"Orochi!"
Kozuki Oden seemed to radiate fire from every pore. His anger had driven him completely beyond reason. If he had prioritized the bigger picture, he would have swallowed his pride, bided his time, and built his strength before seeking revenge.
But as a man, he could not simply turn tail and walk away.
His wife was likely still waiting for him. How could he do nothing?
If Ren had been in his position, he would not have sat idly either.
But Ren always operated with multiple layers of contingency. Look at Kuri, for example — he had set up so many safeguards that it was virtually impenetrable.
Even if Kaido seriously targeted Kuri, he would not have gotten away easily.
Besides, Orochi was supposed to be his own ally. If even one of those conditions had been different, Ren would never have allowed his own people to be put at risk. How could anyone be as reckless as Oden, leaving his loved ones completely exposed to danger?
But for Kozuki Oden, it was already too late for regrets.
He barreled forward, charging straight toward the capital city of the Flower Capital. He smashed through the guardrails in the city center and injured dozens of soldiers in the process.
The night, which had already grown quiet under curfew, erupted into panicked alert across the Flower Capital.
In the darkness, Shogunate soldiers carrying torches sprinted through the streets and alleys, trying to intercept or stop Oden's advance. Citizens huddled in their homes had no idea what was happening. They cowered and trembled in fear.
In truth, those still living inside the capital city of the Flower Capital were mostly people of relatively high status or wealth within Wano Country.
But before Orochi, even these people were nothing more than servants. He could have expelled all of them if he wished. However, the Flower Capital's lords ultimately needed a base of commoners to underscore their own superiority.
Without them, whenever Orochi's newly elevated nobles wanted to throw their weight around, they would have no one to lord it over.
Even in the Flower Capital, these people lived wretched lives. But as long as they kept their heads down and stayed out of the nobles' way, they could survive on their knees. Many had even developed a perverse sense of pride in their subservience.
After all, the privies of the grand Flower Capital were surely finer than some sprawling villa in backwater Ringo, weren't they? In the Flower Capital, even beggars could scrounge up an extra couple of liters of rice. It was the number-one spot in all of Wano for staging a shakedown!
Naturally, Kuri did not count.
If they could have moved to Kuri, they would not have been toiling away here like beasts of burden.
But Kuri was off-limits.
More than a decade ago, even before the scourges of Kaido and Orochi arrived, Kuri had already been hopelessly out of reach for ordinary folk. By the time Kaido transformed into Wano's "Guardian Deity" and he and Orochi began their tyrannical rule, Kuri had severed all trade relations with every other region outright.
Kuri had become Wano's own paradise — a land that countless people yearned to enter.
The citizens of the Flower Capital lived under Orochi's oppression while choking back tears over the picture books and story collections that had circulated years ago, tales of Kuri's legendary daimyo.
Speaking of which, even after leaving Wano Country, Yukiko had never stopped spreading stories of Ren's deeds.
That task had since been handed off to Yuriko. As the head of the Social Affairs Bureau, education fell under her jurisdiction.
Building up a cult of personality was right in her wheelhouse.
Even now, new books about the wonderful life in Kuri continued to trickle out into circulation.
Kurozumi Orochi naturally saw no reason to ban these books from spreading.
As for Kaido, he was completely clueless about such things. He was a Pirate — he could barely read as it was.
How could he possibly understand that cultural propagation worked through slow, subtle, and far-reaching influence?
The people of Wano Country could only envy the citizens of Kuri for having such a great and capable lord. They prayed that Kozuki Oden, who had yet to return from overseas, would one day come riding in on a cloud of colorful glory to save them all, so they too could live the happy, prosperous lives of the people of Kuri.
Kozuki Oden had indeed returned. Only he had not arrived on a cloud of colorful glory — he was wearing a different kind of green.
Oden charged forward at full speed, his sandals nearly flying off his feet. He fought his way to the front gates of the Shogun's Castle, only to be intercepted by one of the Seven Samurai — Kaito!
Kaito was clad in heavy armor. Unlike Kairanki, his armor was rather flamboyant. The garments beneath were embroidered with ornate patterns, and the engravings on the armor itself were exquisitely detailed.
He wore a mask over his face. His helmet featured a perfect crescent moon at the front, jutting upward like a pair of horns — except the two tips of the crescent were joined together.
"How interesting. Isn't this the criminal who attacked the Udon Quarry Prison?" The samurai called Kaito, though his face remained hidden, spoke in a thoroughly frivolous tone. It was an immediately dislikable personality.
"Get out of my way!" Oden did not waste words. He drew his blade and attacked.
The clash of their battle drew the attention of other pursuers. Oden failed to finish Kaito in a single instant, which allowed five of the Seven Samurai to converge and surround him.
Flower Samurai Kaito, the formidable Akumaru, the berserker Washizu, Kogi Kenji who wielded the famed blade Kizutsuki, and the Iwazare-style specialist Sumire Oni Yanagiba Ranishi.
Five of the Seven Samurai fighting together were on an entirely different level from the Akazaya Nine's sorry collection of strays. Being selected as one of the Seven Samurai meant one's strength was beyond question — unlike the Akazaya Nine, which was packed with hangers-on of wildly varying ability.
As a result, Oden found himself unable to dispatch all five of them at once. By the time he finally defeated them all, he was battered and covered in wounds.
In his desperation, he had no time to finish them off. Clinging to his injuries, he forced his way into the Shogun's Castle.
Inside the castle, it seemed as though the revelry never ceased. Even the tremendous commotion of the battle outside had not been enough to drown out the sound of shamisen — festive yet tinged with an undercurrent of melancholy.
Oden smashed through dozens of shoji screens in succession, charging straight into the room where Kurozumi Orochi was waiting.
The moment he entered, he was met with a scene of absolute despair.
Lady Kozuki was kneeling on the tatami floor, her face turned downward. Her fallen hair concealed her expression.
"Gre... y..." His pupils shrank to pinpoints, the corners of his narrow eyes stretching as though they might tear open!
"My, my — if it isn't the son of the former Shogun. Lord Kozuki Oden himself." Kurozumi Orochi seemed genuinely delighted to see Oden.
After greeting Oden, Orochi reached out and grabbed Grey by her long hair, forcing her head upward so that her tear-stained face was turned toward Oden.
"Madam — your husband is here."
[
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