"As long as our people aren't working for Orochi, I don't care. It's about time the Nine Red Scabbards gave him a real scare. After playing Shogun for over twenty years, his happy days are finally coming to an end," Yamato said with a firm nod.
The time was drawing near. It was time for that massive tumor, Orochi, to prepare for his eternal party in heaven. No, on second thought, it should be hell; there are far too many people from Wano Country waiting for him down there.
"Regarding those intruders, Yamato, what do you plan to do? Should we leave them alone or send people to make their lives difficult?" Black Maria asked, exhaling a cloud of smoke.
Yamato knew exactly who Maria was talking about—the members of the Straw Hat Pirates who had already infiltrated Wano's borders. Along with them were Trafalgar Law and several samurai. If the legends were true, those samurai had to be part of the Nine Red Scabbards.
"We won't get involved directly. Let Drake and the others handle it. It's just a game of hide-and-seek—small-time squabbles. However, Straw Hat will be arriving here soon, and I've already thought of a perfect surprise for him. Haruko, go talk to King later and have him make the arrangements," Yamato instructed.
"Understood," Haruko replied.
"A surprise? For the Straw Hats?" Maria asked, her interest piqued.
Haruko answered for Yamato, "Three thousand subordinates, plus fifty modified Artificial Devil Fruit users."
"Yamato, was this your idea?" Maria looked at her in shock. "With a force that size, you could annihilate any pirate crew with a bounty of over a hundred million."
"Haha! I originally wanted a thousand, but Haruko suggested we bump it up to three thousand. Ordinary subordinates wouldn't be enough to keep things interesting. Adding fifty of Queen's modified Gifters should make the difficulty just right. Plus, with Drake and Hawkins already in the area, it'll be a very nice surprise," Yamato said with a mischievous smile.
"Three thousand men might not be a huge deal for them, but fifty modified Gifters will be a nightmare. Lord Queen's human modification technology is formidable. In terms of raw combat power, those things aren't much weaker than the Tobiroppo," Maria noted, flicking her pipe.
"A trial has to be difficult. If they want to defeat my idiot old man, they have to prove they're qualified first. Me staying out of the fight is already going extremely easy on them," Yamato said calmly. If she were to get serious, she could wipe the entire alliance off the map in a single afternoon.
"That's only because they're still useful to you. Otherwise, Yamato, I know your hands would have been itching for a fight long ago," Maria smiled. She knew Yamato well; even against opponents who couldn't push her to her limits, she still enjoyed the thrill of a brawl.
"Maria, you really do know me. My hands are definitely itching, but I'll hold back for now. When the time comes, I'll be able to do whatever I want. Wherever the action is, I'll be right in the middle of it," Yamato chuckled.
Later, Haruko arrived at King's office. She found the lead All-Star sitting behind his desk with his legs propped up, looking unusually relaxed. He was so deep in thought he didn't notice her enter until she spoke.
"Lord King?"
King jolted awake, slamming his feet onto the floor and straightening his posture. His face flushed slightly under his mask. "Ahem... Haruko. Why aren't you with the Young Master? What brings you here?" As the top All-Star of the Beasts Pirates, King was currently embarrassed to be caught slacking.
Haruko explained the plan to station a force in Boro Town, Kuri.
"I see. If the Nine Red Scabbards are hiding in Wano, Kuri is the most logical place. Any helpers they've recruited would be there too. Fine, I'll arrange it immediately. I want to see what skills they still have after twenty years," King said with a nod. He had heard reports of samurai sightings in Kuri but had dismissed them as "stray dogs" not worth his personal attention.
However, if Yamato wanted to test them, he had no reason to object. It was a good chance to see what kind of confidence these ghosts had to dare show their faces again.
"I'll leave the details to you, Lord King. I'll go inform the Young Master," Haruko bowed and left.
