The morning light pierced through several streaks of haze in the sky.
The Kuri market had not yet fully awakened.
The red bean soup vendor had just set up his stove, the charcoal crackling, and the morning mist still carried the earthy scent of soil.
A long-drawn-out, strange cry tore through this tranquility.
Ee—yo!
The heavy wooden gates of the Shogun's estate were slammed open by a surge of brute force.
Kozuki Oden, stepping on oversized wooden clogs, charged into the street like a wild boar in heat.
If he had just charged out, it would have been one thing, but his current attire had completely transcended the boundaries of human understanding.
Yesterday, he still wore a loincloth to barely cover his shame.
This morning, he had personally torn that palm-sized piece of fabric into thin strips, which fluttered in the air behind him.
A burly man over three meters tall with knotted muscles stood stark naked right in the center of the market.
He had truly achieved the state of being stark naked, coming and going without a care.
Come! Let art bloom in the morning breeze!
Oden raised both hands above his head, jumping around like an overweight moth.
That signature large topknot unraveled as he shook his head violently; with disheveled hair, he plunged headfirst into a muddy pit left by the rain with a splash.
Splat.
Mud splattered everywhere.
A large clump of black mud landed in the steaming pot of red bean soup.
The vendor held his ladle, eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets, mouth half-open, with curses stuck in his throat.
Oden rolled frantically in the muddy water, his thick, hairy legs kicking alternately, as mud coated his entire body.
He grinned widely, revealing all his molars, wearing a vacant, idiotic smile that only a fool would have.
Drool trailed from his chin in long threads, dripping into the mud pit.
He swung his hips while shouting in a rhythmic, raspy voice: Jump! Twist! Don't stop!
This... is this Lord Oden?
My God, he... he tore it all to shreds!
Yesterday it was just the loincloth, but today... has he gone mad?
This is too much for the eyes... An old woman selling tofu tightly covered her granddaughter's eyes with her rough hands, pulling her cart back repeatedly, looking at him with more avoidance than if he were a plague.
Several young samurai had been gripping their sword hilts, ready to respond to Oden's call at any moment.
Now, their hands loosened from their swords as they clutched their stomachs, beginning to gag from physical nausea.
How could this be the peerless swordsman who once followed the Pirate King on his voyage and slew countless powerful enemies?
The news quickly grew wings and flew to the Kuri Shogun's estate.
Im... Impossible! How could Lord Oden do such a thing!
Kin'emon slammed his hand on the table and stood up, the teacup jumping from the impact.
Kanjuro, Kiku, Raizo, and the others looked at each other, their faces filled with panic and worry.
Ashura Doji took a large gulp of sake and said in a low voice, Let's go take a look. Someone must be framing him!
The group hurried to the market. When they pushed through the onlookers and saw the writhing mass of flesh in the mud pit, the eyes of these iron-willed men turned red all at once.
Lord Oden!
Kin'emon clutched a large purple haori, his voice carrying a blood-weeping wail. He scrambled into the mud, his knees slamming heavily into the water.
Mud splattered on his face, but he didn't bother to wipe it off. He held the haori high with both hands, trying to cover that body which was too painful to behold.
Lord Oden, please put on some clothes!
Kin'emon's tears burst forth like a broken dam.
Just how long must you bear this humiliation? How can you believe the words of a villain like Orochi! Draw your sword! We, the Nine Red Scabbards, are willing to follow you to the Flower Capital even if we are crushed to pieces!
Raizo knelt behind them, banging his head against the ground.
Kiku covered her face and wept bitterly, her shoulders twitching violently.
Every cry was like weeping blood, every word piercing the heart.
The dancing in the mud pit stopped.
Oden tilted his massive head, looking at the weeping Kin'emon with the vacant eyes of a dead fish.
In his mind, there was no national righteousness, only the impatience of having his movements interrupted.
He took a step forward.
He reached out with his large hand, not to take the haori, but to grab Kin'emon by the neck and forcibly drag the loyal retainer up.
