Chapter 175: The Jester's Final Act
The chaotic sound of calculations whirred frantically within the confines of Kurozumi Orochi's mind, clattering louder than the frantic pounding of his own heart.
It doesn't matter who they are, Orochi thought, the gears of deceit grinding sparks in his desperate consciousness.
Sweat trickled down his trembling spine, soaking his expensive silk undergarments, freezing against his skin.
They are outsiders.
Foreigners.
They don't know the intricacies of Wano's politics. They don't know the history. They need legitimacy to rule.
His eyes darted back and forth, strictly avoiding Suzaku's penetrating gaze, looking at the floorboards as if searching for a script he had memorized long ago.
As long as I blame everything on Kaido—that brute, that unstoppable monster—and portray myself as an innocent puppet forced to dance to his tune... surely, surely I can survive this. It worked before. I fooled the Daimyos. I fooled Sukiyaki. I even fooled that naive fool Oden for five years!
A spark of delusional hope ignited in his chest, fueled by his own arrogance.
Even if this group is just another version of the Beasts Pirates, invaders looking for weapons and Seastone, they would still need a local collaborator to control the populace. Who knows Wano better than me? Who holds the network of spies and officials? Me!
His breathing hitched, turning into a ragged wheeze as his mind raced through the scenarios.
If they aren't here to stay, that would be even better! As long as they defeat Kaido and leave, wouldn't Wano Country still belong to me? I can just rebuild. I can just lie again. I am the Shogun! I am Orochi! I always survive!
He wailed louder, forcing thick tears from his eyes, groveling on the floor like a wronged child, his forehead pressing against the tatami mats until it bruised.
"Oh, the tragedy! The suffering I have endured under that tyrant! Please, believe me!" he sobbed, his voice cracking with practiced sorrow, a performance honed over decades of betrayal.
However, Suzaku just stood there.
He didn't offer a hand. He didn't speak words of comfort. He stood with his arms crossed, his coat hanging loosely over his shoulders, listening quietly to this pathetic performance. His expression was unreadable, a mask of calm judgment that unnerved Orochi more than any weapon.
Time seemed to stretch agonizingly. Orochi cried until his throat was raw, until he was almost out of breath from his fake sobbing, waiting for a reaction that never came. The silence from the group above him was suffocating, heavier than the air pressure before a storm.
Finally, Suzaku chuckled softly.
The sound was low, devoid of humor, and sharp enough to cut through the humid air of the banquet hall. It instantly shattered the illusion Orochi was trying so desperately to weave.
"Are you done performing?"
Suzaku's voice wasn't loud, but it struck Orochi's heart like a heavy hammer against a fragile gong. The sobbing stopped instantly. The room fell silent, save for the wind whistling through the open corridors.
"We're not interested in how much your heart supposedly aches. Your tears are as empty as your promises."
Suzaku looked down at him, his eyes narrowing with a cold, piercing mockery that stripped Orochi of his Shogun title, leaving only the cowardly snake underneath exposed to the light.
"I ask you, Kurozumi Orochi... answer me this."
Suzaku took a slow, deliberate step forward, his shadow looming over the prostrate man like a dark cloud.
"Why did the rivers in Kuri, Hakumai, and Udon turn into poisonous sludge? Why is the water purple and undrinkable, causing the skin of children to rot if they touch it? Who signed the orders for the construction of the weapon factories that now mar the landscape of this sacred country, pumping black smoke into the lungs of your people?"
Orochi flinched with each question as if he were being whipped physically.
"Now you want to clear your name with a simple 'it's all Kaido's fault'?"
At this point, Suzaku paused. He tilted his head slightly, the curve of his lips becoming even more mocking, almost cruel in its precision.
"Who do you take us for? Do you think we are that fool, Kozuki Oden? Do you think we are naive idealists who can be tricked into dancing naked in the streets for five years by a few sweet words and empty promises from a snake like you? Do you think we believe in 'contracts' with devils?"
Orochi froze. His breath hitched in his throat. His blood ran cold, turning to ice in his veins.
"Everything that happened in this country... the betrayal of the Kozuki, the execution in the boiling oil, the starvation of the masses, the Smile fruits... we know it all!"
The last four words, like four thunderclaps, exploded in Orochi's mind!
Impossible!
His face instantly transformed. The color drained from his cheeks, turning from a flushed red to a sickly white, then to a nauseous green, and finally settling on the deathly gray of a condemned man.
It's over! They know! They aren't ignorant foreigners! They came here knowing exactly who I am! My acting... it was useless from the start!
