Kikunojo

Kikunojo of the Lingering Snow, more commonly referred to as Kiku, 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 Izou and the daughter of the dancing school head of the Hanayanagi School (花柳流) in Ringo. She was born 42 years ago, but traveled 20 years forward in time at the age of 22.

After traveling forward in time, she worked as a tea house poster girl in Okobore Town while gathering information for the planned rebellion.

Appearance
Kikunojo has a feminine appearance and is noted for her beauty, given her past reputation as the "most beautiful swordsman in Wano Country" (ワノ国一の美青年剣士). She has indigo eyes as well as long, dark-violet (dark-blue in the anime) hair that falls onto her back, and is very tall, easily towering over the likes of Luffy and Zoro, as well as her brother, at 287 cm.

In the present, Kikunojo has taken to wearing sandals and a yellow kimono with chrysanthemum floral patterns and a pink-and-cream-and-lavender obi, white tabi, and black-soled zōri. When she prepares for combat, she ties her hair into a ponytail with a red ribbon and rolls up her kimono sleeves with a tasuki, and sometimes dons a white Noh hannya mask. For the raid on Onigashima and the battle against the Beasts Pirates, she wore a full set of Japanese armor.

Before being transported to the future, Kiku dressed in more masculine clothing typical of a samurai. After arriving in the future, Kiku began showing a significantly more feminine side, such as wearing red lipstick and dressing more in feminine clothing.

During the Scabbards' fight against Kaidou, most of Kikunojo's left arm was sliced off by one of his attacks.

Personality
Despite her reputation as a legendary male samurai as one of the Scabbards, Kikunojo describes herself as being "a woman at heart", and thus lives and 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, and when she reunited with Izou. However, she did not lose any resolve when being grievously wounded herself, not showing any distress after having her left arm severed beyond an initially shocked look and a brief grunt of pain while having her wound cauterized by fire.

Kikunojo takes pride in her role as a retainer of the Kozuki clan, and occasionally refers to herself using sessha (拙者 or せっしゃ), an archaic pronoun similar to "I" in the English language, which is used primarily by samurai (the Viz translation has her refer to herself as "this one"). 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.

Izou


Izou was Kikunojo's older brother. After their father was arrested and convicted, they stayed together to survive in the streets of Ringo and they both joined Kozuki Oden. When Oden, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Izou went missing, Kiku expressed worries as she could not find her brother and the others while crying. Later, when Nekomamushi and Inuarashi returned to Wano and informed Kiku about Izou staying with the Whitebeard Pirates, Kiku expressed positivity, knowing that her brother will be happy. During the raid on Onigashima, they reunited for the first time in over 25 years, with Kikunojo overjoyed to see Izou again.

Nine Red Scabbards


As a member of the Nine Red Scabbards, Kikunojo got along well with her fellow retainers, and fought hard alongside them to avenge their master Kozuki Oden and to restore the Kozuki Family back as the rulers of Wano. She happily fought alongside them against the Beast pirates and Orochi's forces. She, like the others were shocked by Kanjuro's betrayal, yet despite her readiness to end him for his betrayal, she still felt lingering sentiment for him. Despite his betrayal, Kikunojo and the remaining Scabbards later regrouped, with Izou joining them in battle, and together they fought alongside each other against Kaidou.

Kin'emon
They seem to have a good relationship, as Kikunojo respectfully refers to Kin'emon as Kin-sama. She was so overjoyed at seeing him again after a long separation that she tightly hugged him on sight and blushed in his presence.

Ashura Doji
As fellow retainers of Kozuki Oden and as fellow members of the Nine Red Scabbards, Kikunojo and Ashura fought alongside each other. However, they seem to have some level of animosity toward each other as Ashura stated that their relationship has been like this since the beginning when meeting Kikunojo again after 20 years, though he spared her from his banditry. Kikunojo also expressed her disappointment at Ashura because he said that he only respected and was only loyal to Oden, not the rest of his family.

