Kikunojo

Kikunojo of the Lingering Snow, more commonly referred to as Kiku, is a samurai from Wano Country and a retainer for the Kouzuki Family, serving as one of Kouzuki Oden's Nine Red Scabbards. She is also the younger sister of Izou and the daughter of the dancing school head of the in Ringo.
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 she is noted for her beauty given her past reputation as the . She has long dark-violet (dark-blue in the anime) hair that falls onto her back with square bangs hanging above her eyebrows while she has shoulder-length hair strands hanging on either side, indigo eyes and she is very tall, easily towering over the likes of Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro as well as her older 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, Kikunojo dressed in more masculine clothing typical of a samurai. After arriving in the future, she 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.
===Gallery===
====Main Series====
====Video Games====
====Other====
==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 Roronoa 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 Monkey D. Luffy in his mission to rescue Tama from the Beasts Pirates and she 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 ever since the deaths of Kouzuki Oden and Kouzuki Toki. Additionally, she was very emotional when Kurozumi Kanjuro revealed himself to be working for Kurozumi 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 Kouzuki clan and occasionally refers to herself using , 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 Kouzuki Momonosuke used the word "Sunacchi", Kikunojo quickly rebuked him for doing so as she believes members of a noble family like the Kouzuki should not use coarse words associated with commoners.
==Relationships==
===Family===
====Izou====
Izou was Kikunojo's older brother and only sibling. After their father was arrested and convicted, they stayed together to survive in the streets of Ringo and they both joined Kouzuki 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 would be happy.
During the raid on Onigashima, they reunited for the first time in over 25 years with Kikunojo overjoyed to see Izou again.
===Friends===
====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 Kouzuki Oden and to restore the Kouzuki Family back as the rulers of Wano. She happily fought alongside them against the Beasts Pirates and Kurozumi Orochi's forces. 
She, like the others were shocked by Kurozumi 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 Kouzuki Oden and as fellow members of the Nine Red Scabbards, Kikunojo and Ashura Doji 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.
====Straw Hat Pirates====
Kikunojo befriended Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro when they came to the tea shop with Tsurujo and Kurozumi 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 Supreme King Haki and she in turn impressed them with her swordsmanship. However, she did find Luffy's casual greeting with Kouzuki 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 Kurozumi 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.
===Kouzuki Family===
====Kouzuki Oden====
When Kouzuki Oden gave food to her and her brother when they were alone on the street, Kikunojo decided to follow him along with the latter. After Oden wanted to make her one of her retainers, she cried with joy. Her devotion to him was such that she, along with the others, wanted to strive to improve and become a better samurai for her lord.
Despite feeling upset when she saw him publicly humiliate himself and lose the respect of many people, she remained loyal to him. Where after Oden finally wanted to end Orochi's reign, Kikunojo accompanied him without any hesitation along with the others.
After Oden decided to sacrifice himself for his retainers, Kikunojo cried uncontrollably.
====Kouzuki Momonosuke====
Because Momonosuke is the son of her former lord, Kikunojo has a lot of appreciation and respect for him. This is shown when she was very happy for her to see him again and she considered it disrespectful for Luffy to call him only by a nickname. Likewise, while caring for him, Kikunojo told the young man not to use phrases like Sunacchi, as she considered them inappropriate for someone of his status.
When she discovered that Kanjuro had brutally beaten Momonosuke, she began to cry and became very angry when her former companion teased that the boy would die.
Once Momonosuke finally became the shogun of Wano, Kikunojo cried with joy.
===Enemies===
====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 Monkey D. Luffy.
====Kurozumi Kanjuro====
Kurozumi Kanjuro was once someone whom Kikunojo trusted, but when Kanjuro revealed his true colors, they became enemies. After hearing Kanjuro's insults and how he beat Kouzuki 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 Kouzuki Oden and acted out his personality with such astounding success it caught the Nine Red Scabbards off guard. This act of cruelty led to Ashura Doji 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==
As a samurai, Kikunojo must be a particularly strong person. Likewise, she is a member of the Nine Red Scabbards, who are considered legendary samurai.
