"Throw this crazy woman into the sea, who's on patrol today? I'll file a complaint when we get back, how can anyone just be let in."
Looking at the old woman in front of him, Scotch displayed an impatient expression. He didn't think such an old hag would have dealings with Kaidou.
The Hundred Beasts have been expanding their business recently, and those merchants all know that Kaidou is usually not home, so they wouldn't specifically come looking for Kaidou.
Plus, with her bizarre attire, and the way she spoke while performing an eccentric dance, Scotch only thought she was a lunatic.
Seriously, who lights a candle on their head and burns themselves for fun?
He immediately ordered two underlings to throw her into the sea. He was already having a bad day, having encountered troublemakers while returning to the main island following an assembly order, delaying his journey, leaving him in a foul mood.
So he had absolutely no patience for this deranged old woman.
Seeing the surrounding pirates approaching, she panicked a little; this wasn't how she had envisioned the scenario.
She was from Wano Kuni, and her name was Kurozumi Higurashi, a member of the Kurozumi Clan who had fallen to overseas exile after their defeat.
The highest ruler in Wano Kuni is known as the General, and the selection of the General has always been from the Kozuki Family, with the Kurozumi, Fugetsu, Uzuki, Shimotsuki, and Rainy Moon serving Wano's General.
Many years ago, the General of Wano had no offspring, and under these circumstances, the question of who would be the next heir drew the attention of several families.
Fugetsu, Uzuki, Shimotsuki, and Rainy Moon all had their opinions on the next General's candidate, as did the then Daimyo of the Kurozumi Clan, Kurozumi Orochi's grandfather, who not only had an idea but also took direct action.
He planned to poison the other Daimyo, ultimately consolidating the General's position into his own hands.
While other Daimyo played petty tricks, he acted, and one after another, the Daimyo died, and these incidents were disguised as internal strife.
The successive deaths of the Daimyo also led to the then General of Wano becoming despondent. The Kurozumi Clan believed the position of General was as good as theirs; however, fate intervened. Although the General's condition was deteriorating day by day, his son, Kozuki Sukiyaki, was born successfully.
With an heir, the position of General was no longer in question, and the Kurozumi Clan's conspiracy was exposed.
Kurozumi Orochi's grandfather was ordered to commit seppuku, and the Kurozumi lost everything, stripped of all by the General, and the Kurozumi Clan was reduced to beggars, reviled by all.
Kurozumi Higurashi left Wano because of these events, but she blamed it all on Kozuki Sukiyaki. If he hadn't been born, the Kurozumi Clan would have become the new General, and none of this would have happened.
Some time later, she returned to Wano and found Kurozumi Orochi, telling him a prophecy that he would become General.
She then urged Kurozumi Orochi to save money and manufacture weapons. Although Wano is isolationist, it possesses technology not found elsewhere, and with Wano's weapons, he could find a partner—a power strong enough to back Kurozumi Orochi as General.
Kozuki Oden's personal strength was beyond their capability to handle, so they had to seek external assistance.
It didn't matter who this person was; Kurozumi Orochi's goal was to destroy Wano and exact revenge on those people. After years of patience and growth, Kaidou's information caught their attention.
The partner shouldn't be too powerful, as Kurozumi Orochi would just lose his sovereignty to the World Government, nor too weak, as they wouldn't be able to deal with the Kozuki Family.
The newly risen Beast Pirates perfectly fit their requirements.
Kozuki Oden had already gone to sea, and from the newspapers, Kurozumi Higurashi knew that Kozuki Oden was with Whitebeard's crew and wouldn't be returning anytime soon, as he not only became a wanted man but also the Second Division Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Originally, Whitebeard didn't have divisions, but as his "children" grew in number, for better management, he divided his pirates into five divisions, and Kozuki Oden naturally became the Second Division's captain.
Incidentally, a certain person destined to die was born on Whitebeard's ship at this time.
Once the time was right, Kurozumi Higurashi used the Clone-Clone Fruit to transform into Kozuki Sukiyaki and conveyed the order for Kurozumi Orochi to temporarily act as General, while the real Kozuki Sukiyaki was imprisoned.
The internal situation in Wano was still quite stable, so Kurozumi Higurashi decided to go out and find manpower and came to the territory of the Hundred Beasts.
However, her initial move was quite unsuccessful; the candle on her head had no other meaning but to create an image. In Wano culture, there's a supernatural being called Ushitoki no Onna, which typically represents evildoers in Wano.
The flicker of candlelight was meant to make her more intimidating, but to Scotch, she just appeared to be a lunatic.
She, an old woman, had no real combat power, and the Clone-Clone Fruit was useless in such situations other than helping her sink faster.
Seeing Scotch about to take things seriously, she couldn't maintain her composure any longer and quickly shouted, "Wait! I really have business to discuss with your captain, it's a matter concerning an entire nation!"
Now the problem was Scotch's to deal with; he couldn't prove whether Kurozumi Higurashi was telling the truth, nor could he prove she was lying.
If she was telling the truth and he disrupted the deal, it would be a grave mistake.
"You better not be lying to me. Bring her with us to the island." Pressing the barrel against her head, Scotch rudely issued the new order.
...
In the hall, Kurozumi Higurashi finally got to meet Kaidou.
Kaidou lounged on his seat, with King and Queen sitting on the high platform behind him, and Setsuna and Zeraora sparring beside them. Looking at Kurozumi Higurashi, Kaidou's tone carried a hint of disdain.
"Scotch said you have a deal to discuss."
"That's right, nyohohoho, it's been 10 years since that incident, and now you've become the embodiment of might."
"You do know quite a bit, old lady."
The incident ten years ago naturally referred to the Divine Valley incident, but with the government covering it up, fewer people knew about it, only those who paid attention to maritime affairs at the time were aware of what happened.
"Throughout human history, 'Might' has been the means to resolve all worldly problems, but of course, it is. After all, humans are animals, and the law of the jungle is the world's rule!"
"Indeed, that's true, but what exactly are you trying to say?"
"Rocks' remnants will all emerge, this is an era where 'war' dictates the heroes, do you want to gain the power of a nation?"