Flower Capital, Orrick Estate
Bang!
For the third time in a single day, Kurozumi Orochi stormed up to the Orrick residence and slammed the gates wide open, fury blazing in his eyes. He marched in with thunderous steps.
"Orrick! I'm not done with you bastards yet!!"
Inside the study, Orrick frowned, brows knitting tightly together.
"He's getting more insolent by the day… this damn fool."
Outside, Orochi continued to roar until a suffocating aura suddenly surged out from within the house. It was a chilling, oppressive pressure that made even the hand-picked guards Orochi had brought freeze in place, their lips paling and trembling uncontrollably.
Recognizing the unmistakable terror of Haoshoku Haki, Orochi's rage cooled slightly. He gave a cold snort.
"So this is how the mighty Nibelung Family treats their so-called allies? Is this what you call friendship?"
"Speak plainly if you have grievances, General Kurozumi."
Orrick emerged slowly from the inner hall, each step reverberating like a weight upon the chest, pressing against the heart itself.
Though his frame was not large, his presence loomed vast, divine yet demonic, a figure magnified in the mind's eye. His narrowed gaze carried the authority of a born sovereign, a natural ruler who looked down upon the world itself.
"Our Family has always dealt with allies with respect. I will not allow you alone to tarnish our name."
"Then hand over Komurasaki!" Orochi snapped coldly. "If she's still alive, that is…"
"…What?" Orrick's frown deepened.
He had always believed that Lirisk, who had taken Komurasaki away, was not the type to kill needlessly. But judging by Orochi's words now…
Could it be that Komurasaki… was dead?
"Don't play dumb with me! You must have heard the commotion in Oden City just now. I went there myself, no one was there!"
"You went? Weren't you just fighting Lirisk?"
"Hah! Don't make me laugh. I had only just left the city by then. That was Kaido fighting him."
Orochi's explanation was earnest, offering his own deduction without hesitation.
And just then,
Crash!
A towering figure smashed the half-hanging door aside, his massive shadow stretching across the courtyard.
"What's with all the yelling? Some of us are trying to sleep!"
The wave of Haoshoku Haki that burst forth was like dynamite detonating. Half the Flower Capital felt its tremor. At Kaido's sudden arrival, Orrick's frown grew heavier still.
"Kaido… where were you just now?"
"Hm? Me? I was home, asleep of course!"
Kaido blinked in surprise, then his face twisted into fury. "Wait… Orrick! Are you interrogating me?!"
Orrick ignored the challenge without hesitation.
If left alone, Kaido would rage for a while and be done. But if Orrick answered in kind, then no one would be leaving today, and everyone here would be dragged into Kaido's "fun."
"Hey! I asked you a damn question, Orrick! Are you listening or not?!" Kaido's roar shook the walls, but Orrick only paused in thought before speaking again.
"Orochi. You said you heard the commotion when you were still at the city gates. Correct?"
"That's right!" Orochi confirmed quickly, his expression grim. "Plenty of people saw where I was and when I left. You can investigate it yourself.
"Of course, if you want to claim it was my stand-in, just like twenty years ago, I've nothing more to say."
Both men wore dark expressions, and for good reason.
At their level of strength, victory was never decided by a single strike. Even if Lirisk was weaker, defeating him outright would be no easy feat.
But Kaido…
There wasn't a single scratch on him. No trace at all of battle.
If it wasn't Orochi… if it wasn't Kaido… and it certainly wasn't Orrick…
Then just who had Lirisk been fighting? Across all of Wano, who else even had the strength to stand against them?
"…As I expected," Orrick muttered with a cold snort. "They've finally shown themselves. With us waging war against the World Government, to them this is nothing short of a golden opportunity."
"Wano is your territory, General Kurozumi. I will leave the search to you… Fortunately, I still hold Lirisk's Vivre Card. With it, we may be able to trace him directly."
"What the hell are you even talking about?"
Kaido's eyes bulged wide, nostrils flaring as he snorted heavy breaths. His massive figure radiated a brutal, feral energy, yet for all his fierceness, the truth was plain: he had no idea what they were talking about.
Orochi snapped irritably, "Forget it! Go back to sleep!"
"Sleep?" Kaido growled. "No can do. I came here to tell you, I'm heading out."
"…What now?" Orrick halted, frowning deeply. That single word, again, was weighted with his frustration.
"It's the damn Marines," Kaido snarled. "Their assassination squad infiltrated my New World base. They butchered a large number of mid-rank officers. Now my forces are headless, scattered, fighting on their own!"
Rage boiled off him in waves. "Cowardly bastards! If they've got the guts, they should come straight for me! What's the point of killing pawns?!"
That, at least, was his decision made clear.
Orrick and Orochi exchanged a glance, both silently exasperated.
No matter how powerful an individual might be, unless they stormed into the Holy Land itself, slaughtering Celestials and Admirals alike, no single person could change the tide of this war. At best, they could tilt the balance in one corner of the battlefield. This unprecedented conflict now spanned the entire world, it was no longer something one man's strength could decide.
"Then go," Orrick said at last. "But return quickly. We expected the Marines to counterattack sooner or later. Just don't let yourself get dragged too deep into their trap."
"Hmph! There won't be a second time."
Kaido bared his teeth in a savage grin, his face wreathed in killing intent as he touched the stump of his severed left arm.
The three parted ways. One gathered his troops and set off to rally the shattered New World garrisons; another dispatched the Oniwabanshu, ordering them to sweep every corner of Wano.
Orrick, however, returned to the courtyard and descended into the underground chamber.
It was anything but dark. The room blazed with lamplight, filled with dolls, candies, and sweets. Toy soldiers bustled about, serving the little girl seated at the center. Each time she lost a round of her handheld game, they immediately offered her drinks and desserts in consolation.
"Oh? Lord Orrick? What brings you down here?"
Hearing the door open, Sugar set down her game controller and looked back curiously.
"I'm just here to fetch something. Keep playing."
With that, Orrick stepped to the corner wall and keyed in a code, revealing a hidden passage.
Sugar gave a little "Oh" in reply, turned back to her game, and muttered softly under her breath,
"Things outside have been noisy lately… This is already the second day in a row someone's come down here looking for things. But it's got nothing to do with me, I suppose."
For her, life here was comfortable. She wasn't allowed to roam freely, but whatever she wanted, Orrick provided. It was almost too easy a life.
Ka-cha!
Her words were quiet, but the chamber was small. Orrick froze, face darkening as he turned sharply back.
"The second day? Someone else came in before me?"
"Mm? Naturally, it was Lord Lirisk!" Sugar replied with innocent surprise. "It couldn't have been that stinky Green Bull, right?"
After all, everyone knew Ryokugyu had already perished at the End Point, slain by the Soryu (Azure Dragon)'s hand.
"…I see." Orrick forced his voice to be calm. "Nothing. Carry on."
But his expression was grim as he pushed into the secret vault. Striding quickly to the deepest shelves, he pulled out a small chest from the lowest compartment.
He unlatched it, only to find the inside empty.
Orrick's hand clenched into a fist, veins straining against his skin.
This was where Lirisk's Vivre Card was kept. And now it was gone.
Closing his eyes, lifting his head, his jaw tightened until his teeth nearly cracked.
"My foolish son…"
(End Of This Chapter)
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New Novels- 1. One Piece- Maxed Out Conqueror's Haki!
2. One Piece- Master Of Devil Fruits
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