Wano Country, Flower Capital.
This was the capital of Wano Country, and the most prosperous place in the nation.
At the center of the city stood a bent tree, atop which Shogun Orochi's Tenshukaku had been built.
At that moment, a grand banquet was underway on the top floor of the Tenshukaku.
"Wororororo! What a thoroughly satisfying victory!"
Though wrapped head to toe in bandages, Kaido was still in high spirits.
Holding his enormous sake gourd, he drank deeply and laughed. "Kozuki Oden, you didn't make me wait all these years for nothing!"
Several geisha in splendid kimono nestled against him, laughing along with him.
"Guhahahaha! Now the final hidden danger has been eliminated!"
Orochi, seated beside Kaido, was beaming as well. He held two geisha in his arms, his hands roaming over them as the beautiful women coquettishly poured him more sake.
"From this day onward, Wano Country belongs entirely to us!"
This was the victory celebration after defeating Kozuki Oden. The officers of the Beasts Pirates and Orochi's high-ranking officials had gathered together.
Sirius and Yamato were there as well.
They sat with King and Queen, wolfing down the food before them.
They had neither eaten nor slept well during those two days spent watching Kaido and Oden fight out in the wilderness. Now, they had to make up for it.
"Waaaaah! Damn it! Who knew when I'd ever get another battle this satisfying?"
Suddenly, Kaido, who had been laughing loudly moments earlier, began to weep again. He looked utterly heartbroken, his tears pouring down in great drops as he burst into wailing sobs.
"Damn it, Oden!! Why couldn't you have held on a little longer?!"
"Seriously, Boss Kaido's doing it again."
Queen looked completely used to it. He casually grumbled before continuing to flirt with the geisha in his arms.
In the midst of eating, Sirius raised his head and casually wiped the grease from his mouth. "Is Uncle Kaido always like this?"
"Yeah, he's always been like this."
Yamato gnawed on a bone-in chunk of meat, her cheeks puffed out. Her little face was as greasy as Sirius's, and she mumbled, "He'll be fine in a while."
Sirius looked over at Kaido.
One moment, he laughed uproariously; the next, he wailed without restraint.
One moment, he schemed and plotted; the next, he was forthright and honorable.
That was Kaido.
What a contradictory man. What a wild and flamboyant life.
Sirius smiled and lowered his head to keep eating.
Just as he was enjoying himself, a cool voice suddenly sounded beside him. "Even if Boss Kaido doesn't plan to pursue the matter, don't think this is over, brats."
Sirius raised his head and looked at King, who still wore his mask even while eating.
King tilted his head, his eyes lowered as he looked at Sirius. "Once we return to Onigashima, I'll make you understand the consequences of breaking the rules."
"Especially you, Sirius. I promise you'll regret having that recovery ability."
"Wow, that's great! That means Sirius will definitely become stronger soon!" Yamato said happily. "Uncle King is so good to you."
Sirius's scalp tingled.
But it wasn't only because of King and Yamato's terrifying remarks. It was also because of Uncle King's way of eating.
As everyone knew, just like a certain bull warrior, Mr. King never took off his mask.
But eating required opening one's mouth, so Mr. King had come up with a genius solution.
While eating, his mouth partially transformed into animal form, becoming a long beak. It stretched out to pick up food from the table, then retracted as he began chewing.
In other words, Mr. King kept his arms folded across his chest, with neither his body nor head moving. Only his mouth stretched out and retracted.
Combined with the serious tone of his words—
Even the baby fat on Sirius's face was twitching. He was about to lose it.
What was with this guy? Was he seriously trying to be funny?
"U-understood."
Sirius lowered his head, his small shoulders trembling.
He really didn't dare look at King anymore.
"Muhahaha! You poor little brats!"
Queen was clearly accustomed to it and did not care at all. Instead, he looked down at Sirius and mocked, "Now that King the sadist has his eye on you, your days ahead won't be easy."
"Queen is an idiot, but he's right this time." King's cheeks bulged as crunching sounds came from inside, yet his tone remained as cool as ever.
"Hey! Who are you calling an idiot, you leather-clad bastard?! Want me to put out your fire with some oshiruko?"
"Then I should prepare a pot first and render some fat out of you, you fat pig."
Sirius could not be bothered with them and continued stuffing himself.
Now that he had an unlimited appetite, shouldn't he indulge his taste buds properly?
"Come on, Sirius! Let's settle this for the third time!" Yamato beside him was already getting fired up again.
Was Sirius supposed to indulge her?
The banquet lasted from noon until dusk. Sirius's mouth had gone numb from eating, and he lay lazily on a cushion with his belly protruding, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Damn it, I lost again!"
Yamato sat nearby with an unwilling expression. This time, she had lost even worse. Midway through the banquet, she had already lost the strength to continue, and could only watch helplessly as Sirius ambitiously conquered more territory.
"Let me say it again: I'm very confident when it comes to appetite."
Don't challenge my profession with your hobby.
Sirius casually wiped his mouth and sat up, turning to look at Kaido and the others.
If Sirius had an unlimited appetite, then Kaido and the others probably had unlimited alcohol tolerance.
They had been drinking since noon and were still drinking now.
King's face was hidden by his mask, but Kaido, Orochi, Queen, and the others had already turned as red as monkeys' butts.
Sirius scooted over beside Yamato, nudged her with his shoulder, and leaned close to whisper in her ear, "Want to sneak out and play?"
Yamato's eyes lit up at once, and she nodded repeatedly. "Yeah, yeah!"
Sirius flicked his head. "Then let's go."
No one paid any attention to them. Everyone was already drunk, so the two slipped out of the banquet hall and ran down the stairs of the Tenshukaku.
"Lady Oni-Hime! Lord Sirius!"
The Beasts Pirates guarding the place respectfully greeted them along the way.
Sirius casually grabbed one of them. "Where is Kozuki Oden being held?"
The pirate froze for a moment, then instinctively answered, "He's in the Dungeon."
Yamato asked in surprise, "Sirius, are you going to see Kozuki Oden?"
"Don't you want to see him?" Sirius asked with a smile.
"Of course I do!"
Yamato's eyes sparkled. "He's a samurai who was evenly matched with Father!"
"Then let's go see him!"
Sirius pulled her along as they ran downward. If it was called a Dungeon, it had to be underground.
Whenever they were unsure of the route, they simply asked more people. After all, no one dared refuse Sirius or Yamato's questions.
The two entered the heavily guarded Dungeon without any trouble. It was large; at a glance, there were dozens of cells alone.
Building so many prison cells inside his own home really was the sort of thing Orochi would do.
However, all the cells were empty, perhaps having been cleared out in advance.
Further ahead, Sirius saw the Red-Sheath Samurai. They were all bound tightly in thick chains, bruised and battered as they stared at Sirius and Yamato in surprise.
At the deepest part of the Dungeon, Sirius finally saw Kozuki Oden, bound by layer after layer of chains and suspended in midair.
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