Chapter 171: Tenguyama Hitetsu's Surprise!
The air in the Bamboo Forest of Amigasa Village was stagnant, heavy with the scent of decaying leaves and the distant, acrid tang of industrial pollution that plagued Wano Country.
But for the elderly man wearing the long-nosed Tengu mask, the atmosphere had suddenly become suffocating for an entirely different reason.
Tenguyama Hitetsu gripped the handle of the cursed sword, the Nidai Kitetsu, his knuckles turning white beneath his gloves.
He could feel it. A pressure that defied logic.
This group of strangers standing before him was definitely not benevolent. They were not lost travelers, nor were they ordinary pirates seeking supplies. The imposing manner they exuded—an aura suggesting they viewed all things in this world as nothing more than dust beneath their feet—was far beyond that of any warrior he had encountered in his long, secluded life.
It was a suffocating density of power. Like standing before a tsunami that had frozen in time, waiting to crash down.
"Insolent fellows..." Hitetsu murmured, his voice muffled behind the red lacquered mask.
Before Suzaku could even open his mouth to address the wary swordsmith, a figure of pure white stepped forward.
Albedo moved with a grace that made the rough terrain of the bamboo forest seem like a royal ballroom. Her pure white gown remained impeccably clean, repelling the dust of this ruined nation. Her raven-black wings twitched slightly behind her, casting a shadow that seemed to swallow the light.
She looked down at Hitetsu. Her stunningly beautiful face held a trace of arrogance befitting a superior being looking at a bug. Her golden pupils narrowed slightly, not in anger, but in supreme indifference.
"Cease your probing, old human," Albedo said, her voice melodic yet carrying the weight of a decree. "And be grateful for this moment. For you are standing in the presence of greatness."
She paused, letting her aura flare just enough to make the air vibrate.
"We have come to take over this decaying, rot-infested nation."
She extended her white-gloved hand, pointing toward the desolate gray sky where the smoke from Kaido's factories choked the sun. Her voice was clear, resolute, and undeniable.
"Starting today, Wano Country will be under the rule of our supreme master, Lord Suzaku. The chaos ends now. Your good days are about to begin, whether you are ready for them or not."
Boom!
The declaration hit Hitetsu like a physical blow.
Earth-shattering!
The muscles on the old man's face, hidden beneath the Tengu mask, twitched violently. His mind raced, processing the absurdity of the statement.
He had imagined countless possibilities when he sensed intruders. Treasure hunters seeking the rumors of Wano's gold. Refugees fleeing the capital. Lost travelers shipwrecked by the currents. But he had never, in his wildest dreams, expected such an arrogant, almost delusional answer!
Take over the country? Under the nose of that monster?
After a brief, stunned silence, a look of exasperation appeared on his weather-beaten face beneath the mask. The sheer ridiculousness of it bubbled up in his chest, mixing with the bitterness of twenty years of oppression.
It finally erupted into uncontrollable laughter.
"Haha... Hahahahahaha!"
Hitetsu laughed so hard he doubled over, clutching his stomach with one hand while using his sword sheath to support himself. It was a dry, rasping laugh, devoid of joy. It was the laughter of someone who had just heard the funniest, cruelest joke of the century.
"What a group of... naive brats who don't know the vastness of the world!"
He shook his head, the long nose of his mask bobbing up and down.
"Are you some newcomer pirate crew that just debuted outside? Fresh from the calm seas, thinking you can conquer the New World with just spirit?"
His laughter subsided slowly, leaving a heavy silence in its wake. The expression beneath his mask became complicated again, the mockery fading into a deep, profound pity and helplessness.
He looked at the young man leading them, then at the little girl, O-Tama, whom they had seemingly protected.
"Seeing as you saved O-Tama, and are likely not bad people at heart, I offer you a piece of advice. Though I know, with the arrogance of youth, you certainly won't listen..."
Hitetsu let out a long, shuddering sigh. His tone became as heavy as the iron he forged.
"...Leave now. Turn your ship around and flee while you still have time."
He took a step forward, his voice rising in intensity.
"Kaido of the Beasts, the creature who occupies this place, is not a human! He is a true monster! He is an indestructible dragon that breathes fire and commands storms! He is not someone you can deal with at all!"
Hitetsu swept his arm across the horizon.
