After Eddie presented the butcher's knife, Kaido naturally became the Shogun of Wano.
This was merely a transition from behind the scenes directly to the forefront.
And the reason was sufficient: Orochi's rebellion came first… therefore, public resistance would be much smaller.
At least there was no stir in Flower Capital; everyone ate and drank as usual.
Orochi's death became a mere topic of conversation for the common folk after meals.
But it was not necessarily the same in other regions.
Besides Kozuki Oden, the daimyo of Kuri, Wano also had four other daimyos.
As a feudal country, a daimyo was a feudal lord, a local emperor, and each local emperor had his own samurai army.
They were:
The daimyo of Kibi, Kazuki Miketsu.
The daimyo of Udon, Agetsu Tenpura.
The daimyo of Ringo, Shimotsuki Ushimaru.
The daimyo of Hakumai, Shimotsuki Yasuie.
The attitudes of these four would directly affect the future structure of Wano.
Submitting to Kaido's rule…
Or, starting a war!
But what does that have to do with me?
Edie had no interest in this; let them fight if they want, just don't provoke him.
Let go of the savior complex, respect others' fates!
Compared to this,
"Now that I have two subordinates with decent combat strength, self-preservation is more than enough."
"Even if I turn against Kaido now, I can leave calmly."
"Next, I need to find a way to make myself stronger."
Edie thought.
There are roughly two ways to become stronger in this world.
First, eat a Devil Fruit and become an ability user.
Second, practice the three types of Haki.
The former is slightly simpler; as long as you find a powerful Devil Fruit, you can immediately possess considerable combat power.
But ability users have weaknesses: "fear of Sea Stone," "turning into a landlubber," "fear of seawater"…
As for the latter, there is no shortcut; one can only rely on self-cultivation.
In fact, over the past two years, Eddie had seen Devil Fruits for sale in the black market.
If he had embezzled research funds to buy one at that time, he would already be an ability user now.
Edie wanted Devil Fruit abilities.
But Eddie did not want the weaknesses.
Thinking of this, Eddie opened the system panel.
scientific research simulation system
Remaining simulation attempts: 0
Over these two years, Eddie had obtained a total of 4 simulation attempts.
The first was used for "Lineage Factor Theory Research"!
The second was used for "Wano Iron Smelting and Development"!
The third was used to clone Kuzo.
The fourth was used to clone Oden Clone 1.
And its acquisition method was also very simple.
Scientific Research Reputation: 99% (When it reaches 100%, the value will be reset to zero, and a simulation attempt reward will be granted)
"It's almost full. Is it because I exposed Orochi today, making my reputation soar?"
Edie estimated that it would reach 100% tomorrow.
At that time, he would try to research a way to gain abilities without side effects.
Of course, he would not give up on Haki either.
…
Night, Kuri.
The Akazaya Nine fled west, all the way from Flower Capital to Kuri.
Their lord, Kozuki Oden, had been shot dead, but they could not die yet.
They still had their mission.
The Kozuki Family had been the Shogun family of Wano since ancient times, and Wano must not fall into the hands of pirates!
Kozuki Momonosuke, this 8-year-old child, was their last hope!
They had to assist Momonosuke in reclaiming Wano!
However…
When they returned to Oden Castle, Lady Toki and the two children were already nowhere to be found.
The Akazaya Nine completely panicked.
Kin'emon grabbed a servant who was cleaning the room and anxiously shouted:
"Lady Toki, where is Momonosuke-sama? There's no time! Tell me quickly!"
The servant was startled and tremblingly replied, "Kin… Kin'emon-sama… Lady Toki and the others suddenly disappeared three nights ago."
"What?"
Three days ago!?
Everyone was greatly shocked. They disappeared on the night they were defeated and captured?
"Was he captured by Kaido?" Denjiro's expression changed.
"Momonosuke-sama wouldn't be…" Kikunojo, the cross-dressing lord, had a terrified expression.
"Damn it!"
Kin'emon painfully raised his hands and slammed them on the table.
Bang.
The table collapsed with a crash, shattering into pieces.
"These handcuffs are in the way!" Kin'emon struggled angrily, trying to break the shackles.
But the hardness of the Sea Stone shackles clearly could not be broken by force.
"Let me tell you!"
At this moment, a voice sounded from above their heads.
A section of the ceiling opened, and a female ninja jumped down.
"Shinobu!"
"Lady Toki and Momonosuke-sama are both safe and sound, they were just taken away."
Shinobu quickly said, "When you arrived, you had already been exposed. Kaido's subordinates are chasing after us. Let's talk as we run."
As she spoke, she quickly pulled out a string of keys and unlocked the handcuffs of the nine people.
Then she went to the window and leaped out.
Seeing this, the Akazaya Nine immediately followed.
"Tell me, what happened while we were imprisoned?" Kin'emon anxiously asked, "Where is Momonosuke-sama now?"
