Not long ago, within the palace of the Flower Capital, led by Kurozumi Orochi and Kaidou, members of Wano Kuni and the Hundred Beasts Pirate Group occupied both sides of the palace. Currently, Kurozumi Orochi is still the nominal Acting General of Wano Kuni.
Beneath him were five tables: Hakumai Daimyo Shimotsuki Yasuie, Ringo Daimyo Shimotsuki Ushimaru, Kibi Daimyo Fugetsu Omusubi, Udon Daimyo Uzuki Tempura, all seated in order below.
The last table, however, was empty. Although it was set with dishes, there was no one in the seat, not even a servant. This was supposed to be the seat of the Kuri Daimyo.
But the current Kuri Daimyo of Wano Kuni is Kozuki Oden. At this moment, he was in a room in the palace of the Flower Capital, disguised as a drama actor with some household attendants.
The commoners of the Flower Capital were unaware of the details, and the ordinary people within the palace didn't know either. While Kurozumi Orochi and Shimotsuki Yasuie exchanged glances, the kitchen was bustling with activity.
"This grand celebration that occurs once every hundred years must present a feast worthy of the General's name."
On the long table in front were placed hundreds of bowls and dishes, but each contained little, in the traditional culinary style of Wano Kuni.
"Soup made from black fungus and chrysanthemum, egg tofu on flat plates, carved lotus root, and pickled vegetables... this is the pinnacle of my culinary skills today."
The chef carefully inspected the dishes, which were his hard work.
"Okay, now it only needs to be tested for poison three times..."
He was waiting for specialists to test for poison; the dishes presented to the General and Daimyos must be handled meticulously, which was the custom here. However, someone beside him promptly took away those things.
"Hey! Those haven't been tested yet! Who are you people? Don't you know the rules?"
"This is an order from Lord Orochi, you don't need to worry about anything else."
Fukurokuju appeared beside him and stopped the chef who wanted to test for poison. Now that they were at the venue of the banquet, why bother with poison testing? He intended to poison it specially.
However, the purpose of poisoning wasn't just to deal with Kaidou alone; except for his share, all the food was infused with poison. He wanted to use this opportunity to make these Daimyos and Kaidou disappear together. A Wano Kuni without other obstacles was what he needed.
As for how such a Wano Kuni would face external threats, that had nothing to do with him. This was also why he arranged other personnel to come here.
"Orochi, if this is what you call a celebration, it might be too dull."
Kaidou wanted to see what kind of tricks Orochi could play. Just like a cat plays with its prey, when excited, he would often do strange things.
However, everything now seemed very boring to him. Most pirates disliked traditional Wano Kuni dining; eating a dozen plates was just an appetizer for them. If this was Orochi's plan, then there was no need for him to wait.
As for watching fireworks, there was no need to watch them from here; there were still many special fireworks in the inventory of Ghost Island.
"Don't be hasty, Kaidou, the show always comes piece by piece. Since you can't wait any longer, then come and see today's grand finale."
The fool prince who dances every day will also present a performance for you today."
As he spoke, Orochi signaled to some people around him. A moving stage was pushed to the center, with silhouettes swaying under the curtains. As the sound of the shamisen playing began, the curtains on the stage were slowly drawn open.
Inside were actors specially arranged by Orochi, who had prepared a new play. Kozuki Oden and some household attendants were also among them, with heavy masks and costumes hiding their true identities.
Although the people here generally suffered from face blindness, in this situation, even someone who wasn't face-blind couldn't recognize them.
Some people could not appreciate drama at all, like Arceus, who had no interest in such things. But Kaidou was different. Although he appeared rough, he was very interested in it, even integrating elements of drama into the daily life of the Hundred Beasts Pirate Group.
For example, calling the Three Disasters the "Big Enforcers" and ordinary officers as "Headliners," and still planning to call the stronger ones among the Headliners the "Flying Six."
This shows Kaidou's personal interest in local drama. However, the types of drama were fixed, and there were only a few famous plays. Arranging a new drama was time-consuming.
Even if one likes a play, watching it too many times can become dull, so this new drama by Orochi piqued Kaidou's interest to some extent. Rotom couldn't monitor such things; drama rehearsals were obviously not within its scope of surveillance.
....
The music continued, and as it reached a high point, there was a change in the drama on stage. The enemy appeared, a wicked general wearing Evil Dragon Armor.
He had always displayed an invincible stance but was ultimately betrayed by a trusted subordinate, a strange role who endured humiliation for years just to regain their homeland from the evil dragon.
As he was struck down in the play, a large amount of blood-colored petals and cloaks were thrown out. According to Orochi's plan, at this moment, Oden should have leapt out to launch a sneak attack on Kaidou, as he was among the actors on stage.
But at the crucial moment, someone went off-script.
He waited for a long time, but Kozuki Oden still did not appear.
"Oh ho ho ho, Orochi, your play is quite interesting but not quite there. So, what's the name of this play?"
"Well... I haven't thought of a name yet, just got it arranged. Why don't you come up with a name?"
Initially, it was all for the sake of a sneak attack; he didn't have the time to think up a name. As he spoke, he tried to persuade Kaidou to taste the food on the table, but Kaidou only drank the wine he brought himself, rendering his poisoning plan futile.
The Daimyos also ate nothing; only Queen and Elizabeth nonchalantly ate what was on the table.
But before he could make some excuses, a voice came from the stage.
"The name of this play is 'Dragon Slayer.' Kaidou, if you do not leave Wano Kuni, this will be your fate in the future!"
Kozuki Oden appeared, but not in the way Kurozumi Orochi had expected to execute a sneak attack. Instead, he stood out openly.
Although Kurozumi Orochi told Kozuki Oden many things, Oden had his own eyes. He saw the changes in Wano Kuni. At this moment, Kaidou hadn't done anything evil to Wano Kuni. On the contrary, he even facilitated its development.
So he hoped Kaidou would leave Wano Kuni voluntarily—that would be the best outcome. His actions also left Kurozumi Orochi in disbelief. At this point, he could no longer understand the people of the Kozuki Family.