During this time, the entire Wano Country fell into a prolonged war.
Kozuki Oden was intentionally letting this war drag on because he wanted to gain darkness and evil from this chaotic conflict. When people were almost despairing due to this endless fighting, he would then appear like a god and gain everyone's worship at that moment.
Darkness and worship, this is the source of Kozuki Oden's power.
If he could gain these two types of power from a war, why wouldn't he?
What he wanted was not ordinary darkness and worship, but extreme despair and worshipful faith from people at their lowest point. Therefore, only by suppressing people to the extreme and then 'saving' them from the dark abyss could this be achieved.
So, after he struck down the Kurozumi clan's rebel army like thunder, he stopped.
His attack inflicted heavy damage on the rebel army, but his cruel methods further angered the people. Although there were still battles in various parts of Wano Country, more and more people were moving towards Ringo.
The Shimotsuki Ushimaru's rebel army was originally the second most powerful force after the Kurozumi clan. After the Kurozumi clan was destroyed, he naturally became the leader of the rebel army. In a very short period, he was almost about to capture Ringo.
During this time, Kenshin, following Shimotsuki Ushimaru's orders, continuously assassinated various politicians and retainers of the Kozuki family. For a while, the Shimotsuki clan in Ringo was in a state of collapse.
And Himura Kenshin, because of his overwhelming strength and the fact that he could end battles with almost just one sword strike against anyone, people only saw the moment he drew his sword before the enemy's head fell. Thus, he was given the title 'Executioner Battōsai'.
Let alone the samurai and officials of the Kozuki clan, even the rebel army was terrified of him.
And as the war reached its peak, Kozuki Oden sent his Shadow Army to join the battle.
Earlier, it was said that Kozuki Oden gained darkness, despair, terror, and worship from this war. In reality, those who died in this war also became his subordinates.
The shadows of the dead would turn into Kozuki Oden's Shadow Army. They knew no fatigue, feared no death, and would loyally carry out the orders given by Kozuki Oden.
During this time, Kozuki Oden also successfully developed a method to make the Shadow Army more intelligent. He used his power to create eight masks, and he placed these eight masks on his eight former retainers.
Thus, these eight became like some kind of avatars for Kozuki Oden. They would gain sufficient intelligence, and they would lead the lower-ranking Shadow Army.
Kozuki Oden called these eight people his generals, and after wearing these masks, his eight generals became even stronger.
With the participation of the Shadow Army, the Ringo Daimyo, who was previously in a state of collapse, suddenly counterattacked, and the rebel army led by Shimotsuki Ushimaru was once again defeated.
However, it was at this time that a new person arrived and sought out Shimotsuki Ushimaru.
"Yuri... sir?"
At the headquarters of the Shimotsuki rebel army, Shimotsuki Ushimaru met a man dressed in a peculiar way.
This man wore a thin layer of armor, giving his surface a metallic sheen. His eyes seemed to contain some kind of divine aura, captivating.
"General Shimotsuki Ushimaru, we finally meet," the man called Yuri said naturally, sitting on a chair.
"It seems you have seriously considered my previous proposal."
Not long before, Shimotsuki Ushimaru had received a letter from this man named Yuri.
It stated that he could help with a coup in Wano Country and that if they needed him, they could go to the vicinity of Hakumai's Jinbu Port.
At first, Shimotsuki Ushimaru had scoffed at it, but after the successive defeats during this period, he had to consider the proposal.
Finally, he decided to bring some of his subordinates to Jinbu Port.
And Hakumai was actually also within his sphere of influence.
Currently, his Shimotsuki rebel army occupied three-quarters of Ringo and more than half of Hakumai's land. If not for the sudden appearance of the Shadow Army during this time, he was sure he would have already taken these two regions.
Then his army could directly attack Hanakado. Unfortunately, this final step was as difficult as reaching heaven. Even with Kenshin's help, a frontal assault would be difficult.
No matter how strong Kenshin was, he couldn't truly face an entire army by himself, especially since the Shadow Army could not die!
They were just shadows to begin with. Even if they died, they would just return to the shadow realm and reappear again sooner or later. Facing such an immortal army was too troublesome.
Therefore, Shimotsuki Ushimaru decided to see what abilities Yuri possessed.
Going to Jinbu Port carried some risk, but it was not a great one.
If they could indeed get some help, it would be the best possible outcome.
"Don't misunderstand," Shimotsuki Ushimaru said. "Until I know what help you provide, I won't make any promises to you."
"Don't worry," Yuri smiled faintly. "Our help will definitely satisfy you."
He slowly stood up and said to Shimotsuki Ushimaru and the few people he brought with him, "Please follow me."
Yuri walked out very confidently.
He was also a superpowered person created by Genichi using the Human Maker. In the past few years, Genichi had not only been training the superpowers of Sengoku and others on Pandora Island, but his superpowered army was also undergoing a second production.
Yuri walked out slowly, leading Shimotsuki Ushimaru and the others to a spacious area.
Because various places in Wano Country were in turmoil, some areas became very sparsely populated. Jinbu Port in Hakumai was such a place.
"This is..."
Shimotsuki Ushimaru said in surprise.
He followed Yuri into a huge training ground.
This training ground was as large as several towns. It was also surrounded by strong city walls, which looked like they had been recently built.
Theoretically, such a massive project could not have been completed silently, even if no one was paying attention here. Yet, such a training ground had truly appeared before him.
"This is my army and the weapons of my soldiers."
Then, something even more surprising happened. Yuri took him to a guard at the gate. Upon seeing Yuri, the guard immediately saluted seriously.
Shimotsuki Ushimaru noticed that the guard's strength was probably not very high, but he carried some very strange weapons.
This...
Is this the weapon called a gun from the outside world?
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