Chapter 91: The Devil Fruit
"So, Suzuki, has a message come from over there?"
The group was still gathered in a small house in Ringo, but this time, in addition to the original Ringo gangsters, there were also gangsters from Shimotsuki and Udon.
"Yes, we've mostly figured out the layout of the Daimyo's mansion," the man called Suzuki said, sitting by the fire, holding a letter. "The Daimyo of Kuri really does have a thing for women. Ayame said they are now trusted."
"But we've paid a huge price for this. If your plan fails, Suzuki, I won't let you get away with it!" Tachikawa Chozo, the leader of the Udon gang, said with a glare.
"Shut up. I sacrificed my own wife too," Suzuki Kaion roared. Besides his wife and daughter, it was hard to find women who were both powerful and beautiful.
This couldn't be made public, so they had to make them sacrifice themselves.
"If the plan goes smoothly, after that guy is dead, we can bring them back!"
"How can you compare the two? Your wife wasn't a virgin to begin with, so of course you don't care. My wife just married me; I haven't even had her yet!" the Udon gang leader complained.
"Gentlemen, don't argue over this. They're just women," the Shimotsuki gang leader said. "Besides, don't you have a new wife with a younger sister? Once the plan is complete, you can just marry her sister."
There are plenty of women. A man with great ambitions shouldn't care about such things. Even wives and children can be sacrificed when necessary. Besides, they didn't marry for love in the first place.
The reason Ayame and the others were willing to sacrifice themselves was entirely because the lives of their families were being held by these gangsters.
...
"Lord Ren, this is why we were willing to sacrifice ourselves and agree to their terms. My daughter... she's only five years old..." Ayame said, head bowed, tears streaming down her face.
She had a five-year-old daughter. Although she was forced to conceive her by Suzuki Kaien, she was still his own flesh and blood. Suzuki used the child to threaten her, forcing her to comply.
"I'm the same. That man... he's threatening me with my sister..." Yayoi said, head bowed.
"I'll find a way to save them," Ren comforted her. "But what you did can't just be forgiven. After I save them, you will both stay here and be my servants."
"Yes!"
Both of them sighed in relief.
"We were your servants to begin with!"
"Lord, I, I'm still... intact. You can do whatever you want with me..." Yayoi said, blushing as she looked at Ren.
Yukiko, standing beside her, was completely baffled. For these two women to say such things in front of her, wasn't this just cucking her?
However, although Ren planned to keep Yayoi and Ayame, their status was not to be compared with Yukiko's. No matter the circumstances, the fact that they were ordered to assassinate him remained.
Fortunately, the two of them had some skill and could be trained as combatants.
...
While the secret port was being built, Ren took a trip to Bakura Town.
"I never thought the Daimyo of Kuri would come to such a rural place," Kin'emon said disdainfully upon seeing Ren. It was understandable for him to be resentful; ever coming to Kuri, he had been doing hard labor every day. Even when he went to the pleasure district to relax, his debts forced him to only choose lower-ranking courtesans.
"You are quite rude. In that case, perhaps we should discuss your last attack on the head of the Tentai-gumi. According to Kuri's laws, those who injure others are to be imprisoned for over twenty years." Ren's gaze was cold, his icy eyes falling on Kin'emon and the others, making them shiver.
"Hey, Kin'emon, stop talking," Kanjuro whispered, pulling on his sleeve.
No matter how unconvinced Kin'emon was, he didn't dare to say another word.
Kozuki Oden himself didn't mind. He simply had no eye for people and couldn't sense Ren's disgust.
"Well then, might I ask why the Daimyo has graced us with his presence?" Denjiro, who seemed like the spokesperson, asked proactively.
"Kozuki Oden, you want to go to sea, don't you?" Ren's gaze passed over Denjiro and landed on Kozuki Oden himself. Upon hearing this, Oden perked up immediately.
"Hey, did I hear that correctly? You said go to sea?"
After all these years, this was the first time Oden had ever heard someone bring it up to his face. Could this Daimyo of Kuri really have a way for him to set sail?
"You... you want to lift the sea ban too?" Oden asked, excited.
"Lift the sea ban? This country can't remain closed off forever. The ban will be lifted eventually. It's better to engage with the world now than to have it forced upon us later."
"That's my thinking too, but... going to sea is not a simple matter," Oden sighed. "I've lost count of how many times I've failed."
"There is an opportunity to go to sea right now," Ren said, a smirk playing on his lips as he slowly sat in a chair.
Kin'emon felt that Ren looked like a fox at that moment.
"Wait, Lord Oden, this man is not to be trusted!" Kin'emon shouted. "And how can you possibly go to sea? You're supposed to inherit the position of Shogun! If it gets out that you've gone to sea..."
"Stop it, Kin'emon!" Oden stood up abruptly, cutting him off loudly. "I don't care about the Shogunate! Compared to that, I'd rather see the world outside!"
"The Daimyo of Kuri, are your words true?"
"Of course they are. And you don't have to worry about this getting out. Even if you don't trust me, you should at least trust the Daimyo of Hakumai, Shimotsuki Yasuie?" Ren said. "I've made an agreement with him. We will have the right to use the secret port for the next ten years."
"Yasuie? I never thought you could convince him," Oden said, his eyes wide with astonishment.
"That man… he's someone we can barely trust… But would you really be so kind as to let us go to sea? You know we still owe you a lot of money," Denjiro said skeptically.
This was exactly the topic Ren had planned to bring up.
"Of course I'm not letting you go to sea for free. Considering the future development of Kuri, I need a great deal of money and this kind of fruit..." Ren said, taking out a sample.
"In the New World, this is known as a Devil Fruit. I need you to help me find this."
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