As proof of this, she was able to defeat many members of the Beasts Pirates with ease. Where Monkey D. Luffy himself recognized her as someone very strong. Another testament to her strength is that she was able to seriously injure her partner Kurozumi Kanjuro in single combat, where she then defeated him.
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 Kurozumi 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 Nine Red 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 Kurozumi 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====
*: 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 english adaptations.
====Anime Only Techniques====
*: 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 Demon's Hand, Saint's Heart: Evil Slashing Wave in the Funimation adaptations.
*: 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 adaptations.
====Video Game Only Techniques====
*: Kikunojo jumps forward at her opponents and slashes down on them from above. It is used in One Piece Thousand Storm.
*: 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. 
*: Kikunojo lunges forward and slashes through her opponents at lightning speed. It is used in One Piece Thousand Storm.
===Haki===
====Armament Haki====
Kikunojo is a master of Armament Haki, which is known as Ryuo in Wano. Her Armament Haki infused sword is powerful enough to pierce through Kaidou's right hand.
====Observation Haki====
Kikunojo possesses the ability to use Observation Haki.
===Weapons===
Kikunojo 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.
==History==
===Past===
Kikunojo and Izou were born in Wano Country. During their childhood, they were raised in the dancing school , but their family was torn apart after their father was arrested. For the two of them they had to survive on the streets of Ringo, forced to entertain depraved adults. When Kouzuki Oden arrived about 41 years ago and gave them food, they joined him. After Oden became daimyo of Kuri, Kikunojo became one of his retainers.
One day, Oden separated from his followers and went alone to Kuri, to face all the bandits there. Realizing this, they all ran over with the intention of supporting him. However, when they arrived, they saw that he had already defeated everyone, including Ashura Doji. After Oden became Kuri's daimyo, he decided to turn all of his followers into his retainers.
Six years later, Kikunojo was present when Oden brought Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Kawamatsu to the castle to feed them. Where she later played with the three when Oden decided to make them his retainers as well. 
Some time later, Kikunojo and the other retainers were educated and trained with the money that Shimotsuki Yasuie had given them, with Yasuie's advice, in order to become worthy warriors for the good of Oden and the country.
30 years ago, when the shogun fell ill, all of Oden's retainers took the latter to the Flower Capital. In the same year, they discovered that Oden had joined the Whitebeard Pirates secretly from his vassals, who at the same time noticed that Izou, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were also missing, making Kikunojo sad about her brother's disappearance. Therefore she and the others decided to protect Kuri until Oden's return.
26 years ago, Oden returned to the country along with the Roger Pirates to leave his sick wife, Toki, and their children, Momonosuke and Hiyori. Even though the retainers wanted their lord to stay to run Wano, Toki stopped them from doing so. Therefore they saw how Oden decided to continue his journey. During this time Inuarashi and Nekomamushi told Kikunojo about Izou's stay with the Whitebeard Pirates.
Approximately six months before Oden returned, the shogun Kurozumi Orochi, who allied himself with Kaidou, ordered the execution of a man and his family for refusing to work in the country's factories. Because of this, Kikunojo and his companions became enraged, so they headed to the Flower Capital to overthrow Orochi. However, the Beasts Pirates took the opportunity to kill Momonosuke, but Inurashi and Kawamatsu, who stayed in the castle, defended the Kouzuki Family.
The day Oden returned from 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.
However, Oden was unable to remove Orochi from power and inexplicably began publicly humiliating himself by dancing almost naked in front of the shogun's castle once a week, losing the respect of the people of Kuri. Given this, Kikunojo and the rest of the retainers asked him for explanations, although Oden did not give it importance. Despite this, she and the others continued to be loyal to him.
