In truth, most of his injuries were superficial. Still, a performance had to be convincing to the end, so Tenma had himself wrapped up like a mummy, his entire body swathed in bandages.
At the moment, he was lying comfortably in the newly renovated shogun's bedchamber, savoring this rare moment of peace.
There weren't many people in the room, but every single one of them could make Wano tremble with a single stomp.
The Daimyō of Ringo, just released from Udon Prison.
Hyogoro of the Flower, the underworld godfather of the Flower Capital.
The Daimyō of Kibi and Hakumai, who had come once before.
And finally, Kozuki Toki, who had been secretly transferred here.
The first four had agreed on the timing in advance, coming together to pay their respects at Shogun Castle.
To be honest, although Kozuki Sukiyaki still nominally held the title, these daimyō had long since been inclined to pledge themselves to Tenma in their hearts.
After personally witnessing Tenma's "bloody battle" with Kaido, and coupled with his monumental achievement of completely saving Wano, they were now utterly convinced.
In their minds, they had already completed the shift in identity—from "retainers of the Kozuki clan" to genuine "retainers of Tenma."
Today, their visit to the shogun's manor was not only to express loyalty by checking on their "gravely wounded" shogun, but also because there was one matter the four of them were deeply concerned about—
The so-called "postwar agreement."
Hyogoro, acting as their representative, was the first to break the silence.
Tenma didn't dodge the issue at all and spoke plainly.
"The agreement between Kaido and me is very simple. His arms trade with Wano will continue."
"So that's why you didn't choose to go all out against Kaido, fighting to mutual destruction?"
Shimotsuki Yasuie murmured under his breath, his brow knitting slightly before quickly relaxing again.
He wasn't entirely unable to accept it. After all, a full-scale war would have meant countless deaths. When weighing two evils, choosing the lesser was clearly the more rational option.
"But those weapons factories are far too harmful," Kozuki Toki couldn't help interjecting, worry written all over her face.
"Once the land is polluted, nothing will grow again. Even the water sources will become poisonous!"
After learning that Lady Toki was still alive—especially after finding out that Oden's retainers and children had been sent to the future—both Yasuie and Hyogoro had secretly breathed a huge sigh of relief.
But now that their allegiance had firmly shifted to Tenma, their mindset had naturally changed as well.
Hearing Lady Toki's words, which sounded like a challenge to Tenma's decision, Yasuie instinctively wanted to refute her.
Before he could even speak, however, Tenma reacted faster, nodding with an expression that plainly said, You're absolutely right.
"Your concern is completely valid. That's why I never intended to keep those weapons factories on Wano soil in the first place. I plan to move all of them to overseas islands."
"Don't forget what kind of power I possess. Moving overseas islands directly into Wano's territory is nothing more than a wave of my hand to me."
Over the past few days, legends about Tenma had been flying everywhere. His Float-Float Fruit ability—said to make all things, even entire islands, take flight—had already been exaggerated into outright divine power among the populace.
People now worshiped such supernatural strength, with none of the old aversion toward "sorcery" left at all.
"And while I'm at it, I might as well be frank with all of you," Tenma continued, revealing his ambition without the slightest concealment.
"Wano's territory will never be limited to just this small area. In the future, I will pull more islands over and incorporate them into our domain."
"If that is your will, then no one in Wano would dare voice a single objection!"
Their response was exactly what Tenma had expected. After all, he was now Wano's undisputed king.
Once they had clarified Kaido's demands and confirmed that Tenma's injuries were not serious, the four men tactfully prepared to take their leave.
Before departing, Hyogoro and Yasuie—both of whom had been close to Kozuki Oden—cast a glance at Kozuki Toki, who remained in the room.
After hesitating for a moment, Hyogoro finally spoke.
"Since things have come to this, Toki… what do you plan to do next? If you don't mind, I can arrange a place for you and your daughter to live."
He was clever enough not to mention returning to Kuri—after all, Oden Castle had long since been reduced to ashes.
Kozuki Toki gently shook her head, her tone calm.
"General Tenma is willing to shelter my daughter and me, and he's also promised to let Hiyori continue living as a princess."
Hearing this, Tenma timely voiced his stance as well.
"After all, I was only able to take this shogun's seat thanks to Lord Kozuki Sukiyaki's gracious abdication."
"Since Lord Sukiyaki has chosen to retire from the world, the responsibility of caring for Lady Toki and Princess Hiyori naturally falls on my shoulders. Consider it a small repayment to the Kozuki clan."
Just listen to that—how perfectly said, how full of righteous dignity.
The four men immediately felt another surge of admiration. In their eyes, Tenma was simply beyond reproach.
Everything he had done fully justified Lord Sukiyaki's decision to pass the shogunate to him.
And now, to sincerely care for the widow and orphan of Sukiyaki's son—this breadth of mind and magnanimity was likely unmatched among all the shoguns of history!
Though these thoughts remained unspoken, Tenma—who possessed Observation Haki capable of hearing hearts—heard every bit of it clearly, the corner of his mouth curling into a meaningful smile.
Once upon a time, he had been nothing more than a lowly prison guard, surviving day by day through patience and calculation.
Now, after the battle with Gion, awakening this heart-piercing Observation Haki, and combined with his naturally scheming mind, the road before him had only grown wider.
That was precisely why he had been able to climb so smoothly—from a mere jailer to an unprecedented height in Wano's history.
Only after the four had gone far away did Tenma turn his head to look at Kozuki Toki.
"I was very satisfied with your answer just now."
If there was one greatest change after completely taking control of Wano, it was undoubtedly the woman before him.
Just a few days ago, she had still both hated and feared him. Now her attitude had made a full one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.
Kozuki Toki looked at the thick layers of bandages wrapped around Tenma, and a trace of tenderness actually surfaced in her eyes.
"You were willing to go that far for Wano. I'm merely staying by your side to preserve my power. Compared to the people outside cheering for you, what does my little concern even amount to?"
"What do you mean, I did it for Wano?" Tenma replied bluntly.
"I said it from the very beginning—I did all this for one reason only: the wager between us."
How much of that was truth and how much was false, only heaven knew.
But Kozuki Toki was clearly not prepared to handle such a straight-on statement.
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