Kozuki Family
After their father was arrested and convicted, Kikunojo and her brother Izou stayed together to survive in the streets of Ringo, they both joined Kozuki Oden after he gave them food. Afterwards the two became Oden's retainers and held an incredible amount of gratitude and respect for Oden, even striving to better themselves and become great samurai for Oden. When Oden returned to Wano years later without Izou, Kikuonjo was not sad as she was happy to see her master again, and because Nekomamushi and Inuarashi already told her about her brother joining the Whitebeard Pirates. After Oden's death, Kikunojo, alongside three other retainers, and Oden's son Kozuki Momonosuke were sent 20 years into the future by his wife, Kozuki Toki to ensure the Kozuki Family's survival. After arriving in the future, Kikunojo and the others planned to protect Momonosuke at all costs and gather allies to overthrow Orochi and Kaidou's rule over Wano. When Kin'emon and the others returned to Wano with Momonosuke, Kikunojo happily watched over Momonosuke and stayed by his side as they continued to gather allies and even in his training in swordsmenship, but she did tell the young shogun not to use the Sunacchi phrases he learned from Zoro as they were inappropriate for him to say.

Straw Hat Pirates
Kikunojo befriended Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro when they came to the tea shop with Tsurujo and Tama. Kikunojo tended to Zoro's wounds, while Zoro in return scared Urashima away for harassing her. The three of them later infiltrated Bakura Town to rescue Tama, where Kiku was impressed by Luffy's usage of Haoshoku Haki, and she in turn impressed them with her swordsmanship. However, she did find Luffy's casual greeting with Kozuki Momonosuke (referring to him as "Momo") as offensive.

Tsurujo
As an employee under Tsurujo, Kikunojo listens to her orders. Kikunojo already knew Tsurujo twenty years ago as Kin'emon's wife, and while Tsurujo recognized Kikunojo after she came forward through time, she kept this secret.

Tama
Kiku knew 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, showing that she cared greatly for her.

Urashima
Urashima is a nationally famous and arrogant sumo wrestler who is smitten with Kikunojo. While remaining polite with him, Kiku declined his constant proposals firmly and clearly, 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 her disgust with Urashima and avoided his attempt to embrace, instead cutting off his chonmage. Filled with rage, Urashima then tried to kill Kiku, but he was stopped by Luffy.

Kurozumi Kanjuro


Kanjuro was once someone whom she trusted, but when Kanjuro revealed his true colors they became enemies. After hearing Kanjuro's insults and how he beat Momonosuke, Kikunojo challenged the traitor. While they clashed, Kikunojo seemed to be the only person who showed regrets having to fight Kanjuro. After she defeated him, she cried at the loss of a former comrade.

However, while their sentiments led them to spare Kanjuro, Kanjuro did not return such feelings, as he went onto creating a clone of Kozuki Oden and acted out his personality with such astounding success it caught the Scabbards off guard. This act of cruelty led to Ashura suffering from a devastating explosion, which made Kikunojo tremble in fury and horror. This act finally causes Kikunojo to discard any leftover sentiment for Kanjuro as she promises to Kin'emon that she will kill him without fail, although she later faltered in striking him due to his Oden disguise.

Abilities and Powers
Kikunojo has some musical talent, likely due to being raised in a dancing school. As a young child, she already knew how to play the shamisen.

Physical Abilities
True to her large size, Kiku has immense strength, able to apply enough strength in her swordsmanship to perform powerful flying slashes. She is extremely fast and agile, able to easily evade Urashima's attempt embrace as well as sprinting towards Kanjuro instantly while wearing a full set of armor. She has extraordinary endurance, able to withstand having her arm amputated, followed by the cauterization of the wound, while exhibiting only mild discomfort, and quickly rejoined the Scabbards in battling against Kaidou.

Swordsmanship
As a samurai and a member of the Nine Red Scabbards, Kikunojo is an extremely skilled swordswoman whose strength was acknowledged by Orochi himself. Specializing in the Gentle Blade swordsmanship, Kikunojo was capable of swiftly cutting off Urashima's topknot and fought against several Gifters and samurai effortlessly. She compares her swordsmanship to snow that lingers in the spring, saying the wounds it inflicts will remain with its victims in the afterlife.

In Pirate Warriors 4, some of Kikunojo's strikes have a freezing effect on the opponent, which fits her epithet.

Techniques

 * Zansetsugama (残雪鎌): Kikunojo creates multiple circular flying slash attacks towards her opponent. It was first used against Kaidou in battle alongside her brother. This is called Fallen Snow Scythes in the Viz manga.

