Kikunojo

Kikunojo of the Lingering Snow is a samurai from Wano Country and a retainer for the Kozuki Family, serving as one of Kozuki Oden's Nine Red Scabbards. She is also the younger sister of Izo, and the daughter of the dancing school head of the Hanayanagi School in Ringo. After traveling 20 years forward in time, she donned the alias O-Kiku and worked as a tea house poster girl in Okobore Town. Although biologically male, Kikunojo has a feminine appearance and presents herself as a woman. She is very tall, easily towering over Luffy and Zoro at 287 cm. She has long dark violet (dark blue in the anime) hair that falls onto her back and indigo eyes. She also wears sandals and a yellow kimono with chrysanthemum floral patterns and a pink and cream and lavender obi. When Kikunojo prepares for combat, she ties her hair into a ponytail with a red ribbon, and when heading towards Onigashima for the battle against the Beasts Pirates, she wore a full set of Japanese armor. Before being transported to the future, Kiku dressed in more male-like clothing typical of a samurai. After arriving in the future, Kiku began showing a significantly more effeminate side, such as wearing red lipstick and dressing more in feminine clothing.  Kikunojo identifies herself as a "woman at heart", and thus presents herself in a traditionally feminine manner.​ She is a very upbeat and friendly person. To friends, she is helpful and nurturing, as seen when she treated Zoro's injuries and tended to Tama when she was being healed of her poisoning.​

Kikunojo is shown to be a confident, hardened warrior whose friendly nature translates into a strong sense of justice and desire to protect those around her. This was first demonstrated when she served as an ally to Luffy in his mission to rescue Tama from the Beasts Pirates. Kiku even went as far as to cut off Urashima's top-knot (a sign of great disrespect to someone of the samurai class) after hearing him use dehumanizing language toward a crowd of Bakura Town residents, regardless of the fact that just moments prior the same people had berated her due to low social standing. When Kin'emon contemplated the possibility of one of the Nine Red Scabbards being a spy, Kikunojo rebuked him for being indecisive about the matter and told him that they should identify the spy immediately.

Kikunojo's desire to do right can sometimes result in her making rash actions, as she acknowledged when she inadvertently showed her samurai abilities in front of the Bakura Town citizens while living in hiding. Afterwards, she showed more restraint about going to fight enemies, and had to be convinced by Zoro to use her abilities to help save Tama. Kikunojo typically becomes extremely emotional when she loses something dear to her, as she quickly teared up and ran off to be alone after going to the ruins of Oden Castle for the first time since Oden and Toki's deaths. Additionally, she was very emotional when Kanjuro revealed himself to be working for Orochi. Kikunojo takes pride in her role as a retainer of the Kozuki clan, and occasionally refers to herself using ​sessha​, an archaic pronoun similar to "I" in the English language, which is used primarily by male samurai.​ When Momonosuke used the word "Sunacchi", Kikunojo quickly rebuked him for doing so as she believes members of a noble family like the Kozuki should not use coarse words associated with commoners. As a samurai and a member of the Nine Red Scabbards, Kikunojo is an extremely skilled swordswoman. Her strength was acknowledged by Orochi himself. Kikunojo wields a katana with expert precision, as she was capable of swiftly cutting off Urashima's topknot and fought against several Gifters and samurai effortlessly.

