Hitaki Family

Rooted in Yo within Wano Country, this powerful yet non-canon daimyo house first entered the setting by way of the One Piece x Kyoto collaboration. When the patriarch Hitaki died, authority over the family fell to his daughter Kikuhime, who carries its name today.

Only a small circle of figures linked to the house has been confirmed. Hitaki, daimyo of Yo, was its earlier head, and Kikuhime succeeds him. The ikebana instructor the clan brought in, Toratsugu, is presently pledged to marry Kikuhime. A prince called Lark had earlier been arranged as her betrothed, but that match came to nothing.

Betrayal lies at the heart of the family's past. The florist Toratsugu was engaged by Hitaki to school the household in flower arrangement, and across those lessons the teacher and Kikuhime grew fond of each other and pledged themselves to marry. A prince named Lark, from a bordering land, then killed Hitaki, framed Toratsugu for the deed, and had him imprisoned, claiming the position of Kikuhime's fiance for himself.

Later, ahead of the Straw Hat Pirates reaching Yo, a nue carried Kikuhime off, and Lark begged the crew to recover her. After they set her loose, the creature was unmasked as Toratsugu, who had escaped his cell and, half-starved, devoured a Devil Fruit that proved to grant the Nue form of a bird-model power. He then confessed everything to the crew, and together they hurried to free Kikuhime from Lark, whereupon he and Kikuhime became engaged a second time.