The events at the Kozuki mansion in Kuri spread through all of Wano at incredible speed.
Not only did the other regional daimyo fall silent, even Orochi in the Flower Capital and Kaido fell silent.
[Flower Capital]
Kaido slowly set down the sake flask in his hand, his tiger eyes narrowing slightly, "That woman is quite something. Shame Oden is just useless mud that can't be helped up."
In his voice was both a trace of regret and a trace of relief.
Others might not be able to see the current situation clearly, but as a half-outsider, Kaido could see it very well.
If nothing had changed, the Kozuki clan would slowly be played to death by Rosse. Perhaps Rosse would even take over the whole clan's power and then use the name of Wano's righteousness to trouble him.
But now, Amatsuki Toki had chosen the craziest way to break the game.
Kaido could be sure this was Toki's own choice.
As far back as two years ago, he had begun paying attention to her.
Back then, when he asked Rosse for forgiveness, the condition had been that he hand over Toki as compensation.
Kaido never had any intention of doing that, but because of Rosse's favor toward her, he had paid her a bit of attention.
On the surface, she looked like just another Wano woman, tending to husband and child.
But a deeper investigation showed otherwise: during those two years when Oden went to Laugh Tale, the Kozuki retainers only managed to cling to life because Toki had contributed quite a bit.
Kaido's tiger eyes narrowed as he sank into thought.
At this point, struggling over what kind of person Toki was no longer mattered much.
The question now was, what should he do about the present situation?
Previously, since Oden was unlikely to cooperate, he had planned to bide his time and wait until Rosse left before making a comeback.
But now Oden had been shoved onto the stage, and a blood feud had already been forged.
No matter how pathetic Oden was, he would definitely have to strike at Rosse.
And if it came to that, Kaido was very willing to cooperate.
If Shiki could kill a Five Elders, he too could kill Rosse.
At present, Rosse's name across the seas already outshone the Five Elders'.
The Five Elders represented the peak of power, but Rosse, for slaying one top-tier powerhouse after another, already had the aura of becoming the strongest man on the seas.
The only dispute left was Whitebeard, the other "strongest."
Kaido didn't think himself weaker than Whitebeard, and likewise didn't think he would lose to Rosse.
All that talk of "the strongest man", you only knew the truth after fighting.
"Lord Kaido, what should we do now?", Orochi knelt below, waiting for Kaido's thoughts.
As for him, he had none.
When gods fought, he didn't want to be involved at all.
Forget the World Government, whose strength was already beyond reason. Just Rosse, who could suppress Kuri with Conqueror's Haki alone, was not an opponent Orochi could handle.
Anyway, he was the shogun of Wano now. As long as the Kozuki didn't win, whoever wanted to rule Wano, the best way would be to cooperate with him.
Wano had been closed off for centuries, a pure land isolated from the world and fiercely xenophobic.
Only the barren region of Kuri, shaped by Oden's ideas, had been willing to accept outsiders. The rest of the country had no wish to be ruled by foreigners.
"Contact Kanjuro. Have him guide Oden into cooperation, and get him to reach out to the Whitebeard Pirates and other powerful figures of the seas," Kaido said it calmly, laying out the best move for the moment.
What Toki had done was nothing but good for him.
Though the World Government was still full of powerful people, since the Holy Land's destruction, its authority had been greatly diminished.
And with that event only months past, he didn't believe those elites dared to leave the Holy Land for Wano.
The more allies Oden rallied, the safer they would be. Who knew, they might even manage to strike back at their opponents.
By now Kaido had already stopped seeing Oden as an opponent at all.
Once Rosse was driven out of Wano, Oden would be nothing more than his toy.
Relying only on brute force, one's space for survival would only shrink.
"Understood!", Orochi said no more, bowed his head, and withdrew.
It didn't matter. Whatever Kaido told him to do, he would do.
But… behind the scenes, if he got the chance, contacting Rosse's side was also a must.
No matter who won, he had to remain unbeaten.
After Orochi left, Kaido suddenly sneered, then raised his flask and took a heavy swig.
"King!"
"Lord Kaido!", The man standing beside him like a statue immediately raised his head.
"Shadow Orochi's every move. I want all his movements under control," Kaido said lightly.
"Lord Kaido, you think he'll betray us? I'll cut him down!", King said with deadly focus.
"Betrayal? WORORORORO… how can a man who never had loyalty ever be said to betray?", Kaido laughed heartily, then took another long drink before saying, "Just watch him. Let him place his bets wherever he wants. If he really does something, once we win, I'll settle with him then."
"Understood!"
King looked at Kaido with respect. He thought only Kaido could have such breadth of mind, that even if his own people betrayed him, he wouldn't care.
———
"Hu!", Toki let out a heavy breath from atop the horse.
After riding for an hour straight, she was drenched in sweat, her lower body nearly numb from the jolts.
Rosse lay on the tatami, hands behind his head, doing nothing, just watching Toki with a relaxed face. Watching the heroic sight of her riding.
When she looked about to collapse, Rosse finally reached out and caught her, preventing her from falling onto the tatami.
"Feels like you're venting. Venting your resentment toward Oden?", Rosse narrowed his eyes.
"Acting all innocent after gaining the advantage," Toki rolled her eyes at Rosse. She was almost too exhausted to speak, but her mind was still sharp.
She didn't believe for a second Rosse really thought she was venting.
The moment she had strayed from his scripted path, it was destined Rosse would scrutinize the deeper meaning in all her actions.
And what she wanted was actually very simple.
"Then say it, what do you want in exchange? That you're in such a rush for this?", Rosse chuckled, narrowing his eyes, gently stroking Toki's long hair.
He liked women with character. Someone as outstanding as Toki, he didn't mind giving her more chances to perform.
"Since Wano is going to be destroyed anyway, it doesn't matter in whose hands. The Amatsuki clan's ancestral land is in Ringo. The people there betrayed my family. I want you, my lord, to help me kill everyone in Ringo," Toki's voice carried a cold edge. She was forcing herself to say these words.
The former her would never have been able to utter something so cruel.
But for Wano's unity, some sacrifices were necessary.
Only if everyone understood clearly that Rosse's arrival meant nothing but destruction would they all band together, uniting to resist Rosse and the World Government.
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