Five years later, Oden and his vassals learned that Orochi ordered the capture of yakuza boss Hyougoro and the murder of the latter's wife and subordinates. In response, Oden decided to finish off Kaido, so he gathered his retainers, who excitedly headed with their lord towards the enemy. However, along the way they were intercepted by Kaidou and his crew in the Udon region. Therefore, the samurai confronted the pirates, where Shinobu joined them. Unfortunately, Oden and the Scabbards were eventually defeated and imprisoned in the Flower Capital, although Shinobu was freed when Oden did not declare her his retainer. Where then the ten prisoners were sentenced to be boiled alive in three days.
On the day of the execution, when they were heading to the boiling pot, Oden made a deal with Kaidou, where he would free whoever survived within a certain time interval. Therefore the pirate accepted, granting him only one hour. Then, when his lord entered the boiling pot, Kikunojo along with the others were about to join him. But, to everyone's surprise, Oden grabbed a giant board while he held them all on it. While waiting for the hour to pass, all the retainers heard Shinobu reveal the truth behind his lord's foolish behavior. While waiting for the hour to pass, all the servants heard Shinobu reveal the truth behind his lord's foolish behavior. Where they would later hear all the inhabitants apologize to them, although some of the servants did not forgive them. Likewise, Oden explained to his servants the reason why the country of Wano was isolated and asked them to open the country's borders to him in preparation for the arrival of a figure that the entire world had been waiting for for the last 800 years. When Kikunojo learned from his lord that he was going to die that day, she begged him otherwise, although he still declared his intention for the borders to be opened.
After Oden managed to survive that hour, everyone was excited. However, Orochi quickly broke the agreement and wanted to kill them all by firing squad. But then Oden, telling them again to open Wano's borders, kicked them out of the place. Then the Scabbards escaped with tears in their eyes towards Kuri.
While heading there they were chased by an army of Beast Pirates, where Shinobu gave his weapons to the samurai to defend themselves. However, along the way Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were captured by a giant creature. Where then Denjiro and Ashura separated to fight the enemies. When the rest of the group arrived at the castle, the pirates had already burned it.
The servants entered the castle and found Toki, as well as her two children, where she told them that she was about to send them 20 years into the future with Momonosuke to resurrect the Kouzuki Family. After Toki informed them of her ability and that her journey would end there, the servants vowed to fulfill Oden's dream of opening the borders of Wano and defeating Kaido and Orochi. There, Kikunojo witnessed Momonosuke's refusal, so Kin'emon had to convince him. Then Toki sent the latter, Momonosuke, Kanjuro, Raizo and Kikunojo to the future.
===During the Timeskip===
After arriving in the future, in the ruins of the same castle, they found tombstones with their names. Where after touring the country, they discovered that it was no longer the same as before, so they thought they would not receive help. However, Jibuemon approached them along with other allies, where he explained that they had been waiting for their return to overthrow Orochi. Therefore they began to make a plan to recover Wano, where Momonosuke, Kin'emon, Kanjuro and Raizo traveled to Zou to look for allies; while Kikunojo remained in the country to gather information.
A month before the Straw Hats arrived in Wano, she started residing in Okobore Town in Kuri, where she worked as a poster girl for Kin'emon's wife Tsurujo.
===Wano Country Saga===
====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 Kurozumi 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. 
Later, while healing Roronoa Zoro's wounds, Kiku happily watched as Tama recovered thanks to the herbs. Where after finishing bandaging Zoro, she thanked him and Luffy for interrupting Urashima's proposal; where he also formally introduced himself to the two. When Tsuru got angry at Tama for refusing her food, Kiku asked Tama to accept it to calm her down. Once Tama had eaten and fallen asleep, she sat next to her while Tsurujo told Luffy and Zoro about the situation in the country. But suddenly, Gifter Batman arrived and shot an arrow at Tsurujo, although he was stopped by Zoro. When Kiku approached her to check on him, Batman continued shooting arrows at them, which were also deflected by Zoro. At that moment, Gazelleman took Tama away. Therefore, Kiku grabbed her katana and climbed onto Komachiyo, accompanied by Luffy and Zoro. Seeing that they were heading to Bakura Town, Kiku took out a notebook and informed the two pirates about the Shinuchi and the 30 Gifters who lived there.
