Yamato beamed, "I heard Orochi loves watching courtesans dance. I'll disguise myself as a dancer and assassinate him."
Gusion was shocked—not at the plan's foolishness, but at Yamato's unexpected cunning. The plan sounded plausible at first.
"Good idea—but not practical," Gusion pointed at Yamato's horns and white hair. "You're too recognizable. Orochi knows you."
"Don't worry, I can disguise myself!" Yamato tied her hair into pigtails and made a funny face. "See? Completely different!"
Gusion almost laughed. In the world of One Piece, even obvious disguises sometimes worked.
Still, he vetoed the plan. "Let's not risk it. If we alert Orochi, it'll be hard to get another chance."
Yamato was disappointed. "Then what should we do?"
"Let's visit him openly," Gusion said. "A formal visit."
"Eh? Aren't we supposed to sneak up on him?"
Gusion explained, "A formal visit lowers his guard. We can assess the situation and maybe find an opportunity. You're officially the Oni Princess now—he'll welcome you. We can bypass Orochi's ninja guards."
Yamato clapped, "Amazing, Gusion-dono! I forgot I have status now."
"Exactly. We'll just announce ourselves at the Flower Capital."
He had thought this through. Orochi was weak but very paranoid, with layers of ninja guards. If they tried anything suspicious, the ninjas would warn Orochi.
But if they visited openly, Orochi wouldn't be suspicious—he'd always trusted Kaido's family.
However, there was still Orochi's final defense: Semimaru, the Barrier-Barrier Fruit user. Semimaru's defense was nearly invincible—Oden himself couldn't break through.
Gusion recalled from the manga that the barrier could be bypassed if you waited for a lapse in attention or simply surrounded Orochi and Semimaru, cutting off their supplies until they starved.
But for now, Gusion just needed to get close to Orochi by bypassing the ninja.
Yamato soon got distracted by food stalls in the city. Gusion reminded her, "Don't forget our mission. We're here to meet the shogun and discuss grain shipments."
He made this up, knowing they were being watched. His words would reach Orochi and make their intentions seem genuine.
Yamato almost gave away the truth, but caught herself and stuffed her mouth with candied apples, playing along.
Gusion paid for the snacks with gold from his storage, as Yamato had no money.
He looked at the bustling city—wealthy people everywhere, while the poor starved outside.
Suddenly, a ninja appeared. "Are you Young Master Yamato?"
Before Yamato could answer, Gusion stepped forward, "Mind your words. This is Kaido's daughter, the Beasts Pirates' Oni Princess. Calling her a man is disrespectful."
Yamato played along, "My father sent me to discuss important matters with the shogun, but we haven't been received."
The ninja broke out in a cold sweat. He'd been sent to invite them, but realized he'd made a grave mistake by being informal.
Gusion mediated, "Let's let him lead us. The matter at hand is important."
This display of status would make Orochi more convinced their intentions were friendly, and likely reduce surveillance.
Soon, the ninja led them to the shogun's palace—a rare high-rise tower in Wano.
…
Inside, Gusion listened to the sounds of revelry—Orochi was partying as usual.
The old steward greeted them politely, making excuses for Orochi.
Gusion scanned the area for threats. There were no obvious powerful enemies, but he was sure the ninja boss Fukurokuju was lurking nearby.
At the top floor, they found Orochi in the aftermath of a wild party, surrounded by fleeing courtesans.