The spring breeze blows on my face.
After walking out of the bamboo forest, Jiguo Yuanyi, who was wearing a black robe, slowly took off his slightly heavy hood. The sunlight shone through the bamboo forest, and the mottled shadows of the trees were reflected on his body.
This bamboo forest is located on the hillside of Tengshan Mountain, and the Flower City is at the foot of Tengshan Mountain.
The bustling streets and familiar Tang-style buildings made Tsugikoku Yoshiichi feel as if he had returned to the world of Demon Slayer. The prosperous townscape also made Tsugikoku Yoshiichi realize that the rulers here had run the country in an orderly manner.
"Kozuki Oden actually has this ability?"
"I underestimated him."
Yoshiichi Tsugakuni was a little surprised by the prosperity of Wano Country. In his impression, Kozuki Oden was not the kind of person who could govern a country well.
Of course, it is also possible that the person who governs this country is not Kozuki Oden at all. He may just be a "god" placed on the table.
Whether he could personally govern the country was unimportant; what mattered was that he was surnamed Kozuki and a member of the Kozuki clan. Governing the country was naturally left to the loyal retainers.
Generals who rely on blood ties and surnames passed down from generation to generation may certainly have the ability to govern the country, but the retainers they choose may be the most elite people in the country.
With such speculation in mind, Tsugikoku Yoshiichi also went down the mountain along the mountain path and walked towards the city.
His observation Haki swept across the entire island, but he did not detect any trace of Kozuki Oden.
Kozuki Oden is not on the island. In recent years, the Whitebeard Pirates have reappeared in the New World, and their leader is Kozuki Oden. Wano Country is more like the base camp of the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates. These people will disappear from the sea after a while, and they should return to Wano Country to recuperate.
Yoriichi was not in a hurry. He just needed to wait for Kozuki Oden to come back in Wano Country. This was his home base, and it was impossible for him to stay away from home all year round.
If Tsugakuni Yoshiichi went out to sea to search by himself, he would have no idea when he would be able to find Oden. He had no means to grasp the other party's location. Even if he knew which island Kozuki Oden was on, he had no pointer to point the direction.
Flower City can be said to be the "city center" of Wano Country.
An island is divided into 6 areas in total, namely Kuri, Hime, Usagi, Hana no Toi, Suzuho, and Hakumai.
The two most densely populated areas are Jiuli and Huazhidu.
Jiuli has two towns with the largest number of civilians - Bianli Village and Boluo Town.
The Flower City, which serves as the capital of the country, has only one town - the God of Wealth Town.
This Caishen Town is also the most prosperous city in the country. People who can live here are either rich or noble, and the worst can be considered middle class.
As for the two towns of nine miles, they are basically inhabited by artisans and ordinary farmers.
Apart from the two most densely populated areas, Kuri and Hana no Toku, the other areas in Wano Country are relatively functional.
For example, the Rabbit Bowl area has the only natural quarry on the entire island; Baiwu is a plain, surrounded by the sea on both sides with large sandy beaches, and one of the island's ports, Renwu Port.
Shimei is surrounded by mountains, with various wild animals living in it and a sparse population; while Suzuho is more like a cemetery area, and people who died in Wano Country are basically buried in Suzuho's northern cemetery.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni did not continue to cover his face with a black robe in Wano Country. This country is isolated from the outside world, and people living here basically cannot receive newspapers from the outside world.
The vast majority of people have no idea about the outside world. Everyone is focused on their own lives. I'm afraid only the ruling class pays attention to information from the outside world. In such a place, Yunyi doesn't have to worry about his identity being exposed.
Moreover, a black robe would be too conspicuous in this place.
As the figures shuttled back and forth, Tsugikuni Yoshiichi had already changed into a red kimono, wearing wooden clogs, with his long hair tied up. With a long sword on his waist, he looked like a native samurai of Wano Country. If it weren't for his hair color being too special, he would not have attracted anyone's attention when walking on the street.
Yuichiro Tsugikoku was walking aimlessly on the street and casually sold a piece of gold in a jewelry store, and immediately became a wealthy man.