Once at the gates of the Bakura Town, Kiku warned them that it was a territory inhabited by government officials of the country and pirates into which they were entering. However, both Zoro and Luffy were excited, leaving her somewhat bewildered.
Once they entered, Kiku had to stop Luffy from announcing his mission to rescue Tama. When some guards guarding the door approached them, Luffy knocked them out with his haki, leaving Kiku somewhat surprised. As they continued, she told Luffy and Zoro the history of the city when it was occupied by Orochi for the past twenty years. Suddenly, a defeated sumo wrestler was thrown towards them, but Luffy caught him with one hand. They quickly came across the sumo ring where Urashima was competing, who was delighted that Kiku had come. Despite trying to hide behind Zoro, she was carried by the yokozuna's men to the ring. As the audience began to mock her, Kiku heard Urashirma degrading them all as vulgar commoners. Therefore, she responded by cutting off his topknot, saying the only vulgar thing was his heart.
Urashima then became furious, while Kiku felt a little nervous when he noticed what he had done in front of so many people. Despite trying to apologize, she was going to be attacked by Urashima, until Luffy stopped the latter's attack. When the pirate was about to fall from the ring, Kiku encouraged him to continue. Right there, she witnessed Luffy preparing to fight Urashima, who still wanted to hurt her. When the first managed to defeat the yokozuna, Kiku was surprised. However, some of Shinuchi Holed'em's subordinates tried to stop them, so she, Luffy, and Zoro confronted them to go save Tama. Hearing Luffy call out to him, the three saw Holed'em on top of a building with Tama as a hostage. Here the Shinuchi, who accused the three of destroying her house, threatened to kill the girl if they did anything.
After Holed'em accused him of being part of Shutenmaru's bandits, Kiku advised Luffy and Zoro to avoid having any more fun, otherwise he would attract the wrath of All-Star Jack, who would control all of Kuri. When the pirates stopped to talk about the latter and believed him dead, they reported that Jack had survived the accident at sea and that he had recently been seen in the city. Speed also arrived there with a cart of clean food from the city, where Kiku was confused when Luffy and Zoro planned to steal it and save Tama. She was then kidnapped by Holed'em's subordinates, who decided to execute her. However, while Luffy was in charge of saving Tama, Komachiyo saved Kiku. When she and Zoro managed to take the supply cart, she would watch as Luffy defeated Ho'ldem. 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.
Shortly after, Law took Luffy and Zoro to the ruins of Oden Castle, and Kiku accompanied them to see what they intended to do there. When they reached the ruins, Kiku became excited and dismounted from Komachiyo. However, she then saw Kin'emon meeting Law and Luffy, so she hugged him excitedly. After Kin'emon explained that the two pirates were the allies they were looking for, Kikunojo was happy to reunite with Momonosuke, who was accompanied by the group that sailed to Wano with Luffy. When she entered the ruins with everyone, she sat with Momonosuek and Kin'emon, where the latter revealed to Luffy's group that the three of them had been coming for 20 years. After Kin'emon told them some things about the past and what her group did when they arrived in the present, she listened to him tell what the Alliance's plan: that it would be to collect information for two weeks; and then finish off Kaidou during the Fire Festival in Onigashima.
Later, she explained to Luffy's group about the Fire Festival. Where Kiku would later be courted by Sanji, who claimed to want to compete for her affections against Kin'emon. When the latter wanted to explain that she had a wife, Kiku revealed that she had already met Tsurujo and that she was fine. Afterwards, Kin'emon also told the pirates about the symbol to find the allies they had in the country, and then gave them certain roles to play in the plan. They were joined right there by Shinobu, who was going to guide Luffy's group. Suddenly, Law alerted everyone to Kaidou, who was in his dragon form flying over Kuri.
