Chapter 140 The player is you, Kurozumi Orochi...
"So where should we start?"
Walking along the streets of Kuri, looking at the dilapidated wooden houses and the thin Kuri residents on the road, Yamato leaned close to Violet's ear and whispered a question.
As she walked along the road, Violet kept observing the situation of the NPCs around her. Compared to Yamato's simple sympathy, Violet saw something else in their hurried figures.
The current rulers of Jiuli are quite capable.
Although these residents looked malnourished, their expressions were not numb, and their hurried figures proved that they were working hard for tomorrow.
A person who truly has no hope for the future wouldn't waste their energy like this; they would only behave this way in a place where hard work can bring basic rewards.
“I think we should find the boss here first. Once we can subdue or persuade him, everything else will be much easier.”
Yamato nodded in agreement, then grabbed the burly man next to him who was chewing grass and picking his toes: "Hey, who's the boss here?!"
The burly man picking his toes: "Huh?"
Vera raised her hand to cover her face, reluctant to admit that she and Yamato were on the same side.
Although Yamato wasn't much older than Violet, her superior height, inherited from Kaido, allowed her to easily lift an adult male. Coupled with the heavy spiked club she carried on her back and the wicked trilled tongue sounds she'd somehow learned, the unfortunate giant standing dazed by the roadside quickly spilled out Kuri's current situation.
The current administrator of Kuri is Ashura Doji, one of the Nine Red Scabbards. He was once the leader of the Toyama Bandit Gang. After being defeated by Oden and captivated by Oden's charisma, he became his retainer. After Oden's death, he returned to Kuri and once again became the leader of the bandits and mountain thieves, keeping them from causing trouble in Kuri.
"So you are my retainer!"
"Eh, my retainer? Wait, you, you are..."
Before the unfortunate passerby could even react to what Yamato had said, Yamato released him, grabbed Violet, and excitedly ran into the mountains.
"Asura Child, Asura Child!"
Yamato cupped his hand to his mouth and shouted, "Where are you?!"
I want to see you!
call--
A whoosh of wind came from behind. Yamato quickly drew his spiked club, turned around, and swung it, colliding head-on with a samurai sword.
Violet raised her hand to shield herself from the wind and looked up at the person who had launched the attack.
He was a man with frizzy pink hair, a slightly overweight build, and a bare-chested man wearing a black cloak with red floral patterns.
The opponent was clearly surprised that Yamato was able to block the attack, and widened his eyes slightly to observe Yamato carefully.
"Who are you?"
Yamato proudly raised his head: "I am Kozuki Oden!"
"..."
"……who?"
The one who attacked them was none other than Ashura Doji, the leader of this mountain. Yamato had already trespassed into his territory and called him by his name. Wouldn't it make him look coward if he didn't respond?
Ashura Doji, who followed Kozuki Oden before, was a villain, not a good-natured monk.
However, Ashura Doji obviously didn't expect that the people who broke into the mountain were two children, one of whom was not quite right in the head.
"...Lord Oden has passed away."
"No, I am clearly still alive, and I am still standing in front of you."
"Lord Oden was a man."
"So I'm a man too!"
Ashura Child: "..."
Ashura Child: "There aren't any good doctors in Kyuuri. You should go to the Flower Capital instead."
"I'm not here to see a doctor, I'm here to see your Ashura Doji." Yamato completely failed to understand the hidden meaning in Ashura Doji's words. "I'm going to overthrow the rule of Kurozumi Orochi and Kaido, so come back to my side, Ashura Doji!"
I need your help!
"You ignorant brat, who do you think you are..." Ashura Doji had run out of patience with this brat who was impersonating Oden. "If you don't want to leave on your own, then I'll take care of it myself!"
Facing Ashura Doji, who drew his sword against her without any politeness, Daiho was not intimidated. Instead, she excitedly countered, "I know that you only followed Oden willingly after he defeated you. If I defeat you, how about you become my retainer?"
"Defeat me?" Ashura Doji wondered if he had been in the deep mountains for too long. When did such an arrogant guy appear in Wano Country? He didn't even know. "Heh, you brats who haven't even grown up yet, come at me both at once!"
Violet waved her hand: "Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand. The only person you fought was Yamato."