Anime Only Techniques

 * Kishu Busshin: Akugyo Zanpa (鬼手仏心 悪行斬破): Kikunojo performs a vertical slash towards her opponents, which is immediately followed by a horizontal slash towards her opponents. The slashes were powerful enough to blow away all the opponents around her in one strike. This technique was first used against several of the guards in Udon prison. This is called Devil's Hand, Saint's Heart: Evil Slashing Wave in the Funimation subs.
 * Zansetsuken (残雪剣): Kikunojo brings her sword above her head and then takes a fighting stance while snow swirls around her, hiding her from view. She then dashes toward her opponent and attacks with a downward slash. This technique was first used against Kurozumi Kanjuro. This is called Fallen Snow Blade in the Funimation subs.

Video Game Only Techniques

 * Tasuketai-desu'!! (助けたいですっ!!): Kikunojo jumps forward at her opponents and slashes down on them from above. It is used in One Piece Thousand Storm.
 * Otawamure wo (お戯れを): Kikunojo lunges forward, and, holding her sword with one hand, she stops in front of her opponents and slashes twice horizontally at them. It is used in One Piece Thousand Storm.
 * Ganbare!! (がんばれ!!): Kikunojo lunges forward and slashes through her opponents at lightning speed. It is used in One Piece Thousand Storm.

Busoshoku Haki
Kikunojo is a master of Busoshoku Haki, which is known as Ryuo in Wano. Her Busoshoku Haki infused sword is powerful enough to pierce through Kaidou's right hand.

Kenbunshoku Haki
Kikunojo possesses the ability to use Kenbunshoku Haki.

Weapons
She wielded a katana with an orange scabbard, a red hilt, and a gold clover-shaped guard. After Kaidou's wind scythe attack broke her sword, Kikunojo picked up another one from the battlefield.

Past
Kikunojo and Izou 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, Izou, 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, Kozuki Toki stopped them from convincing Oden to stay in Wano so he could continue his journey with Gol D. Roger.

Nekomamushi and Inuarashi told Kikunojo about Izou'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 Doji, 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 Kaidou. The retainers eagerly followed him and marched with him to Onigashima. On the way to Onigashima, the group was confronted by Kaidou 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 Kaidou. 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 Kaidou. 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.

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. She started residing in Okobore Town in Kuri, where she worked as a poster girl for Kin'emon's wife Tsurujo.

Wano Country Arc
One day, Kiku was being courted by Urashima, a yokozuna sumo wrestler from the Flower Capital. She rebuffed his advances as Tsurujo came riding in with Tama, Monkey D. Luffy, and Roronoa Zoro. Tsurujo revealed that Tama had drank the tainted river water, so Kiku immediately went to boil jagan grass to help her get better. When Kiku was taking Tama inside, Urashima invited her to come to his sumo tournament in Bakura Town later that day. As Tama recovered, Kiku tended to the wounds on Zoro's arms before watching Tama as she slept. However, the Gifter Batman then came and shot an arrow at Tsurujo, and as Kiku went to check on her, another Gifter named Gazelleman kidnapped Tama and ran away. Kiku immediately mounted the komainu Komachiyo and started chasing after them, and Luffy and Zoro joined her. As they rode toward Bakura Town, the two pirates asked Kiku who she was, and she revealed that she was a samurai.



When the trio entered Bakura Town, Kiku had to stop Luffy from announcing their mission to the residents. They quickly came across the sumo ring where Urashima was competing, and the yokozuna was delighted that Kiku had come. He had his men carry her to him, but when he degraded the audience as vulgar commoners, Kiku responded by cutting off his topknot, saying the only vulgar thing was his heart. Kiku then became flustered that she had shown her samurai abilities in front of so many people, and an enraged Urashima attempted to attack her, but was stopped by Luffy. Kiku then watched as Luffy quickly launched Urashima out of the ring. Several Gifters then arrived to attack Kiku, Luffy, and Zoro, and Kiku fought alongside the two Straw Hats in order to save Tama.

The Shinuchi Holed'em then arrived with Tama as his hostage, and Kiku warned Luffy and Zoro to avoid making him angry and attracting the wrath of the All-Star Jack. Holed'em decided to have Kiku executed, but Luffy then saved Tama and defeated him, and Komachiyo grabbed Kiku to rescue her. Kiku rode Komachiyo as it pulled a cart full of clean food provisions out of Bakura Town, and she saw as Trafalgar Law joined Zoro aboard the cart. Kiku, Luffy, Zoro, Tama, and Law made it back to Bakura Town, where they gave the citizens the clean food and water they stole.

