Summary:
Kawamatsu reveals that after Hiyori left him, he went to Ringo where he met Onimaru, a komagitsune who was a companion of Ringo’s late daimyo Shimotsuki Ushimaru. Until Kawamatsu was caught and arrested, he worked with Onimaru to collect the weapons left on the graves in the cemetery to use in the final battle against Kaido. In the present, Gyukimaru leads Zoro, Kawamatsu, and Hiyori to the underground chamber where all these weapons were stored, and Kawamatsu contacts Kin’emon to reveal that they can easily arm their allies in the final battle. Outside, Gyukimaru transforms into Onimaru.
Hiyori then tells Zoro to return Shusui and in exchange gives him the Meito Enma, a blade wielded by her father that was able to injure Kaida.
13 years ago, Kawamatsu received a letter from Hiyori after she ran away from him, thanking him for everything he had done and assuring him that she would be fine. Kawamatsu was distraught and ran all over Wano, unsuccessfully trying to find Hiyori. In the present, Zoro is chasing Gyukimaru, who is running into an abandoned city. Zoro tries to keep up with the monk, but is able to follow his blood trail before he notices anything. On the bridge, Oihagi Kawamatsu says that he and Hiyori should continue and she asks him why he came here.
Kawamatsu replies that after searching for her 13 years ago, he came here to commit seppuku. Ringo, like Hakumai, was once ruled by the Shimotsuki family, with Shimotsuki Ushimaru ruling as daimyo and a komagitsune named Onimaru serving as his companion. Ringo has a funeral practice known as the Eternal Grave, where the burial places of the deceased are marked by their swords. Cemeteries thus often attract grave robbers. When Kawamatsu got to Ringo, he saw Onimaru fighting off a couple of Beasts Pirates who were trying to steal the swords. Onimaru then collapsed from his wounds, and Kawamatsu was amazed to see that he had successfully protected the graves for five years since Ushimaru’s death. Kawamatsu then bandaged Onimaro’s wounds and gave him food to eat, which helped him survive.
Afterwards, Onimaru went back outside to find Kawamatsu taking the swords from the graves and quickly became combative despite the kappa’s pleas and ended up biting his arm. Shaking off Onimaru, Kawamatsu reveals that he wishes to collect the swords for the final battle against Kaido, saying that it is too soon for the swords to rest and that they must be protected from grave robbers. Kawamatsu was personally invested in accomplishing this task after failing to take care of Hiyori, but Onimaru just bit him again and refused to release his grip. Kawamatsu then yelled that the komagitsune could rip off his arm if he wished, but he would continue to collect the swords even without an arm. Onimaru let go of Kawamatsu’s arm and licked the blood from his wound before sitting back to watch, letting the kappa continue collecting the swords.
One day, Kawamatsu woke up to find Onimaru working to free the sword from the grave, and the komagitsune had since served as his companion as they took the swords and built an underground room to store them. At one point they were chased away. some real grave robbers, and Kawamatsu disguised himself by wearing a cloth over his face and donning the nickname “Gyukimaru”. After doing this for a while, he went to the Flower Capital to gather food and made a mistake that resulted in him being captured. In the present, Hiyori wonders if he’s here to see Onimaru again, but Kawamatsu doesn’t expect him to still be around after 13 years. They catch up with Zoro, who reveals that Gyukimaru opened the door before he disappeared. Kawamatsu takes them through a door where they enter an underground chamber filled with hundreds of swords. Kawamatsu contacts Kin’emon to tell him that they will be able to arm their allies if Kin’emon sends some forces in his place. Kawamatsu wonders if Onimaru could have set it all up, but he knows that a human must have done it all. Back outside, Gyukimaru is standing behind the house and transforms into Onimaru before leaving contentedly.
Meanwhile, Hiyori tells Zoro that Shusui should return Wano. Zoro objects, but she tells him that she can give him a suitable replacement: Enma, the Meito once controlled by Oden who gave Kaidou his lone scar.