Kikunojo

Kikunojo 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.

After traveling 20 years forward in time, he posed as a woman named O-Kiku and worked as a tea house poster girl in Okobore Town.

Appearance
Kikunojo is a man with an extremely feminine appearance. He is also very tall, easily towering over Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro. He has long dark hair that falls onto his back. He wears sandals and a kimono with chrysanthemum floral patterns.

When he prepares for combat, he ties his hair into a ponytail with a ribbon.

Personality
Although he is male, Kikunojo says he is a "woman at heart" and so tends to act effeminately. To his friends, Kikunojo is helpful and nurturing, as seen when he treated Zoro's injuries and tended to Tama when she was being healed of her poisoning. He is also very courageous, as he quickly went to rescue Tama after the latter was captured by the Beasts Pirates.

While living covertly in Wano, Kikunojo intended to lay low and not take up arms against the Beasts Pirates rashly. However, he does not put up with people who degrade others, and is not afraid to make that known, even to people of a higher social standing than him. When this inevitably attracted attention, Kikunojo had difficulty deciding what to do next and became indecisive.

The clearest sign of Kikunojo's gender is him referring to himself with sessha (拙者 or せっしゃ), an archaic form of "I" used by male samurai.

Tsuru
As an employee under Tsuru, Kikunojo listens to her orders. Kikunojo already knew Tsuru twenty years ago as Kin'emon's wife, but Tsuru failed to recognize him after he came forward through time.

Tama
Kiku seems to know Tama, and was worried for the girl when she drank out of the contaminated river water. When Tama was kidnapped, Kiku swiftly pursued the kidnappers.

Straw Hat Pirates
Kikunojo befriended Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro when they came to the tea shop with Tsuru and Tama. He tended to Zoro's wounds, while Zoro in return scared Urashima away for harassing him. The three of them later infiltrated Bakura Town to rescue Tama, where Kiku was impressed by Luffy's usage of Haoshoku Haki, and in turn impressed them with his swordsmanship. However, he did find Luffy's casual greeting with Kozuki Momonosuke (referring him as "Momo") as offensive. Upon meeting him, Sanji was smitten by Kikunojo and started flirting with him, not realizing that he is not a woman.

Kikunojo traveled to Udon Prison with Chopper to rescue Luffy. Both Luffy and Chopper were surprised to learn of Kikunojo’s real gender as they were confronted by guards.

Kin'emon
Kikunojo respectfully refers to him as Kin-sama. After a long period of separation, he was so overjoyed at seeing him again that he tightly hugged him on sight and blushed in his presence.

Urashima
Urashima is a nationally famous and arrogant sumo wrestler who is smitten by Kikunojo, unaware of his gender or identity. While he remained polite with him, Kiku declined his constant proposals firmly and clearly, to which Urashima could not comprehend nor accept. When the wrestler later snarled at the spectators for their lowly status in front of Kiku, the samurai expressed his disgust with Urashima and avoided his attempt to embrace him, instead cutting off his chonmage. Filled with rage, Urashima then tried to kill Kiku, but he was stopped by Luffy.

Ashura Doji
Kikunojo and Ashura Doji once fought alongside with many other retainers, serving under Kozuki Oden. However, unlike Kikunojo, Ashura only respected Oden, not the rest of the Kozuki Family, hence his refusal to answer Momonosuke's call. Kikunojo expressed his disappointment at Ashura's perceived disloyalty, to which he replied that it has always been like that, and that he was disappointed that Kikunojo and his fellow time travelers had abandoned Wano for two decades.

Swordsmanship
As a samurai and a member of the Nine Red Scabbards, Kikunojo is a extremely skilled swordsman. His strength was acknowledge by Orochi himself. He wields a katana with expert precision, as he was capable of cutting off Urashima's topknot and fought against several Gifters and samurai effortlessly.

Past
Twenty years ago, after Kozuki Oden was executed in the Flower Capital by the shogun, Kikunojo, Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi escaped the execution site and fled to Oden Castle, but Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were captured by the shogun's forces and were left behind. By the time Kikunojo's 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 her son, and the retainers, save for Kawamatsu, 20 years into the future.

After arriving at the future, they went around Wano and discovered how much it changed over the years. However, they discovered allies they could still count on and began forming a plan to take back Wano. While Momonosuke, Kin'emon, Kanjuro, and Raizo traveled to Zou, Kikunojo remained in Wano to gather intel.

Wano Country Arc
Kikunojo was working in the tea house when Urashima, a sumo wrestler from the capital, tried courting him to become his wife. He brushed him off and told him to place an order or leave, but Urashima simply continued bragging about his status. The situation was interrupted when Tsuru arrived with Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, and the ill Tama. Tsuru told Kiku to boil medicinal herbs for Tama, which he rushed to do. Before leaving, Urashima told Kiku about an upcoming sumo wrestling tournament at Bakura Town.

As Tsuru healed Tama, Kiku bandaged Zoro's wounds. Kiku then sat next to Tama while she was sleeping. He was alarmed when the Gifter Batman attacked Tsuru. Another Gifter Gazelleman abducted Tama during the confusion. After grabbing a sword and jumping on Komachiyo, Kiku then pursued Gazelleman along with Luffy and Zoro and headed for Bakura Town.