"Furthermore," Vera thought, reflecting on the progress of developing the Yamato Fruit's power, "a friendly reminder: you still need to be a little more serious, Ashura Doji."
"Otherwise, you might really be defeated by Yamato."
"Sound of an arrow!!"
Yamato's attack landed along with Violet's words. Looking at the spiked club crackling with lightning, Ashura Doji's initial contempt upon seeing the two's ages vanished.
This attack...
Even though he was still incredibly young and far inferior to that man, Ashura Doji still saw Kaido's shadow in Yamato's attack!
Who exactly is she?
——
"Huff, huff..."
Yamato gripped the spiked club tightly with both hands. The powerful attack caused her tiger's mouth to split open, and blood dripped down her wrists and disappeared into the wilderness.
The more Ashura Doji fought Yamato, the more alarmed he became. The familiar weapon, the familiar moves, and the familiar terrifying stamina and regenerative ability... it was hard not to remind Ashura Doji of Kaido.
And that unique horn... Ashura Doji, who was about to put down his katana, raised it again and stabbed it mercilessly toward Yamato's chest.
With a crisp clang, Vera, who had been standing quietly to the side, drew her Shadow Sword and effortlessly blocked Ashura Child's attack.
The cold, malevolent shadow sword was drawn, causing even Ashura Doji, a bandit who dared not call himself a good person, to take a half-step back. Yamato saw Violet smile at her as she stepped forward, then her eyes closed, and she swayed and fell forward, only to be caught steadily by Violet.
Ashura Doji finally snapped out of his daze, looking at Yamato in Violet's arms and couldn't help but ask, "Who exactly is she?"
"Kaido's daughter, Yamato."
A fierce, storm-like killing intent instantly enveloped Violet and Yamato, but Violet seemed to be merely a breeze, even having the leisure to help Yamato remove the leaves that had fallen and stuck to her hair.
Even Ashura Child was taken aback by Vera's calm and composed demeanor.
"...Why did you tell me her identity?"
Ashura Doji believed that the girl in front of him was aware of the deep-seated hatred between Kaido and Kozuki Oden. Once Yamato's true identity was revealed, as a retainer who followed Oden, his relationship with Yamato would only be one of irreconcilable enmity.
“Is that so?” Vera disagreed with Ashura Doji’s opinion. “Who can say what will happen in the future?”
Ignoring those strange moments of cognitive impairment, Yamato is still quite likable.
Violet never saw what the real Kozuki Oden looked like, but one thing is certain: Yamato's personality gave her an extraordinary ability to make friends.
"Goodbye, Ashura Doji."
With a few leaps, Vera, along with the exhausted and asleep Yamato, disappeared into the forest. Ashura Doji stared in the direction the two had gone, speechless for a long time.
When a rustling sound came, Ashura Doji first frowned subconsciously, but quickly regained his original nonchalant expression and turned around.
Several men dressed as samurai appeared before him.
One of them asked, "Who is that?"
"...Kaido's daughter."
"What?!"
"Kaido's daughter?!"
"Asura Child, why didn't you leave her here?!"
Hearing their questions, Ashura Doji showed an impatient expression: "Kill her, right here?"
Putting aside whether he could spare Yamato's life from that little girl with the strange weapon, just considering the fact that Kaido's daughter died in Kuri, did these samurai have a grudge against Kuri?
Ashura Doji certainly hated Kaido, but it's not quite accurate to say that he would pass on that hatred to Kaido's daughter to the point of resorting to any means necessary and disregarding the consequences to kill her here.
The person who initially made the suggestion thought for a while, perhaps also feeling that it wasn't a good idea to take action here, so he gave up and brought up another matter: "Ashura Doji, what have you thought about the matter we discussed before?"
At this point, Ashura Doji, who was already short-tempered, frowned even more deeply: "I disagree."
"What? Don't you want to avenge Lord Oden?"
"Of course I want to, I think about it all the time, but who will kill Kaido, me or you?" Ashura Doji thought these people were really not very smart. "Besides, rather than killing Kaido, I want to protect Kuri for Lord Oden and wait for the moment Lady Toki prophesied."
