Hyakumen: A Blade Twenty Years in the Making

Hachinosu, Intelligence Room. Night.

Ginny slammed a file on Lin Yuan's desk. The cover was yellowed and the corners were curled up. Morgans had gotten it from Wano Country's underground channels for three million Beli and three cases of liquor.

"Hyakumen, real name unknown, codename 'Hyakumen.' Twenty years ago, he was an actor in the Flower Capital, skilled in face-changing. His wife was named Yuriko, a flower seller." Ginny turned a page. "Kurozumi Orochi took a liking to Yuriko. She refused. Orochi had her captured, and three days later, her body was thrown into the moat."

Lin Yuan picked up the file and glanced at it. The photo showed a young woman in a kimono, holding a bouquet of lilies, and smiling beautifully.

"What about the Hyakumen one?"

"He went to seek revenge. He failed and almost died. Orochi didn't kill him, but instead took him under his command. Because his disguise skills were too useful." Ginny leaned back in her chair. "Hyakumen worked for Orochi for twenty years. Orochi used him to kill, infiltrate, and assassinate. He did everything. But every night, he would go to the cemetery in the Flower Capital to sweep Yuriko's grave. For twenty years, without fail."

Lin Yuan remained silent for a moment.

Go and call Fukurokuju).

Wano Country, the Flower Capital. Night.

Fukurokuju had been squatting on a large tree outside the cemetery for an hour. The moon was obscured by clouds, and the cemetery was pitch black, with only the sound of the wind blowing through the tombstones. Fukurokuju Shou held his breath, hiding himself in the shade of the tree canopy, even slowing his heartbeat.

Hyakumen comes to sweep the tombs every Sunday without fail. Today is Sunday.

Footsteps.

A figure walked along the path. He wore a gray kimono, had gray hair, and a slightly hunched back, looking like an old man in his sixties. But Fukurokuju knew this wasn't his true face— Hyakumen had never shown his true face in the past twenty years.

The old man walked to a tombstone and squatted down. He took out a bunch of lilies from his pocket and placed them in front of the tombstone. The white petals gleamed coldly in the moonlight. He didn't speak, just knelt there, motionless, like a stone statue.

Fukurokuju silently slid down from the tree and landed three meters behind him.

"Hyakumen."

The old man did not turn around.

"Fukurokuju, you shouldn't have come here."

"I know." Fukurokuju walked over to him and squatted down. "But I have something to tell you."

Hyakumen turned his head. It was the face of a strange man—not the face he usually saw among the Oniwabanshu. There were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, high cheekbones, and thin lips. Fukurokuju didn't know if this was his true face, but he didn't ask.

"The Orochi is going to die."

Hyakumen's expression remained unchanged. He turned back and looked at the tombstone.

"You betrayed him?"

"It's not betrayal. It's paying back a debt." Fukurokuju pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it over. "Hachinosu, Lin Yuan. He can kill the Orochi."

Hyakumen didn't take the note. He stared at the three characters "Yuriko" on the tombstone and remained silent for a long time.

"Twenty years ago, I knelt here and swore that I would kill the Orochi with my own hands." His voice was soft, as if squeezed from his throat. "Twenty years have passed. I failed."

"Because you were once a person," Fukurokuju shoved the note into his hand. "Now you're not."

Hyakumen looked down at the note in his hand. The note was ordinary, with only one line written on it, "Hachinosu, Lin Yuan. Condition: The life of the Orochi."

He clutched the note tightly, his hands trembling.

What if I don't agree?

"Then you can keep kneeling. Once the Orochi dies, you won't even have a place to kneel."

Hyakumen raised his head and looked at Fukurokuju. There was something in his eyes that Fukurokuju had never seen before—not anger, not sadness, but the weariness of not having slept well for twenty years.

"Lead the way."

Hachinosu, Intelligence Room.

The door opened. Hyakumen walked out, followed by Fukurokuju.

Ginny sat at the table, holding an account book. Her eyes gleamed with a purple light— the Glint-Glint Fruit was open, scanning everything from the moment Hyakumen entered.

"Mr. Hyakumen, please have a seat."

Hyakumen sat down, but neither offered tea nor drank water. He looked at Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan looked at him.

The two stared at each other for three seconds.

"I'll give you the Orochi's life," Lin Yuan said.

What are the conditions?

"I already have the defense map of the Flower Capital. I also have the list of Oniwabanshu turned." Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair. "What I need is someone who can move Orochi's guards away. You will impersonate Orochi and give orders."

Hyakumen stared at him for a few seconds. "Aren't you afraid I'll take this too seriously and turn around and help the Orochi?"

"You wouldn't," Lin Yuan picked up his water glass and took a sip. "Before you came, I had already investigated. You've been sweeping Yuriko's grave for twenty years. You've wanted to kill Orochi with your own hands for twenty years. You've endured it for twenty years."

Hyakumen fell silent.

He peeled a thin layer off his face—not a mask, but a special skin that looked exactly like real skin. Beneath the skin was the face of a middle-aged man in his forties, with sharp features and high brow bones. There was a long scar on his right cheek, stretching from the corner of his eye to his chin, like a centipede crawling across his face.

"This was left by Orochi's men." Hyakumen touched the scar. "After Yuriko died, I went to seek revenge. I failed and almost died. Orochi spared my life and made me work for him."

"He's not being kind. He wants to torture you."

"I know."

Lin Yuan put down his water glass. "On the day we attacked the Flower Capital, you disguised yourself as the Orochi and lured away the Iron Wall and Viper around him. Leave the rest to us."

Hyakumen nodded.

"There's one more condition." He looked up at Lin Yuan, "The Orochi, I must kill it with my own hands."

Ginny's fingers paused for a moment, and the tip of her pen poked a hole in the ledger.

The Fukurokuju said the exact same thing.

Lin Yuan didn't hesitate. "Okay."

Hyakumen and Fukurokuju went to their guest rooms to rest. Ginny sat in the Intelligence Room, staring blankly at the ledgers.

Lin Yuan walked in.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm wondering, what does it feel like for someone to endure for twenty years just to kill another?" Ginny chewed on her pen. "It's like that for Hyakumen, and it's like that for Fukurokuju."

"Hatred."

Just one word?

"Enough." Lin Yuan leaned against the window. "Once you've hated enough, you can endure. Once you've endured enough, you can win."

Ginny was silent for a moment, then wrote a line in the ledger, "Hyakumen. Disguise. Can perfectly imitate the Orochi. Objective: To lure away Iron Wall and Viper. Priority: S."

She closed the ledger and rubbed her eyes.

Outside the window, moonlight spilled onto the sea. Kaido's snoring echoed from the end of the corridor once more.

Ginny sighed.

"This guy snores so loudly, can't a person get any sleep?"

(End of Chapter 76)