As they watched the Emperor in terror, Kikunojo and Shinobu were surprised to see Momonosuke as a dragon. Law then explained to them that he, Luffy, and Zoro had already been exposed, so Kaido was there to eliminate Law and Luffy. When the latter went to confront Kaido, Law followed him and told the others to stay so as not to ruin the mission. However, Kiku and Kin'emon also went to Okobore Town to help Tsurujo. When Kaido destroyed Oden Castle with a blast of fire, Kiku went to see if the others were okay. Upon arriving, she was relieved to discover that everyone had been saved by Shinobu with her Devil Fruit power. Where she then decided to tell the entire group about the current situation in Wano.
Later, Kikunojo went with Kin'emon, Momonosuke, and Inuarashi to Mt. Atama to recruit Ashura Doji. However, Ashura refused to rejoin them and clashed with Inuarashi. Kikunojo expressed her disappointment with him, but Ashura said the Kouzuki 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.
The next morning they took her to Okobore Town so that Tsurujo could feed her. Although Chopper was worried about the Emperor regaining her memories, he eventually convinced her to accompany them to Udon. The group then traveled there on a wanizame tamed by Big Mom, where Tenguyama Hitetsu called for Tama to return, but Kiku assured him that she would supervise the expedition. To then explain to Big Mom how far Udon was by showing her a map of all of Wano. Here she heard Momonosuke shout "Sunacchi" while he practiced his swordsmanship, so Kiku reprimanded him, saying that it was inappropriate for someone of his status to say it. During the trip, Kiku overheard Tama and Big Mom talking about Oshiruko, where she commented on how much the latter liked her. After night fell, the group finally arrived at Udon.
Arriving at the Prisoner Mine after a day, Big Mom destroyed the doors upon smelling oshiroku, leaving Kikunojo surprised. She then told Momonosuke and Tama to hide while she and Chopper fled to save Luffy. Before entering, Kikunojo explained to Chopper that he had to be careful with the All-Star Queen, who ran the prison. After which the two entered, witnessing how Big Mom managed to knock the latter down with one of her hands, leaving her surprised. After the Emperor defeated Queen and destroyed part of Udon, Kikunojo witnessed Luffy, because the latter had eaten the oshiruko. She then heard Big Mom declare that the oshiruko was going to be shared with the people of Okobore. After seeing the Emperor send Luffy flying, the latter continued to be chased by her. However, Queen managed to knock out Big Mom and took her to Onigashima.
Although Kiku wanted to help Big Mom, Chopper told him to forget her and that Luffy had to be helped. When the latter was restrained by the other prisoners, Kikunojo heard Kawatmasu's laughter from one of the cells, where the guards were going to kill him, so she ran to help him. However, Raizo appeared and helped Kawatmasu, giving him the keys to his handcuffs and his sword. When the latter managed to defeat his enemies, Kiku was relieved and then reunited with him and Raizo. When the three went to help Luffy get out of the prisoners, Hyougoro asked the samurai to reveal their identity to give everyone hope. Therefore, Kiku then put on her mask and prepared to fight alongside Kawamatsu, Hyougoro, Luffy, and Chopper. Furthermore, when the two pirates discovered that he was a man, she told them that she was a woman at heart, and then told the prison director, Babanuki, to silence him.
After defeating several of the guards, the group is attacked by the Mummy virus-infected prisoners and others whom Babanuki ordered to attack them. Here she hears one of the infected prisoners beg them to leave and blames them for what is happening, telling them that they could never defeat Kaido even if they were The Scabbards. Kikunojo later witnessed Luffy detaining the infected prisoners, where the pirate attempted to convince them to help him fight the Beast Pirates. However, Babanuki was about to attack them with a bomb, but Luffy avoided it, causing the bomb to explode inside Shinuichi's body. In the aftermath, Kiku, Raizo, and Kawamatsu had difficulty getting the prisoners to fully accept that the Kouzuki Family had returned, but they started believing again once Momonosuke entered their presence.
