"It seems my luck is holding out this time." Looking at the unconscious Kurozumi Orochi, Daniel couldn't help but smile. Originally, subduing Kurozumi Orochi might have required a fight, but now it seemed that even a fight wouldn't be necessary.
The Mirror Dimension was indeed perfect for assassination. All one had to do was wait patiently for the right opportunity. In fact, Daniel had been waiting for such an opportunity—specifically, for Imu to appear.
If nothing unexpected happened, the World Government's ancient weapon, Uranus, was undoubtedly in Imu's hands. When the time came, Daniel could drag Imu into the Mirror Dimension and eliminate him without giving him a chance to activate Uranus.
"Who are you?" As soon as Daniel approached Kurozumi Orochi in the Mirror Dimension, the shogun woke up, which surprised Daniel.
"Guards! Guards! Assassin!" The startled Kurozumi Orochi, filled with fear, scrambled away on all fours while shouting at the top of his lungs. Over the years, Kurozumi Orochi had become paranoid about assassins, to the point where he saw threats everywhere.
"There's no need to shout. No one will come here."
"Do you know whose territory this is? Kaido won't let you get away with this!" Kurozumi Orochi loved using Kaido's name to threaten others, even the World Government.
"You don't need to worry about that. Right now, you should be more concerned about yourself."
"Do you really think you can kill me? Hehehe."
After Daniel spoke, the terrified expression on Kurozumi Orochi's face suddenly turned cunning, and he let out a cold laugh. At the same time, his body began to swell rapidly, and eight massive green snake heads sprouted from his body.
As someone who had risen from a lowly servant to become the most powerful shogun in Wano, Kurozumi Orochi was far from useless. His earlier display of fear had been a ruse to assess the situation.
"I'm going to tear your body to pieces!" The largest snake head, adorned with a golden crown, let out a cruel laugh. As it spoke, the other seven snake heads opened their foul-smelling mouths and lunged at Daniel.
"Another wasted Devil Fruit." Watching the seven snake heads charging at him from all directions, Daniel waved his left hand, and eight wooden dragons emerged from his palm. They grew rapidly, wrapping around all eight of Kurozumi Orochi's snake heads, including the largest one, leaving the shogun stunned.
The Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, Yamata no Orochi, was undoubtedly a powerful ability. As a Mythical Zoan, it likely had unique powers, but in Kurozumi Orochi's hands, it was reduced to nothing more than a giant snake that relied on brute strength to bite its enemies. This clearly indicated that Kurozumi Orochi had not awakened the fruit's true potential.
If awakened, the Yamata no Orochi might have gained the ability to manifest different powers in each of its eight heads. Among the Kurozumi clan, only Kurozumi Matsuri, who had made good use of the Clone-Clone Fruit, stood out. Kurozumi Orochi and Kurozumi Kanjuro were prime examples of wasted Devil Fruits.
Kanjuro's "comic" ability, if given to Daniel, would have been another powerful fruit, potentially even stronger than the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Unfortunately, Kanjuro's artistic skills were abysmal.
Even if Kanjuro's artistic skills had been excellent, the limitations of his imagination would have restricted the fruit's potential. However, in the hands of someone like Daniel, who had a vast knowledge of various characters and technologies, the fruit's capabilities could have been terrifying. Imagine summoning characters like Uchiha Madara or the First Hokage, or even creating advanced weaponry like Jericho missiles, mechs, nuclear bombs, or Dongfeng missiles.
"I don't like looking up at people when I talk."
Under Daniel's control, the eight wooden dragons tightened their grip on the largest snake head while the other seven suddenly exerted force. With a series of agonized screams from Kurozumi Orochi, the seven snake heads exploded, leaving only the largest green head, which quickly retracted.
"Indeed, it seems you can't kill him unless all eight heads are destroyed."
Although Kurozumi Orochi couldn't be killed, the pain was very real. The intense agony caused him to writhe on the ground, something he hadn't experienced in many years.
"Stay still." Watching Kurozumi Orochi rolling on the ground, Daniel waved his right hand, and a golden chain wrapped around the shogun, pulling him close. Daniel then placed his right hand on Kurozumi Orochi's head and activated the Dual Soul Technique.