Soon afterward, Law took Luffy and Zoro to the ruins of Oden Castle, and Kiku went along with them to see what they intended to do there. When they reached the ruins, Kiku grew emotional and dismounted Komachiyo. However, she then spotted Kin'emon meeting with the pirates, and excitedly embraced him. She found out that the pirates had been recruited by Kin'emon, and was present as he explained to them that they had traveled 20 years forward in time and were now plotting to take down Kaidou during the Fire Festival on Onigashima. As Kin'emon was assigning the pirates directives to recruit allies and obtain enemy intel, Kaidou suddenly appeared in the sky to hunt down Luffy and Law. The two of them went to confront Kaidou and distract him, but Kaidou still ended up flying toward Oden Castle and blew it up with a blast of fire. However, Shinobu was present and saved everyone by sinking them into the ground with her Devil Fruit power, and in the aftermath, Kiku told the Straw Hats about the current situation in Wano.

Later, Kikunojo went with Kin'emon, Momonosuke, and Inuarashi to Mt. Atama to recruit Ashura Doji, who was now a thief by the name of Shutenmaru. However, Ashura refused to rejoin them and clashed with Inuarashi. Kikunojo expressed her disappointment with him, but Ashura said the Kozuki Family could not fill the 20-year gap left by their absence.

One night a few days later, Kikunojo, Momonosuke, Tama, and Tony Tony Chopper went to Kuri Beach and encountered the Emperor Big Mom, who had washed ashore and lost her memory. They took her to Okobore Town the next morning, and then got her to head to Udon in an effort to free Luffy from his imprisonment there. The group rode toward Udon on a wanizame tamed by Big Mom, and Tama's guardian Tenguyama Hitetsu called her to get her to come back, but Kiku assured him that she would be overseeing the expedition. She then explained to Big Mom how far away Udon was, and when Momonosuke shouted "Sunacchi" while practicing his swordsmanship, Kiku rebuked him, saying it was unfit for someone of his status to say. The group reached the Prisoner Mine after a day, and after Big Mom broke in, Kikunojo told Momonosuke and Tama to stay outside while she and Chopper snuck in to save Luffy.



Kiku and Chopper found that Luffy had attracted Big Mom's wrath, but in the ensuing chaos, the All-Star Queen managed to knock out Big Mom and left to take her to Onigashima. Kikunojo then heard Kawamatsu's laugh coming from a nearby cell, and greeted him happily when he burst out of it. Kiku, Kawamatsu, Raizo, Hyogoro, Luffy, and Chopper then banded together to recruit the prisoners to their side and revolt against the Beasts Pirates guards. Their group easily overwhelmed the guards, and the prisoners were initially unwilling to join them, but were eventually swayed over by Luffy. Once this happened, the prison revolt quickly became a success. In the aftermath, Kiku, Raizo, and Kawamatsu had difficulty getting the prisoners to fully accept that the Kozuki Family had returned, but they started believing again once Momonosuke entered their presence.

The next day, Kikunojo watched as Tama tamed the prison warden Babanuki and had him report to Queen that everything was fine in the prison. Three to four days later, Kikunojo, Momonosuke, and Raizo went back to Amigasa Village in Kuri, where they met with the other Kozuki Family retainers and the Straw Hat Pirates to discuss the strategy for the final battle. While there, Kiku and her fellow Scabbards were delighted to hear from Kawamatsu that Kozuki Hiyori was alive. On the day before the planned raid, Kiku went with Kin'emon, Momonosuke, Kanjuro, Raizo, Inuarashi, Ashura Doji, Kawamatsu, and Shinobu to get to Tokage Port ahead of their allies.

The next day, however, the Kozuki group came to Tokage Port to find that none of their allies had arrived and the ships at the port had been destroyed. Since they could not put off the raid for another time, the Scabbards boarded a small rowboat to head for Onigashima despite Momonosuke's pleas and left him on the shore with Shinobu. As they rowed through the stormy waters, Kin'emon weighed the likely possibility of there being a spy in their ranks, and Kikunojo told him that they should find the spy immediately. Kanjuro then revealed that he was the spy, and the Scabbards found themselves confronted by three Beasts Pirates battleships. The Scabbards then discovered that Kanjuro had sent a clone he drew onto their boat, and the real Kanjuro had stayed behind and captured Momonosuke.