Seeing his disguise torn to shreds and his last shred of hope vanish into smoke, the fear in Orochi's eyes was instantly replaced by a flash of furious, cornered malevolence. The mask of the victim fell away, revealing the monster underneath.
He suddenly leaped up from the ground, abandoning all pretense of weakness. He scrambled backward, screaming hysterically, his voice cracking with madness and saliva flying from his mouth.
"Guards! Samurai! Protect me!"
He pointed a trembling finger at Suzaku, his eyes bulging.
"Kill them! Kill these invaders! Don't let a single one live! Slice them into pieces!"
The sharp, high-pitched cry pierced the tranquility of the Flower Capital's Generals Mansion. It echoed off the gilded walls and painted ceilings, a signal of doom.
From the surrounding pavilions, hidden rooms, and connecting corridors, a dense sound of chaos erupted.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The heavy thud of wooden clogs and armored boots on floorboards sounded like a sudden thunderstorm.
Countless samurai loyal to the Shogun—the Mimawarigumi and the elite guards—holding gleaming swords, spears, and rifles, surged out like a tide. They flooded the courtyard, blocking every exit, surrounding the small group with palpable murderous intent. There were hundreds of them, a sea of blades and angry faces, shouting war cries to mask their own fear.
At the same time he issued the command, Orochi, holding up his falling pants with one hand, scrambled towards the back door of the banquet hall without looking back. He scurried like a rat, preparing to make a quick escape while his men died for him!
Let them fight! I just need to get to the secret passage! As long as I survive, I can return!
Orochi's scream was his last shred of 'General's' dignity, and the ultimate manifestation of his cowardly bluster.
However, Suzaku didn't even need to give an order. He didn't even twitch. He stood amidst the encircling enemies as if he were standing in his own garden, observing insects.
That cry of "Kill them!" was the signal his companions had been waiting for.
Esdeath, who had long been fed up with this hypocritical farce, curved her lips into a bloodthirsty sneer. She adjusted her general's cap, her ice-blue eyes glowing with a terrifying light.
"Finally," she whispered, her hand resting on her rapier. "The boring talk is over."
And Nekomamushi's eyes burst forth with vengeful ferocity. The massive cat Mink, who had waited twenty years for this moment, roared. His fur bristled with static electricity, sparking blue in the air.
"For Oden-sama! For Wano! Die, scum!"
"Finally, we can act!"
An icy blue afterimage and a dozen furry figures shot out almost simultaneously like arrows released from a taut bow!
The battle—if it could be called that—began and ended in the same breath.
Orochi only felt a blur before his eyes as he reached for the gilded door handle. He was inches away from freedom.
Then, a terrifying chill that froze his very soul instantly locked down the escape route.
"Crackle... snap!"
That magnificent door, crafted from precious wood and gold leaf, wide enough for several people to walk side-by-side, along with the surrounding walls, was completely sealed in the blink of an eye.
A thick layer of solid, impenetrable ice covered it, growing like aggressive vines. It emitted a faint blue glow and chilled the air to sub-zero temperatures instantly, sealing the exit shut.
"Eeeek!"
Orochi recoiled, his fingers burning from the cold. He turned his head in horror, his back pressed against the frozen door, trapped.
And then he saw a sight that made his blood run cold.
In the courtyard, there was not a single samurai left standing.
This so-called "encirclement" didn't even last three seconds from beginning to end.
Those elite Generals Mansion guards, the pride of the Shogunate, who had been full of murderous intent moments ago, had now turned into scattered "art pieces" of death.
Some were frozen into lifelike ice sculptures by Esdeath. Their faces were still contorted in a ferocious charge, swords raised high but never brought down. The ice preserved their final moment of terror perfectly, trapping them in an eternal prism. You could see the veins in their necks, the sweat on their brows, all suspended in crystal.
Others lay on the ground, defeated by the Mink warriors. They were covered in claw marks so deep that bone was visible. Their weapons were shattered, and their bodies twitched with the residual effects of Electro. Their mouths were wide open, silent screams etched onto their faces.
The entire process occurred without even a proper scream being uttered. It was a silent, efficient slaughter that defied logic.
Dead silence.
Absolute, suffocating dead silence reigned in the courtyard, broken only by the sound of Orochi's hyperventilating breath.
Seeing his last reliance crumble like paper in an instant, and his only escape route blocked by a wall of magical ice, Orochi's fear and despair finally transformed into hysterical madness.
His mind snapped.
"Bastards... bastards!"
He clawed at his face, drawing blood, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.
"You monsters!!!"