"Who knows if that prophecy is true or false? Besides, we can't find a more suitable time. Kurozumi Orochi is still unpopular, and the people of Wano still remember Lord Oden's name." The samurai tried to persuade Ashura Doji again. "Also, although we don't know what happened in the outer sea, the Beast Pirates' main forces, including Kaido, are frequently at sea. It will be difficult for us to find a more suitable time to attack Onigashima in the future."
"Anyway, Lord Oden saved my life. Even if I can't hurt Kaido, I must at least weaken the Beasts Pirates!"
"That's right, we can't just stand by and watch Kaido and Orochi grow stronger because of a prophecy that may or may not be true!"
Is this a matter of determination and courage? If he could trade one for one with Kaido, would Ashura Doji be considered a coward who fears death?
The problem is that this is a completely pointless act of suicide!
Ashura Doji tried to dissuade them, but he wasn't good at persuading others. His attempts to dissuade them not only failed to dissuade the samurai from attacking Onigashima, but also caused them to have a big argument with Ashura Doji. In the end, the two sides parted on bad terms.
The last samurai turned back to Ashura Doji: "Fine, Ashura Doji, if you're not going to join us, then so be it. But I hope our conversation today doesn't reach the ears of Kaido's daughter!"
After he finished speaking, he angrily flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.
Ashura Doji was furious with these people.
After raging for a while, Ashura Doji thought about the days he spent working alongside these samurai alongside Oden, gritted his teeth, and got up to prepare to set off for the Flower Capital.
It's okay if he's not good at persuading people, there are others who are, Kikunojo, it's up to you!
——
Although they were both members of the Nine Red Scabbards, Ashura Doji did not accept the invitation to go to the Flower Capital after recognizing the Prime Minister of Chrysanthemum.
The reason is simple: their goals are somewhat different.
Kikunojo and Kyoshiro are currently focusing on Hiyori, especially after Kikunojo had an in-depth conversation with Hiyori at Violet's suggestion. After confirming that Hiyori was determined to take on the responsibility of protecting and caring for the people of Wano Country, Kikunojo has placed even greater emphasis on protecting and nurturing Hiyori.
Ashura Doji didn't think Hiyori was unsuitable; the main problem was that he himself wasn't suited for the role of a teacher.
His personality is similar to Oden's in some ways, and Oden... cough cough, even with all the filters he has as a retainer and friend, it can't be said that he was a very successful shogun of Wano Country.
Therefore, there's no need for him to cause trouble.
But who could have imagined that in the end, it wouldn't be Ashura Child who caused the trouble, but someone else?
This was truly an amazing experience.
Inside the interrogation room on Ghost Island.
The blood-soaked man was hung on the wall by thick iron chains piercing his shoulder blades, his body motionless. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest upon closer inspection, he would truly be indistinguishable from a corpse.
The only light source in the room was the flame burning on Jin's back. He stood by the torture rack, selecting the instruments of torture he would use later. He carefully examined each one before putting it down, leaving an unusually glaring red mark on his blood-stained gloves.
Jhin has been in a good mood lately, so much so that he's been quite inspired when it comes to interrogation, coming up with a number of interesting methods which he then used on the assassin behind him.
Jhin didn't know how the other person felt when he tried to assassinate Orochi but managed to escape. However, when Jhin caught him again, the look of fear mixed with despair in his eyes pleased Jhin greatly.
The assassin was already prepared to die the moment he decided to carry out the assassination, but being unafraid of death and being unafraid of torture are two completely different things.
Having finally chosen a satisfactory prop, Jhin turned around and walked towards the assassin again. His hard-soled boots slammed into the metal plate, pulling the assassin's heart and soul down into the bottomless abyss.
"I, I'll talk..."
Jin stopped what he was doing.
The assassin was panting heavily, as if he were undergoing torture even more painful than before, but after a few seconds, he still managed to speak in a hoarse voice.
"Besides me, the samurai are also preparing to attack Onigashima."
Who are they?
He read out a few names, then added, "We, we also wanted to invite Ashura Doji, but he hasn't agreed yet..."
“Very good.” Jin nodded in satisfaction. “One last question: when do you plan to make your move?”
"Recently... find a time when the main force of the Beasts Pirates leaves Onigashima. If it's possible to harm Kaido, that would be best. If not, try to cause as much damage as possible on Onigashima."
