It was truly flowers brocaded upon brocade, oil poured onto blazing fire.
The air itself was thick with the heavy scent of alcohol and rouge.
Short, squat yet thickset, bald with an oversized head, and wearing a ridiculous crown atop it, Kurozumi Orochi sat there holding a wine cup, his face full of indulgent pleasure.
The classic image of a petty villain who had finally made it big—
he guzzled fine wine while leering shamelessly at the graceful, sinuous dances of several geisha before him.
On both sides of the banquet tables piled high with delicacies sat the Oniwabanshu ninjas, who had long since defected to Orochi's side.
"Guhahahaha! At last, Kozuki Oden—that thorn in my eye—has been completely dealt with! Now I can sit firmly on the shogun's throne in name and in fact. From this day forward, the entire Land of Wano is clenched tight in the palm of my hand!"
Hearing Orochi's drunken, triumphant laughter, the Oniwabanshu exchanged glances, quickly raised their cups, and plastered smiles across their faces as they congratulated him:
"Congratulations, Shogun Orochi!
Felicitations, Shogun Orochi!
From now on, you are the supreme ruler of Wano!"
Orochi loved nothing more than flattery. Hearing this, he laughed so hard his mouth wouldn't close, the fat on his face quivering uncontrollably.
However, when his gaze drifted to an empty seat nearby, the smile on his face instantly froze. His expression darkened as he snorted in displeasure.
"Hmph! What a buzzkill. Only that bastard Kaido—he actually dared not show up to my victory banquet!"
Perhaps the alcohol had emboldened him. With a blackened face, he began to gripe nonstop:
"He even 'accidentally' killed my most important advisor, that old hag Higurashi! And his work was sloppy—he let those damned Red Scabbard retainers escape! What's even more infuriating is that he didn't bring Kozuki Oden to me alive for a public execution. It really pisses me off!"
Under normal circumstances, even with ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare mutter such complaints in public.
But seated before him were all loyal dogs, and with his spirits riding high, all the pent-up resentment spilled out with the help of alcohol.
"Those remnants have completely vanished in Kuri. We searched the entire country top to bottom and found no trace of them. They were probably so terrified by Lord Orochi's divine might that they tucked their tails and fled overseas in disgrace."
The Oniwabanshu naturally didn't dare speak ill of Kaido. They could only report what Orochi liked to hear.
"Hmph. Those rats ran fast. Otherwise, this shogun would have personally tossed them all into boiling oil, just to make up for not being able to torment Oden with my own hands."
Orochi snarled viciously and took a savage bite of the meat in his hand.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi in his robe rang without warning.
"Buru buru buru…"
Orochi pulled out the Den Den Mushi—one bearing Kaido's distinctive features—and the rosy glow on his face instantly drained away, turning pale and stiff.
The haze of alcohol vanished in an instant.
Damn it. I was just cursing Kaido behind his back—how did this demon find me so quickly?
Does he have ears like the wind?!
Orochi suspiciously scanned the Oniwabanshu below him, briefly suspecting someone had snitched. But on second thought, everyone had been searched before entering—no one was carrying a Den Den Mushi.
It must just be a coincidence.
He hurriedly raised his hand. The geisha playing music and dancing were so frightened they froze at once. The once-raucous hall fell deathly silent.
A call from Kaido—
even with a hundred lives, Orochi wouldn't dare ignore it.
"H-hello… Kaido. Is… is something the matter?"
He picked up the receiver carefully. The domineering arrogance he'd shown moments ago vanished without a trace, replaced by ingrained servility and ingratiation.
"Wororororo! Sounds like you're in quite a good mood. How does it feel to finally sit firmly on the shogun's throne?"
Kaido's rough, booming laughter came through the line, clearly picking up on the change in Orochi's tone.
"I feel fantastic, of course! I'm holding a victory banquet right now. It's just a shame you didn't come—the greatest contributor to this victory. It feels like something's missing."
Orochi failed to catch the deeper meaning in Kaido's words and tentatively offered some polite chatter.
"Hic—"
Kaido let out a heavy, alcohol-soaked belch, then his voice suddenly turned icy cold.
"What victory banquet nonsense. I don't have time for that crap. I'm calling to inform you of one thing."
"My cooperation with you ends here."
"W-what?!"
The words struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving Orochi completely stunned.
Several seconds passed before he reacted, shouting into the Den Den Mushi in panic:
"Don't joke around at a time like this, Kaido!"
No explanation followed. Instead, Kaido's indifferent voice rang out again:
"I've never been the kind of man who jokes lightly, Orochi."
Orochi's pupils shrank to pinpoints. His voice trembled.
"You're serious?! Kaido! Kozuki Oden—that thorn in our side—is already dead! Next, weren't we supposed to turn Wano into the largest weapons factory in the world?!"
"Could it be… you're afraid of that so-called overseas force backing Oden?!"
There was a brief silence on the other end. Then came a low, chilling whisper that made one's scalp crawl:
"What nonsense are you spouting?! There's no one in this world that I fear! Our cooperation may be over, but you'd better watch your mouth—or don't give me a reason to casually kill you."
"You… you must be drunk and joking, Kaido…"
Orochi's entire body went cold. A horrifying possibility suddenly flashed through his mind, making him shudder violently.
"You bastard! Don't tell me you're planning to cross the river and tear down the bridge—swallow the entire Land of Wano for yourself?!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the Oniwabanshu below all jolted in shock, exchanging terrified looks.
They had betrayed the Kozuki clan and thrown in their lot with Kurozumi Orochi not just for wealth and status, but above all because they feared Kaido's world-destroying power.
If Kaido's protection disappeared…
Orochi was already in a full-blown panic, no longer caring what his subordinates thought. His words tumbled out in a rush:
"Don't forget! Wano still has tens of thousands of samurai! If you don't have legitimate succession, even you will face desperate resistance from the entire country!"
It sounded like he was trying to steel his own nerves, but his tone quickly softened as he begged shamelessly:
"If it's about the split being too small, we can renegotiate the profits! Seventy–thirty! You take seven, I take three! That should be enough, right?!"
To hell with national wealth.
To hell with the lives of the people.
As long as he could remain shogun and maintain his extravagant lifestyle, nothing else mattered.