What Tsugikoku Yoshiichi didn't expect was that his occasional display of wealth would immediately make him a target of attention.
The City of Flowers.
Hidden beneath the prosperous background of Wano Country is actually class stratification.
In Wano Country, whether you can have wealth in your life is closely related to your birth.
There are not so many opportunities for you to get rich in this country. Most people work hard all their lives, but they can only be satisfied with having enough food and clothing.
In order to live a comfortable life, brave people often choose to take risks.
"grown ups!!"
"Lord Kurotan!"
In a teahouse in the Flower Capital, hurried footsteps were heard from the corridor. Kurozumi Orochi, who was drinking and listening to music in the house, suddenly heard the hurried shouts of his subordinates.
"clang--"
The geishas in the house stopped playing, put away their instruments, straightened their clothes, and bowed slightly in the direction of Kurozumi Orochi to signal the end.
And soon after the piano music stopped, there was a knock on the door.
"Sir, someone from the Golden House wants to see you!"
A dark shadow flashed outside the house, and Uncle Kurozumi's subordinates who came hurriedly knelt down outside the corridor and reported to the Kurozumi Snake in the room.
"Golden House?"
"Tsk, no see!"
"Don't bother me at this time."
Kurozumi Orochi gave a low, cold growl, then turned around, his face already filled with smiles, and looked at the geishas:
"Keep playing, keep playing"
Before Heitan could finish his words, his subordinates' tactless shouts rang out from outside the house:
"The owner of the Golden House said it's a big deal!"
"A stranger sold a piece of gold at the Gold House. It was huge!"
"And that guy doesn't seem to know the value of that piece of gold. He's just a fat sheep!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the door was suddenly pushed open. The black charcoal snake that had been acting so unruly in the house quickly walked out, grabbed the collar of the clothes he had laid, glared at him, and asked with some joy:
"Big gold?!"
"Fat sheep?!"
"Where's the thing? Let me see it!"
Kurozumi Orochi couldn't wait to ask, his face flushed perhaps because of excitement.
"this"
He then took out a small cloth bag from behind him, held it in his palm, and offered it to the black charcoal snake with both hands.
Kurozumi Orochi also grabbed the bag. As soon as he took the things in his hand, the heavy weight made Kurozumi Orochi's face light up. He poured the things into his hand and found an irregular piece of gold the size of a thumb.
“!!!”
The quality of the gold is very good, the best of the best. In this country where gold and silver are scarce, gold is not circulated among the people at all. The currency currently in circulation on the market is actually copper coins.
Moreover, Wano Country has limited mineral resources and no gold mines in the country. The amount of gold in the entire country is extremely limited, and most of it is ancient pieces passed down from hundreds of years ago.
The rarer something is, the higher its value. Gold, a rare mineral, has become a symbolic object for nobles to show off their wealth.
golden house
In fact, it is the place where Ji Guoyuanyi sells gold for money. In fact, the existence of the Gold House is to provide services to the country's nobles and help them create various gold jewelry.
It may take several years to come across a case of selling pure gold in their gold house.
Moreover, it has been in existence for almost so many years that the customers coming and going are already familiar with each other, so the appearance of strangers will naturally attract other people's attention.
After all, it was because Yoriichi Tsugakuni didn't know enough about Wano Country that he was targeted.
When one's strength reaches the level of Tsugikuni Yoriichi, he will always neglect the details of life. In fact, he didn't take the matter of exchanging gold to heart at all.
If it were an ordinary person who has lived in Wano Country for many years, I am afraid that he would never exchange gold for gold through the open gold house.
And this negligence of Tsugikuni Yoriichi also made his existence appear in the sight of Kurozumi Orochi.
Kurozumi Orochi was a retainer following Kozuki Oden, and his status in Wano Country was only below that of the general and regional daimyo.
In front of the Kozuki family, he is the most loyal dog, but in front of ordinary people, Kurozumi Orochi is a man-eating tiger.
Jinwu, who is able to do gold business in the Flower City, has his own influence both in the underworld and in the white world.
Coincidentally, Kurozumi Orochi, Kozuki Oden's attendant, was involved in both the black and white worlds, and was considered a powerful figure in the Flower Capital.