As for Orochi, everyone knows that once Kaido falls, he will also be doomed.
Having received a satisfactory answer, Jhin adjusted the iron spike in his hand and delivered the final blow to his heart.
Then, without looking at the lifeless man, she turned and walked out of the interrogation room.
"Get ready," he said to Jack, who was waiting outside. "It's time to net those rats hiding in Wano Country."
——
"My lord, please have some tea."
Violet took the tea from Xiao Zi, took a sip, and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew—this is life."
She was leaning against a beanbag chair made by Doctor Ziyang based on her description. The soft sofa made half of her body sink into it.
Sipping tea, eating snacks, listening to the shamisen... Ah, what a decadent life!
However, Violet has recently been living a rather leisurely semi-vacation life.
Yamato is still trying to challenge Ashura Doji in an attempt to gain his approval. Although Ashura Doji always looks like he's seen a ghost whenever Yamato appears, Violet can sense that he has gradually softened his attitude in the face of Yamato's persistence and sincerity.
With the partial support of Ashura Doji, the uncrowned king of Kuri, Robin and Chopper were able to enter Kuri and gradually gain the trust of the residents by offering free medical consultations.
Yamato also sent his subordinates, whom he had recruited during this period, to deliver a lot of supplies to Kuri. Even though this was only a temporary solution to Kuri's current poverty, it gave them a little breathing space as they struggled on the edge of hunger.
As for Yamato, who started to govern a region based in Kuri, although she didn't say it, her understanding of Kaido had changed to some extent, which can be seen from the steady progress of the "[My son's rebellion breaks my heart]" quest.
Vera looked at the 57% progress and ate a bite of tea with satisfaction.
Wow, I'm such a genius for coming up with this idea.
She said that as long as Yamato doesn't get so obsessed with cosplaying as Kozuki Oden, there's no irreconcilable conflict between her and Kaido.
Kaido himself didn't really want to make Wano Country miserable. Although he has a twisted and obsessive side to his personality, it's mostly directed at the nobles. As for ordinary people, Kaido is indifferent to them more than 90% of the time, neither valuing nor rejecting them.
The reason he couldn't govern well was simply because Kaido himself was inept at governing a country, and the person he chose to transfer power to, Kurozumi Orochi, was no good.
But what if Kaido ultimately chooses to hand over power to Yamato? Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?
Ahem, of course, it won't be easy for Yamato to take over the position of Shogun of Wano Country. Putting aside the competition with Oden's descendant whom Kikunojo found, the difference between Yamato and Kaido in terms of governing the country is probably that one is willing but unable, while the other is unwilling and unable...
Thinking of this, Violet couldn't help but raise her hand to wipe away imaginary sweat from her forehead, sincerely believing that the residents of Wano Country had truly suffered a lot when it came to choosing leaders.
Yamato herself is strong enough, but she still needs someone skilled in mundane matters to assist her... Given that she is far inferior to herself in this area, it means that she needs to find someone much stronger than Luo and Ginny to cooperate with her.
Wow—this person is hard to find.
"grown ups?"
Xiao Zi looked at Wei Er's conflicted and irritated expression, which kept changing: "Is there something wrong with what I played?"
"No, no, no." Vera came to her senses. "It has nothing to do with Xiao Zi. It's just that I... am troubled by some things."
Xiao Zi was a little surprised: "So even adults have worries?"
Komurasaki, who is currently learning about governance with the help of Kikunojo and Kyoshiro, is experiencing an unprecedented sense of frustration.
Those things were completely new and unfamiliar to Komurasaki, a world she had never encountered before. Furthermore, Kikunojo and Kyoshiro, having fully learned from Lord Oden's mistakes, were determined to mold Komurasaki into the most well-rounded and greatest statesman in the history of Wano Country.
This puts a lot of pressure on Xiao Zi at her age. In order to complete the tasks assigned by her two strict teachers, Xiao Zi doesn't even have time to practice her favorite shamisen!
As for Violet, as Xiao Zi's only friend, in Xiao Zi's heart she is a person who is always positive and sunny, and always determined and forward-looking.
Xiao Zi both envied and admired him.
“That… is normal, everyone has things they can’t handle.” Violet shrugged. “Don’t even mention me, even Yamato has his troubles.”
