"Sacred Beast Lord, this is today's news from Wano Kuni, you should take a look."
"Haven't I told you already? Just handle it yourself, there's no need to report everything to me."
The affairs of Wano Kuni are messy and exceedingly complex, mostly dealing with trivial matters. If I were to handle everything personally, I wouldn't have the time for anything else in a day.
So after some delegation, most affairs of Wano Kuni were assigned to different officers, and while Kaidou was out acting as a hands-off manager, he was also lightening his own load.
Naturally, the ultimate result of this was... Asie's hair volume drastically reduced, and he had already begun asking Nightin to prepare a hair-loss prevention remedy for him.
"Sacred Beast Lord, this is a new situation. Someone is causing trouble at the mining camp. King is dealing with him, and you should decide on the final action."
There really wasn't much of a secret to dig up on Kin'emon; his purpose for going to the Udon Mine had also been clarified. However, whether he should be executed, released, or thrown into the mine to dig was still undecided.
"Educate him and throw him into the mine. Given his vitality, he should work quite well."
To Arceus, Kin'emon was just an ordinary little character. However, a phone call made him change his mind.
A snail emerged from its shell, and after Shaina answered the call, a female voice spoke—it belonged to the Beast Pirates' member stationed in the brothel.
"Boss lady, the latest news is that Kurozumi Orochi is spreading the word that Kin'emon, the retainer of Kozuki Oden, challenged the Beast Pirates and will soon be executed by us. It's pretty much spread throughout the Flower Capital."
Kurozumi Orochi is currently the Acting General of Wano Kuni, and he has more spies in the country. The events at the Udon Mine quickly reached his ears.
Although his men couldn't enter the Udon Mine, the subordinate who was looking for Kin'emon remained outside. Under Orochi's command is a skilled ninja squad known as the Orochi Imperial Court Guards, who are quite formidable, making capturing a small-time thug a breeze for them.
After learning about this, Orochi was overjoyed because the Beast Pirates finally had a direct conflict with Kozuki Oden, which was something he had eagerly anticipated.
If the Beast Pirates killed a retainer of the Kozuki Clan, the matter would become irreconcilable. Therefore, he sought to further escalate this conflict, aiming to provoke a direct clash between the two sides.
He knew that such tricks wouldn't affect the Beast Pirates, as they clearly had a rational leadership.
His target was the other retainers of the Kozuki Clan.
If this news spread, those in the Kozuki Clan might storm the prison, causing an even greater conflict with the Beast Pirates.
Although the Beast Pirates operated differently from what he imagined, one thing remained true: the Beast Pirates never tolerated direct challenges against them. If things reached that point, the Beast Pirates wouldn't let it go, if only for their reputation.
"Kurozumi Orochi..."
"Sacred Beast Lord, let me go kill him. Someone who deceives you doesn't deserve to live, especially not now..."
Upon knowing the full details, Shaina almost charged straight to the Flower Capital. She saw Orochi's desire to watch from the sidelines as a death wish.
"Don't be hasty. He still has some value. We're counting on him for a major reshuffle of Wano Kuni's ruling class, but his tactics are too naive."
"The news he's spreading..."
"The rumors are being spread by Kurozumi Orochi. What does that have to do with us? It's good for the people of Wano Kuni to understand that even though we were brought in by Kurozumi Orochi, we are who we are, not Orochi's henchmen.
Shaina, go in person, but you don't need to do anything else. Just ensure that no other retainers of the Kozuki Clan leave Kuri. As long as they don't cause trouble, we will decide how it ends."
"Understood. What about Kin'emon?"
"Let him live. Coincidentally, Queen has been complaining about lack of farmland. Doesn't the Kozuki Clan have a decent farm in Kuri? Let them use that as atonement."
Kuri used to be an outlaw's domain but was restored under the administration of Kozuki Oden, so the Kozuki Clan has deep influence there.
Their retainers believed that the Beast Pirates had malicious intent, so they incited some of the populace to resist the Beast Pirates, which meant sometimes they couldn't find enough workers for the farm in Kuri, requiring recruitment from other villages.
The farm in question is a critical industry in Kuri, employing many people, and if they were to abandon it, the families would bear the consequences.
The Beast Pirates largely employ a soft-power strategy with the ordinary people. Once these people see the benefits brought by the Beast Pirates, over time, some of them will naturally change their viewpoints, and the internal conflict will evolve from an external dispute into a domestic issue.
As more people come to accept the Beast Pirates, the conflict will gradually fade away.
Soon, a decree-like notification was delivered to Kin'emon's home, and meanwhile, as Orochi expected, the rest of the Kozuki retainers, upon hearing the execution news, were filled with rage.
"I told you, the Beast Pirates are no good, Kin'emon..." The remaining retainers of Kozuki Oden were gathered; they had already received the news, or it was almost impossible not to.
Among those staying was someone named Kanjuro, full name Kurozumi Kanjuro, who was a mole sent by Kurozumi Orochi to infiltrate Kozuki Oden's circle; he was the one who relayed the information.
"What should we do? Are we just going to watch them execute Kin'emon?"
"Absolutely not! Right, Ashura Doji. After Oden-sama left, he returned to Head Mountain to manage those mountain bandits. If we can bring them out, we should be able to rescue Kin'emon."
"Rumor has it that Kaidou is very strong... Many people might die..."
"So we're just going to let Kin'emon die then!"
Kanjuro, there to sow discord, immediately suggested storming the gallows, rescuing Kin'emon, and fleeing back to Head Mountain to wait for Kozuki Oden's return.
The one concerned about large-scale casualties was Kikunojo, also known as Zansetsu no Kikunojo. Being a man but looking more like a woman, in another place, this would definitely be seen as cross-dressing and transgender, a clear case of political correctness.
He was gentle at heart, overly so, and had some hesitation in battle.
"That was not what I meant..."
Before they could resolve the matter, they had already started arguing among themselves. However, under Kanjuro's deliberate guidance, they decided to directly break Kin'emon out.
Even without Kanjuro, they wouldn't sit by as Kin'emon faced death, but Kanjuro managed to make them even more impulsive. They were just about to head out when another person approached—not Shaina, but the Daimyo of Hakumai—Shimotsuki Yasuie.