After Whitebeard's death, Kozuki Oden actually focused all his attention on managing the Whitebeard Pirates. He stayed in his own fiefdom, Kyuri, most of the time. When he had free time, he would go to Renbu Port to meet with the crew of the Whitebeard Pirates.
He didn't think much about inheriting his father's position and governing the country.
Oden's father was old and frail, with limited energy. This power vacuum gave Kurozumi Orochi the opportunity to assert himself, steal power, and build up his own power in the Flower Capital.
Overthrowing Wano Country is not Kurozumi Orochi's goal at this stage. He is very aware of his own strength and knows very well that if he cannot get rid of Kozuki Oden, it will be impossible for him to truly rule Wano Country.
Unable to get the opportunity, Kurozumi Orochi began to indulge in material desires, using various means to make a fortune to satisfy his consumption desires.
The golden house is one of his important means of making money.
"Gold, haha!"
"Such a big piece of gold."
"Did someone find buried treasure on the island? Or did this flow from Jiuli?"
"Hey, where's the guy selling gold?"
The black charcoal snake bit the gold hard, leaving a shallow tooth mark. Feeling the texture of the gold in his hand, the black charcoal snake showed an excited smile on his face and asked hurriedly.
“Left.”
"But don't worry, sir. Our people are following him and will definitely not let him get away."
"But, that man is dressed like a warrior and looks a bit tough to deal with!"
"Jinwu asked me to inform you because he hopes you can go there in person."
"Identify whether that person is from Jiuli?"
"If they were members of the Whitebeard Pirates, then hehe..."
As the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates settled in Wano Country, their crew members would often go to the island to purchase some daily necessities. Naturally, the currency used in the outside world could not be circulated in Wano Country.
Therefore, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates would often go to the only gold house on the island to exchange some coins for their daily living expenses.
It is true that Oden was very kind to the members of the Whitebeard Pirates and never treated them badly in terms of food and drinks.
But people like Marco would not accept benefits from Kozuki Oden for no reason, even though he is now the nominal captain. After all, the crew members also have consumption desires besides their normal lives.
There have been some accidents on the island.
After the Whitebeard Pirates exchanged gold at the Gold House, they were attacked. What happened?
After that incident, Jinwu became cautious and careful in doing things. At least before taking action, they would confirm the identity of the target they were going to attack.
Obviously, the appearance of Tsugikuni Yoriichi also made them feel uneasy, and they did not dare to act rashly against Yoriichi who was dressed as a samurai.
"ah?!"
"How could it be someone from the Whitebeard Pirates? Didn't that stupid sir Kozuki Oden already take the Whitebeard Pirates out to sea?"
"It seems they haven't returned yet? There's no news of them returning from Renwu Port."
"It can't be someone from the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Just arrest this man and force him to tell you the source of the gold."
"If that person doesn't have any other gold, kill him and throw his body far away!"
Kurozumi Orochi, who was in high spirits, had no intention of leaving the teahouse to check. He simply spoke in a low voice to his subordinates hiding in front of him.
His face was full of viciousness, and he felt no psychological burden at all when doing things like killing people and robbing them.
“Yes! Yes!”
After hearing this, the subordinates nodded repeatedly, then quickly stood up and ran outside.
Looking at the backs of his subordinates leaving, Kurozumi Orochi felt a little itchy in his heart. He chuckled and turned back to the room.
"Hey, hey, hey~"
"Look, such a big piece of gold!"
"Hehe, just obey me, and I'll give you whatever kind of life you want."
The door closed, and Kurozumi Orochi's laughter was heard from inside the house. Several geishas were forcibly hugged in Kurozumi Orochi's arms. The women's reluctant but welcoming attitude completely aroused Kurozumi Orochi's desire.
Before long, bursts of moans were heard from the room.
During this time, a waiter occasionally passed by, but he just lowered his head, pretended not to hear, and quickened his pace to leave.
Such things often happen in teahouses. Most geishas have already anticipated that such a day would happen the day they start working. The transformation from a geisha to a geisha often only takes a thought and one customer.
(End of this chapter)
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