Vera felt that Yamato was more magnanimous.
"Yamato-sama..."
Komurasaki's feelings towards Yamato are quite complex. Yamato has developed a liking for the shamisen because of Komurasaki. This energetic monster, while challenging Ashura Doji and helping the residents of Kuri, still manages to find time to look for Komurasaki.
Over time, Xiao Zi overheard her confused self-reference.
Komurasaki, whose real name is Hiyori, has mixed feelings about Yamato, who wants to be her father.
What's even more outrageous is that Yamato wasn't joking; she was genuinely sincere and serious.
Komurasaki wasn't disrespectful to her father, but every time she heard Yamato boasting about Oden, she felt an awkward embarrassment, like her toes were gripping the ground.
It's been blown, it really has been blown.
Violet: "She's an interesting person, isn't she?"
Xiao Zi: "...Indeed, it's quite interesting."
Ignoring the unthinkable inequality that Yamato = Kaido's daughter = Kozuki Oden, therefore Kozuki Oden = Kaido's daughter, and the excessive filter that leaves those who truly understand Oden speechless, Yamato's personality is actually quite good.
Xiao Zi herself is quiet and prone to overthinking, while Yamato is outgoing and careless. Sometimes she envies him.
Xiao Zi put the shamisen aside.
"I seem to have noticed that Lord Yamato has been frequently injured lately?"
Komurasaki had witnessed Yamato's terrifying regenerative abilities firsthand; ordinary bruises or abrasions could be completely healed in less than the time it takes her to play a shamisen. Therefore, she knew that if Yamato appeared before her with injuries, those wounds must have been incredibly severe when they were first injured.
"Hmm..." Vera thought she was pretty good at judging people. With Ashura Doji's strength, if he really disliked Yamato, he could easily avoid Yamato.
But Ashura Doji didn't avoid Yamato; instead, she appeared every time Yamato challenged her... Tsk tsk, Ashura Doji couldn't possibly be unaware that for someone with Yamato's talent, such sparring would only allow her to improve rapidly.
Just as Violet was marveling at how fast Yamato's progress seemed, a hurried sound of footsteps rapidly approached them from afar.
With a loud bang, the paper door was pushed open forcefully, and the usually elegant and composed Doctor Ziyang leaned against the door with one hand, looking at Xiao Zi with a worried gaze.
"Little Purple, Kurotan... General Kurotan is going to take you to Oni Island!"
With a snap, the shamisen in Xiao Zi's hand fell to the ground, and Wei Er looked at Doctor Zi Yang in surprise.
"Go to Ghost Island, why?"
Xiao Zi snapped out of her daze, put the shamisen aside, and got up to help the doctor Zi Yang, who had clearly run over and was evenly out of breath, into the room.
Xiao Zi poured a cup of tea for Doctor Ziyang, who drank it down in one gulp to calm himself down.
"I heard it from a samurai that General Kurozumi is preparing to go to Onigashima and asked Kyoshiro to bring four or five geisha as his companions."
"General Kurotan, you specifically mentioned my name and Xiao Zi's name."
"I've come here to help you with your disguise. You're a half-jade who hasn't yet appeared on stage. As long as you pretend to be seriously ill, General Black Charcoal won't insist on you appearing."
Xiao Zi: "But... Doctor Ziyang, what about the other geishas?"
“We’re both adults, and we have much more experience in these situations than you, Xiao Zi. Besides, although Ghost Island is dangerous, it’s not like I haven’t been there before.”
After each great victory of their expeditions, the Beasts Pirates would summon many geisha to Onigashima to accompany them to banquets. Although the pirates were all fierce and cruel, not many of them were so tasteless as to actually lay a hand on the geisha.
Logically speaking, as someone specifically nominated by Orochi, Komurasaki's safety should be guaranteed, but... ever since she heard the news, Physician Ziyang had a strong sense of foreboding. This premonition made her rush to her only disciple as soon as possible to try to extricate her from this matter.
Vera also felt that something was amiss: "Doctor Ziyang, what do you know? Why would Orochi suddenly summon geishas to Onigashima?"
Only then did Doctor Ziyang notice that Vera was there. In her memory, Vera was still a member of the Beast Pirates. Her heart pounded wildly.
