Wano Country isn't much fun, neither now nor twenty years from now.
Black had only been there for a few days and was already bored.
However, he didn't have to wait too long, as a piece of news spread from Flower Capital—
Hyogoro, the boss of the underworld in Flower Capital and a friend of Kozuki Oden, was killed by Kaido along with his subordinates and wife because he refused to submit to the rule of Orochi and Kaido.
Upon hearing this news, Black knew that the decisive battle between Kozuki Oden and Kaido was not far off.
Although Hyogoro was not actually dead, but merely imprisoned, everyone in Wano Country now believed that Kaido had killed Hyogoro.
Sure enough, after Oden learned the news, he immediately summoned the Nine Red Scabbards.
He crushed the sake bowl in his hand, the fragments digging into his palm, yet he seemed oblivious:
"Hyogoro and his wife... are dead."
"Kaido and them did it."
Kin'emon's pupils contracted:
"What? They clearly promised..."
"Five years!"
Denjiro's scabbard hit the ground with a bang:
"We've been played like clowns by them for five years!"
"All we got in return were lies!"
Oden stood up, shadow enveloping half of his face.
His tone was calm, yet a brewing storm lay within:
"It's my fault."
"I thought concession would bring peace, but instead, I let the venomous snake devour Wano Country."
He raised his head, his gaze firm, and roared:
"But today, the venomous snake shall be beheaded!"
"Lord Oden..."
"Lord Oden, you are finally willing to draw your sword!"
"I've long disliked those guys."
The Nine Red Scabbards all showed excited expressions; they had waited too long for this day.
Oden said in a deep voice:
"Tonight, are you willing to follow me to Onigashima and take Kaido's head?"
The Nine Red Scabbards all knelt on one knee, plunging their weapons into the ground:
"No regrets, even if we die!"
"Good!"
Oden laughed heartily, saying with grandeur:
"Go back and prepare now; we will act tonight!"
That's right, this was Kozuki Oden's complete plan.
A surprise attack coupled with a beheading.
He hadn't considered the disparity in strength between the two sides, nor the possibility of the plan failing.
He was overly confident that he could instantly kill Kaido.
Even if no one leaked the information, how could Kozuki Oden and his group, with their strength, kill Kaido before the rest of the Beasts Pirates reacted?
After the Nine Red Scabbards left, Lady Toki emerged from the inner room, a worried expression on her face:
"Is now truly a good time for a decisive battle?"
"Didn't you say that someone would defeat Kaido and save Wano Country only twenty years from now?"
Facing Lady Toki's worries, Oden still maintained a grand demeanor:
"If I just swallow my anger like this, not even daring to avenge Hyogoro, then what's the difference between living and dying?"
"I am the Shogun of Wano Country; no matter what, I must protect this country!"
...Meanwhile, after Kanjuro left Oden, he contacted Orochi and meticulously recounted Kozuki Oden's plan.
Orochi was greatly alarmed and hastily pulled out a transponder snail to contact Kaido.
After listening to Orochi, Kaido burst into laughter:
"Wororororo..."
"It's quite something that they have such courage."
"Alright, don't worry, just let them come."
"Today, I will completely deal with them!"
With that, Kaido hung up the phone.
Orochi's heart eased slightly, but he still paced back and forth in the room.
After a long while, he stomped his foot fiercely and went to discuss countermeasures with Kurozumi Higurashi... Time quickly came to night, and Oden said goodbye to his family one by one, standing before the Nine Red Scabbards.
He no longer gave an impassioned speech, but directly drew the Ame no Habakiri from his waist and pointed it in the direction of Onigashima:
"Depart!"
Just as Kozuki Oden and his entourage were heading grandly towards Onigashima, Black's side also concluded their several days of leisure.
Black withdrew his gaze from the geisha and stood up:
"Alright, they're about to start over there, we should go too."
"Oh yeah!"
Perona cheered and immediately stood up to follow.
She had spent most of these past few days in the entertainment district and was utterly bored.
At Perona's age, she couldn't understand the content of the geisha performances; she just wanted to cause trouble everywhere.
Black took a circuitous route and arrived at a secluded courtyard.
Without him needing to instruct, Stella had already stepped forward and gently knocked on the courtyard gate.
"Who's there?"
A wary voice came from the courtyard.
Stella glanced at Black, and seeing that he didn't speak, she also didn't answer.
After waiting a while, the door finally opened, revealing a soft and pretty face.
Long, light green hair cascaded down like a waterfall of silk, its strands gleaming with a soft luster under the Moonlight.
Orange bows and purple beads adorned her hair, adding a touch of playful vivacity to her simple hair color.
She wore a pink kimono, outlined with white trim at the collar and cuffs.
Her eyes were bright, and her gaze was clear, imbued with gentleness.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady."
Black stepped forward, greeting the other party with a smile.
Lady Toki's face showed wariness:
"You are... from the World Government?"
She took a step back, about to close the door, but Mandy held it open.
Black walked directly into the courtyard, looked around, and chuckled:
"It seems Orochi bears quite a grudge against the Kozuki family; after usurping the throne, he didn't even arrange a decent place for you to live."
Just then, Momonosuke and Hiyori heard the commotion outside and ran out of their room to investigate.
Lady Toki hurriedly ran in front of the two children, trying to block Black's view with her body:
"What is your purpose here?"
Black shrugged:
"Nothing much, just heard that Wano Country has a red poneglyph. Can the Lady tell me where it is?"
"You, a person from the World Government, are here for a poneglyph?"
Lady Toki's eyes widened, her small mouth slightly agape, an expression of disbelief on her face.
"Oh?"
Black raised an eyebrow:
"It seems the Lady does know something."
Black then realized:
"That's right, the Lady is from over eight hundred years ago, after all; the war didn't seem to have ended back then."
Lady Toki spread her arms in front of Momonosuke and Hiyori, retreating warily:
"I will absolutely not tell you the location of the poneglyph."
"You won't take it away!"
Black chuckled and shook his head, his expression a little helpless:
"Lady, I'm speaking nicely to you, are you perhaps thinking I'm easy to deal with?"
"Since I came today, I have no intention of leaving empty-handed."
As he spoke, his gaze instantly became sharp:
"Mandy! Cut off that perverted brat's hand!"
As soon as his words fell, Mandy, who had been standing behind Black, instantly vanished, then reappeared next to Momonosuke, swinging her sword to strike.