At the town's gates, Kiku tried to stop Luffy from causing a scene when he was yelling for Tama. The group was then confronted by some swordsmen, but Luffy knocked them out with Haoshoku Haki. While traveling through the town, Kiku told Luffy and Zoro about the town's history. A defeated sumo wrestler was suddenly hurled at them, but Luffy caught him with one hand. They then came across the tournament that Urashima mentioned and when Urashima spotted Kiku, he ordered his men to bring Kiku to him. After hearing about how Urashima looked down on commoners, Kiku sliced off his top-knot with his sword.

As Urashima was filled with rage, Kiku was even surprised by his own actions. Urashima tried to attack him, but was intercepted by Luffy. Kiku then watched Luffy's sumo match with Urashima and was amazed when Luffy sent his opponent flying. As the group was confronted by more enemies, Kiku was unsure of what to do until Zoro told him to fight back. Holdem later arrived at the scene while holding Tama hostage.

As Holdem accused the group of being part of a group of thieves, Kiku warned Luffy not to anger Holdem carelessly. He also informed Luffy and Zoro that Jack was the ruler of the Kuri region and attacking Holdem would have serious repercussions. When the headliner Speed arrived with a wagon of food, Holdem ordered his subordinates to capture Kiku so he could execute him. However, Luffy quickly attacked Holdem and grabbed Tama while Zoro struck down the Beasts Pirates escorting the wagon. Komachiyo then grabbed Kiku and began running with the food wagon. With Holdem defeated and Tama rescued, they fled Bakura Town and grabbed Law along the way. They then brought the food cart to Okobore Town.

After giving the food to the citizens and parting ways with Tama, Kikunojo rode on Komachiyo along with Luffy, Law, and Zoro as they traveled to the ruins of Oden Castle. Before reaching the castle, Kikunojo cried and ran off. When Luffy met Kin'emon, Kikunojo arrived and hugged the latter. Once Momonosuke and the group that sailed to Wano Country with Luffy arrived as well, they went into the castle to talk. There, Kikunojo listened as Kin'emon explained to Luffy's group about the story of Oden, the rumor about Toki, what Kin'emon's group did after traveling 20 years from the past, and a plan to attack Onigashima, the island where Kaido resided.

Kikunojo then helped Kin'emon explain about the Fire Festival and how the decisive battle would play out. When Kin'emon pointed out to Sanji that he was already married, Kiku mentioned that Tsuru was doing fine and Kin'emon was shocked to hear that he met her. After Kin'emon gave Luffy's group new clothes and tasks to do and summoned Shinobu to guide them, Law alerted the group to Kaido's sudden arrival at Kuri. The group was surprised to see Kaido and Kikunojo was shocked to see Momonosuke in his dragon form. Kikunojo then followed Kin'emon to Okobore Town as he rushed to rescue Tsuru. After Kaido destroyed Oden Castle, Kikunojo rushed back there and was relieved to find the group safe before telling them what happened to Luffy.

At Mt. Atama, Kikunojo witnessed Ashura Doji's clash with Inuarashi. After Kin'emon broke up the fight, Kikunojo expressed his disappointment in Ashura.

Kikunojo, Tama, Chopper, and Momonosuke later went to Kuri Beach, where they encountered an amnesiac Big Mom. On the following morning, Kikunojo's group took Big Mom to Okobore Town. After Tsuru fed her, the group planned to take her to Udon. The group then traveled to Udon, with Big Mom having tamed a wanizame to carry them there. Tenguyama Hitetsu spoke to the group through a Smart Den Den Mushi, telling them to return to Amigasa Village. Kikunojo told him to inform everyone else on the situation before hanging up. On the way to Udon, Kikunojo informed Linlin that Udon was far away and showed her a map of Wano Country. While practicing swordsmanship, Momonosuke used a certain shout that he learned from Zoro. Kikunojo was alarmed and she advised him not to use it. After night fell, the group eventually arrived at Udon.

On the next day, Kiku's group entered the Prisoner Mines after Big Mom broke through the front gate. Kikunojo told Momonosuke and Tama to hide and informed Chopper that Queen was in charge of the prison before telling him to proceed with caution. As Kikunojo and Chopper were sneaking in, they witnessed Big Mom attacking Queen. Kikunojo and Chopper were amazed to see Big Mom overpowering Queen. They then became worried for Luffy when he invoked Big Mom's wrath by admitting he ate the oshiruko that Big Mom was looking for. Chopper and Kikunojo were shocked when Big Mom sent Luffy and Hyogoro flying into a wall.

Later, Kikunojo saw that Kawamatsu was in a nearby cell, and watched as he was freed. Kikunojo then forced Luffy's assailants away from him, and reunited with Hyogoro, who said they could only rally the prisoners if they revealed their identities. Kikunojo revealed his by putting on his mask, and said that they would have to silence all the Beasts Pirates in the prison.

Major Battles

 * Kikunojo, Monkey D. Luffy, and Roronoa Zoro vs. Beasts Pirates and enemy samurai

Trivia

 * The kiku (菊) in his name is the Japanese word for "chrysanthemum".
 * His name may be from Segawa Kikunojo, a yagō used by at least three onnagata (male actors who played women's roles in Japanese Kabuki theatre).

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