I don't know why I decided to wear a yukata; they're so annoying, especially when I have to wash them. Right now, I'm in a river, scrubbing my clothes with a lot of frustration.
I don't like being dirty, and every village I enter, I get dirty in one way or another.
After getting angry at having to wait for that cotton outfit to dry—which would take almost a day if I'm lucky—I decided to throw it into the river so the current would carry it away.
I opened the system and bought new clothes, spending about 10,000 PL. I had a pair of skirt-like kendo pants, along with a long sleeveless shirt, which shows my entire arm, from my hands to my shoulders; if I raise my arms, you can see all the way to my armpits.
I also bought some spare clothes, along with a standard mask without any particular features; it was just black and that's it. In the end, I kept the mask Hitetsu gave me, along with the hat. Before leaving, I covered all my skin with a bandage so they wouldn't notice my appearance.
I did keep my sandals on; they seem to match the aesthetic of the whole place, but without socks, I was bored with the cotton textures.
With all that said, I continued on my journey.
...
It's been three months since I've been in Wano, and I finally arrived at the Flower Capital, a very beautiful place, very different from the other places I've been in this country. It's as if they were two different countries, but this isn't something that's happened more than once. The capital seems full of life and the rest of the villages look like a hurricane has just passed through. At this point, it's almost the norm.
During that time, I've faced only NPCs here and there; still nothing that makes me use my abilities like I did with Ashura. I hope things change here in the capital; if they continue like this, I'll never be able to fully utilize Armament Haki in its advanced form.
But these guys weren't doing anything. During one of my stops in one of the towns, I saw people looking at me strangely, as if they were afraid of me, even though they hadn't seen my appearance.
Everything became clear when I saw a piece of paper stuck on a wall. It was me whom they knew was being hunted. They treated me like a criminal who went against the current regime, presenting me as a dangerous threat that could wreak havoc on any village I visited.
After thinking about it for a while, I realized they wrote this to keep the common people away from me so they'd see me as their savior.
I don't care how these people see me; I don't plan on staying here for long, I hope.
As soon as I entered the place, I saw people giving me strange looks again; I'm used to it by now, but it's getting quite annoying.
From what I understood, there are no beast pirates here; for that, I'd have to go to Kaido's base, but I don't plan on doing that until I acquire advanced Haki.
I decided to walk around as if none of this affected me; I went to buy some mochi at a store with the money I took from the bandits I encountered.
When I finished my purchase, I saw some guys standing in front of me with their katanas ready to attack.
Samurai: "You're—" They couldn't finish their rant as I slashed at their still-sheathed katanas.
The three samurai looked at me in shock, unfazed by my actions.
Dante: "Get lost." I told them, and they silently walked away from me to a certain distance, where they started running. "These samurai these days, they don't even let you eat, right?" I said to the vendor, who nodded a little fearfully.
I just sighed; this is what happens to pirates: every time they see you, they get scared shitless and don't think.
With that, I went for a walk, looking around like a tourist.
...
It's been two days since I got here, and not much has happened; in fact, I'm already getting bored of being here; I feel like it's been a waste of time. I could have learned emission from someone of Marcos's caliber.
The only thing that helped me was seeing my mother's homeland, but that was it.
While I was meditating under a sakura tree, I felt someone slowly walk toward me.
Dante: "If you want trouble, you better leave. I'm not in the mood. I'm already bored of defeating samurai without a shred of strength." I said simply.
???: "I assure you, I'm not like that bunch of samurai you've faced, but I'm not looking for trouble with you either."
At that moment, I turned my gaze to where the people in front of me were.
Dante: "What an ugly hairstyle he has; tell me where they get that haircut, so I'll never go back."
There was a guy with blue hair, a very long pompadour covering part of his face, and a smile on his face as if he were always happy, something he didn't convey.
???: "I said I didn't want trouble, but now I'm regretting it," he said with his big smile.
At that moment, I sensed his fighting spirit, strong enough to give him another closer look, and I realized this guy was Denjro, but in his Orochi lapdog disguise. Seeing this, I just smiled, in my head.
I drew my sword, showing it in all its splendor.
???: "I had heard your sword was blood red, but I thought it was because it was stained with the blood of your enemies."
Dante: "I haven't killed anyone yet, and I don't plan to for now; I'm just looking for strong people to fight, not a massacre."
???: "I hope you recognize me as one of those people, Kyoshiro the Sleeper." He said, naming himself as he drew his katana.
Dante: "Senji Murasama," I said, using my fake name.
And with that, he threw us against each other, clashing katanas.
...
Kyoshiro: "You're good," he said, sitting on the ground, covered in sweat and blood.
Dante: "Yes, you're also quite strong; I wish you'd used all your strength, not just a little." I also said, somewhat tired and with a serious wound on my arm from tanking a surprise attack from him.
Kyoshiro: "I can't destroy this entire place; besides, you didn't use all your strength, which I'm still grateful for," he said, slowly getting up. He had many wounds all over his body, not at the level he managed to inflict on me, but enough to bleed a lot.
I have to say I didn't use any kind of Haki, something I realized he didn't do either.