Kikunojo and Izo were born in Wano Country. During their childhood, they were raised in a dancing school, but their family was torn apart after their father was arrested. Afterwards, they had to survive on the streets in Ringo. When Kozuki Oden arrived about 39 years ago and gave them food, they joined him. After Oden became daimyo of Kuri, Kikunojo became one of his retainers. For the next few years, Kikunojo and the other retainers educated themselves and trained to become dignified warriors. 30 years ago, they visited the Flower Capital with Oden. After meeting the Whitebeard Pirates, Oden and his retainers had a feast with them. After the Whitebeard Pirates left Wano two weeks later, the retainers discovered Oden, Izo, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi to be missing. During Oden's absence, Kikunojo and her fellow retainers protected Kuri. When Oden and the two minks returned to Wano with the Roger Pirates, the retainers greeted Oden, but before they could say anymore, Toki stopped them from convincing Oden to stay in Wano so he could continue his journey with Roger. Nekomamushi and Inuarashi told Kikunojo about Izo's stay with the Whitebeard Pirates. Around six months before Oden finished his voyage, Kikunojo and her fellow retainers were furious at Kurozumi Orochi for abusing his position as shogun. While Inuarashi and Kawamatsu stayed behind at Oden Castle, the other retainers marched to the Flower Capital to confront Orochi only to discover that a group of Beasts Pirates were in Kuri threatening Oden's family. When Oden returned to Wano after finishing his journey, the retainers (except Denjiro and Ashura, who were elsewhere at the time) welcomed him back and told him about Wano's situation. Oden then ordered his retainers to protect his family and Kuri before charging to the capital by himself. After Oden failed to kill Orochi, the retainers remained loyal to him for the next five years despite Oden acting like a fool and losing the respect of most of Wano's people. 20 years ago, Oden finally had enough and decided to take down Kaido. The retainers eagerly followed him and marched with him to Onigashima. On the way to Onigashima, the group was confronted by Kaido and his crew in the Udon region. In the ensuing battle, the samurai were joined by Shinobu. Unfortunately, the samurai were overwhelmed in the end. Oden and the Scabbards were then imprisoned in the Flower Capital and sentenced to be boiled alive in three days. All ten prisoners were later brought to the execution site, at which point Oden made a deal with Kaido. After Oden stepped into the pot of boiling oil, the retainers were about to join him, but Oden grabbed a plank and ordered them to stand on it as he held them over the pot. As Oden endured the hour, he explained to his retainers the reason Wano Country was isolated and requested them to open Wano's borders for him. Oden successfully survived the hour, but Orochi summoned a firing squad to execute Oden and his retainers. Oden once again told his retainers to open Wano's borders before throwing them far away from the pot. The Scabbards fled with tears as Oden met his demise. As they were chased by an army of pursuers, Shinobu gave the Scabbards their weapons. On the way back to Oden Castle, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were captured by the shogun's forces and Denjiro and Ashura split from the group to fight their enemies. By the time the rest of the group reached Oden Castle, it was set ablaze by Kaido. The retainers went inside the castle and found Momonosuke as well as his sister and mother. Toki then sent Momonosuke, Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, and Kikunojo twenty years into the future.

Denjiro

Denjiro is a samurai from Wano who served as Kozuki Oden's retainer, being one of the Nine Red Scabbards. Grief-stricken over Oden's execution 20 years ago, Denjiro changed his appearance and started going under the name Kyoshiro. With that new identity, he became a yakuza boss and recruited followers to form the Kyoshiro Family. Eventually, he started working for Oden's usurper, shogun Kurozumi Orochi, as his money changer and bodyguard successfully, he would keep secret his true allegiance to the Kozuki Family and bide his time, until the day would come of the Scabbards reuniting for the final battle to take down Orochi and Kaido. Apart from his Kyoshiro identity, Denjiro would disguise himself at night to rob the rich Flower Capital citizens and give to the poor living outside, earning him the moniker "Ushimitsu Kozo". He also took care of Oden's daughter Kozuki Hiyori for the past 13 years, raising her to become the oiran Komurasaki. Until Oden's execution, Denjiro was a slim yet muscular man, being 306 cm tall. He used to have big, round eyes and dark hair that was always kept in a long ponytail. He was always seen wearing a pair of sunglasses. When he was young, he wore a dark kimono with a four-leaf clover pattern; his face was also much rounder compared to its more pointed edges as an adult. As an adult, he wore a dark kimono with a small crescent moon on the left side of the chest.

Because of his grudge to Orochi, Denjiro's appearance changed sometime in the last 20 years. His eyes became slanted, he no longer wears sunglasses, he grew large sideburns, and his hair color changed to light blue. Eventually, he also started hiding his ponytail in a massive faux-pompadour. He wears a dark blue kimono with circles and target patterns on it, as well as a blue, high-collared cape. During the raid on Onigashima, he took off his faux-pompadour when revealing his identity. When going out as Ushimitsu Kozo, Denjiro puts a hokkamuri bandana over his head to hide his hair. From a very young age, Denjiro was extremely clever, a skill that he would use to trick and swindle other people for his own gain. taking pride in his abilities to manipulate people and get what he wants. He has extended knowledge regarding the politics of the Flower Capital yakuza. He was a fan of Kozuki Oden even before becoming his retainer, and held him in high regard for his bold actions. Denjiro held Oden in extremely high regard, to the point that his death was so traumatic that the very process of grieving caused Denjiro's facial structure to be altered.

