On the other side, in Orochi's residence, he angrily overturned the table after Kaidou and the others left.
"What kind of partner is this, this is nothing but robbery! Robbery!"
"Lord Orochi, pirates are essentially robbers of the sea, and isn't this precisely what you wanted? We need to retaliate against all of Wano Kuni; only a villain like this can achieve that, and only powerful force can oppose Oden."
Kurozumi Higurashi was not angry; instead, she explained the pros and cons.
"Moreover, now that Kaidou is here, we can set up more factories."
They were not worried about the daimyo's resistance; as long as Kurozumi Orochi held the title of Acting General, those people would not act directly. Kaidou's power was prepared to prevent subsequent issues.
"We will reclaim what we've lost from those wretched people, so Lord Orochi, please endure for the time being."
"I know... leave me. I need to rest."
But today was destined to be different. Just as Orochi closed his eyes, a terrifying demonic face attacked him, scaring him into sitting up and knocking against the wall behind him.
The Scary Face left by Arceus was bound to give him a "good" dream, though it was only good according to Arceus.
Under the influence of Arceus's Scary Face, Kurozumi Orochi couldn't sleep for the entire night. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see various monsters, and it grew increasingly severe over time.
At first, there were only monsters, but later he saw things he feared most: Kaidou wielding a club, an enraged Kozuki Oden, and a group of daimyo discovering the truth.
It wasn't until sunrise that the effect of Arceus's Scary Face gradually faded. But just as drowsiness set in, someone walked in.
"Who allowed you to enter?"
"Lord Orochi, you instructed yesterday that any new developments be reported to you immediately."
"Tell me, what are those people doing? Did they burn down a house or kill someone, or did some daimyo clash with them?"
"None of that happened. They forcibly bought a Courtesan's Room and wrote your name on the bill..."
"What did you say?!" Orochi felt something was off. He invited this group of pirates to attack the people of Wano Kuni, hoping they would rob them clean, but now it seemed like the pirates were specifically targeting him.
The events that occurred last night in the brothel of the Flower Capital were no secret. Aside from Kurozumi Orochi, Shimotsuki Yasuie, Shimotsuki Ushimaru, Uzuki Tempura, and Fugetsu Omusubi also received the same news.
This sparked their curiosity about the Hundred Beasts Pirates, wanting to know what kind of force this was.
Meanwhile, in Kuri, the daimyo Kozuki Oden had already gone to sea, leaving only his household attendants behind. They only knew Kurozumi Orochi brought in a group of foreign pirates, who had been reveling in the brothel last night; they knew nothing more.
The next day, Orochi, in his capacity as Acting General of Wano Kuni, mobilized a group of craftsmen and laborers, sending them to an isolated island in the Inner Sea to build a new territory for Kaidou. Riko and Maria were also taken back by Kaidou, adding another baby to the Hundred Beasts' brood.
However, since Maria's mother was still around, she received much better treatment than Jack.
Kaidou's reason for purchasing that Courtesan's Room was also to gather intelligence. Although there weren't many, the Hundred Beasts Pirates had some female members, and Kaidou assigned them to manage the Courtesan's Room while gathering information.
Babanuki also led a group to the Hidden Port, jointly guarding Wano Kuni's entrance and exit. Given that Orochi didn't fully trust Kaidou, he insisted both their men guard the area together.
Kaidou didn't refuse, as dealing with those people wouldn't take much effort.
As initially planned, Orochi began constructing weapon factories within Wano Kuni. He understood how to boil a frog in warm water, and initially, his approach was not too forceful, merely setting up factories in empty places in each village.
Supported by Kaidou's strength, Orochi grew bolder, though he overlooked some details. While the people of the Hundred Beasts resolved some troubles for him, they always emphasized they were acting on Orochi's orders before undertaking anything.
Some time later.
Kaidou's territory had already been renamed Ghost Island, where a large number of craftsmen worked fervently, with no signs of dissatisfaction.
According to Wano Kuni's rules, the General had the right to forcibly recruit labor, and these people were sent by Orochi under such pretense. However, on the Hundred Beasts' side, it became legitimate paid work.
Regarding the source of the wages, Queen was negotiating salary with Kurozumi Orochi, even carrying his Plague Bomb, clearly implying he'd resort to violence if he wasn't paid.
Meanwhile, Arceus was developing animal husbandry. They secured territory in Kuri; with Kozuki Oden absent, Kuri lacked a titular direct manager, allowing Orochi to better intervene there.
When Kaidou requested a plot of land suitable for farming and livestock, Orochi immediately allocated a piece in Kuri to them, hoping Kozuki Oden's return would spark more direct conflict with the Hundred Beasts.
Soon after arriving in Wano Kuni, the people of the Hundred Beasts generally remarked that the beef here was of better quality, prompting them to buy a large number of local cattle. Some were transformed into Miltank.
The dairy products newly launched by Hundred Beasts Fruit had a favorable market response, prompting plans for production expansion. Alongside the reactions of others, after dairy and fruit products, Arceus decided to add a third product—meat products—to Hundred Beasts Fruit.
Under Orochi's name, they procured several breeding bulls that others didn't want to sell. These were then transformed into Tauros. The Tauros bred Pokémon offspring with the Miltank normally, while also crossbreeding with local cattle to develop second-generation cattle with Tauros blood.
These cattle, exported as beef cattle, were named by Arceus as the local specialty "Wagyu."
The actions of the Hundred Beasts once again appeared on Kurozumi Orochi's desk.
"They're... planting trees and raising cattle?!"
According to Kurozumi Orochi's plan, Wano Kuni's weapons would undoubtedly sell well externally. Once Kaidou saw this profit, he would undoubtedly be unable to resist expanding the factories, eventually turning all of Wano Kuni into a weapons-producing nation.
As factories occupied all the farmland, Wano Kuni's citizens would fall into a state of starvation. Although this couldn't happen overnight, shouldn't some progress be visible by now?
But the current situation was all wrong. Kurozumi Orochi believed Kaidou should join him in exploiting Wano Kuni's populace, but now it was clear that he was draining his own resources to develop Wano Kuni's livelihoods!