The next day, after Tama tamed Babanuki with her powers, Kikunojo saw how he informed Queen that everything was fine in the prison. Before leaving Udon, she recovered the Nidai Kitetsu, the sword that was confiscated from Luffy.
Two days later, she met with his allies at Amigasa Village to discuss strategy for the final battle. While there, Kikunojo and her fellow Scabbards were delighted to learn from Kawamatsu that Hiyori was still alive. She then handed the Nidai Kitetsu to Hitetsu, who then showed the swords Enma and Ame no Habakiri to everyone present. After Zoro chose the Enma sword, Kikunojo watched as the pirate used the weapon's power. 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.
But the next day, the group arrived at Tokage Port to find that none of their allies had arrived and that the ships in the harbor had been destroyed. Then Kin'emon tried to contact some of the allies without success, so everyone began to despair. However, Inuarashi found a small rowboat, so the Scabbards are determined to make one last effort to avenge Oden, despite Momonosuke's pleas. So they left the latter with Shinobu, while they set sail on the ship towards Onigashima with no intention of surrendering.
As they rowed through the stormy waters, Kin'emon told his companions about the possibility that there was a spy among them but that he preferred to ignore it. At this, Kiku shouted that they must find the spy immediately to kill him and continue. In response, Kanjuro admitted to being the spy and that he was a member of the Kurozumi family, revealing his true motives and feelings, leaving Kikunojo sad. The Scabbards then found themselves facing three Beast Pirates battleships, where they witnessed Kin'emon defeat Kanjuro. However, they discovered that the latter had sent a clone that he drew to his ship, while the real one stayed behind and captured Momonosuke. Suddenly, the Heart Pirates appeared and put the samurai ship on their submarine, where the Straw Hats and Kid Pirates then arrived to help against the enemy ships. Shortly after, the Kyoshiro Family ship arrived, where they watched as the leader Kyoshiro destroyed one of the enemy ships. Where later they were surprised when he promised them his support; discovering that it was Denjiro. The latter revealed to them that Yasuie's altered message had actually ordered the alliance to go to the Habu Port dock and therefore the Beast Pirates' attack on Tokage Port was in vain, where he also told them that there was brought a total of 1,200 samurai.
When Kin'emon told them that he might not survive the attack, Kikunojo along with the others told him not to let him die alone. At that moment, they saw how Kanjuro kidnapped Momonosuke in a crane that he dragged towards Onigashima, where the latter declared to the entire alliance that they must continue without him. After thanking Law for helping them, they watched as the Beasts Pirates' last ship began attacking them with long-range cannons, however, it was destroyed by Jinbe, who had arrived to join the Straw Hats.
Later, when Shishilian and Hyougoro boarded the submarine, the samurai met to discuss the alliance plan. When the first plan that Kin'emon proposed was not accepted, they followed Law's plan: while the Straw Hats and Kid Pirates led a frontal assault on the main entrance, the Scabbards would sail the Polar Tang to the back entrance; where Law then will use his powers to take them to the island. After Kin'emon and Denjiro established that they would separate from the rest, Kikunojo and his companions watched as the Straw Hats had defeated the guards of the torii gates. Where they then prepared to begin their attack towards Onigashima.
After separating from Kin'emon and Denjiro, she and the rest of the Scabbards and Heart Pirates dove underwater to the back of the island. 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 hugged him crying.
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; where she along with her companions managed to hurt him. When they landed on the lower deck, Kaidou stood up again and taunted the samurai for siding with the pirates.
