"Although it's a bit beneath me, I suddenly became interested. Is that not allowed?", Rosse's lips curved slightly, as if he didn't mind talking about this matter.
Of course, he had no interest in the Shogun of Wano, nor did he have any interest in Kurozumi Orochi.
But the doll that had always lain in his arms, letting him toy with it as he pleased, had just now moved its body slightly because of their conversation. That made him very interested.
"Your Highness, this isn't about whether it's allowed or not."
Kurozumi Orochi wiped the sweat from his forehead, fearfully persuading, "The situation in Wano is very complicated. This land has been ruled for a thousand years by the Kozuki family and the five great Daimyo families. As long as they exist, no one else can become Shogun."
"Are there many left? Kill them all, and wouldn't that solve it?", Rosse chuckled lightly.
"That won't do either! If you kill them all, then you'll form an irreconcilable enmity with Wano. With their fiery character, they'd definitely rather die than submit," Orochi hurriedly said.
He didn't dare oppose Rosse, but neither could he allow Rosse to become Shogun of Wano.
The fruits of the Kurozumi family's century-long scheming, how could he just give that up?
"Rather die than submit? The people of Wano have that much backbone?", Rosse laughed softly.
"Absolutely true!", Orochi nodded furiously.
"Then it seems real enough."
Hearing that, Orochi hadn't even had time to breathe a sigh of relief, when Rosse continued, "But I don't believe it. In this world, is there truly anyone who won't yield to power?"
"Your Highness, Wano is the land of samurai. Samurai would rather break than bend—"
Before Orochi could finish, Rosse interrupted, "Alright, I'm not interested in hearing you say all that. Since you've come, that saves me a trip to the Flower Capital. I won't be Shogun of Wano for now. I'll just take a Daimyo title first. The name 'Ringo' sounds nice to me, let's settle on that place."
Rosse waved his hand carelessly, looking like he didn't want to hear Orochi's explanations.
As for Orochi's intent, he was very clear in his heart. It was nothing more than hedging his bets. That way, no matter how things ended, the Kurozumi family wouldn't be purged.
And as Orochi had said, Wano never lacked samurai who would rather die than submit.
If one truly wanted to rule this land, having a proxy like Orochi was definitely more beneficial than harmful.
But unfortunately, Rosse didn't care what the people here thought.
Five million people might sound like a lot.
But from a macro perspective, it really wasn't that many.
Every year, the number of births in the world was more than ten times that.
These past days, though he'd been enjoying himself with Toki, he had also gone to check out a few other regions.
Wano was located in the New World. After a thousand years of reproduction, the basic foundation of the people here was quite good.
Even the old, weak, sick, or disabled were at least F-rank. Most were at E-rank level.
Which meant, barely 10 experience at the low end, and more than 100 at the high end.
Rosse truly didn't mind turning the entire Wano into his nourishment.
This wasn't a land that supported him, so why should he care so much about it?
If Fish-Man Island hadn't been Otohime's homeland, he would have personally joined in on the last Buster Call as well.
"Th-this...", Orochi's expression faltered with hesitation.
If Rosse was only going to be a Daimyo, he really wouldn't object.
Besides, the current Daimyo of Ringo, Shimotsuki Ushimaru, wasn't his man anyway. Having Rosse take care of him was actually a good thing. [T/N: Ushimaru is Great-Uncle of Zoro]
But when he thought about being the one to break precedent, Orochi still hesitated.
Letting an outsider become a Daimyo of Wano, those voices supporting Kozuki Oden would definitely rise again.
They had taken five long years to suppress those voices.
"What? Some kind of difficulty?", Rosse asked with a half-smile.
"It's just that... there's never been a precedent, so...", Orochi tried to explain his difficulty, but before he could finish, Rosse coldly lifted his head.
"CAREFUL!"
A shrill scream suddenly erupted from behind.
Kurozumi Semimaru's aged face was full of horror. His frail body suddenly burst forth with speed that defied his age, and he fiercely blocked in front of Orochi.
At the same time, a solid, unyielding barrier instantly unfolded before him, enveloping Orochi and the others inside.
BOOM!
An invisible torrent of Conqueror's Haki smashed against the barrier, sending ripples visible to the naked eye surging outward, as though it would collapse at any moment.
But in the end, the barrier still withstood that tangible Conqueror's Haki strike.
"Looks like... you still don't respect me enough," Rosse's voice was calm, as if that explosion of Conqueror's Haki had nothing to do with him.
"I don't dare my lord! It's just that I have my own difficulties," Orochi's tone feigned grievance. Seeing Semimaru stand before him, and the sturdy barrier unbroken, he was completely reassured.
Semimaru's Barrier Fruit had already proven it could withstand Kozuki Oden and Kaido. Now it seemed Rosse couldn't break it either.
This was Orochi's greatest reliance. Otherwise, he would have long been killed by Oden.
"No, you still haven't grasped the situation," Rosse raised his hand leisurely, the motion so slow it was like brushing away dust.
Then, under Orochi's puzzled and foreboding gaze, that hand slowly clenched tighter—
Riiip!
In an instant, the once unyielding Semimaru, along with another retainer, Kurozumi Higurashi, both of their bodies suddenly exploded into puddle of blood and tissues without warning.
A torrent of blood mist sprayed outward, drenching Orochi in filth. Even the barrier that still lingered was dyed a shocking crimson.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[C-rank kill complete!]
[Special reward: Clone-Clone Fruit]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[C-rank kill complete!]
[Special reward: Barrier Fruit]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
"Wh-what kind of joke is this?", Seeing his two retainers explode into blood mist, Orochi was utterly dumbstruck.
'How could it be?'
'The invincible Barrier Fruit, how did it broke so easily?'
As if answering his doubts, Rosse said carelessly, "The Barrier Fruit is quite a decent ability. But relying on those two decrepit bodies that were nearly in the grave, and you thought they could block me?"
He wasn't Kaido, nor Kozuki Oden.
Those two's fighting styles were mainly frontal, excelling at head-on clashes.
For a time, Oden naturally had no way to deal with the Barrier Fruit.
As for Kaido, if he truly wanted to kill Orochi, even ten Barrier Fruits wouldn't be enough to stop him.
It was likely because of those two that Orochi dared act this way before him.
Though Orochi had already assumed a posture lower than him, submitting.
But what was Orochi's level, to think he was only one step beneath him?
If you want respect from him, then prove it with strength.
If you don't have it, then crawl on the ground.
Whatever he said, you listen and OBEY.
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