However, the Straw Hats, Heart Pirates, and Kid Pirates then arrived to attack the Beasts Pirates, and the Heart Pirates brought the Scabbards' boat onto their submarine. Soon afterwards, the Kyoshiro Family arrived, and the Scabbards were shocked as Kyoshiro revealed himself to be Denjiro. Denjiro revealed that the altered secret message had actually instructed the alliance to go to the Habu Port wharf, so thousands of samurai had made it there and were sailing behind him. Kanjuro took Momonosuke into the sky toward Onigashima, but Momonosuke told the alliance to keep going while he worked to free himself. Kin'emon then worked with the samurai and pirates to amend the invasion plan, and the Scabbards planned to disembark at the back of the island on Law's submarine.

After the Straw Hats defeated the guards at the torii gates, the Heart Pirates and the Scabbards (except Kin'emon and Denjiro) traversed to the back of Onigashima. Along the way, they were contacted by Nekomamushi, who just arrived and was planning to meet them at Onigashima. When the submarine got close enough, Law teleported himself and the Scabbards with him to Onigashima's back entrance, where they were joined up by Marco, Nekomamushi, and Izou. Seeing her brother again, Kikunojo had a heartfelt reunion with Izou.



After Marco left to check out a shadow he saw at sea, the group was confronted by Kanjuro and an army of Beasts Pirates. After Kanjuro explained how Momonosuke attempted to escape and that his execution was taking place, Kikunojo clashed with the traitor and defeated him in combat. With Kanjuro and the Beasts Pirates with him dealt with, Denjiro and Kin'emon met with Kikunojo's group. They then entered Kaidou's castle, fought their way to the Performance Stage, and launched an all-out attack on Kaidou. While falling to the lower floor, the Scabbards managed to inflict wounds on Kaidou. As the alliance revealed themselves and attacked the Beasts Pirates, Kaidou transformed into his dragon form and flew to the roof of the Skull Dome, with the Scabbards grabbing onto him. On the roof, the Scabbards prepared to fight Kaidou with the Mink Tribe's help.

Jack and a platoon arrived at the roof to assist Kaidou and the Scabbards watched as the Sulong minks engaged the enemy. After Jack and his forces were rendered unable to battle thanks to the minks' efforts, the Scabbards resumed their confrontation with Kaidou. Kaidou roared lightning at them, but they dodged around it and each struck him in turn.



Kaidou sustained major injuries from the Scabbards' onslaught, but the Emperor retaliated with a roar that created wind scythes, one of which broke Kikunojo's sword and sliced off her left arm. Izou wrapped a tourniquet around Kikunojo's arm, and Kin'emon cauterized the wound. Kikunojo then stood back up and grabbed a replacement sword, preparing to continue the fight with Kaidou.

Continuing the battle, Kaidou began overwhelming the Scabbards and later incapacitated them. Big Mom, Kid, Killer, Zoro, Luffy, and Law later arrived at the roof. Upon Luffy's request, Law teleported the Scabbards to a safe place. They were placed in the treasure room on the second floor, where a mysterious person was tending to them. The Scabbards later recovered and regained consciousness, but the mysterious figure already had left. Before they left the treasure room, they saw who appeared to be Oden. Many of the Scabbards believed it was him; however, "Oden" was quickly exposed to be a drawing made by Kanjuro, who was still alive and heading for Momonosuke. The Oden drawing then lit a large quantity of dynamite under its garment, but Ashura Doji tackled it out of the room before it exploded, sacrificing himself to save his comrades.



The Scabbards immediately headed out to find Kanjuro, but were then confronted by Beasts Pirates All-Star Jack; Inuarashi stayed behind to battle him. As they raced through the fortress, they encountered Orochi and Fukurokuju. Orochi transformed into the Yamata no Orochi to take on the Scabbards, but they responded by swiftly decapitating his multiple heads at once. They continued on, with Raizo staying behind to fight Fukurokuju. Kikunojo asked Kin'emon to leave Kanjuro to her, and Izou asked how she was dealing with her severed arm, to which she replied it was nothing more than an itch. She and Kin'emon then split off from the others to handle Kanjuro and Momonosuke. Soon after they found Momonosuke and Shinobu, they were confronted by Kanjuro who had shrouded himself in another Oden disguise. Kikunojo became enraged and charged at Kanjuro, who continued trying to act like Oden. However, when "Oden" reminded Kiku of how he had taken her and Izou in, this caused her to hesitate just long enough to allow Kanjuro to stab her through the midsection. Kanjuro dissipated his disguise as Kiku fell into Kin'emon's arms, and before losing consciousness, she told him that melting snow surely meant the "dawn" was close at hand.