Hearing Luffy's challenge, Kaidou transformed into his dragon form and flew to the roof of the Skull Dome, with samurai grabbing onto him. Upon arriving, Kaido told the group that he plans to fight everyone like he did about twenty years ago; except that Oden is no longer with them. When Nekomamushi declared that he will be different, many of the minks appeared. Jack and a squad went up to the roof to help Kaidou. Here the Guardians and Musketeers transformed into sulong, to face the enemy. However, the minks began to get outmatched, so both Nekomamushi and Inuarashu transform into sulong and attack Jack. When the latter and his forces are defeated, Kaido intervened and decided to defeat all the samurai alone. To which the Emperor tried to burn them with his fire breath, but Kin'emon cut him off. Where then she along with her companions declared that they are ready to die, but they will take Kaidou with them.
The latter then roared lightning at them, where Kikunojo along with Nekomamushi, Kawamatsu, Inuarashi and Izou were responsible for injuring the Emperor. After Raizo reflected Kaidou's Bolo Breath, Kin'emon, Ashura, Denjiro, and Inuarashi struck Kaidou's scar with Oden's Two Sword Style. When the Emperor fell to the ground, everyone wanted to give him the final blow; however, Kaido stood up and told them that although he saw Oden's spirit, they could never defeat him like he did. Where he then retaliated with a roar that created slashing wind scythes in the air, one of which broke Kikunojo's sword and severed her left arm. Her brother then held her while Kin'emon cauterized her wound and asked if she could continue. After she confirmed it and took another sword, Kaido praised them all for their determination and then returned to his human form to put an end to this. Continuing the battle, Kaidou began overwhelming the samurai, and later incapacitated them.
When Luffy's group later arrived at the roof, the latter asked Law to teleport the Scabbards to safety. They were placed in the treasure room on the second floor, where a mysterious person was tending to them.
They later recovered, but the mysterious figure was already gone. When they were ready to continue the battle, someone entered the room; which turned out to be Kouzuki Oden himself, who happily greeted his former retainers, where they were astonished to see him. Their lord told them that he had traveled back in time thanks to Toki's powers and now it was time to finish off Kaido. Although Kikunojo like the rest was very happy, Ashura and Raizo told everyone that the Oden they saw was fake. There Ashura pushed Kin'emon, who was about to be attacked by "Oden", and proved to everyone that it was fake when he didn't bleed from attacking him, where he was later stabbed by the impostor. Since the only one capable of imitating Oden perfectly was one of them, it was then revealed that it was a drawing by Kanjuro, for which she apologized to Ashura for not being able to kill the latter, where he forgave her. Kanjuro then told them that he controlled the drawing from a distance and that he was going to kill Momonosuke before succumbing to his mortal wounds. At that moment, the drawing ignited a large amount of dynamite; but Ashura Doji dragged him out of the room before it exploded, sacrificing himself to save his comrades. Kikunojo and his companions went after Kanjuro, but ran into Jack again; so Inuarashi stayed behind to fight him.
thumb|left|210px|The Scabbards decapitate Orochi.
As they ran through the fortress, they encountered Orochi and Fukurokuju. After mocking them for Kanjuro's betrayal, Orochi transformed into his Yamata no Orochi form to confront them all upon seeing how injured they were, but Kikunojo, along with her companions, quickly decapitated their multiple heads at once. They continued on, with Raizo staying behind to fight Fukurokuju.
Later, Izou asked Kikunojo if she could continue with her amputated arm, to which she jokingly replied that it was nothing more than an itch compared to the pain she felt when he left her in Wano. Izou then apologized for abandoning her without saying anything. At that moment, Kin'emon told them that he was going to protect Momonosuke in his name, seeing how the situation was getting worse, ordering his companions to help the alliance. However, Kikunojo asked Kin'emon to leave Kanjuro with her, promising that this time she would finish him off, so they both headed there.
Shortly after finding Momonosuke and Shinobu, another "Oden" suddenly appeared. Knowing that he was Kanjuro, Kikunojo revealed to Shinobu that he was an imposter; and then attacked the latter when she saw that he wanted to continue with that charade. When Kanjuro continued acting, she became even more angry as she remembered Ashura, yelling at him not to use her name with Oden's appearance. Before attacking him, the fake Oden reminded Kikunojo of how he took her and her brother in, causing her to hesitate enough to be stabbed in the abdomen by the imposter. When she internally apologized to Kin'emon for not being able to cut Kanjuro, he dispelled his disguise and mocked Kiku for also having a fatal wound like the one she had given him. When she was about to fall to the ground, Kin'emon rushed to catch her. Before losing consciousness, Kiku apologized to him and told him that the melting snow surely meant that "dawn" was approaching.
