Second Half of the Grand Line, The New World, Near the Waters of Wano Country.
Near the waters of Wano Country, thick dark clouds covered the sky and the sun. The strong wind kept howling, and strong currents and whirlpools surrounded the waters. Beneath the seabed, coral reefs were everywhere. If you didn't have good navigation skills, or you weren't familiar with the nearby seabed terrain, the ship would be wrecked and everyone would die.
Above the high rocky outcroppings stood lookout towers and batteries with Beast Pirates guards on them, always on alert. If a ship of unknown origin suddenly approached, they would sound the alarm and fire at it and sink it. Even if a foreign ship had strong people who could withstand the shelling from the rocky shores, when the ship entered deep, it still faced a big problem.
Wano Country was surrounded by high mountains and rock walls, surrounded by hundreds of meters high waterfalls, and the water flowed rapidly. Usually, a foreign ship that had forced its way in and wanted to climb the rock wall had only two choices. One was to tie the giant carps that appeared from time to time and would go upstream with a rope, and use them to pull the ship up to climb. The second was to abandon the ship and choose to climb the hundreds of meters high rock wall with bare hands. However, after you climbed the wall, you would find in despair that above, the water was as dangerous as it was below, with strong currents. What was even more painful was that on those rocky shores, there were still fortifications guarded by guards.
However, if the Beast Pirates' ships wanted to enter Wano Country, it was much simpler, and they would not be shot at by the guards or have to painstakingly climb the rock wall. Under the waterfall, they had a special mechanism passage in the mountain and rock walls, which could send the ships in the sea below directly to the water above, thus directly entering Wano Country.
In general, because of Wano Country's dangerous terrain, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack, it was basically impossible for an ordinary force to directly send troops to attack it. Unless, with an absolute advantage of dozens of times in strength, they charged in with a storm regardless of the casualties. By choosing Wano Country as his base, Kaido the Beast was equivalent to having an impenetrable base. Even if one day Kaido was defeated, and all the island territories except Wano Country were occupied by others, he would still have the capital to make a comeback.
Journey to Wano Country.
In the sky, by using the spray first, Sephiroth entered an invisible state. He followed the guidance of the log pose and flew for a long time, finally reaching the edge of the waters of Wano Country. Soon after, he put away his black wings behind him, and, falling lightly from the air, stood on the rocky shore.
The transparent stealth ability could only deceive sight, but could not hide from Observation Haki and thermal imaging instruments. Given that this was the base of the Beast Pirates and the enemy's situation was unknown, Sephiroth had no choice but to act safely.
He raised his right hand and used the ability to separate a black bat from his palm and controlled it as it flew into the territory of Wano Country. Soon after, the bat, which was traveling at a speed of more than 100 kilometers per hour, passed through the layers of guards at high altitude and entered the waters of Wano Country. Sephiroth also saw Kaido's base, Onigashima, placed in the waters of Wano Country, through the bat's visual sharing. However, instead of letting the black bat land on Onigashima, he let it fly to the main island of Wano Country.
Although Sephiroth's ability to escape was top-notch, the situation in the enemy camp was unknown, and he didn't want to rush in and add unnecessary trouble. Wano Country was divided into six regions, Kuri, Udon, Hakumai, Ringo, Kibi, and Rokka. They were not adjacent to each other. If you wanted to go from one region to another, you had to pass through a connecting bridge. It was worth mentioning that the climate of Wano Country was very unique, and at the same time, the climate of each region was different. One region might be ice and snow, while another might be warm like spring. For example, Ringo was a harsh winter with snow all year round, while Kuri was like spring all year round with flowers in full bloom.
Kuri, Amigasa Village.
In a dense bamboo forest, the noon sun shone on the ground through the emerald green bamboo leaves. A thin red line cut through the void, and in the middle of the spatial ripple, a Spatial Door silently opened. Sephiroth, who was still invisible, stepped out from the rocky shore and reached the bamboo forest.
