Though Kaido's attack had been conducted in secret, the news somehow leaked to the common people anyway.
Now, under Orochi's control of the public narrative, rumors were spreading throughout the Flower Capital that Kuri had repelled the Beasts Pirates. Before long, an even more exaggerated version took hold — that only the daimyo of Kuri possessed the power to drive Kaido out of Wano Country.
Kaido lived on Onigashima, so naturally he was unaware of these rumors. Even if he had known, he probably wouldn't have cared.
In Kaido's eyes, so what if these rumors spread? He wasn't going to lose to someone just because of baseless gossip. At the end of the day, everything came down to strength.
He didn't believe he could possibly lose to this Kuri daimyo who had never even shown his face. To put it bluntly, Kaido figured that by the time he fully consolidated his grip on Wano Country, it wouldn't matter who showed up.
His combat power had already reached its absolute peak. Whether it was Whitebeard, Shiki, or even Ren — he was ready to throw down with any of them.
But for the rebels, this news was undeniably uplifting.
Shimotsuki Yasuie and the others, far away in Ringo, actually cheered when they heard it. Though this victory had absolutely nothing to do with them, it at least proved that the Beasts Pirates were not invincible.
Perhaps Kuri truly had the strength to defeat Kaido.
In truth, it had already been two years since Kozuki Oden had started his dancing. In those two years, they had gone from silently waiting for Oden's return, to numbly giving up.
Many of them had endured brutal battles. According to their original plans, they had attempted to raid Kaido's factories in Udon several times.
But the security there was extremely tight. None of the raids had achieved their objectives — while they had inflicted some losses on the enemy, their own casualties had also been significant.
Moreover, because they had chosen Ringo as their base of operations, while this largely kept them hidden from the Beasts Pirates' notice, it also meant they were growing increasingly disconnected from the common people.
In these two years, not a single soul had known about their activities. Most of the Wano citizens scattered across the countryside had no idea that there was still a force in Ringo continuing to resist Kaido.
This was actually by Ren and Orochi's design.
"Ushimaru, when do you think this will ever end?"
Uzuki let out a long sigh, hugging her katana as she sat beside Shimotsuki Ushimaru.
Shimotsuki Ushimaru didn't answer. In truth, he didn't know either whether there was any point in continuing to hold out like this.
Even Kozuki Oden himself had given up, yet here they were, still persisting in silence, hoping to restore the Kozuki clan's legitimate rule.
That was the crux of it. The people gathered here didn't just want to drive out Orochi and Kaido — they also intended to restore the Kozuki clan to power.
Otherwise, Shimotsuki Yasuie and the others would have found a way to ally with Ren long ago.
"Oden doesn't have what it takes to drive Kaido away..."
Uzuki buried her face in her knees, staring at the flickering campfire as she spoke in a hushed voice.
"The people of this country are suffering right now, but that fool of a prince is in the Flower Capital, dancing that humiliating dance... Kozuki—"
Uzuki didn't finish her sentence. But her scoff made her feelings abundantly clear.
"Just wait a little longer. Oden will come to his senses one day."
Shimotsuki Ushimaru said this to comfort her, though he wasn't entirely convinced himself.
It was another night of the Festival of the Fire Kami.
Onigashima was ablaze with lanterns and decorations, teeming with noise and celebration.
Ever since becoming Wano Country's "Guardian Deity," Kaido had begun observing Wano's holidays. He was actually quite interested in Wano's culture.
The titles of his officers — the All-Stars, the Flying Six, and even the Shinuchi — were all derived from Wano's cultural traditions. These terms originated from rakugo storytelling, specifically relating to kabuki theater. The "All-Stars" were essentially the lead performers.
Orochi played along nicely. During the day on these occasions, he would watch the oiran procession through the Flower Capital. On the night of the Fire Festival, he would bring a troupe of kabuki performers by ship to Onigashima to celebrate alongside Kaido.
In the past, Orochi never brought a female companion. But in recent years, he naturally brought along his beloved Kozuki Hiyori. Of course, Orochi didn't dare push things too far — he couldn't risk the woman deciding she'd rather kill herself than abandon her children.
"You made it, Orochi."
For a night as lively as the New Year, Kaido was unusually tolerant of Orochi's presence. It was only a few days out of the year. He didn't feel like thinking about anything else — watching some comedy and enjoying himself wasn't a bad way to pass the time.
And conveniently, Orochi had access to the finest kabuki performers in all of Wano Country.
"Is that Orochi over there?"
From a corner on the upper floor, a small figure in a white kimono, wearing an oni mask, crouched behind the railing with both hands gripping it, watching the adults reveling below.
"So ugly!"
"My Lady Yamato, if you say that so loudly, they'll hear you."
The girl beside her quickly cautioned her.
Black Maria. She was only about a year older than Yamato, but already noticeably taller.
"They won't hear me. It's too noisy down there."
Yamato watched with interest for a while longer, then asked, "Maria, why is that man putting his hand inside that other person's clothes?"
"I don't know."
Black Maria shook her head. At only four years old, she didn't understand any of this.
"This is boring. Let's go see what interesting things Orochi brought with him."
After watching for a while, Yamato still couldn't fathom what was so appealing about those singing and dancing women that it could captivate even her father.
Growing bored, she hatched a new plan.
Because of the whole situation with Kozuki Oden being manipulated by Orochi through his wife and children, Kaido refused to let Yamato leave Onigashima under any circumstances.
As a result, Yamato was intensely curious about anything brought from the outside world.
The oni mask she wore on her face, for instance, had been found among the gifts Orochi had brought the previous year.
The two of them went scampering about, and once they found Orochi's belongings, they immediately started rummaging through them.
"There's nothing interesting here."
"There are books though. Do you want to look at them?"
Black Maria dug around for a bit and pulled a book out from a pile.
"Books? I haven't even learned to read yet."
Yamato shook her head quickly. She was practically illiterate at this point and couldn't understand written text at all.
"I can read a little bit, and this book has lots of pictures anyway."
Black Maria started flipping through it. Just looking at the illustrations was enough to fascinate her, and before long she let out a gasp.
"That's amazing! This person sliced apart a giant snake that was bigger than a mountain in one stroke!"
"What? Orochi's dead?!"
Yamato jumped up in surprise and shoved her face closer to get a look.
[
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