News of Hera's imminent arrival at Onigashima leaked from Kaido at some point and spread to the ears of various factions in Wano Country.
In the Daimyo's mansion in the Flower Capital, Orochi held a banquet to discuss with his subordinates how to deal with Hera's arrival.
For a long time, although he was nominally the Daimyo of Wano Country, in reality, the power of the Daimyo had always been controlled by Kaido, which left the ambitious Orochi very dissatisfied.
Now, Hera's arrival seemed to offer him a chance to truly take power. As long as he could stir up conflict between Hera and Kaido and let them both suffer heavy losses,
he would be able to smoothly obtain true power—the power to dominate Wano Country.
But the problem now was that Kaido and Hera were not fools. Even if they were a pirate and a Marine respectively, they wouldn't necessarily start a fight.
Therefore, he convened the meeting immediately after receiving the news.
Orochi said to the many retainers below the stage: "Whoever can win over Hera to support our rise to power, or make Hera and Kaido fight, I will reward handsomely."
Next, a large pile of gold was brought out: "These are the rewards for the person who proposes a strategy. Of course, if it succeeds, there will be countless more rewards."
After thinking for a while, Kanjuro said: "Rumor has it that Hera likes women. Why don't we let Wano Country's number one courtesan get close to Hera and let him become obsessed with Komurasaki's beauty?"
"Then we'll have Komurasaki instigate Hera to challenge Kaido. How about that?"
Hearing Kanjuro's plan, Orochi's eyes lit up, but he still asked: "Oh, that sounds good, but how can we provoke a fight between the two of them?"
Kanjuro mysteriously handed a book to Orochi and pointed to a plot within it: "We can use this strategy."
"First, make Hera fall for Komurasaki, and then present Komurasaki as a tribute to Kaido. That way, the two of them will definitely kill each other."
The title of the book was clearly written in four large characters: Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Orochi's eyes lit up even more. He found that Kanjuro's plot was indeed highly feasible, so he agreed to his request.
Seeing Kanjuro receive another reward from Orochi, the other subordinates were unwilling to be outdone and also proposed their own strategies.
Someone even suggested that while Kaido and Hera were together, Orochi should say: "The stronger of you two can have Komurasaki."
Looking at the talented Shogunate, Orochi laughed: "With all of you here, why should I worry that our great cause won't flourish?"
Denjiro, who was undercover in Orochi's Shogunate, also learned the news that Hera was coming. While pretending to yawn, his mind was already racing.
"Could she be the person in the prophecy? But isn't there still some time before the prophecy is due?"
"No, I have to find a way to stop Orochi's plot."
On the ship, Hera suddenly sneezed as if she felt something.
Reiju took out a coat and draped it over her: "Did you catch a cold? The sea breeze on the deck is quite strong."
Hera took Reiju's cloak and shook her head: "How could an elf catch a cold? It must be someone in Wano Country talking about me."
Hera thought of the top-tier Devil Fruit Orochi possessed, the Zoan-type Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan Type Model: Yamata no Orochi, and Toki Kozuki's Paramecia-type Time-Time Fruit.
She began to look forward to it: "How can a waste like Orochi deserve a Mythical Zoan Type fruit? Such a thing is better off in my hands."
"And the Time-Time Fruit. Although Toki Kozuki seems to be dead, my intuition tells me there must be clues about the Time-Time Fruit here."
The shadow at her feet swayed slightly, and Zafkiel also seemed to be looking forward to the land they were about to step on.
In Amigasa Village in the Kuri region of Wano Country, Tama finished selling today's bamboo hats. Before going home, she ran to another place first—a dilapidated mountain temple.
A high-pitched male voice came from the mountain temple: "It's Tama. Are you here again today? Come, have some roasted meat."
Tama took the roasted meat he handed over and asked the man in front of her curiously: "What exactly are your plans for coming here? Why did you come here from overseas?"
"And from your stories, isn't it much better overseas than here?"
A huge figure emerged from the shadows, his slender neck revealing his identity. The one who had come here was none other than the former Shichibukai, Gekko Moriah.
He gently stroked Tama's head, his eyes seemingly reminiscing about something, as he said: "Because the moment to liberate this place is coming."
After resigning from the Shichibukai, he began to travel all over the world. While traveling and training, he regained his Two-Color Haki.
Even his originally fat lower body had shrunk by a circle, and his whole person looked much sturdier.
During his journey, Moriah also kept a constant eye on news of Hera and Perona. Seeing Perona, whom he regarded as a daughter, experiencing various adventures on the Argo,
he was happy about his decision to let go back then. However, seeing his daughter and Hera leaning close together still brought a bit of an old father's sorrow.
After he learned that Hera had captured Ulti and was heading to Onigashima, he also secretly left Absalom and Hogback, who were following him, and came to Onigashima.
A past battle with Kaido had buried his comrades, but now, he didn't want to see Hera follow in his footsteps, so he came here alone.
If Hera could retreat safely, he naturally wouldn't need to show himself, but if she needed him, he was prepared to cover the retreat for Hera and the others.
Now, although he admitted he couldn't defeat Kaido, having regained his conviction, he believed he could still stall Kaido's progress.
But returning to Wano Country, the current state of the country made him even sadder. The place where he grew up had been destroyed by Kaido.
The people here could only drink wastewater from the river. Severe pollution and harsh physical labor made the lives of the people here miserable.
This also made Moriah despise Kozuki Oden even more. If he had been willing to stop dancing back then and resist Kaido with him, they might have stood a chance.
Furthermore, if Kozuki Oden had been willing to ask the outside world for help, the people of the Whitebeard and Roger Pirates would not have ignored his plight.
But he did nothing, choosing to believe Kaido and placing the hope of saving his country on someone else's promise.
These confusing actions of his were very incomprehensible to Moriah, who wholeheartedly wanted to rescue Wano Country. Having grown up in Wano Country,
when he resisted Kaido, he had also hoped that Kozuki Oden would be awakened by his battle.
But now, he felt only disappointment and contempt for Kozuki Oden.
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