheltered the Kozuki family for hundreds of years.

As time passed, the events that occurred during the Void Century gradually disappeared from public view under the influence of the World Government. The outside world changed rapidly, but only Wano Country remained stagnant, still stuck in a feudal society…

The citizens of Wano Country had become accustomed to isolation, but the Tokugawa family continued to honor the agreement with the World Government, passing down the truth of the closed borders only to the inheriting shogun.

Within the Kozuki family, the methods to read and write the ancient script were passed down through generations. They knew their clan were the stone masons who carved history, but they gradually forgot about the protection provided by the Tokugawa family. However, as a daimyo family in Wano Country, they always obeyed the shogun's orders and had no particular thoughts about the country's isolation.

Until the Kozuki family produced a daimyo named Oden…

Kozuki Oden was a man with an insatiable curiosity. Since childhood, he was fascinated by the outside world beyond the seas, but his understanding was limited to the Mink Tribe from Zou.

Every time the Minks from Zou came to visit was when Kozuki Oden was most excited. Although the Minks weren't a race that frequently interacted with the outside world, they weren't prohibited from going to sea. Some Minks ventured out, and the information they brought back about the outside world was eventually relayed to Kozuki Oden.

However, at that time, Oden hadn't thought about going out to sea himself. After all, he was the daimyo of Kuri in Wano Country, a regional lord responsible for his people.

Until… the day he met two men!

It was a romantic spring day when Kozuki Oden encountered two "outsiders" who had come to Kuri to view the cherry blossoms. Amidst the fluttering petals, the two men sat cross-legged on the ground, holding large sake cups and drinking heartily.

These two men were none other than Whitebeard and Gol D. Roger!

That day marked a turning point in everything. Attracted by these two bold men of the sea, Oden sat down to drink with them. Listening to their tales of adventures on the ocean, he, for the first time, developed the idea of going out to see the world himself.

What happened next was rather interesting. When he returned and announced his desire to set sail, all his retainers were stunned!

Despite their earnest attempts to dissuade him, Kozuki Oden remained steadfast in his decision. In the end, some of his retainers, the warriors from Zou, chose to accompany him on his voyage.

Initially, Oden boarded Whitebeard's ship. However, when he went to the sea at the agreed-upon time, the ship that came to pick him up was Roger's!

Kozuki Oden was thus "poached" by Roger…

But his subsequent experiences made Oden not regret boarding the wrong ship. In fact, he was grateful to have joined Roger.

During his adventurous journey, Oden witnessed various landscapes, climates, and islands, as well as a multitude of countries.

He realized how different his homeland, Wano Country, was from other nations…

Influenced by Pirate King Roger, Oden deeply felt that there were problems with his country: while the outside world had developed various technologies, his nation was still stuck in an agricultural era, with no development over hundreds of years.

Especially after reaching the final island with Roger, upon returning to Wano Country, Oden was a changed man…

He began to spread his ideas, attempting to open Wano Country to the world. At this time, Oden hadn't thought about achieving this overnight, so he first influenced his retainers and close associates.

However, following Roger's surrender and death, and the onset of the Great Age of Pirates sparked by his last words, Wano Country was inevitably affected. More and more outsiders set foot in the closed-off nation, and increasingly more pirates harassed it.

The isolated citizens of Wano Country were thus impacted by outside forces. Their proud samurai and ninja were frequently defeated by weak foreign pirates simply because the pirates had guns and cannons!

Such changes left the people of Wano Country bewildered; they didn't understand what was happening.

This was when people's minds began to change. Gradually, Oden's ideas of opening the country became known and accepted by more people, starting to spread widely.

When the current shogun, Tokugawa Izumi, noticed this situation, he immediately knew there was trouble!

From his position as shogun, Oden's ideas were dangerous. It wasn't just about the Tokugawa family's ruling status but also related to the agreement between Wano Country and the World Government.

The Kozuki family had forgotten the protection provided by the Tokugawa family, but the Tokugawa family hadn't forgotten the reason for the country's isolation. So Tokugawa Izumi summoned Oden and sternly rebuked him!

However, this became the fuse for the entire incident. Oden didn't think he was wrong. Even after Tokugawa Izumi told him the truth from back then, he still believed so. He retorted that burying one's head in the sand like an ostrich was useless and was merely avoiding reality! He even viewed the agreement from back then as a conspiracy by the World Government, believing that it had caused Wano Country to miss many development opportunities and was leading it into decline. While people outside were already using guns and cannons, the samurai of Wano Country were still fighting with swords. While outsiders had already researched Devil Fruits, people in Wano Country still considered them sorcery. If this continued, Wano Country would one day collapse under the World Government's conspiracy!

An argument between the two was inevitable. After returning, Oden continued to spread his ideas, while the furious Tokugawa Izumi began contemplating action against the Kozuki family.

Though he later reflected and thought that Oden might have a point—that the agreement from back then might indeed be the World Government's slow-boiling conspiracy—but…

But Tokugawa Izumi couldn't take that risk with Oden. As the shogun of Wano Country, his primary duty was to protect his nation, not to recklessly open the borders with Oden at the risk of angering the World Government.

Even the Pirate King Roger, who had deeply influenced Oden, died at the hands of the World Government. What use was it to talk about this!?

Realizing that Oden's actions were endangering the entire country, Tokugawa Izumi knew he couldn't wait any longer. He decided to sanction the Kozuki family.