Chirp-chirp.
The black bat that was separated from Sephiroth's body completely destroyed the color layer on him, causing him to passively withdraw from his transparency, revealing him in a black hooded robe and a white mask covering his face. It was not good if a person did not eat a Devil Fruit. His ability was too rigid. When the color layer was damaged to a certain extent, it would disappear automatically...
Under his control, more than a dozen black bats flew toward Amigasa Village, not far away. Through visual sharing, Sephiroth saw the scene from the village. In the low wooden huts that were close to each other, lived villagers with numb eyes and thin, yellow faces. The crops in the farmland were basically withered and yellow. The water in the river, under the sun, showed an unappetizing color.
Ever since Kurozumi Orochi, supported by Kaido, took the position of Shogun of Wano Country, he began to build weapons factories on every hilltop in the country, and he also deliberately dumped waste into the river to pollute the water sources, thereby completely destroying the surrounding environment and making the land gradually unable to be cultivated. Weapons factories were also established in the Baldo Kingdom and Dressrosa, but based on a reasonable planning arrangement, the factories processed the wastewater they discharged, so it did not have much impact on the ecological environment.
Kurozumi Orochi deliberately destroyed the land of Wano Country in order to implement his own harsh policies and completely push the people of Wano Country into a dead end, allowing them to live a life without food. Either starve to death in the wilderness, or you could only willingly devote yourself to Kaido's sweatshops, earn a small amount of money, eat food like husks, and survive.
Kurozumi Orochi practiced a brutal and unkind rule, and the root of all this came from his hatred for the Kozuki Clan! More than sixty years ago, the Shogun of Wano Country, the Kozuki Clan, was troubled by not having a child, and the then Kurozumi daimyo thought there was an opportunity to take advantage of it and replace him, so he planned to poison the other four daimyos one by one. However, while the shogun was still alive, his son Kozuki Sukiyaki was born, the Kozuki Clan had an heir, and the Kurozumi family's plot was discovered. This move by the Kurozumi daimyo undoubtedly offended the five great families in Wano Country. When desperate, the Kurozumi daimyo had no choice but to commit suicide for fear of the crime.
Because the Kurozumi family's plan to rebel was exposed, its relatives and family members were also implicated, hunted down by the subordinates of the five great families, and persecuted by the people of Wano Country. As the grandson of the Kurozumi daimyo, Kurozumi Orochi was one of them. In this kind of life full of darkness and despair, the surviving Orochi's hatred for the Kozuki Clan and the people of Wano Country continued to deepen, causing his heart to continuously twist!
It was only after Kurozumi Orochi met Kurozumi Higurashi and Kurozumi Semimaru that his life took a turn for the better! Because the two had lived abroad all year round, they were able to escape the Kozuki household's purge. Kurozumi Higurashi was the one who ate the Mane Mane no Mi, a Paramecia model, while Kurozumi Semimaru was the one who had the Bari Bari no Mi, a Paramecia model. In order to revive the Kurozumi family and take revenge on the Kozuki Clan, the two decided to help Kurozumi Orochi in his endeavor to gain the position of shogun of the country.
Kurozumi Higurashi specifically gave the Hebi Hebi no Mi, Yamata no Orochi model, to Orochi, hoping that he could become a very powerful samurai! However, it turned out that no matter how powerful the fruit of a Mythical Animal species was, if the eater itself was too weak and did not work hard to exercise and develop its abilities, it would be useless in the end! After Kurozumi Orochi ate the Yamata no Orochi Fruit, besides growing taller and fatter, he only had eight lives. For a "strong person," if he lived seven more lives, it was simply a rhythm of going to heaven. He didn't have to worry about being hurt and dying, and could fight to the end without any reservations. But for the weak, it was just a process of dying out of thin air a few more times and repeatedly being damaged to death!