Orochi let out an inhuman roar. The survival instinct of the Mythical Zoan took over.
Riiip! Tear!
His body began to swell, twist, and deform in a manner that defied physical common sense!
His luxurious, gold-embroidered kimono ripped open at the seams as his bulk expanded rapidly. Hard, purple scales grew rapidly beneath his skin, pushing through the flesh with a wet, tearing sound.
His neck elongated and split, branching out like a grotesque tree of flesh and muscle. One head became two, two became four, four became eight! The sound of bones cracking and reshaping echoed sickeningly in the courtyard.
In an instant, the comical jester disappeared.
In his place stood a giant, purple serpent with eight hideous snake heads!
The massive body coiled in the center of the courtyard, crushing the stone tiles and smashing the wooden verandas with its sheer weight. Dust and debris filled the air. Eight pairs of crimson vertical pupils locked onto Suzaku and his group. As its sixteen forked tongues flickered, tasting the air, it exuded a nauseating, fishy stench of saliva and rot that filled the courtyard.
Mythical Zoan Type: Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Yamata no Orochi!
This was Orochi's greatest trump card, the mythical power that fueled his ego and allowed him to rule through fear alongside Kaido!
"Roar...!!!"
The eight snake heads simultaneously opened their gaping jaws, revealing rows of sharp, venomous fangs dripping with slime. They let out deafening roars that shook the roof tiles, causing snow and dust to fall like rain.
The beast lunged at the group from eight distinctly different attack angles!
The momentum seemed as if it would swallow the heavens and earth! The sheer size of the beast cast a massive shadow over the courtyard, blotting out the sun.
Facing such ferocity, Esdeath was not alarmed. She didn't flinch. Instead, she looked delighted.
"Oh? That's finally somewhat interesting."
She licked her lips, a hint of trivial interest finally igniting in her azure eyes. This was better than the weak samurai. This was something she could actually hunt.
At the moment the eight snake heads were about to reach them, snapping their jaws shut to devour the intruders...
Her figure flickered.
She transformed into an icy blue streak of light. Instead of retreating, she advanced, charging directly towards one of the largest, most central snake heads!
"Come on, let me get a good warm-up!"
She drew her rapier. The sound of the blade leaving the sheath was a singular, pure note in the chaotic noise.
A blade honed to its extreme cut through the air, too fast for the naked eye to catch!
Shing!
"Pfft!"
The sound of flesh being severed echoed wetly.
Before Orochi himself could even react to her speed, before his brain could register the pain, a massive snake head had already shot into the sky, severed cleanly from its neck.
The blood gushing from the severed stump was frozen into countless crimson ice crystals in mid-air by the extreme cold radiating from Esdeath. They sparkled like rubies in the sunlight before shattering on the ground with the sound of breaking glass.
And then... there was no 'then'.
The colossal and formidable Yamata no Orochi, after losing just one head, suddenly stiffened.
The neural shock overwhelmed the beast. The other seven heads went limp, their eyes rolling back. The massive body crashed to the ground with a loud, earth-shaking "boom," motionless, as if it had instantly dropped dead from shock.
"…"
Silence once again fell over the courtyard. The dust settled slowly.
Esdeath slowly landed on the snake's back, her boots clicking on the purple scales. She disdainfully flicked her pristine blade to clear a speck of imaginary blood, pouting. Her azure eyes were filled with undisguised disappointment and contempt.
"That's it?"
She looked at the huge snake corpse on the ground as if it were trash. She kicked a scale with her white boot.
"I expected more. After transforming and making such a big show, screaming and roaring... I thought it would at least let me stretch my muscles a bit... Turns out it's just for show. Truly... it's an insult to the title of 'General' of this country. Weakness is a sin."
She sheathed her sword with a click, turning her back on the beast, dismissing it completely.
However, Suzaku watched this scene with a knowing smile, as if everything was under his control. He didn't relax his posture. He knew the lore of this world better than anyone.
He walked over to where Esdeath stood, patted her shoulder gently, and said leisurely, "Don't be fooled by him, Esdeath. This guy isn't dead yet."
"Huh?"
Everyone, including Nami and the Minks, looked confused at his words. The snake was clearly not moving. Its breathing had stopped.
Suzaku pointed at the limp 'corpse', like a professor explaining a biological specimen. He smiled as he explained the terrifying reality to everyone.
"His Devil Fruit is the extremely rare Mythical Zoan Type—Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Yamata no Orochi! Just like in the legends, eight heads mean eight lives. Until all his heads are cut off simultaneously or consecutively, exhausting his extra lives, he can spring back to life at any moment."
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