With Ritter's deliberate guidance, the group arrived at a small hut. There, bound tightly in golden chains like a trussed-up offering, lay Orochi.
The so-called shogun of Wano despite days without food or water still looked unnervingly alive. Ritter smirked coldly at the sight. He turned toward Oden and said, "Oden, now's the time for you to stand tall once more."
The fire in Oden's eyes had returned, sharp and unyielding. He drew in a deep breath and asked, "Ritter, what do you want him to do?"
He trusted Ritter enough to know this wouldn't be meaningless cruelty.
Ritter didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked to Tesoro. "Boss Tesoro, bring our 'shogun' into the light."
Tesoro flicked his wrist, and the golden chains tightened with a metallic snap, dragging Orochi before the gathering.
Eight serpent heads drooped weakly, eyes filled with dread. Even in this grotesque form, Orochi seemed to cling to some false sense of safety.
Ritter crouched down, giving Orochi a mocking pat across his trembling cheek. "Shogun," he said, voice dripping with irony, "I'm giving you a chance to live. Play your part in our little play."
Orochi's voice shook. "W-what play?"
Ritter's grin widened. "Simple. Before the eyes of Wano's people, you confess everything. Admit your crimes. And hand back the power you stole return it to Kozuki Oden."
Orochi's pupils shrank. "Impossible! I "
"Bang!"
Ritter's fist slammed into his gut. Orochi folded over like a broken reed, coughing, groaning, his body trembling in agony. Ritter's voice dropped to a deathly chill. "This isn't up for negotiation. Play your role, or I'll make sure you learn what it means to wish for death but never find it."
Orochi quivered, nodding frantically. "I I'll do it!"
Ritter's lips curled. If you were going to fold this easily, why bother pretending to be tough in the first place? Spineless, weak, and still clinging to theatrics.
The stage was set atop the very platform where Oden had once been humiliated forced to dance in disgrace. Now it was remade, veiled in Ritter's mist. A barrier of blood-tinged fog ensured no outsider would interfere with the performance.
The people of Wano filled the square, whispering among themselves. Their eyes widened as they saw Oden standing tall upon the high stage, with Whitebeard and Ritter behind him. Off to the side, Orochi knelt, shackled in gold, humiliated and exposed.
Ritter stepped forward. His voice carried through the mist, booming across the plaza. "People of Wano, today you will witness the truth!"
He yanked Orochi up by the chains. "Speak," Ritter hissed. "Confess."
Orochi trembled, his voice cracking. "I I, Kurozumi Orochi, allied with Kaido. I deceived Lord Oden. All of it the promises, the talk of leaving Wano lies! I never planned to release the hostages. I never planned to free this land…"
The crowd erupted in outrage. Shouts and curses rained across the square.
Ritter's eyes narrowed. "And Oden's dancing? Tell them the truth."
Orochi bowed his head. "It was to humiliate him. To strip him of respect. To turn the people against him so no one would follow his lead…"
Oden stepped forward. His voice was clear, strong. "People of Wano! I, Kozuki Oden, stand before you to beg forgiveness. My foolishness made you suffer."
He unsheathed his blade, pointing it skyward. "But hear me now! By the name of the samurai, I will fight for Wano until Kaido's tyranny is ended!"
The crowd's grief transformed into fire. Their shouts rose in waves, "Lord Oden! Lord Oden!"
Ritter stood silently for a moment, a shadowed smile tugging at his lips. Then he leaned toward Oden and muttered low, "Watch closely, Oden. This next part is important."
Before Oden could question him, Ritter raised his hand. Blood-mist surged, swirling into the form of a vast black cross in the center of the square. Tesoro, already reading Ritter's intent, lashed the golden chains and bound Orochi tightly to it.
"Silent Cage of the Mist."
Orochi's serpentine heads twisted violently, his eyes wide with terror. "W-what are you doing?! You said you'd let me live!"
Ritter tilted his head, his grin sharp as a knife. "Let you live? I'm a pirate. You, of all people, should understand what that means."
It struck Orochi like lightning because this was exactly how he had always behaved, promising mercy only to betray.
His face drained of color. He tried to scream, but no sound escaped. Ritter had sealed his voice with a gesture, one finger raised to his lips. "Shhh. Don't spoil the moment. The show's only just begun."
From the fog emerged ten illusions of Ritter, each holding a black mist-forged rifle. They raised their weapons in unison, their expressions cold and merciless.
"Recognize this?" Ritter asked quietly. "This is for Yasuie. And for Wano."
The rifles roared.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A storm of black bullets tore into Orochi's body. Blood sprayed across the stage. His eight heads writhed soundlessly, their silent screams devoured by the mist. His body convulsed under the relentless fire, every shot laced with Ritter's Armament Haki and fog, ensuring no healing, no return.
The people watched, horrified yet transfixed. Ritter had painted Orochi as the villain beyond redemption, the cancer on their land. And in a nation of warriors, justice demanded blood.
The barrage lasted an hour. Only when Orochi's body hung shredded, pierced through a hundredfold, did the illusions lower their guns.
Silence.
The square was still as death itself. Orochi's ruined form sagged upon the black cross, lifeless.
All eyes turned to the stage.
There, Oden walked forward, every step steady, back unbent despite the bandages around his body. He stood at the front, gazing at his people. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then
"Thud!"
He dropped to his knees, bowing low, his forehead slamming against the wood.
"Lord Oden!" The Scabbards gasped. The crowd broke into cries of alarm.
"My people!" Oden's voice rang out, hoarse but unyielding. "I am Kozuki Oden, and I have shamed Wano!"
His head lifted, eyes brimming with tears. "I thought patience could buy peace. I thought lies could be endured for safety. My folly gave Orochi and Kaido their chance to trample this land. Your pain your suffering is my fault!"
His fists struck the stage until blood welled from his knuckles. "But today, I swear!"
He tore the bandages from his chest, exposing raw wounds not yet healed. "These scars are proof of my mistakes. But from this moment, they will also be my vow."
He drew Enma, its blade erupting in fire, and raised it high. "By the Kozuki name, I swear to rebuild Wano! If I break this oath "
Steel flashed. Oden plunged the blade into his own abdomen.
The crowd screamed.
"This cut," Oden ground out, blood trickling from his lips, "is my punishment. If ever again I bring shame to Wano, I will atone with my life!"
Tears streamed down the faces of men and women alike. Their cries merged into a roar that shook the heavens.
"Lord Oden! Lord Oden!"
In the shadows, Ritter smiled faintly. "Now that's more like it."
Whitebeard strode up beside him, laughing thunderously. "Gurararara! You really are a schemer, brat!"
Ritter shrugged. "Someone has to play the villain."
Only through fear could the people trust Oden again. Only through darkness could their hope burn brighter.
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