Before the revolution, the bloodshed, the horror. Before everything came crashing down, I remember the Heavenly City, as it was called, looked so beautiful when the sakura petals began to fall. Mother would take Ishi and me down to the courtyard, a place from which nearly the entire city could be seen, so that she could show us what was ours. It was all ours then. The people's lives belonged to us, as did they homes, possessions and even children; like they were little more than cattle living in our barns.

Wano Country had been such a pretty country. Physically, it still is, yet in the past three months, these people have seen nothing but blood. We couldn't take the country through political means, so we took it by force. And now?

The roaring cheers beat loudly against my ears, crushing my mind like a fragile butterfly. Beside me, my best samurai stand proudly with the shoulders pulled back and chests puffed out. I smile faintly to myself. They look so proud, even with their blood splattered armour and hakamas. We had been fighting all night and all day to break through the castle's defenses in order to steal Wano Country back from the royal family, for they had crippled this mighty nation.

For centuries, this place has been tormented by imperialistic rule. But now it's free. Kin'emon steps forward from his place with his nakama, or comrades, and hands me an elated looking den den mushi. The snail blinks at me before I silently take the speaker and pull it to my mouth. My thumb smarts in pain as blood courses down my hand and forearm.

Previous cheers die down. "This is our country!" My voice rings out and echoes from my place in the courtyard, overlooking the city. "Do not fear the imperials anymore! Edo is not your Emperor! Shusui is not your Empress! They do. Not. Own you!" Unlike anything I have heard before, their screams of joy, elation, relief and pain rise up. I can feel the grass and stone beneath my feet trembling from the sheer volume.

Mingled with that, are the desperate cries of five royals. My family. I am ashamed to say that I am related to them, that they are my flesh and blood, yet that is what they are. I was born Teranobu Siatsuke, but I reject the name Teranobu. And still they are my family. I still love them, despite how disgusting and evil they are.

Feeling a hard stare pointed at the side of my head, I turn my gaze slightly. That man, Monkey D. Dragon, the mighty revolutionary and most wanted man alive continues to hood his eyes with his cloak, though his tattoo and faint smile are still visible. Not far from him are a few of Whitebeard's men. Marco, Thatch and a new member named Ace. I'm not sure why he's here, and I doubt he has any idea either. Whitebeard, their leader, I have never met, though I know he wishes to give his support. For all of their help, I'll be forever grateful. This revolution is over now, thanks to them.

I swallow thickly in an attempt to push down threatening emotions. It is a disgrace for a samurai to cry, let alone a woman who shouldn't be doing the things I have anyway. "I beg of you, my proud and strong people: make something of yourselves now. This is your chance to change Wano and bring about a new era…" A crack ripples through my voice and I stumble of the last few words, though it doesn't faze the crowd. "Destroy these old foundations and build something new from the strength of your will, and not the strength of an iron fist!"

Nothing can stop the crowd's excitement now. I know what they expect. An execution of the five quivering royals kneeling behind me. They expect my faithful samurai to dispatch them through a beheading or diagonal slashing of the chest, a death without honour.

"Destroy these old foundations…!"

I unsheathe my beloved katana, as if it were mere ritual, and turn to meet the slightly confused faces of my samurai. The first strike, to my younger brother Taito, is the quickest. He barely has time to register what is going on before the end of my katana tears through his elaborate hakama and soft flesh. Blood aggressive sprays from the wound as his eyes roll into the back of his head. Mother screams in horror and grief.

With a dull thud, his body lands lifelessly on the grass, staining it that unrelenting scarlet.

"Hime-sama, what're you-?" Kin-emon asks in shock, trying to detain me. I glare up into his dark eyes. He takes a step back. I can feel the thick, warm blood matting in my raven hair and kimono as I turn to look at my older brother, Ishi.

"… And build something new…"

He stares in absolute fear. Taito was cruel and ruthless. Ishi is greedy, lustful and unforgiving. Mother is vindictive, cunning and merciless, yet now her petrified screams fill this place. In two smoothe motions they are dead too, lying face down in the grass. Enimon, my eldest brother, and Father remain. Enimon is not afraid. His brutality has made him accustomed to this blood.

I have already killed Taito, Ishi and Mother, as well as countless others who will most likely never be name. For three years I have looked to the moment when Wano would be free. For three months I have toiled past losing my friends, my lover and my innocence.

"… From the strength of your own will…"

Pulling back the katana and twisting my wrist slightly, Enimon is swiftly beheaded. His head rolls with a dead expression along the ground. "Please, Hime-sama, do not-!"

"… And not the strength of an iron fist!"

"Father, please forgive me." His coal black eyes stare at me in hot rage. Their swirling darkness demand that I step down, act like a sweet little geisha and hand Wano to him once more. My jaw twitches.

I drive the point through the base of his neck, letting it protrude through the middle of his back. He slides of the blade slowly, a ring from the metal hissing in protest.

"Hime-sama…" A samurai to my left whispers.

I feel something in my stomach rise. I lurch over and cough up the contents of my stomach. Orc yellow slime splatters on the blades of grass below me, mingling with the still-warm blood. This execution… No, this massacre was heartless.

I don't know why, but I don't feel numb. Isn't that what grief does? Why can't it crush my heart into little pieces? The sounds around me thin into little buzzes and my head begins to feel dizzy. They're dead, aren't they? I'd known this is what had to be done, right from the beginning I knew. My people, or rather these people could never forget the cruelty of the royals until they were all dead.

There's a hand on my shoulder, large and gripping me tightly. Snapped from my thoughts, I wipe the small amount of sick from the corner of my mouth and straighten myself. Kin'emon stares at me with a deathly serious expression. I am a monster. I can feel it reflected in his eyes.

Looking past him, I can see the horrified expressions of the three Whitebeard pirates. Wano Country is not like the rest of the world. Like it, we are brutal and merciless, but unlike them we do no act like humans. We are samurai, through and through. Right to the end.

Hastily I shrug off the famed samurai's hand. With my free hand I smoothe down my sleek kimono then walk to the very edge of the courtyard. Down below, there are so many people. I know they saw everything, yet they cannot stop cheering. When I see this, I know everything is going to be okay.

I feel dizzy, swaying slightly on my feet. The crowd's cheers soften to near silence. The den den mushi is offered to me once more. Weakly, into the speaker I say, "We are they future, we are what's-"

Shink! How had I not seen that coming? I drop the den den mushi numbly and stare down at the piece of metal rammed through my chest, so very close to me heart.

"Hime-sama, you really shouldn't be taking on roles such as revolutionary. You're much to pretty to be a samurai…" A voices hisses.

"Metanobi! You bastard!" I hear the clicking of wooden sandals, the clashing of steel and finally the horrified screams of the people below. The weapon is removed from my chest, only for blood to pour out like hot rain. Next thing I know, I'm on the crowd, deftly watching as my beloved samurai slaughter one of their 'nakama'. All the while my body goes slack. I can vaguely make out the youngest of the Whitebeards' eyes staring into mine with clear desperation before everything around me fades.