Fortunately, Kurozumi Higurashi and Kurozumi Semimaru were both quite strong, and the silly son of the Shogun family, Kozuki Oden, was really foolish enough! When Kozuki Oden left Wano Country and traveled around the outside world following Whitebeard and Roger as a pirate, the Kurozumi gang felt like they had been waiting for an opportunity! Thus, they secretly imprisoned the shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki, who was suffering from an incurable disease and was physically weak, while Kurozumi Higurashi, based on her fruit's mimicking ability, pretended to be Kozuki Sukiyaki and handed over the position of shogun to Kurozumi Orochi in front of the daimyos. At this point, the two were able to support Orochi, who was dim-witted, to become the shogun of Wano Country.
After decades of patience and planning, Kurozumi Orochi gained power and became a shogun. In order to secure his dominance, he directly chose to lure a wolf into his house and called Kaido to Wano Country. Soon after, he began to take revenge on the whole of Wano Country, leaving the entire country in endless hardship.
There was no harm without a comparison, even though the silly son of the shogun's family, Kozuki Oden, used to do all sorts of immobile things, fighting and hurting people, raping civilian girls, and burning oden on top of other people's cremated bodies. But, the people of Wano Country, comparing Kozuki Oden with Kurozumi Orochi, found that this silly son of the shogun's family was simply a great good person! A smaller evil. As a result, the people of Wano Country who had been completely brainwashed by the feudal monarchy began to have all kinds of wild beauty and conjectures about Kozuki Oden under the deliberate instigation of his wife, Kozuki Toki, and felt that he would definitely be a great hero who saved Wano Country from Kurozumi Orochi. His past bad behavior was all "selectively forgotten by the people."
Thus, even though Kozuki Oden had been at sea for several years and had never returned, he had never inquired about the life or death of the Wano people, but when Kurozumi Orochi was confused and couldn't understand, Kozuki Oden's reputation was getting higher and higher. Finally, Kozuki Oden returned home! After five years of traveling to sea, Kozuki Oden, who was taught by the words and deeds of Roger and Whitebeard, finally felt a little like a normal person, after learning to take responsibility and to care about the people around him.
In response to the hopes of the Wano people, Kozuki Oden prepared to retake his position as shogun from Kurozumi Orochi, and he fought his way to Orochi's palace, preparing to decapitate the other party. However, Kurozumi Semimaru's Bari Bari no Mi ability was too strong. Under his protection, Oden tried his best to cut him, but still could not break through the barrier and directly injure the protected Orochi. The opponent also used this to avoid the assassination of the daimyo and dissatisfied people.
At the stalemate in the government, Kurozumi Orochi came up with a plan to use the lives of hundreds of people from Wano Country to threaten and trick Kozuki Oden, allowing the other party to dance naked in the streets for five years, promising that at the end of the five-year period, he and Kaido would leave the country. But, the true intention of Orochi was to completely ruin the reputation that Oden had accumulated, causing the people of Wano Country to be completely disappointed in him, thereby reducing his overall power. On the other hand, Kaido could also use the buffer period to improve his strength and develop his power.
Only when the agreed five-year period was up, Orochi sneered and told Oden the truth. At this point, Oden made up his mind, and with his nine retainers, fought Kaido to the death. Because Kurozumi Higurashi used the Mane Mane no Mi ability when Kozuki Oden was fighting Kaido to the death, she became his son, Kozuki Momonosuke, which distracted him and he was hit by Kaido, which led to his defeat and eventual death by being fried and cooked.
At this point, Wano Country completely lost the power to threaten Kurozumi Orochi and Kaido, leaving the entire nation in endless hardship. Therefore, for the person of Kozuki Oden, Sephiroth's evaluation was: A strong fool!
A moment later, with more than a dozen bats scattered around Amigasa Village and conducting reconnaissance searches, Sephiroth finally found a white-haired old man with a Tengu mask on his face in a small temple in the village. Since he searched the entire village with the bats, he only saw one old man with a mask on his face!