Not long ago, in the Flower Capital’s palace, with Kurozumi Orochi and Kaido at the helm, members of Wano and the Beasts Pirates were divided on either side of the table. Currently, Kurozumi Orochi nominally still holds the title of acting Shogun of Wano.
Below him were five tables, with the Daimyo of Hakumai, Shimotsuki Yasuie, Daimyo of Ringo, Shimotsuki Ushimaru, Daimyo of Kibi, Fugetsu Omusubi, and Daimyo of Udon, Uzuki Tempura, sitting in that order.
The last table, however, was empty. Although there were dishes set on it, the seats were unoccupied, not even the attendants present. It should have been the position of Kuri’s Daimyo.
But currently, the Daimyo of Kuri is Kozuki Oden, and at this moment, he was in a room within the palace of the Flower Capital, disguised as a play actor along with some of his retainers.
The commoners of the Flower Capital are unaware of the details, and even the ordinary people in the palace were in the dark. As Kurozumi Orochi, Shimotsuki Yasuie and other daimyos exchanged glances, the kitchen was bustling with activity.
“For the once-in-a-century grand celebration, we must present a feast that lives up to the name of the Shogun.”
On the long table in front, there were hundreds of bowls and plates, each containing a modest portion of the traditional Wano Country cuisine.
“Soup with wood ears and chrysanthemum greens, a plate of egg tofu, intricately carved lotus root, and pickled side dishes. This is the pinnacle of my current cooking.”
The chef carefully inspected the dishes; these were the fruits of his labor.
“All right, now we just need to check for poison three times.”
He was waiting for a specialist to check for poison. The dishes presented to the Shogun and Daimyos must be handled with utmost care; it was a rule here. However, the people nearby simply took the food away.
“Hey! Those haven’t been checked for poison yet! Who are you people? Don’t you understand the rules?”
“This is Orochi-sama’s order. You don’t need to worry about the rest.”
Fukurokuju appeared on the side and shouted to stop the chef who wanted to check for poison. He had gone to all the trouble of setting up this banquet, so how can he allow him to check for poison? Since, he had himself poisoned the food.
However, the purpose of the poisoning was not to target Kaido alone. All of the food, except for his own portion, had been poisoned. He hoped to take this opportunity to make all of these daimyo and Kaido disappear together. Wano Country without any other obstacles was what he needed.
As for how that version of Wano Country would deal with external threats, that had nothing to do with him. That was also the reason why he had arranged for others to be here.
“Orochi, if this is what you call a celebration, it’s rather boring.”
Kaido wanted to see what tricks Orochi could come up with. Just as a cat plays with its prey, he often did strange things when he got excited.
However, he currently found everything boring. Most pirates didn’t like Wano’s traditional style of dining, and eating a dozen dishes was just a snack to them. If this was Orochi’s plan, there was no need for him to wait.
As for watching fireworks, he didn’t need to do it here; there were plenty of custom-made fireworks in Onigashima’s stockpile.
“Don’t be in such a hurry, Kaido. The show has to unfold little by little. Since you can’t wait, let’s take a look at today’s main performance. Wait a bit; the foolish prince, who dances every day, will present a special show to you.”
With that, Orochi signaled to some people beside him. A movable stage was pushed to the center, and under the curtain, figures were swaying. As the sound of the shamisen played, the curtain on the stage was slowly drawn open.
Inside were Orochi’s special actors, and at this moment, they were preparing a new show, with Kozuki Oden and some of his retainers also among them, all hidden behind heavy oil-painted masks and play costumes to conceal their true identities.
While people here generally suffer from face blindness, even someone without this condition wouldn’t be able to recognize them in this situation.
Some people simply couldn’t appreciate plays, like Arceus, who had no interest in such things at all. But Kaido was different. Despite his rough exterior, he had a keen interest in it and had even incorporated elements of plays into the daily life of the Beasts Pirates.
For instance, he calls the Three Calamities as “All-Stars” and refers to ordinary officers as “Shinuchi.” Currently, he was contemplating naming the stronger ones among the Shinuchi as the “Tobiroppo.”
It was evident that Kaido has a passion for local plays. However, the types of plays were fixed, and there were only a few famous ones. Creating new plays was a time-consuming endeavor.
Watching the same play repeatedly could become boring, so Orochi’s new play piqued Kaido’s interest. Rotom hadn’t monitored this kind of thing; Insignificant things like play rehearsals weren’t within its scope of surveillance.
The music continued, and as it reached a crescendo, the play on stage changed. The enemy in the play made its entrance. It was an evil general clad in dragon armor.
Throughout, he maintained an aura of invincibility, but in the end, he fell victim to the betrayal from a trusted follower—an odd character who endured years of disgrace, all in a quest to wrest his homeland from the jaws of an evil dragon.
As the character was struck in the play, a plethora of crimson petals and a cape was thrown out. According to Orochi’s plan, this was the moment Oden should have used to launch a surprise attack on Kaido, as he was among the actors on stage.
However, at that critical moment, someone deviated from the script.
He waited for what felt like ages but didn’t see Kozuki Oden appear.
“Worororo, Orochi, this play was a little interesting, but it falls short. So, what’s the name of this play?”
“Well… I haven’t thought of a name yet; it was just recently created. How about you suggest a name?”
He hadn’t had the time to think of a name as in the first place his intent was to launch a surprise attack. He then urged Kaido to try the food on the table. Kaido only drank alcohol and even that was something that he had brought, which thwarted Orochi’s poisoning plan.
The Daimyos hadn’t eaten anything either, except for Queen and Elizabeth, who were casually eating on the table.
But before he could placate Kaido with a few words, a voice resonated from the stage.
“The name of this play is ‘Dragon Slaying,’ Kaido. If you don’t leave Wano Country, this will be your fate!”
Kozuki Oden had appeared, but instead of following Kurozumi Orochi’s expected surprise attack, he stood boldly in plain sight.
Despite all the conversations Orochi had with Kozuki Oden, Oden had his own eyes, and he had observed the changes in Wano Country. At this point, Kaido had not committed any evil in Wano Country and had even contributed to its development.
So, Oden hoped that Kaido would voluntarily leave Wano Country, which would be the best outcome. His actions left Kurozumi Orochi utterly baffled; he couldn’t understand what the hell is wrong with the people of the Kozuki family.
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