Once Usopp reached the two samurai, he defended them from the Beasts Pirates present. When both Kikunojo and Kin'emon wanted Usopp to simply take one and leave the other behind, the pirate shared his survival beliefs and tried to survive no matter the cost or what others thought of it, leaving the two shocked. Suddenly, Izou appeared and helped Usopp, shooting the remaining enemies. When Kikunojo tried to talk to her brother, he told her not to talk because of her injuries and that they would talk later. Right there, Izou told her and Kin'emon that they must survive if they truly believed in Luffy. Afterwards, Usopp and Hamlet took Kin'emon and Kikunojo respectively to safety, while Izou stayed behind to stop the enemies.
When Nekomamushi announced that Luffy had defeated Kaido and Momonosuke managed to break Onigashima's fall, Usopp brought Kikunojo and Kin'emon's bodies to Chopper for treatment. Shortly afterward, when an underwater volcano off the coast of Udon erupted, all of the Scabbards accompanied Hiyori to Flower Capital; where Kikunojo had to be helped by Nekomamushi. After Momonosuke announced to the citizens about the end of Kaido's rule, the samurai appeared before them with Denjiro announcing the arrival of the new shogun of Wano. As the citizens broadcast the return of the Nine Red Scabbards to the entire country, the retainers knelt before Momonosuke. When the latter broadcast his speech to all of Wano and proclaimed himself the new shogun, Kikunojo began to cry with joy. She then entered the shogun's castle with the others.
A week later, Kikunojo was present at the castle when Luffy and Zoro woke up, where they then began to celebrate with a banquet. When Yamato told Nami that there are no mixed baths, Kikunojo asked to join the girls, so she left with them. Here she talked to Hiyori about how she often went with Oden and the others, but she felt embarrassed around men. She later joined the festival celebration in the Flower Capital.
Kikunojo then returned to the shogun's castle, where she worried about Raizo and Shinobu, who were being treated by Tristan and Miyagi due to Admiral Ryokugyu's power. There she heard Kin'emon apologize for not having been present during the attack, because he was in Kuri with Tsuru. Then later, Kikunojo heard him say that Tsuru was still just as beautiful even after so many years, for which she congratulated him. Later, along with some of her fellow Scabbards, she was present when Tenguyama revealed that he is actually Kouzuki Sukiyaki. However, all the servants (except Kin'emon) confirmed that they already knew his identity before. Therefore, Sukiyaki asked them not to reveal his identity to anyone, saying that he wants them to forge the new era, to which they agreed. Days later, Kikunojo and the others (except Kin'emon and Momonosuke) said goodbye to the Straw Hats in the morning. She later accompanied the others to the Flower Capital with Momonosuke as the new shogun was look a place to hang the Straw Hats' Jolly Roger.
==Major Battles==
*Kouzuki 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, Hyougoro, 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, 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
==Merchandise==
===Video Games===
====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!!
==Translation and Dub Issues==
===Woman at Heart===
In Chapter 948, when Monkey D. Luffy and Tony Tony Chopper learn that Kikunojo was assigned male at birth, Kiku responds that she is a . 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, Kiku asks to bathe with the other women in the shogun castle's bath 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.
*Kikunojo's 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). 
*In the 7th fan poll of most popular characters, Kikunojo was ranked 47th, making her the most popular member of the Nine Scabbards.
*The in Kikunojo's 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, Kikunojo 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 Kouzuki Oden's main retainers.
*Kikunojo's animal resemblance is a ferret.
*Kikunojo's hobby is aromatherapy.
==References==
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