"In the Research Institute in Flower Capital, Lady Toki and the others were taken by Eddie!"
Hearing this, Kin'emon and the others immediately recalled what happened at noon.
That scientist named Eddie… he exposed Orochi's conspiracy. It could be said that he led to Orochi's downfall!
"Enemy? Ally?" The ninja Raizo asked through gritted teeth.
"I don't know…"
Shinobu shook her head, leading the way and running wildly: "The day before yesterday, I saw this man taking Lady Toki to visit Oden-sama in prison."
"Is he an ally?" The Fishman Kawamatsu showed a pleasant surprise.
Shinobu gritted her teeth and said:
"He imprisoned Lady Toki in the Research Institute!"
"But… if he were an enemy, Momonosuke-sama would surely have been harmed by now!"
"I'm sorry, I don't know what his purpose is…"
There was too little time, and there was no time to investigate the truth.
It was difficult to determine whether he was an enemy or an ally.
Perhaps a third party…
After watching today's execution, Shinobu had a vague feeling of this.
"No matter what, we must rescue Momonosuke-sama!" Kin'emon said firmly, "We cannot let Oden-sama die in vain!"
"But what do we do next?"
Kanjiro murmured, utterly at a loss: "Kaido is in Flower Capital. Going back would just be walking into a trap…"
"Go to Hakumai!"
Shinobu stated her plan: "From here, head southeast, pass through Udon, and we'll go find the daimyo of Hakumai, Shimotsuki Yasuie!"
Shimotsuki Yasuie and Kozuki Oden were old friends.
Kin'emon's eyes lit up, as if he saw hope in despair:
"Yasuie-sama would never remain silent. You're right, we'll go find Yasuie-sama immediately!"
Everyone perked up, quickly traversing the forest.
However, just then.
A whistling sound came from above, as if something was falling from the sky.
"Did you hear something…?"
Thud!
A black shadow crashed in front of them, creating a large crater.
Everyone's expressions tightened.
A tall man, dressed in a grey cloak and wearing a Ghost Face Mask mask, climbed out of the pit.
Beneath the mask, golden star-like eyes scanned everyone, finally locking onto Shinobu.
"Found one, capture her alive," Kuzo said indifferently.
"It's you… the masked man from the execution platform!" Shinobu's expression changed drastically, "Are you coming for me?"
Why?
As doubt arose in her heart, Kuzo had already made his move.
He stomped his foot, rapidly approaching Shinobu, extending his right hand forward, about to grab her neck.
"Protect Shinobu!"
Kin'emon shouted, and the rest of the Akazaya Nine reacted, several of them working together to block Kuzo.
"Don't get in my way."
Kuzo's gaze sharpened, and Conqueror's Haki suddenly erupted.
Boom!!
The ground trembled, and the surrounding forest, with Kuzo at its center, swayed uncontrollably as if swept by a hurricane.
The Akazaya Nine were terrified; what kind of aura was this? It was like facing Kaido…
Everyone immediately retreated.
"Run!"
Making a rational judgment, Ashura Doji roared, "I'll cover the rear!"
He drew his sword to face the enemy, standing at the very front.
The others, with great understanding, immediately turned and ran.
It wasn't a question of whether they could win, but rather that if they were held back, more pursuers would arrive.
However.
The moment they turned to run.
Thud!
Another black shadow descended from the sky.
It was a pitch-black dragon, a Pteranodon.
The Pteranodon blocked their escape route, then transformed into a masked man with black wings.
King the Wildfire!
One of the Beasts Pirates' All-Stars, a Animal Type-type, Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Species, Pteranodon form!
He was also the sole surviving member of the Lunarian.
"Conqueror's Haki…" King stared at Kuzo, "That's truly surprising! I wanted to ask during the execution, who exactly are you?"
He knew he was Edie's subordinate.
But in the past two years, he had never seen him.
"Twelve Earthly Branches, Kuzo."
Kuzo's gaze narrowed slightly.
His Lord Father's order was to capture the female ninja alive.
He only wanted to complete the mission and had no interest in creating extra trouble.
"My target is her, don't interfere with me."
Seeing him point at Shinobu, King glanced at her and nodded, "She is indeed Oden's person. However, it doesn't matter; my objective is the other nine. Our missions don't conflict."
As soon as he finished speaking, his wings flapped, and he suddenly flew towards Kuzo.
A massive katana ruthlessly chopped down towards Kuzo's head.
Seeing this, Kuzo extended his right hand, Armament Haki wrapped around it, and he grabbed the incoming slash.
"What does this mean?"
"You seem very strong; let's just say hello briefly."
"Is that so? Annoying."
Kuzo pulled hard on the katana, while simultaneously striking King's face with his right fist.
King's pupils constricted; the opponent's strength was incredibly immense, and he couldn't pull his sword back.
With a loud bang.
He took a solid punch.
King became like a kite with a broken string, completely sent flying by a single blow.
The mask on his face was shattered by the punch, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.