"Kozuki Sukiyaki... The Kurozumi clan really are fools. They were so close to victory, yet they didn't act decisively."
Through the Dual Soul Technique, Daniel gained insight into the history of the conflict between the Kurozumi and Kozuki clans, as well as the reasons for the Kurozumi clan's downfall.
As Kurozumi Matsuri and Kurozumi Orochi had said, there was no personal feud between the Kozuki and Kurozumi clans. The Kurozumi clan's decline was the result of a failed power struggle.
During the time of Kozuki Oden's grandfather, the Kozuki clan had struggled to produce an heir, leading the other five daimyos, including the Kurozumi clan, to covet the throne of Wano.
After a series of conflicts, the Kurozumi clan used assassination and poisoning to eliminate the other daimyos, waiting for the current Kozuki daimyo to die so they could seize power. However, Kozuki Sukiyaki, Kozuki Oden's father, was born, thwarting Kurozumi Orochi's plans.
If this had happened in China, the Kurozumi clan would have fought to the death, regardless of whether the Kozuki clan had an heir. After all, they had already eliminated the other daimyos. But the Kurozumi clan didn't do this.
Instead, they watched as the Kozuki clan turned the tables, leading to the execution and exile of the Kurozumi clan.
Wano's system was strange. There could be six daimyos, but only one shogun, who held the military power of the entire country. The position of shogun had always belonged to the Kozuki clan until Kurozumi Matsuri appeared, convincing Kozuki Sukiyaki to pass the title to Kurozumi Orochi.
"When it was time to be ruthless, they hesitated. When they shouldn't have been ruthless, they acted quickly. No wonder they lost."
Despite his fear of the Red Scabbards, Kurozumi Orochi didn't take action against them, even when he knew their identities. His indecisiveness and lack of resolve were why he and Kaido were destined to fail.
In Udon Prison, one of the Red Scabbards, Kawamatsu, had been imprisoned for years and fed poisoned fish. However, no one realized he was a fish-man, a rare species among the fish-men, so he didn't die.
This was bad enough, but when Kin'emon and the others traveled through time to the present, Kanjuro's secret report allowed them to act, yet they still failed to capture their targets.
"Now it's your turn to perform. But who should I give the Yamata no Orochi Devil Fruit to? It seems I'll need to bring some people over." As soon as Daniel heard about the Yamata no Orochi Devil Fruit, he immediately thought of the perfect candidate: Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's Eight Branches Technique was a perfect match for the Yamata no Orochi. Of course, this was just a thought.
"Lord Orochi." Daniel brought Kurozumi Orochi out of the Mirror Dimension and immediately released a faint aura, alerting the Oniwabanshu ninjas guarding outside.
"Who are you?" The ninjas rushed into the room and, upon seeing the unconscious Kurozumi Orochi and Daniel standing beside him, their expressions changed. They immediately sprang into action.
These ninjas worked in perfect coordination. Half of them attacked Daniel, while the other half tried to rescue Kurozumi Orochi.
"Devil Fruit users, huh?"
Wano's so-called ninjutsu was actually the use of Devil Fruits. Despite being isolated from the world, Wano was located in the New World, yet its people, including the Red Scabbards, were unaware of Devil Fruits. This showed just how tightly sealed off the country was.
Facing the Oniwabanshu's attack, Daniel quickly formed hand seals, and dozens of clones emerged from behind him, capturing all the attacking ninjas. These weren't Shadow Clones but rather the Eclipsing Form technique.
"Now, take them and find those key figures."
After using the Dual Soul Technique to rewrite the memories of the Oniwabanshu ninjas, Daniel ordered them to take his clones to find the key figures in Wano. He then used the Dual Soul Technique to rewrite their memories as well.
Originally, Daniel wouldn't have used such methods to control people, but after seeing Tama, he realized that he didn't need to impose such restrictions on himself. After all, when Tama used her abilities to control so many people later, no one said a word.
The members of the Beasts Pirates were not good people, and neither were Kurozumi Orochi's subordinates.
"Only in Wano could such methods work. In other countries, even with these abilities, it would be difficult to control an entire nation."
In a country with a well-established system, such as a modern society, even if you controlled the president or key leaders, you couldn't act recklessly. At most, you might gain some hidden advantages.
