Night, Kuri.
Even the wind had grown completely still.
The bustling market of the day had fallen into a deep silence; only deep within the courtyard of the Daimyo's Estate did a dim, yellow oil lamp still flicker.
Splash.
Hot water from a wooden bucket was splashed onto the cold stone slabs, sending up a plume of white mist into the air.
Kozuki Oden stood bare-chested, his robust muscular lines faintly visible through the rising steam.
He casually grabbed a large kimono and draped it over himself, tying the belt loosely around his waist.
The clownish, ridiculous appearance he wore during the day was completely gone; at this moment, his brow was furrowed, and his eyes held an unshakeable worry.
He walked out onto the wooden veranda, looked at the withered old tree in the courtyard, and let out a long, weary sigh.
"Five years... four more to go..."
He muttered to himself, as if trying to cheer himself up, or perhaps using the words as a form of self-hypnosis.
"No, you won't even be able to wait three days."
A cold voice rang out from the shadows behind him without any warning at all.
Oden's muscles tensed instantly—an instinctive reaction forged through countless life-and-death battles across the Grand Line.
Without even turning around, the twin blades at his waist were already unsheathed!
Ame no Habakiri!
Enma!
"Two-Sword Style: Togen Totsuka!"
The two famous blades, capable of wounding Kaido himself, tore through the air with a sharp whistle, slashing toward the source of the voice from both sides!
Before the blades even arrived, his materialized Haki was already crushing the floorboards into tiny splinters!
However, this thunderous combined strike suddenly stopped.
It stopped less than three inches away from the newcomer's nose.
A hand.
To be precise, a single finger.
A finger as black as ink, shimmering with a dark red metallic luster, was nonchalantly pressed against the intersection of the two legendary blades.
The violent Haki was like a wave crashing against an invisible wall of sighs; it could not advance an inch before this man and could only dissipate helplessly into the surroundings, making the tatami mats rustle loudly.
"Hey now, drawing blades the moment we meet? Is this the hospitality of Wano Country?"
Cain sat cross-legged in the darkness, still holding an empty sake cup in his hand.
He didn't even look at the two swords that could have split him in half; he only shook the empty sake flask with a look of regret.
"What..."
Oden's iconic large eyes widened, his pupils shrinking violently in shock.
A single finger... blocked it?
How is this possible!
Even Old Man Whitebeard, even Captain Roger, would never be so arrogant!
"Who exactly are you?!"
Oden did not withdraw his blades; instead, he increased the strength in his hands, his arm muscles bulging and veins popping.
Cain sighed and gave the blades a sharp flick of his finger.
Clang!
A strange oscillating force traveled down the blades. Oden felt his palms go completely numb, and he uncontrollably slid back three steps, plowing two deep furrows into the floorboards.
Only then did Cain slowly stand up.
"Impressive."
"As expected of a man who could call Roger and Whitebeard brothers. This level of power is notable even in the New World."
There wasn't a hint of warmth in Cain's voice as he stopped in front of Oden, his gaze falling on the two famous swords.
"A pity for these two fine blades."
"Following a spineless dog who begs for mercy and has had his backbone ripped out—it's like casting pearls before swine."
"What did you say?!"
Oden flew into a rage. These words hurt more than a knife, stabbing directly into his pride as a samurai.
He gripped his twin blades tightly, and the aura of Haoshoku rose uncontrollably around him.
Cain was completely indifferent to this display of power.
"Am I wrong?"
He walked to the edge of the veranda, leaned against a wooden pillar, and leisurely pulled a cigar from his coat to light it.
"Kozuki Oden, do you really think scum like Orochi and Kaido would keep a verbal promise?"
"Do you really think that if you dance naked here like an idiot for five years, they will obediently return Wano Country to you?"
"What do you know!!"
Oden's breathing became heavy, and the veins on his hands holding the swords bulged.
"Orochi promised me! As long as I can calm the people's anger and pacify the samurai, they will leave after five years!"
"This is the only way to save Wano Country! There can be no more bloodshed!"
Cain exhaled a thick ring of smoke. Through the haze, his gaze was like he was looking at an absolute idiot.
"Bloodshed? Your so-called 'no bloodshed' is watching Kaido's factories rise from the ground in Udon?"
"Watching Sea Stone being continuously mined and processed into shackles to lock up those who resist?"
"Watching Orochi's army use the hard-earned money of the people under your rule to purchase batch after batch of modern cannons?"
With every sentence Cain spoke, Oden's face grew a shade paler than before.
It wasn't that he didn't know these things were happening; he had simply subconsciously chosen to escape and ignore them.
"No... impossible..."
"Nothing is impossible."
Cain's voice was as cold as ice, every word hammering against Oden's near-collapsing nerves.
"During these years you've been dancing, Kaido's Beasts Pirates have already built weapon production lines in Wano Country."
"They aren't waiting for you; they are stalling for time."
"Once their factories are all completed and their army is fully refitted, even if you rally the samurai of the entire country, you'll be nothing more than target practice for their new weapons."
Oden's body swayed. For the first time, Enma and Ame no Habakiri felt incredibly heavy in his hands.
"No! I believe in Orochi! As long as I... as long as I dance for four more years... that is the agreement."
His voice was already carrying an uncontrollable tremor. The conviction he had held for several years was cracking inch by inch under the other man's ruthless words.
"Agreement?"
Cain let out a snort of laughter as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.
The laughter grew louder, sounding exceptionally piercing in the quiet night.
"Hahahaha! Agreement! Kozuki Oden, how old are you this year? Three? Or has your brain been sucked dry by Enma?"
Cain approached step by step, and the overwhelming sense of pressure forced Oden to instinctively want to retreat.
"You've dealt with pirates your whole life, yet you actually believe the verbal promise of two country-stealing thieves?"
"Admit it, Oden."
"You're not doing this to save people; you're just running away!"
"You're afraid that once war breaks out, there will be casualties. You're afraid to take on the responsibility of a Shogun. You're still that selfish brat who only wants to go on adventures at sea and doesn't want to deal with the mess at home!"
"You use self-sacrifice to move yourself, feeling like you've suffered a great injustice, feeling like you're particularly noble."
"But in my eyes..."
Cain's footsteps stopped. He reached out and flicked his fingertips, which had just touched the blades, as if brushing off something filthy.
"This self-important display of yours is truly disgusting."
Boom!
It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in Oden's mind.
At this moment, his conviction collapsed entirely.
No one had ever stripped away his disguise so nakedly, tearing apart his ridiculous pride.
Even Toki, even his loyal retainers, would only offer subtle advice.
Running away...
Am I running away?
Oden staggered back two steps, and with a clang, the twin blades fell limply to the ground.
He looked at his hands; there was no blood from killing enemies on them, only the mud he had stained them with while dancing.
"Then... what should I do?"
This man, who once feared nothing in heaven or earth, was now as lost as a child, looking up at the mysterious ronin before him.
Cain looked at Oden's eyes, which had lost all their luster, and smiled.
"What should you do?"
Cain's voice suddenly became soft, carrying a strange magnetic quality, like a demon whispering in one's ear, full of seduction.
"You're tired, Oden."
"Since you can't make the right choice, since your true heart only leads you to make mistakes..."
"Then let me give you a hand."
Cain slowly lifted his head.
In the darkness, a bizarre change occurred in his eyes.
The original black pupils instantly faded, replaced by a field of crimson blood-red.
Three black Tomoe spun wildly within the blood-red eyes before finally connecting together, forming a complex geometric pattern resembling a shuriken.
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