"What?"
"Kaidou has many spies in Wano Kuni, so your actions must be careful and not be too conspicuous."
Then he began discussing details with Oden and the others, suggesting, for safety's sake, not to seek help from overseas. Oden also didn't intend to do so, believing it was Wano Kuni's own matter and shouldn't involve others.
"But what about Kaidou's people? It's been so long, haven't you cleaned up outside, and Kaidou's people haven't come yet?"
"Really no, Kaidou often leaves to do things, maybe he happens to be away..."
...
On Ghost Island, the officers of the Hundred Beasts Pirates in Wano Kuni gathered together, with Rotom transmitting everything that was happening there to them.
Rotom is essentially an electronic ghost; when it doesn't move, it's no different from an ordinary machine, so no one ever noticed it.
Orochi thought his plan was flawless, capable of sparking conflict between Oden and Kaidou, yet not letting it escalate immediately so that he could evaluate the situation before detonating the conflict.
But little did he know, Kaidou had been mocking them all along, now even treating it as a night-time movie.
Yamato had already gone to sleep; Kaidou's training regimen for her emphasized early to bed and early to rise, so if she didn't sleep now, she wouldn't have enough energy the next day.
Her schedule was fully packed, and she had just gone back for a bath.
And it was a medicinal bath, specially formulated by Nightin to nourish the body. She was a genius who could use herbs to realize rejuvenation, concocting such things was child's play for her.
The only issue was the expensive materials and high costs, but for the Hundred Beasts Pirates, this was nothing, given the endless funds from the Hundred Beasts Fruit.
Upon hearing them finalize that plan, Queen couldn't hold it any longer.
"A butt-naked dance? Mwahahaha, what kind of fool would come up with such a method? And he actually agreed?"
"Yeah, it's foolish, how about you join him in dancing, you two fools might match well together."
Wherever Queen was, there would be quarrels. His arguments with King and Shaina had become a distinctive feature within the Hundred Beasts Pirates - small quarrels every three days, big ones every five, a beating every week, and disappearing once a month.
The beatings happened because he couldn't beat King and Shaina, despite his efforts, the others were not only more diligent but also had unique talent and lineage advantages, even some attribute counteraction that made things very difficult for Queen.
As for disappearing once a month, it was to avoid being beaten too severely, and recently he noticed something odd, that Setsuna had replaced the archery targets with his photo, without even knowing when he offended that wolf.
Setsuna, constantly following Shaina, gave him a new sense of crisis. It's said that with high enough mastery of Observation Haki, one could achieve Future Sight, and for some reason, he felt he was reaching that level.
But amidst the commotion, business still needed to be conducted.
"Kaidou, tomorrow you should go see Orochi, otherwise it's inappropriate."
"True, but should we really do this?"
"Of course, Kozuki Toki managed to salvage some of Oden's reputation, and this would utterly ruin his face. As for clarifying, he'd need the chance to do so first."
Oden didn't want significant casualties, and neither did Arceus and Kaidou, as nurturing this elite force took considerable effort.
Moreover, upon hearing their plan, Kaidou only felt like they were handing out favors. Given Oden's connections, if he gambled everything to seek Roger's crew and Whitebeard's help overseas, the current Hundred Beasts wouldn't stand a chance.
That would mean starting all over after just one battle, leaving him impressed by how his opponent squandered such a good hand.
Wasting the opportunity and losing face on his own, one must say, Orochi really helped them a lot.
"Have people keep an eye on Shimotsuki Yasuie and those daimyo, and also have Kojiro get some people to infiltrate."
"Understood, but Lord Sacred Beast, what about that agreement?"
"Agreement? Let it be, the handwriting could be forged, and people might have been coerced, it holds no credibility."
The Hundred Beasts Fruit contract is valid, but its effectiveness comes from our own strength, without it, it's just a scrap of paper."
Orders were sent down from Ghost Island, but for confidentiality, the people below didn't know the full details, merely following the directives of the officers.
Meanwhile, Kaidou also met with Kurozumi Orochi, who smugly claimed his plan made Oden fear his threats, so much that he chose to perform a butt-naked dance every week to appease him.
Having watched the entire live broadcast, Kaidou said nothing, pretending to believe Orochi's words, while also taking a hefty sum of gold from him as he wished.
To maintain his so-called persona, Kurozumi Orochi continued his tyrannical behavior, with nothing changing significantly except for a fool dancing with only a loincloth in the Flower Capital every week.
For the execution of his plan, he told no one but Shimotsuki Yasuie, not even his family or household attendants. Whenever someone questioned him, he would just smile it off.
This left the public increasingly bewildered, and even Oden's heart was troubled; walking through Wano Kuni, observing its changes, he wondered whether what he was doing was right.
The herdsmen riding three-tailed bulls, women leading Whimsicotts, and the smiles on people's faces made him more and more confused, but seeing his household attendants and getting encouragement from Yasuie, he solidified his thoughts.
Achieving the opening of the country before Joy Boy's arrival, to him, was the only correct path.
The world's gears wouldn't stop turning for anyone, no matter if it was sunny or snowy, Oden never ceased his foolish actions.
Meanwhile, many things were happening in other seas as well.
August 1498, South Sea, Bartilla Island.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes, my time is running out, I have things I must do. Thank you, Rouge, for making my last year of life so happy."
Saying this, Roger boarded a small boat, just like decades ago when he went to sea, but this time he didn't avoid anything, arriving alone at the South Sea's Navy Base.
"Don't be so tense, Marines, I'm here to surrender." With his hands slightly raised, Roger gave these new Marine recruits a meaningful smile.