Of course, part of the reason this worked in Wano was due to the country's relatively small size.
"Esdeath, I'll leave the military to you. Remove anyone who doesn't meet the standards."
Under Kurozumi Orochi's rule, Wano's military had become almost nonexistent. The shogun retained some personal forces, but the rest of the country was controlled by the Beasts Pirates. For example, Holdem, one of the Beasts Pirates' officers, ruled over Bakura Town in Kuri.
Other places, such as the Udon Prison, the SMILE factory, and the weapon factories, were also under the control of the Beasts Pirates.
"No problem." Esdeath immediately smiled coldly.
When it came to military leadership, Daniel was no match for Esdeath. Her years as an Imperial General were not for nothing. The fact that she had earned the loyalty of 400,000 soldiers spoke volumes about her capabilities as a general.
"What is Orochi planning to do now?"
In the most luxurious brothel in the Flower Capital, Komurasaki and Denjiro looked tense. Kurozumi Orochi had suddenly changed overnight, no longer hosting daily banquets or enjoying music. Instead, he had appointed outsiders to reform the Flower Capital.
If Wano hadn't been isolated from the world, the identities of Daniel and the others would have been known. Unfortunately, due to Wano's isolation and the Beasts Pirates' failure to share intelligence with Kurozumi Orochi, many in Wano were unaware of Daniel's group.
Wano's isolation was so extreme that even communication was restricted. Instead of using Den Den Mushi, which could communicate across the seas, Wano relied on local communication snails. These snails were only in the hands of Wano's elite.
In the original story, when Luffy and the others staged a rebellion in Udon Prison, they easily took control of the communication system, preventing news of the uprising from spreading. This was due to the limitations of the communication snails. If Den Den Mushi had been used, the rebellion would have been exposed immediately.
Wano's communication snails were similar to walkie-talkies in the modern world. A master snail was needed to communicate within a region, and if the master snail was disabled, communication would be cut off.
After taking control of Kurozumi Orochi, Daniel immediately began using Den Den Mushi in Wano and installed numerous Visual Den Den Mushi throughout the country. Wano also had its own version of the Visual Den Den Mushi, known as the Light Painting Snail.
Daniel also cracked down on the gangs in the Flower Capital, dismantling Denjiro's (also known as Kyoshiro) organization.
This move naturally angered many, but with Kyoshiro unwilling to step forward, no one dared to challenge Daniel's authority.
If Kyoshiro had truly been the leader of the Flower Capital's underworld, he would have confronted Kurozumi Orochi about these actions. However, unsure of Kurozumi Orochi's intentions and concerned about Komurasaki's safety, Kyoshiro didn't dare to act. If Komurasaki's identity were exposed, he would be in grave danger.
The more Daniel learned about Wano's system, the more baffled he became. For such a small country to have six daimyos and four infamous underworld bosses ruling together was absurd.
"People of Wano, I am your shogun, Kurozumi Orochi. I know that you have always believed that I am the one who brought Wano to this state, that I invited Kaido into Wano. However, the truth is the opposite. Kaido came to Wano because of Kozuki Oden.
Years ago, Kozuki Oden defied Wano's laws and set sail, becoming the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. He later left Whitebeard and joined the crew of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. It was during this time that Kozuki Oden met Kaido. I have never left Wano, so how could I have known Kaido?
You have all been deceived by Kozuki Oden. Many of you know what kind of person Kozuki Oden was. From a young age, he constantly violated Wano's laws."
A week later, Kurozumi Orochi's image appeared on the Visual Den Den Mushi, broadcasting to all of Wano. His twisted version of events caused a massive uproar throughout the country.
By revealing Kozuki Oden's past and the origins of the Red Scabbards, as well as their actions, Kurozumi Orochi sowed doubt among those who had once trusted Kozuki Oden. After all, twenty years had passed, and the younger generation had only heard legends, never meeting the man himself.
"My position as shogun was personally appointed by Lord Sukiyaki. If Lord Sukiyaki had not been deeply disappointed in Kozuki Oden, why would he have passed the title of shogun to me?"
"Later, Kozuki Oden, unwilling to accept Lord Sukiyaki's decision, conspired with Kaido to reclaim the title of shogun."
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I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 471)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 677)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
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