Xiao Zi quickly replied, "She is trustworthy, Doctor Ziyang."
Physician Ziyang gazed at Xiao Zi, and after confirming that she wasn't speaking casually, nodded: "I understand, it's like this..."
Although Doctor Ziyang was already semi-retired, some of her previous connections had not disappeared. This was told to her by a warrior who had once been very infatuated with Ziyang.
Vera's expression was strange: "You mean the Beasts Pirates are preparing to concentrate their forces on dealing with the Whitebeard Pirates, so Kaido and the top commanders will be going out on this expedition, and therefore they invited Kurozumi Orochi to Onigashima to oversee the matter?"
Vera's first reaction upon hearing this news was, "Who came up with this idea? Is there a second traitor in the Beasts Pirates besides her?"
How much hatred must Orochi have for the Beasts Pirates to come up with such an idea as letting Kurozumi Orochi take charge of the affairs of the Beasts?
That shouldn't be the case. Even if Kaido agreed to it because he was drunk, King shouldn't agree to it.
After thinking for a moment, Vera stood up and gave Xiao Zi and Doctor Ziyang a reassuring look: "Don't worry, I'll go and find out what's going on."
Although Violet believed that her relationship with Jhin had taken a qualitative leap after the few times she combed his feathers, if there were any other considerations behind it, Jhin might not necessarily tell her if she asked him directly.
So Violet, who had run off, turned around and decided to cut off the middleman and ask Orochi directly.
As for what identity to ask... Violet's drooping fingers twitched, and one of the paper bags on the passing vendor's stall disappeared without a sound, while at the same time, a silver coin appeared in the box containing change.
Thanks to Mr. Kyoshiro, who loves the traditional culture of Wano Country, for his help.
She thought the identity of "Snow Princess" was quite good!
That night.
The black charcoal snake living in the general's mansion perfectly demonstrated his cowardice and fear of death. Violet had almost lost count of how many spies she had encountered along the way.
Lox made a mocking sound: "Rat."
Violet nodded in agreement: "You've finally said something sensible."
The man and the ghost squatted on the tree, watching the patrolling samurai below who were preparing to hand over the duties. Before he could even calm down for two seconds after being praised by Violet, Rox started giving Violet advice again.
Lox: "Since you want to threaten him to get the information you want from him, you have to make him understand how powerful you are."
Vera: "...So?"
Lox: "Just storm in, then hang the heads of these knights by his bedside, wake him up and make him identify them one by one."
"This is a secret technique I don't share; it helps people regain their senses and restore their memories."
Violet: "..."
Violet: "Have you ever considered that this special technique of yours was previously used on pirates? Even your defeated opponents were people who could venture into the Grand Line. But Orochi... are you sure your Great Memory Restoration Technique won't scare him to death?"
Rocks fell silent. He really hadn't had much contact with such trash before. In his Rocks Pirates, even the lowest-ranking apprentice pirates who were only fit to clean the decks were many times bolder than Kurozumi Orochi.
Rocks wasn't sure if Orochi would be scared to death by just a few heads.
Locus: "Hiss—"
For the first time, the usually confident Rocks began to waver in his convictions.
Even after being besieged and killed in God Valley, Rocks was confident that if he were given another chance, even if all his memories of God Valley were erased and he fought again, the outcome might be different.
After all, at that time, the strength of himself and his opponent was about the same, and winning or losing was just like the two sides of a coin toss, which was a very random thing.
But at this moment, Lox suddenly realized that even someone as powerful as himself had something he couldn't do no matter how many times he tried: understand just how much the weak and cowards could endure.
Lox said he had never done it and didn't know anything about it.
Just as Lox was having a rare moment of self-doubt, the samurai below finally finished their shift change. Taking advantage of the chaos, Violet finally found an opportunity to leap out of the tree, heading straight for Orochi's dwelling.
Carefully lifting the window, with a paper bag over her head and a large "X" drawn on it in black charcoal, Violet walked to the bedside of the giant black snake.
"Kurozumi Orochi, Kurozumi Orochi..."
"So you are the most despicable, shameless, wicked, and deserving-to-die Kurozumi Orochi in this world."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Little Purple: Yamato wants to be my dad! [question mark]
I still owe you an extra chapter, I'll try to make it up this week [shy]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com