Dante: "And why did you come?" I said directly.
Kyoshiro: "Well, I come directly from my lord, the current daimyo Orochi-sama; he's heard many things about you and wants to invite you to a party so you can join his men."
As long as I'm in plain sight of that coward, that's fine by me. I want to see how he acts and see what he does to me; this could be an opportunity I've never seen before. Besides, I want to fight this guy with all my might; he must know how to use ryou to its full potential, or so I'd like to believe. Making "friends" with these guys can't be that bad.
Maybe it's just speculation, maybe I'm living in a completely different movie, but it doesn't cost anything to try.
Dante: "Fine, I accept your invitation to your party; as for being part of your guard, I'll decide when I see what you offer me first." If I can take away his way of developing internal destruction, I can create a huge mess and leave without any consequences.
...
How relaxing this is. I hadn't entered any hot spring baths, as I didn't want anyone to see me detransformed, but with Denjrio's help, and Kyoshiro, my mistake, I was able to get the bath to myself. I cleaned my arm wound. I was surprised by this red scabbard's tactics in attacking me. If I had used Haki, it wouldn't have hurt me, but I wanted a sword fight, so we both decided not to use any Haki at all.
This just goes to show that I still have a way to go to reach the highest level in the art of swordsmanship; so far, I've only used the advantage of greater strength and speed. I know one style of swordsmanship, but it's something the Holy Knights do, and I don't plan on ever using it, so technically, I have no sword techniques.
I came out of the bath already transformed again; there was a yukata for the party; I completely ignored it and put on the same outfit I've been wearing these past few days, except I used the spare one, which is the same, only in less dark tones. So I continued with the hat and mask.
Out there was Kyoshrio waiting for me, all bandaged up, almost the same as me, except he's covered in wounds; I'm not.
Kyoshiro: "I thought you'd fallen asleep after all this time," he said mockingly.
Dante: "It's been a while since I've had a proper shower. I couldn't help it."
Kyoshiro: "Okay, let's go. The party should be starting soon, and I need to be there as soon as possible as the yakuza boss," he said as he turned and led me down the path to Orochi Castle.
I saw several people give me strange looks; a criminal walking with a yakuza boss is like a president walking with a criminal. Although that's always happened, some even become ministers, but let's not tell the truth right now; let's continue with my current situation.
I saw a large castle filled with alcohol around it; Orochi's subordinates couldn't hold it and immediately started drinking.
Kyoshiro: "Let's go in," he said simply; I just followed him.
I don't know if it was because they didn't believe there wouldn't be any trouble in this place or because of their drunkenness, but no one paid much attention to my presence; they were more absorbed in the sake and the geisha.
After a few turns, I arrived at the main hall: lots of food, women, and alcohol—very pirate-like, but in this context, very daimyo-like from a traditional Japanese nation.
In the middle of all this, there was a short, bald, purple-haired, ugly man. I don't know how someone so ugly came from that family, and he just happened to gain power. From a distance, I can smell his cowardice, not a hint of charm or charisma. Only his connection to Kaido keeps him in power.
He could simply kill him quickly and hide in this country; The problem would be that Kaido would use someone less weak, cowardly, and completely loyal to him as a replacement. Which wouldn't be ideal. If they want to take care of Orochi, they need to do it with Kaido on hand, or else there won't be much change in the country.
Orochi: "You've finally arrived, Kyoshiro, and I see you've brought the special guest," I said cheerfully, as if nothing bad would ever happen to him. "Come on, sit across from me; let's chat."
As we sat down, geishas stood around us, serving us sake and food at our leisure.
Dante: "No, thank you very much, I don't drink alcohol." Those around me looked at me strangely, as if I had said I could cut off Kaido's head with just one cut from a wooden stick.
Kyoshiro: "I didn't think you didn't like sake."
Dante: "It's not that I don't like it, but the last time I drank it, I got into a lot of trouble and somehow ended up in prison." Kyosirod just laughed, while Orochi didn't pay much attention to what we were saying; he was more focused on the geisha serving us.
Orochi: "Gufufufufufu, I see you're quite injured. Were you playing while you were looking for our guest?"
Kyoshiro: "You could say it was just a game, but in reality, our guest confronted me while I was inviting him to the party."
Orochi: "And is he strong?" he asked, receiving a nod from Kyoshiro.
Dante: "I don't know if they know I'm here, so they could ask me anything. I'm just saying this just in case."
Orochi: "Gufufufufufu, how did I forget something like that?" He just laughed a little nervously at my comment, obviously without neglecting the women surrounding him.
Dante: "The truth is, I came mainly because I was told you had a deal you wanted with me."
Orochi: "Exactly. The truth is that the greatest military force I currently have is the yakuza, and they're the people who guard the capital, and I can't move him for the simple fact that I don't have anyone better to replace him."
Dante: "Do you want me to replace Kyoshiro as yakuza boss?"
Orochi: "No, I want someone to be the commander of my samurai force, to command all of Wano. Currently, my greatest force is in the Flower Capital, but if anything happens out there, it's the Beast Pirates who will take care of everything."
Dante: "In other words, you want me to become the overall commander of Wano's samurai forces?"