When Usopp reached the Tower, Usopp was defending both Kin'emon and Kikunojo from incoming Beasts Pirates but they, however, annoyed Usopp when they suggested Usopp shall only take one and leave the other behind and were impressed when Usopp shared his beliefs of survival and that he tries to survive no matter the cost or what others think of it. Kikunojo was then carried to safety by Hamlet when the group was saved by Izou who stayed to stall the Beasts Pirates. In the basement, when Usopp and Hamlet rushed Kikunojo and Kin'emon to safety while escaping the fire engulfing Onigashima, Kikunojo's body was engulfed in the water that was released by Raizo, alongside Kin'emon and her saviors. After Kaidou was defeated, Kikunojo and Kin'emon was brought to Chopper by Usopp for treatment.

Major Battles

 * Kozuki Oden, the Nine Red Scabbards, and Shinobu vs. Beasts Pirates
 * Kikunojo, Monkey D. Luffy, and Roronoa Zoro vs. Beasts Pirates and enemy samurai
 * Kikunojo, Monkey D. Luffy, Tony Tony Chopper, Hyogoro, Raizo, and Kawamatsu vs. Beasts Pirates (Udon Prisoner Mines)
 * The Nine Red Scabbards (minus Kanjuro, Kin'emon, and Denjiro) and Izou vs. Kurozumi Kanjuro and Beasts Pirates Gifters (unseen)
 * Kikunojo vs. Kanjuro
 * The Nine Red Scabbards (minus Kanjuro) and Izou vs. Kaidou
 * The Nine Red Scabbards (minus Kanjuro) and Izou vs. Kanjuro (Kozuki Oden drawing)
 * The Nine Red Scabbards (minus Kanjuro, Ashura and Inuarashi) and Izou vs. Kurozumi Orochi
 * Kikunojo and Kin'emon vs. Kanjuro

Filler Battles

 * Kikunojo, Kin'emon, Raizo, Inuarashi, Ashura Doji and Shinobu vs. Queen
 * Kikunojo and Roronoa Zoro vs. Speed

Playable Appearances

 * One Piece Treasure Cruise
 * One Piece Thousand Storm
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (DLC)
 * One Piece Bounty Rush
 * One Piece: Burning Will
 * One Piece Bon! Bon! Journey!!

Woman at Heart
In Chapter 948, when Luffy and Chopper learn that Kikunojo was assigned male at birth, Kiku responds that she is a "woman at heart" (心は女です). When this scene came out, there was some confusion among English readers over whether this phrase meant that Kikunojo identifies as a woman. However, in Japanese this phrase is commonly used to identify someone as transgender. The kanji 心 (kokoro) refers to the metaphorical heart, and can also be approximated to words like "soul" and "being", and a more exact translation of the overall phrase is "[My] being is a woman" - thus making it even clearer that Kiku is a trans woman. This designation is used verbatim in the gender listing on Kikunojo's Vivre Card. Additionally, Kiku refers to herself as a woman in Chapter 916 and a reader refers to her as a woman in an SBS Volume 96, which Oda does not dispute. Also in chapter 1052, at a bathhouse Kiku asks to bathe with the other women and is accepted without problem.

Trivia

 * Kikunojo's name was initially written as 菊の丞, but starting with Chapter 985 and Volume 98, the spelling was changed to 菊之丞, replacing the hiragana の with the kanji 之.
 * Her name may come from Segawa Kikunojo, a guild name used by a line of onnagata (male actors who played women's roles in Kabuki theatre).
 * Kiku ranked 47th in the 7th Popularity Poll, making her the most popular member of the Nine Scabbards.
 * The kiku (菊) in her name is the Japanese word for "chrysanthemum".
 * Her birthday, September 9, is the date of the Chrysanthemum Festival in Japan.
 * Oda revealed that despite being the only female Scabbard, Kiku bathes with the others, citing the fact that she's been very social from a young age.
 * Kikunojo's favorite food is shirataki noodles, and her least favorite foods are sea urchin and salmon roe.
 * Fittingly enough, shirataki are one of the main ingredients in oden, just as Kikunojo was one of Kozuki Oden's main retainers.
 * Kikunojo's animal resemblance is a ferret.
 * Kikunojo's hobby is aromatherapy.

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