"Please! Lord Aus! I'll do anything if you spare my life! Anything!"
Inside the shogun's palace.
The man who once lounged in the seat of power, drowning in debauchery—Wano Country's shogun, Orochi—now had tears and snot streaming down his ugly face. Pathetic as a stray dog.
"It hurts it hurts it hurts... Please give this lowly one a chance!"
Aus yawned.
He sat lazily in the shogun's seat, legs crossed. Beside him, the city's most beautiful geisha trembled as she held out a drink.
His lips curved upward slightly.
"Why are your hands shaking so badly? Am I really that scary? Can't be..."
Aus honestly thought he was pretty reasonable.
A gentle person, even.
Taking the cup, he grabbed the geisha's cheeks, watching her cherry lips pout slightly and her eyes shimmer with moisture. His smile stayed warm.
"I just... always repay my debts."
For a moment, the geisha felt dazed. Like she really was facing some gentle, handsome young man.
But when her eyes caught the wretched figure of Shogun Orochi on the floor, reality snapped back instantly.
Right...
The person before her wasn't some naive kid.
He was a monster who'd carved through the entire shogun's government without breaking a sweat!
Countless samurai knelt on the floor before the shogun's throne.
At the center—right beneath Aus's feet—a grotesque beast lay prostrate. Its condition? Pitiful.
Looked like something from those island myths. Yamata no Orochi.
Eight heads. Supposedly eight lives. Could die eight times.
Combat-wise? Not impressive. But it looked intimidating enough. At least as a Mythical Zoan, it was fiercer than your average Zoan.
But in front of Aus? Just a worm with extra heads.
Eight blades stood upright, piercing through the serpent's eight chins, pinning them firmly to the ground.
Blood pooled everywhere. Absolutely gruesome.
If not for the Mythical Zoan's powerful regeneration, blood loss would've killed him already.
"Kurozumi Orochi. Your grudge with the Kozuki family? Not my business. Even though Kozuki Oden and I were old acquaintances, Wano's civil war doesn't concern me.
But this kind of disrespect... Did you think riding Kaido's coattails meant you could provoke me however you wanted?"
"Who gave you the guts?"
Aus's eyes turned cold. Just the faintest leak of his Conqueror's Haki made everyone present feel like they'd plunged into an ice pit. Hands and feet frozen.
Like they weren't facing some monster youth.
But a god.
His frigid words fell.
The blades through Orochi's eight chins—driven by invisible force—sank another inch into the ground. Orochi shrieked and wailed.
His struggling figure looked like nothing but a clown.
"That wasn't my intention! My stupid subordinates acted on their own!"
"Please, spare me! I'm Wano's shogun—I can be useful to you! I can make up for this!"
Orochi begged.
True to form for a petty man—he understood exactly what powerful people wanted.
And to preserve his life and wealth, he'd do absolutely anything.
The definition of rotten to the core.
The moment he realized Aus hadn't killed him immediately, hope had already bloomed in his heart.
He must still be useful, right?
Just like how Kaido hadn't killed him.
Truth was, Aus really couldn't be bothered killing him. Just a political puppet. One who squeezed Wano's people dry to feed foreign powers.
How to put it?
More useful alive than dead.
"You'd do anything to survive?"
Aus's eyes stayed calm, but deep within lurked a hint of ill intent. His words sounded like Orochi had actually swayed him. Like he was softening.
Seeing this, Kurozumi Orochi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
What the hell...
Looks like Shogun Orochi's luck hasn't run out today!
Thinking this, he cried and laughed at the same time—snot and tears mixing. The scene was beyond disgusting.
"Hahahaha..."
"Whatever you want, I'll offer it as compensation, Lord Aus!"
Orochi groveled shamelessly. Even the nearby samurai and geisha frowned. Having a shogun like this was Wano's tragedy.
After all, whatever he gave wouldn't come from Orochi himself.
If Aus demanded too much, it'd just be Wano's people who suffered.
"As long as I want it?"
Finally, a smile appeared on Aus's face.
"Then hand over part of Wano's Seastone mining quota."
If this country had anything worth Aus's attention, it was probably only the massive Seastone reserves.
Orochi's pupils shrank instantly. Needle-thin.
Cold sweat poured down his head.
Despite his groveling, Aus still wouldn't let him off. He'd demanded one of the few resources in Wano that Orochi couldn't control.
The Seastone mines belonged to the Beasts Pirates. To Kaido!
"What's wrong, Orochi? Didn't you say you'd offer anything I wanted?"
"What's with that expression?"
Aus narrowed his eyes, looking down at him.
Orochi froze.
His mouth hung open for a long moment before he finally stammered out:
"The... the Seastone production is managed by Kaido's subordinates. I'm afraid I can't make that decision!"
"No. You can."
Aus's figure vanished in a flash, appearing instantly before Orochi. A pair of leather shoes entered his field of vision.
Looking up, he saw a smile that seemed gentle—but in Orochi's eyes, carried nothing but chilling menace.
"Wano's your territory, isn't it? If you want to, you'll find a way."
"No no no... Kaido will definitely kill me for this!"
"So you'd rather die right now instead?"
Orochi: "..."
It was like a bucket of cold water dumped over his head. He fell silent.
Right...
Refuse now and die immediately...
"You should understand by now. Kaido hasn't shown up yet. He's probably already prepared to abandon you.
Though even if he came, it wouldn't matter~"
Orochi was a smart man. After barely a moment's hesitation, he made the correct choice.
"I... I understand. I'll do it..."
Dead either way. Deceiving Kaido might buy him a bit more time. But refusing meant instant death.
Kurozumi Orochi's mind was sharper than anyone's.
And from this moment forward—
Wano Country's double agent, codename Eight-Headed Serpent—
Was officially online.
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