Orochi: "Exactly. I've been hearing about you, how you stood up to the bandit leader of Mount Atama and won, and how you defeated everyone who stood against you, including the Beast Pirates themselves, and now you give me even more reason to make you my general, being able to stand up to Kyoshiro and come out unscathed."
I see, this guy wants to escape Kaido's dependence; this guy is quite greedy. If something happens, whether it's with Kaido or someone else, he wants a big wall to defend him. Ever since the previous Bari Bari no mi user, who served Orochi, died, he's felt unprotected, and a certain fear fills his heart. Right now, he has Kyoshiro, but that's all. He can't be by his side all the time.
That's where I come in, as Orochi's commander, following his orders directly, and in the process, training new samurai to serve him and be that force that makes him feel safe.
He deduced that I wounded Kyoshiro without a scratch, since his bandages still show blood, while mine doesn't. An advantage of the Mythical Zoan.
Orochi must be sure to get me, since he must know I want a deal and that I was interested, so he's giving me great status to serve him directly.
Dante: "Sounds interesting," really interesting; let's see how far this goes.
Orochi: "Right, Gufufufufufu," he said with his annoying laugh. "Well, now let's make the deal. What do you want in return for serving me as the commander-in-chief of my army, Murasama? Money, fame, women? I can give you all of that." He said with a big smile.
I just stared at him.
Dante: "Well, I came here to improve my skills, both in swordsmanship and haki. I'm currently very deficient in the use of ryou, so if someone could teach me the highest level of ryou, I'd have no problem serving them."
Orochi: "No problem, I can get you people who can teach you and make me the strongest samurai in all of Wano." I can see in his eyes how he thought that if this were the case, he'd have the strongest samurai in Wano in the palm of his hand, one capable of surpassing Oden.
Surpassing Oden, obviously, but in his palm, no way. I saw him extend his hand to confirm the deal. If I could serve everything he tells me, I could perfectly learn, defeat all these jerks, and leave. I don't know what this little man eats, but he must have poop in his head if he thinks loyalty can be bought.
I took off the straw hat I was wearing, which covered half my face, revealing my white hair tied in a bun next to my dark blue eyes. Sorry, that blue essence that's in my eye sockets is replacing my eyes.
I saw her tense up when she saw my features, and how her fear increased when she saw me take off my mask and saw that I had neither nose nor mouth, along with skin so dark it's capable of absorbing all the light that touches my skin.
[Illustrative image, so you can get an idea of the dark black I'm talking about]
Orochi was shocked to see my appearance; he hadn't expected me to see him like this, and neither had the others around me. I saw Kyoshiro's eyes widen. The geisha trembled at the sight of me.
Dante: "We have a deal, Orochi-dono." I said, shaking his hand, causing him to wake up from his thoughts and fears.
Only to respond with a wicked smile, he began to laugh, allowing the party to continue as if nothing had happened, but people still looked at me as if I were a freak.
I repositioned myself, grabbing the geisha by the waist, pulling her closer to me, and another woman by the shoulders, doing the same.
Dante: "Do you fear me now?" I said to the two women. They also came out of their shock, trying to deny it, but I could sense their feelings of fear and uncertainty.
I didn't plan on abusing these two girls, but I had to play my role as a corrupt commander well so Orochi would lower his guard and trust me. That way, I'll be able to gain valuable information I can sell to the Red Vianas in the future. I'm quite the genius.
The party continued, but I could still feel the gaze on me from two people specifically. The first was Kyoshiro, who was looking at me strangely. He was trying to understand my true intentions, since something inside him didn't expect me to agree to work with Orochi, but on the whole, he did the same, so he wasn't sure and considered me a potential ally or enemy.
And the other gaze was one of the geisha standing next to Orochi, a woman who caught everyone's attention, one whom Orochi couldn't take his eyes off. A woman in a well-made and beautiful yukata, staring at me.
A woman with aqua-green hair looked at me like no other woman had ever looked at me before, with a mixture of disappointment and hatred.
They expected nothing less from the princess of the Kozuki family; she must consider me a great threat to her family, allying me with the family of her enemy, who looks at her with lust.
I could only laugh at the situation; all I could do was look at myself, nothing more. The day could kill; Orochi would have died 100,000 times over.
I stood up, leading the two women at my side to follow me.
Dante: "Orochi-dono, I'll go to the room you gave me so I can enjoy this moment alone and rest peacefully, you know." I said, pulling the two women closer to me while groping her a little.
Orochi: "Gufufufufufu, no problem, Murasama-dono, it's something every man has the right to do, so there's no problem with you leaving." I just nodded and went to where I was told I could stay.
One of the guards helped me get to where I was supposed to sleep.
Dante: "Get lost. I don't want you around listening, unless you want to lose an ear and everything that makes you a man," I told the man, who just bowed in fear and ran away.
I motioned for the two women to sit; they looked tense and scared. I just sat across from them, along with my outfit and a deck of cards, which I quickly shuffled. The two women didn't know what I was doing; they expected anything except this.
I dealt three cards to each of them and placed four in the middle of us.
Dante: "Tell me, do you know how to play Scopa?"