After all, the Poneglyphs were in the hands of the Tokugawa family, and Tokugawa Izumi hadn't deviated from his ancestors' original intentions.

Initially, Tokugawa Izumi only targeted Oden himself. But when he began to mobilize troops, he suddenly discovered that Oden's influence had grown to affect half of Wano Country's daimyos!

Due to the closed-off nature of the country, Wano remained in a feudal society with low productivity. Even as shogun, he couldn't afford to maintain a large army. To assemble a significant force, he needed to recruit troops from the territories of other daimyos. But when half of the daimyos remained neutral and even pleaded on Oden's behalf, Tokugawa Izumi became increasingly enraged.

At this time, the Beasts Pirates, who had been harassing Wano Country, suddenly approached him. They promised to cease their disturbances and even offered to lend troops to help Tokugawa Izumi suppress the Kozuki family.

However, they had one condition: Oden himself must be handed over to Kaido, as Kaido wanted to question him about some matters.

At the time, Tokugawa Izumi didn't think much of it. He felt that this arrangement would not only solve the ongoing harassment from the Beasts Pirates but also achieve his own goals. Why not agree? So he gritted his teeth and accepted the deal.

Subsequently, events unfolded accordingly. Even though Oden had met many friends during his travels with Roger, some of whom came to assist the Kozuki family, with the help of the Beasts Pirates, Tokugawa Izumi successfully eliminated the Kozuki family's resistance and captured Oden.

When the Kozuki heir escaped under the protection of his retainers, Tokugawa Izumi chose to turn a blind eye. He initially only wanted to imprison Oden for a period.

However, he didn't expect that after Kaido took Oden from him, news of Oden's death would come a few days later!

Tokugawa Izumi had always believed that Kaido wanted to question Oden about Pirate King Roger's treasure, which he didn't mind. But he never expected that Kaido would ultimately kill Oden!

This was not part of their original agreement!

When Tokugawa Izumi angrily confronted Kaido about this, he realized that one should never reason with a madman!

Kaido completely disregarded his status as the shogun of Wano Country, directly driving him away. Moreover, after the incident, not only did Kaido not withdraw his forces, but he also stationed the Beasts Pirates in Kuri, occupying the Kozuki family's territory.

Only then did Tokugawa Izumi realize that Kaido had never intended to cooperate with him from the beginning. He had merely taken the opportunity to act against the Kozuki family, seeking whatever the Kozuki family had left behind!

Worried and anxious, Tokugawa Izumi realized the situation was out of control. It's easy to invite the devil in but hard to send him away. He wanted to expel the Beasts Pirates but lacked the strength to do so.

However, at this time, he found an opportunity and hope. So he maintained a superficial relationship with the Beasts Pirates while, during his departure, he took the chance to bring Ace, Izo, and Fujitora back to Kyoto when they were captured.

The only ones who could counter an Emperor were other Emperors! That was Tokugawa Izumi's thought at the time.

Sure enough, the Whitebeard Pirates and the Dragon Hunter Pirates sent people to rescue them later.

Saijo, the strongest samurai in Wano Country, was Tokugawa Izumi's confidant. Understanding the internal and external predicaments facing Wano Country, he spared no effort in cooperating with Tokugawa Izumi, treating Ace and the others well. This is why Ace and the others could enjoy some privileges while imprisoned.

Of course, leaving was impossible because Saijo wanted to invite members of the two pirate crews to meet Tokugawa Izumi, who intended to use their strength to drive out the Beasts Pirates.

While Saijo went to invite them, Tokugawa Izumi discovered someone had infiltrated his Tenshukaku—the assassin was Queen the Plague from the Beasts Pirates.

After careful thought, Tokugawa Izumi believed that Kaido, unable to find what he wanted from the Kozuki family, had turned his attention to the shogun, suspecting that the item might be with him.

Then…

Tokugawa Izumi made the most daring decision of his life. He made a rubbing of the three Poneglyphs preserved by the Tokugawa family and had one of his body doubles stay in his room with the rubbings.

When Queen found the body double, who looked identical to Tokugawa Izumi, the double was pretending to examine the three rubbings as instructed.

The rest is known: Queen wounded the body double and stole the rubbings.

However, as she leaped out the window, the body double detonated a bomb hidden on his person!

The explosion not only alerted Kyoto's guards but also drew the attention of Ian and his group, who were there to rescue their friends. They followed Queen's trail as Tokugawa Izumi had planned.

A rubbing, in the absence of Oden who could read it, was indecipherable. But it could lead the Whitebeard Pirates and the Dragon Hunter Pirates to clash with the Beasts Pirates!

Even if Queen hadn't been captured and had successfully brought the rubbings back to the Beasts Pirates, once Kaido found what he wanted, he might leave Wano Country…

To resolve the crisis facing his country, Tokugawa Izumi didn't hesitate to violate his ancestors' agreement with the World Government, allowing the contents of the Poneglyphs to spread for the first time. However, when speaking with the Five Elders, he wouldn't admit this, so he claimed that Queen hadn't found anything.

Although he accused the bald elder of losing his samurai pride, wasn't he the same? But these things were insignificant compared to the safety of Wano Country…

Tokugawa Izumi might not realize that his scheming ultimately caused events to veer further off track!

Because he didn't know that among the Dragon Hunter Pirates, there was someone who could read the ancient script…

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