Wano Country, Udon-Flower Capital River.
On the vast river between Udon and the Flower Capital, five sailing ships were neatly lined up, traveling serenely. On both sides of the river, cherry blossom trees stood tall and majestic, swaying in the gentle breeze. The pink petals fluttered down, dancing in the air, then landed softly on the surface of the river.
On the bow of the leading ship, Sephiroth sat cross-legged, his arms folded across his chest. His eyes stared straight into the distance, toward a towering mountain whose shape was similar to Mount Fuji. The outline of the Flower Capital began to faintly emerge.
He knew that Wano Country was now just a landmass formed from accumulated soil in the middle of a mountain, while the true Wano Country, eight hundred years ago, was underwater, right at the foot of that mountain, submerged in fresh water. The ancient weapon Pluton was also hidden there. Eight hundred years ago, to isolate this country, a stone wall thousands of meters high was built. However, for some unknown reason, the accumulated rainwater could not flow out, creating a freshwater lake that had now become the "sea" within Wano's borders, located above a high-walled waterfall.
In Wano today, the Flower Capital is the most prosperous place. The climate is like a warm spring all year round, with flowers and cherry trees in constant bloom. The Shogun's Palace is also established here. Because this place is the residence of Shogun Kurozumi Orochi, it has never been polluted by the smoke from the weapons factories. The air in the Flower Capital, surrounded by mountains, feels very fresh, without the black exhaust smoke of factories found in other areas. The scenery is like paradise, beautiful and prosperous.
The Flower Capital is the only place in Wano where law and order are still maintained, a stark contrast to the other regions filled with chaos and sorrow. As soon as Kurozumi Orochi rose to become shogun, he began to get rid of all dissidents and expelled people who were dissatisfied with him, leaving only the loyal ones. The residents who lived here had to pay expensive living costs every month. If not, they would be evicted, forced to fend for themselves in the polluted areas, struggling to survive, and would never be able to buy clean food with their money again. This is a capital that is both beautiful and cruel.
Atop the riverside dock, the five sailing ships slowly pulled in.
Kojiro, who was lying on an emergency stretcher with bandages on his chest, was carried out of the cabin. He said to the standing Sephiroth, "Your Excellency Miyamoto, we have arrived at the Flower Capital. Please follow me to meet with General-sama!"
"Hmm!" Sephiroth nodded.
He followed Kojiro down from the ship. While enduring the pain, Kojiro took a Mini Denden Mushi from his sleeve and contacted Fukurokuju, the leader of the Oniwabanshu in the Flower Capital, to explain the situation. The Mini Denden Mushi is a typical product of Wano Country. Its function is similar to a regular Denden Mushi, but its size is much smaller, only two fingers thick, making it very easy to carry. However, its disadvantage is that the signal is weak. If there is no signal relay Denden Mushi, the communication distance is limited, and contact cannot be made beyond a certain distance. Therefore, Kojiro chose to contact Fukurokuju only after they were already near the Flower Capital.
On the other side, four samurai carried the seriously injured Asura Doji down from the ship. The wounds on his body were only bandaged, and his hands and feet were tied with ropes, like a pig being hung. Although he had woken up from his coma due to the pain, he did not resist. The blackened sword wound on his chest had nearly taken half his life, leaving him too weak to fight back or free himself.
At the dock, forty porters in tattered clothes had already gathered. They quickly moved all the supplies from the ships to the dock, filling forty carts. After that, they pulled the carts one by one, heading towards the Flower Capital in the distance. A hundred samurai spread out on both sides of the entourage, escorting and watching over the porters so they would not steal food. These porters were poor people from Ebisu Town next to the Flower Capital. Because the land could not be farmed, they could only do manual labor and struggle to survive. That is why strict supervision was necessary.
Clang!
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the back of the group. Sephiroth subconsciously stopped and turned his head. He saw a fierce-looking samurai holding an apple in his left hand and clutching the collar of a porter's shirt with his right.
"You commoner! How dare you steal the general's food?!"
The porter was frightened and knelt, begging for forgiveness repeatedly. "I'm sorry! I was so hungry, and my children at home are also starving."
"What else did you steal besides this apple?"
As the samurai pulled, two oranges fell from the porter's sleeve and rolled onto the ground.
"Only a commoner, you deserve to eat this food? You're asking for trouble!"
After making sure no other food was hidden, the samurai drew a long sword from its sheath and hit the porter hard, causing him to scream in pain.
Sephiroth simply stood and watched. He had no intention of intervening. He was a foreigner with an unknown identity; such intervention would only cause unnecessary trouble. After a while, the porter was beaten until his mouth was bleeding and his body was bruised. Only then did the samurai spit on him and sheathe his sword.
"If I find out you're stealing again, it won't just be this beating! You stole with that hand, so I'll cut that hand off."
Under the samurai's scolding, the pained porter got up, endured the pain in his body, and continued to walk while pushing a cart full of supplies.
The group walked on a wide and flat road for more than half an hour before reaching the outskirts of the Flower Capital. Sephiroth looked up, seeing a vast stone staircase dozens of meters high, extending up to the top level. At the end, a large red torii gate stood, dozens of meters high, which was the entrance to the Flower Capital.
Because the location of the Flower Capital was high, it would take a long time for the porters to move all the supplies up. Therefore, Kojiro ordered his men to leave fifty people as supervisors on the spot. He himself, on a stretcher and supported by his men, took Sephiroth up the stone staircase, passed through the red torii gate, and entered the Flower Capital.
On the wide and straight street, pedestrians were neatly dressed, and shops were lined up along the street. The houses and buildings on both sides of the street were very orderly and colorful, creating a sharp contrast with the dilapidated scenery in Ebisu Town and Rasetsu Town. At the end of the street, a huge cherry blossom tree with a crooked neck stood, where the Wano Shogun's Palace was also established.
The escorting group of more than fifty people looked very conspicuous on the busy street. On the side of the street, five figures in kimonos stood and watched Sephiroth and the rest of the group slowly disappear. One of them said with a surprised face, "Brother Kuwashiro, who are they escorting? This procession is so grand."
Hearing this, a man with a blue flat-top haircut and slanted eyes showed a flash of surprise and worry in his eyes, but he smiled for no reason, "Who knows?"
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