"Furthermore, he commands vast forces. The Beasts Pirates number in the tens of thousands. He has the All-Stars, the Tobi Roppo... powerful individuals aplenty who can crush supernovas with a single hand. With just this handful of people... you'll probably be captured by his subordinates before you even catch a glimpse of Kaido's shadow!"
His words were a heartfelt warning. It was the final counsel of an old man whose sharp edges had been smoothed by the brutal reality of defeat, given to youths who were oblivious to the meat grinder they were walking into.
However.
To his utter confusion, these words did not produce fear. There was no trembling. No hesitation. No realization of horror.
Instead, these words only earned gazes that were either playful, disdainful, or completely calm from those present.
"Hahaha!"
A hearty, boisterous laugh rang out, completely dispelling the grim atmosphere Hitetsu had tried to create.
Hashirama Senju scratched the back of his head, showing his earnest, disarming smile. The God of Shinobi looked at the old man with the eyes of someone who had seen true horror and found it wanting.
"Don't worry, old sir! We aren't here to die."
Hashirama cracked his knuckles, the sound like gunshots in the quiet forest.
"Kaido, right? Perfect. I wanted to stretch my muscles anyway. Last time, our fight wasn't even finished before he ran away! It was quite disappointing, honestly."
Hashirama grinned, a ferocious confidence underlying his friendly demeanor.
"Hahaha... This time, since we're on his turf, he probably won't run! I can finally use some of my bigger techniques!"
Beside him, Uchiha Madara didn't even bother lifting his eyelids to look at Hitetsu. He stood with his arms crossed, his red armor gleaming dully.
"Hmph," Madara let out a cold snort, his voice dripping with elitist disdain. "A guy who can't even beat Hashirama, what kind of monster is that? He is merely a large lizard. Don't insult the word 'monster' in front of me."
"Oh? You've already fought him before?"
Esdeath stepped forward, the ice-blue aura around her intensifying. She licked her lips, her sapphire eyes brimming with a terrifying fighting intent that made the temperature in the forest drop several degrees.
"He sounds like a decent opponent. I hope he can satisfy me. If he breaks too easily, I'll be very upset."
Even Nami, the orange-haired navigator who looked the most harmless among them, just shrugged helplessly. She didn't look scared; she looked resigned to the chaos.
"Here we go again," Nami muttered softly, clutching her Clima-Tact. "It's always like this. We declare war on an Emperor before lunch..."
Silence.
Absolute, dumbfounded silence from the old blacksmith.
Seeing that this group completely disregarded his warning, and instead were all rubbing their hands and eager for a fight, Hitetsu was utterly stunned.
These... where did these lunatics come from?
Are they insane? Or am I the one who has gone mad?
He felt his worldview had been impacted like never before. The fear and awe he held for Kaido—the trauma of twenty years—was being treated like a casual afternoon sport by these strangers.
"...What?"
Hitetsu suspected something was wrong with his hearing. He blinked rapidly behind his mask.
Hitetsu understood every word Hashirama said. He knew the words "fight," "Kaido," and "ran away." But put together? They formed a sentence that shouldn't exist in reality.
They left his mind blank, as if he had been struck on the crown by a thunderbolt from the heavens.
Wait... what did I just hear?
F-fought him already?
Kaido... the Strongest Creature... even... ran away?!
Hitetsu felt his heart skip a beat. Then another. The blood rushed to his head. The old face hidden by the ravages of time instantly tightened. His cloudy eyes fixed tightly on Hashirama Senju, searching for any sign of a lie.
But there was none. Only truth.
His voice grew hoarse and dry from extreme shock.
"You... what did you just say? You said... you already fought Kaido?"
"That's right!"
Hashirama Senju nodded as a matter of course. His expression was as innocent and natural as if he were saying, "I ate rice balls for lunch."
"He was tough, I'll give him that. But he retreated when things got serious."
Nami, standing nearby, saw the old man's brain short-circuiting. She puffed out her chest, her face radiating the glorious confidence of being associated with the strongest crew in the multiverse.
She stepped forward, her clear voice carrying a calming strength amidst the shock.
"Yes, old sir. Our Suzaku Pirates are very strong. Stronger than you can imagine." Nami smiled, a genuine, dazzling smile. "So please rest assured! Now that we are here, the suffering of Wano Country is over. Everyone's good days are ahead!"
Hitetsu's gaze swept over everyone present.
