A room near the Flower Capital palace. The previous battle had already destroyed the palace. Although it hadn’t been burnt to ashes, it was in a precarious state now.
The people taking care of Hiyori were not members of the Beasts Pirates; they were the palace servants who had been there from the beginning in the Flower Capital.
These people had served the Shogun of Wano Country for generations. Initially, they worked under Kozuki Sukiyaki, but after Kurozumi Orochi took the position of Shogun, Orochi’s commands held sway over them as well.
They were completely unaware of what had happened last night. To be precise, their survival owed much to Zeraora, who had not participated in the battle but had acted as a firefighter.
This included extracting these people from the burning palace. They were somewhat inclined to believe the reasons given by the Beasts Pirates because what they said about Kurozumi Orochi’s past was indeed true.
For example, the fact that Sukiyaki was killed, and that Kurozumi Higurashi was a sorceress who can change her appearance. Moreover, the head chef recalled that Kurozumi Orochi had forcibly canceled the poison-testing process, which raised further suspicions.
It could be said that, thanks to Kurozumi Orochi’s efforts, he had successfully diverted much of the suspicion. After Kozuki Hiyori was brought back, many people began to believe this.
However, the Beasts Pirates did not entirely trust these people. They wanted to leave a reliable person here to ensure nothing unexpected happens. In this regard, King had taken on this responsibility.
After the battle last night, they hadn’t been idle. With a significant vacuum in the top leadership of Wano Country, the Beasts Pirates had naturally taken the opportunity to bring most of these high-ranking officials into their fold.
However, they had no intention of reinstating daimyos. A puppet is sufficient for Wano for now. The rest would be directly governed by the Beasts Pirates.
“Mom, where are you?”
Kozuki Hiyori, still groggy, instinctively searched for Kozuki Toki. However, she did not receive Kozuki Toki’s response like usual. Instead, she was met with King’s cold gaze.
The unfamiliar gaze startled her, and then a sharp scream escaped her lips. Some people nearby tried to approach, but King waved them off.
“You all, prepare what Shogun Hiyori needs. Wano Country needs stability, and I will tell her what happened yesterday.”
“But…”
“This is related to the secrets of Oden Castle from yesterday. Do you want to know?”
King’s tall stature and attire exuded an intimidating aura. His all-black leather outfit, reminiscent of an interrogator, could instill fear in anyone from the moment they laid eyes on him.
His words carried a certain intimidation as well. Those serving in the Shogun’s palace knew when to remain silent and when to feign ignorance.
Those loyal to the Kozuki had been purged long ago when Orochi ascended to power, leaving behind those who were unwilling to risk their lives for the Kozuki.
Then, King’s cold voice reached Kozuki Hiyori’s ears.
“She no longer wants you. Between you and your brother, she chose your brother, not you.”
“What-What are you talking about? Mom wouldn’t do that.”
“See this and you will understand.”
Saying this, he placed a Picture Tanishi in front of Kozuki Hiyori. With a tap on the Smart Tanishi’s shell, a projection appeared on the curtain in front of her.
Due to the Rotom CCTV, some events inside Oden Castle were known to the Beasts Pirates, including the approximate time of Kozuki Hiyori’s unconsciousness.
Rotom’s surveillance wasn’t limited to visuals; it also included audio. Through it, it was clear that Kozuki Toki hadn’t waited for her children to wake up and explain things to them personally; instead, she had delegated this responsibility to the retainers.
There might still be a chance with Momonosuke, but Kozuki Hiyori was intercepted by Elizabeth before she woke up, so she doesn’t know anything at all.
At this moment, the screen showed the burning Oden Castle. In desperation, Kozuki Toki had no choice but to send one person to a safer future. In the choice between her children, she ultimately chose her son. Just after she sent Kozuki Momonosuke away, a burning beam fell, obscuring the view.
Although Zoroark’s illusions are fake, they are incredibly lifelike, even fooling recording equipment.
This is the snippet Olga had produced yesterday. As for why only a short clip, an open-ended ending leaves more room for suspense.
She didn’t know Kozuki Toki; revealing too much could easily expose them.
As everyone knows, Wano Country has no Photoshop technology, so the video footage had to be real.
At least for now, Kozuki Hiyori still didn’t understand what was going on. She didn’t even think about why her house was being monitored by the other party. She was already shocked by the content of the surveillance.
“Kozuki Oden died last night due to Kurozumi Orochi’s scheme, Kozuki Toki is missing, and your brother was sent away by your mother. Now, you need to assume the position of Wano Country’s Shogun.”
King didn’t give Kozuki Hiyori any time to think; he directly flooded her mind with a lot of information.
Some of those words were true, some false, and others misleading, but in essence, it boiled down to: Your father is dead, your mother doesn’t want you, your brother has run away, and now you must become Shogun and revive Wano Country.
The duty of supervising Kozuki Hiyori has been given to King, but he has little patience for this stranger.
“No, you’re lying! Father wouldn’t die; he said he wouldn’t!”
After King finished speaking, Kozuki Hiyori finally processed the first sentence.
“Unfortunately, he’s already dead. His funeral will be held in three days. As the last surviving member of the Kozuki family, it’s now your duty to take on the role of Shogun.”
Following that, a group of elderly individuals entered. These were the former ministers of Wano Country, serving during both Kozuki Sukiyaki and Kurozumi Orochi’s period. It was clear that they had no strong principles.
While commoners and retainers might have unwavering loyalty, these ministers didn’t care about who the Shogun was; they just wanted to retain their positions. Here, Kurozumi Orochi deserved some thanks, as he had cleared out quite a few hardliners over the years.
Beasts Pirates didn’t have many individuals capable of handling internal affairs. Managing a pirate crew was one thing, but governing a country was entirely different. Eliminating all these people would be troublesome for Beasts Pirates, so they temporarily retained the positions of those who were willing to surrender, and planned to slowly cultivate new people to replace them.
As long as they remained obedient, Beasts Pirates didn’t mind continuing to use them. However, if they had any other intentions, it would be a different story.
In the time that followed, these elderly ministers began to instill in Kozuki Hiyori the importance of being Shogun through long, elaborate speeches.
Just when she began to believe in all of this, King abruptly doused her with a reality check….
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