Kin'emon, his face covered in mud and tears, looked up in bewilderment.
What met him was Oden's idiotic grinning face pressed extremely close.
Kin'emon! Why the long face!
Oden opened his mouth wide, and with a strong stench of bad breath and mud, he sang loudly in an out-of-tune voice.
Dance with me! Shake with me! Shake it together, ay~~
The deafening, demonic voice echoed over the market.
Kin'emon's head buzzed; he was completely stunned.
My Lord? What... what are you saying?
Twist, you idiot!
Oden used his free hand to smack Kin'emon's buttocks hard, making a crisp sound.
Spurred by this extremely insulting action, Kin'emon struggled desperately: No... Lord Oden, please wake up! Wano Country is being destroyed by Orochi!
He tried to drape the haori over Oden's shoulders.
This action completely violated the highest taboo of Oden's current persona.
The subconscious defense mechanism of Kotoamatsukami activated.
Whoever stopped him from dancing and undressing was a mortal enemy.
Oden's lifeless eyes suddenly bulged, erupting with a terrifying, murderous light.
His thick right leg whipped out with a piercing sound of breaking air, launching without reservation.
Bang!
The dull sound of flesh being struck exploded.
This kick landed squarely on Kin'emon's chest.
Even with Armament Haki defense, it seemed flimsy against Kozuki Oden's monstrous strength.
Kin'emon didn't even let out a scream; the crisp sound of his ribs breaking was clearly audible.
He flew backward like a cannonball.
He smashed through three vegetable stalls, snapped a wooden pillar the size of two men's embrace, and finally crashed heavily into a pile of discarded wooden crates, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Kin'emon!
Raizo and Kiku were horrified and scrambled over to save him.
The entire scene was silent.
Oden stood there with his hands on his hips, pointing at the unconscious, blood-spitting Kin'emon and cursing loudly.
A bunch of idiots who don't understand art! I was born to dance! What do I care about the survival of the country? What do I care about the lives of my family! If Orochi tells me to dance, I'll dance! Whoever dares to disturb my dancing mood, I'll kick them to death! From today on, Wano Country doesn't need a Shogun, it only needs a Dance King!
He turned around, his thick fingers pointing at the shivering civilians around him.
What are you looking at! No one is allowed to leave! Clap for me! Cheer! I'm going to dance until the end of time!
With those words, he began moving his limbs again, splashing happily in the largest mud pit like a crazed wild boar.
The muddy water splashed high, accompanied by his completely irrational, wild laughter.
Raizo carried the unconscious Kin'emon on his back, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists, blood dripping through his fingers.
The collapse of faith often happens in an instant.
The watching citizens retreated one after another.
The last glimmer of hope in their eyes was brutally crushed.
The prestige the Kozuki family had accumulated over hundreds of years was like a bursting dam this morning, vanishing instantly with no room for recovery.
In the shadows of the roof of a sake house diagonally across from the market.
A figure wearing a purple ronin haori sat quietly.
Kane finished the last sip of sake in his cup, the spiciness of the liquid washing over his taste buds.
He looked at the tragic and farcical spectacle below, a sliver of appreciation curling at the corner of his mouth.
Truly spectacular.
Kane whispered in a voice only he could hear.
The sharpest weapon in this world was never some Black Blade.
It was dignity, completely rotted and trampled from within.
When a nation's hero becomes a joke, then that nation is only one official document away from being taken over.
Kin'emon, if you were truly loyal, you should have drawn your swords and killed him just now. That would have been the only way to save the last bit of the Kozuki family's pathetic face.
Unfortunately, these samurai followed the rules too strictly.
Blind loyalty is sometimes more fatal than betrayal.
He stood up and casually placed the sake cup on the roof ridge.
The farce had finished playing; the actor's performance was perfect, and the audience's reaction was enthusiastic.
As the director, he was very satisfied.
Kane's gaze crossed over the chaotic Kuri and looked toward the distant Flower Capital.
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