Moonlight slipped through gauzy clouds and fell over the bustling capital.
Beneath the night sky, lanterns swayed as people in all kinds of kimonos came and went along the lively streets.
At the end of the street stood a lavishly decorated pavilion. Singing, dancing, and laughter could be heard from inside, where a banquet hall was filled with guests.
Onstage, a courtesan cradled a shamisen and played for the few tables of guests below.
She wore a pink kimono patterned with scattered flowers. Her long hair was a deep green, and her skin was as pale and smooth as jade. Her clear eyes gleamed like rippling water.
She was Komurasaki, the courtesan hailed as the most beautiful woman in Wano Country.
As the top courtesan here, Komurasaki usually entertained guests privately whenever she showed her face, rather than serving several guests alongside other courtesans as she was now.
As Kyoshiro put it, this was a business tactic—and it also made it easier for him to protect himself.
But today's guests had paid far too much.
Hoping to earn an extra hundred million berries, Komurasaki refused Kyoshiro's request and resolutely appeared before these guests, who claimed to run a "Yorozuya."
How much food could a hundred million berries buy? How many starving, freezing commoners outside the capital could it save?
Hadn't she always made her living by using her beauty to swindle money from the wealthy?
Her plectrum flew across the strings, drawing out a clear, pure melody, simple yet lilting, with a bright, lively rhythm. A gentle breeze carried a few cherry blossoms in through the window.
Then Komurasaki quietly took a look at the man who claimed to own the Yorozuya.
His blond hair was neatly combed, and his sky-blue kimono hung slightly open, revealing a muscular chest. A