Once she was gone, King let out a long sigh of relief. "It seems I'm becoming more like the Young Master every day. I'm getting too comfortable in this office; I barely want to move," he muttered, stretching his neck. Between the paperwork and his daily cultivation, life had become surprisingly fulfilling. "Combining work and rest... she was right. I feel stronger now than when I was working myself to the bone. I should stick to her policy."
He thought of his captain. "Big Brother, oh Big Brother... don't be so stubborn. You're just not as good at this as the Young Master is."
Meanwhile, Kaido was in his private quarters, doing what he did best: drinking. Since he had captured Kid, he hadn't left Onigashima. He stayed inside, drinking and listening to reports, letting the days blur together.
Within half a day, a force of over 3,000 Beasts Pirates members assembled and marched toward Boro Town in Kuri. Among them were the fifty modified Gifters created by Queen.
Boro Town was the only remaining settlement in Kuri, sitting in the shadow of the ruins of Oden Castle. Hidden within those ruins were the Straw Hats who had arrived early, several members of the Nine Red Scabbards, and Trafalgar Law's Heart Pirates. Their alliance had been forged on Zou with one goal: to defeat Kaido.
As the massive contingent of the Beasts Pirates entered the town, the alliance noticed immediately.
"Why are there so many? Have we been compromised?"
On the streets of Boro Town, men dressed as samurai but carrying the sharp gaze of seasoned pirates watched with somber expressions. These were Law's crew, tasked with gathering intel.
"There are over 3,000 of them, and dozens are modified Gifters. We have to tell the Captain, now!"
Law was shocked when he received the report. "Out of nowhere, why would they send an elite unit here? Modified Gifters are basically on par with some of the stronger Tobiroppo. This place isn't safe anymore. We have to tell the others to stay hidden."
He immediately found Kin'emon. In the worst-case scenario, they would have to abandon their base.
"I agree, Lord Law. If the elite units are here, they must suspect something. We should prepare to relocate immediately," Kin'emon nodded. They weren't ready for a direct clash; it would expose their plans before they could unite the remaining samurai of Wano.
"Find us a new base. You know this land better than I do. I'll have my men keep watching the town," Law said. "I hope the others in the Flower Capital are having better luck. Counting the days, Luffy should be arriving any moment now."
Two days later, the order came down for the Beasts Pirates to search the Oden Castle ruins.
"Move out! Turn over every inch of soil! Let's see if the ghosts of the Scabbards have actually returned!" a modified Gifter barked. "Even if they're spirits, tear them to pieces!"
The alliance had already evacuated by the time the soldiers arrived. After a thorough search yielded nothing, the commander grew suspicious. "Hmph. What ghosts? These are just mossy graves. Dig them up! Let's see if there are even bones in there."
The subordinates dug up the simple graves. They were empty—no coffins, no bones, nothing.
"Does that mean they didn't die at all?!"
"Report this! The graves at Oden Castle are empty. The Nine Red Scabbards are likely still alive!"
The soldiers trashed the area, turning the last standing wooden house into rubble before leaving. When Law and the others returned hours later, they found their former home in ruins.
"They even dig up graves? This is too much," someone spat.
"It doesn't matter; they were fake graves anyway," Kin'emon said grimly. "But now they know we didn't die twenty years ago."
"It was bound to happen. As long as they don't catch us, rumors are just rumors. We just have to be more cautious from now on," Law said steadily.
Back on Onigashima, Haruko reported the news to Yamato.
"It's normal they weren't found. They're people, not statues. They know how to hide," Yamato said, completely unsurprised. "Have our men stay in Boro Town. They need to be ready to welcome our upcoming guests. Compared to Luffy, Trafalgar Law is clearly the brains of the operation. If Luffy had been there, he would have started a war by now."
"Haha! Haruko, I didn't expect you to know Straw Hat so well," Yamato laughed.
"You don't need to know him well to analyze him, Young Master. You just look at the trail of fire he leaves behind," Haruko replied. "The last pirate to be that arrogant and gutsy was the Pirate King, Roger."