He saw Hashirama Senju's genuine honesty—a man who clearly didn't know how to lie.
He saw Nami's heartfelt confidence.
He saw Uchiha Madara's contempt for everything, an arrogance that could only come from absolute power.
He saw Esdeath's excitement reserved only for the strong...
Not a single person was joking.
Their expressions, their postures, the way they held themselves—all spoke of a truth that was hard for him to believe, yet one he was forced to start accepting.
The moment this thought arose, it occupied his entire mind like wildly growing weeds, strangling his skepticism.
Could it... be true?
Kaido of the Beasts, who had occupied Wano Country for twenty years, invincible like a god or a demon... was truly no match for them?
Just as his mind was violently shaking and his worldview was crumbling into dust, the young leader, Suzaku, finally moved.
Suzaku had maintained a playful smile throughout the exchange, watching the old man's reaction like a master chess player watching an opponent realize checkmate. He stepped forward, the dried leaves crunching softly under his boots.
"The act is over," Suzaku said slowly.
His voice was not loud, but it cut through the forest air with a terrifying precision. It immediately exposed all disguises.
"Kozuki Sukiyaki."
The name hung in the air, heavier than lead.
"Former Shogun of Wano Country, father of Kozuki Oden... how much longer do you intend to play the role of this eccentric Swordsmith?"
Boom!
If the news about Kaido running away was a thunderclap, this sentence directly detonated a nuclear bomb within Sukiyaki's mind!
He felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His body trembled violently, the Nidai Kitetsu nearly slipping from his grasp. He instinctively took half a step back, his defensive posture crumbling.
Through the eyeholes of the Tengu mask, his eyes revealed pure shock and panic for the first time.
This... this is impossible!
He had lived under the assumed identity of Tenguyama Hitetsu for twenty years! Even the villagers closest to him only regarded him as an eccentric old blacksmith who collected dolls!
This secret, known only to a precious few who were mostly dead, had long been sealed away by the passage of time! He was supposed to be dead!
Who exactly is this young man?!
How could he possibly know?!
"You... who exactly are you!"
Sukiyaki's voice could no longer maintain its previous composure. It cracked, filled instead with deep vigilance and suspicion.
"Me?"
Suzaku smiled slightly. It was a smile that was confident, domineering, and all-knowing. It was the smile of a ruler addressing a predecessor.
"I am Suzaku Yareon. The future master of the land beneath your feet."
Suzaku spread his arms slightly, encompassing the forest, the village, and the ruined nation beyond.
"And the one who... will bring new life to all the common people of this country."
As soon as he finished speaking, Nekomamushi, the massive cat Mink who had been standing silently in the back, instantly widened his eyes.
The memories of the past, the scent of the old era... it all clicked.
He looked in shock at the old man wearing the Tengu Mask before him, his feline pupils dilating.
"Are you... are you truly... Lord Shogun Sukiyaki?" Nekomamushi cried out in surprise, his voice trembling with emotion.
He had only thought the old man had an extraordinary air about him; he never expected that he was the legendary "deceased" former Shogun, the father of his beloved Lord Oden!
Kozuki Sukiyaki did not answer Nekomamushi immediately.
He fell silent. The wind rustled the bamboo, creating a mournful melody.
All disguises, all probes, all attempts to hide... they seemed so pale and ridiculous in the face of this young man's absolute strength and intelligence that saw through everything.
Slowly, with trembling hands, he reached up.
He gripped the sides of the red Tengu Mask that had been his face for two decades.
He pulled it off.
Underneath, a face etched with the hardships and sorrows of time was revealed. Deep wrinkles mapped out a history of regret. His white hair was unkempt, his eyes cloudy with unshed tears.
He looked at no one. He couldn't bear to meet Nekomamushi's gaze, nor the piercing eyes of Suzaku.
He merely stared blankly at the severely polluted land beneath his feet, looking at the river flowing with pitch-black poisonous water, seeing the reflection of a failed ruler. His eyes filled with an unbearable, crushing sadness.
After a long time, he let out a lengthy sigh, the sound escaping him like the last breath of a dying man.
"So be it... you are right."
His voice was quiet, stripped of all pride.
"I am no longer any Shogun. I am merely a sinner surviving in this world, hiding in the shadows of my own failures."
He looked up at Suzaku, his eyes weary.
"Regarding the current misery of Wano Country... I no longer have the standing to interfere in anything..."
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