Daimyo of Hakumai, Shimotsuki Yasuie

More than twenty-five years back, Yasuie kept his samurai standing watch over Hakumai, the sole port through which Wano legally touched the outside world. A lingering Oden shrugged off his exiled father Sukiyaki and joked that Yasuie stood the better chance of becoming shogun. Yasuie struck him, arguing that only Oden could steer the Kouzuki forward and that he must first grow into a true samurai, even as Oden yearned to break free of the closed nation and sail.

Back in the present, Wano's people are overjoyed to find Yasuie alive, yet Orochi's soldiers jeer and promise he will follow Komurasaki into death. Yasuie then discloses that he only impersonated Ushimitsu Kozo to earn a public stage, and the guards are rattled to realize the arrest never fit the real thief's usual pattern. As the enormous crowd swells, Ebisu Town's residents rush the capital gates to reach him, prompting Drake to warn that airing the execution could rebound badly.

Facing the mob, Yasuie hails the capital's splendor as the legacy of their forebears and the Kouzuki, blaming Orochi for spoiling it. He then falsely claims sole authorship of the Kouzuki message, calling it a petty joke to relieve his boredom in hiding, and recounts how he and three other daimyo spurned Orochi after Oden fell and were crushed by Kaidou. He adds the lie that the crescent moon symbol is merely an old fashion trend, rattling the guards who now doubt every arrest they made.

Once the procession reaches Rasetsu Town, Orochi demands final words. Yasuie intones the curse that shackles the shogun's heart, then laughs with pride at having dragged the rebels' scheme back to the starting line by passing a new rendezvous to the Rasetsu prisoners. Orochi and his men riddle him with shots until he collapses, dead. The Ebisu citizens laugh in torment, horrifying Zoro, until Hiyori holds him back and explains that the SMILE fruits have left them able to do nothing but grin.

Yasuie had once been rumored to become Wano's next shogun following Sukiyaki's death. He posed as Ushimitsu Kozo so Wano would listen, took false credit for the coded message to save the Rasetsu prisoners and relay a fresh meeting spot, and cast doubt on the crescent mark to undermine Orochi. The shogun executes him, and Hiyori reveals the SMILE fruits are why the Ebisu townsfolk can express only laughter. The cover asks for Mont-d'Or picking cheese while expert sommelier mice choose wine. Part of the Wano Country Arc.