Denjiro's loyalty and strength of will cannot be understated. An unspecified time after Oden's execution, Denjiro (as Kyoshiro) became a subordinate to Kurozumi Orochi and spent the better part of the past 20 years earning his trust in order to find a chance to overthrow him and restore the Kozuki Family to power. Denjiro has shown great emotional control, despite his immense hatred for Orochi. He is able to perfectly restrain himself from expressing it and even bowed to the latter as well as protecting him from Zoro in order to not jeopordize the Kozuki revolution on the Fire Festival. After becoming Oden's retainer, he and the rest of the Scabbards worked to aid him in any way, until they were caught by Shimotsuki Yasuie during their attempt to steal his money. After being lectured by Yasuie, Denjiro and the rest of the Scabbards became noble and educated samurai. Denjiro, being the more knowledgeable one, was the one who would take some of the teaching onto himself. Denjiro served as the voice of reason for Oden, especially when it came to Kuri's finances. Denjiro attempted to advise Oden against making foolish decisions like giving Orochi money and leaving Wano, though Oden was rarely persuaded. Denjiro has also shown to be very kind, as after becoming Kyoshiro, he works hard in secret to give money to the citizens left impoverished by Orochi's tyranny, and he also took the responsibility of caring for Hiyori after she was separated from Kawamatsu.

As a member of the Nine Red Scabbards, Denjiro is a formidable, powerful samurai whom Kin'emon states is worth 100 men in battle. Along with the other Scabbards and Oden, he engaged in a long battle with the Beasts Pirates, and at one point fought Kaido with Ashura Doji and survived. As the boss of the Kyoshiro Family and one of the highest-ranking subordinates of the Kurozumi Family, Denjiro is one of the wealthiest, most influential citzens of the Flower Capital, able to hire high-ranking geisha dancers to perform for him. He had enough wealth to sponsor and groom Hiyori into the highest-ranking oiran in Wano. As a yakuza boss, Denjiro commands strong henchmen who can extort businesses for money. Thanks to his connections within Wano's government, Denjiro is able to strengthen his group further by requesting assistance from his allies, particularly the Yonko-led Beasts Pirates, who appear to treat him quite respectfully, as Page One referred to him as "Boss Kyoshiro". As noted by numerous bystanders, Denjiro has extraordinary intelligence, being eloquent and persuasive enough to manipulate people into giving him what he wants. When he was young, he used this skill to swindle shopkeepers by confusing them about getting a large bowl in exchange for a small bowl and refund. He was able to correctly deduce the Kurokoma's intention for issuing a bounty for a white boar in order to oust Hyogoro by using the Mountain God. He also learned faster than his fellow Nine Red Scabbards during their self education to guide and teach them himself. During his years as Kyoshiro, Denjiro showed great cunning, having not only founded his own yakuza family but also was quickly able to get into Orochi's service, becoming one of his highest ranking subordinates and gain enough influence to have connections with the Beasts Pirates while perfectly hiding his allegiances to the Kozuki Family. He was able to earn the trust of the extremely cunning and cautious Orochi to be placed in charge of the Flower Capital during the Fire Festival. Denjiro is a masterful thief both because of his charisma as well as his ability to sneak into other people's homes and steal money. For at least 13 years, he has robbed homes in the Flower Capital at night without anyone realizing his identity. After Orochi fell in love with Komurasaki, Denjiro came up with a clever idea to separate her from Orochi and told Hiyori to carry fake blood so he could fake her death when necessary. Denjiro's intellect makes him an outstanding tactician. Denjiro chose to take full advantage of his changed appearance to live under a different identity, putting on a front of submitting to Orochi and becoming one of his most loyal subordinates in order to amass both wealth and influence that allow him to further his cause in supporting the Kozuki Family such as raising and protecting Kozuki Hiyori for thirteen years after she ran away from Kawamatsu. He has shown incredible caution as he advised Hiyori to live under an alias to protect herself from Orochi and the Beasts Pirates, and came up with a plan of faking her death that allows her to escape Orochi's wrath when she stood up against him to protect Toko. He also instructed Hiyori to keep his identity a secret from even their allies, which would prove crucial as Kanjuro, a fellow member of the Nine Red Scabbards, was revealed to be a spy for Orochi. Denjiro was opportunistic enough to exploit the trust of Orochi and the Beast Pirates, using his temporary authority over the Flower Capital to liberate the one thousand prisoners of Rasetsu District to join him in the Kozuki Revolution as well as sinking a Beasts Pirates ship when they let their guard down in his presence.