Wano Country's Unrest

Wano Country, having been opened to the world and governed by Shogun Kozuki Oden, is now thriving.

However, recently, there has been a clandestine undercurrent of activity. Samurai searches and occasional glimpses of ninjas have been observed. The residents of the Capital of Flowers, in particular, have a strong sense that something bad seems to be happening within Wano Country, in places they are unaware of.

Compared to previous events in Wano Country, the frequent unusual movements at the Shogun's residence were easily noticeable, with the most obvious signs being signs of battle.

Furthermore, the Shogun's office did not maintain good secrecy. The administration of Wano Country remained largely unchanged, and its systems were simpler and less rigorous compared to those outside the country, which led to the leakage of some intelligence.

This is a drawback of Wano Country's centuries-long policy of isolation, and it is difficult to change in a short period of time.

In Wano Country, the shoguns Daimyo each ruled their own territories. With the opening of Wano Country, various issues arose.

In the years leading up to the discovery of the World Government's infiltration of Wano Country, the World Government had already obtained a great deal of intelligence about Wano Country.

The location of the Road Sign Stone has already been determined; the only difficulty is how to seize Road Sign Stone.

The Road Sign Stone is hidden underground in the Wano Country Shogun's mansion, guarded by powerful samurai. It is kept in a secret chamber made of Seastone, and the only key to open the chamber is kept by the Wano Country Shogun Kozuki Oden.

Wano Country considers the most crucial key is actually insignificant in the eyes of the World Government, as some special ability users can easily create the key to open the cage.

On the contrary, the General's Mansion, where powerful figures gather, is the most troublesome place for the World Government, like a dragon's den or a tiger's lair.

With the World Government exposed, the guards at the General's Mansion increased several times over, and their strength more than doubled.

This was also due to the World Government's carelessness and underestimation of Wano Country's intelligence capabilities and the legendary ninjas.

This disrupted many of their plans in Wano Country, causing them considerable losses.

The World Government had previously used a diversionary tactic, nearly seizing the Road Sign Stone, which has made Wano Country even more vigilant and wary of the World Government.

The exposure of the World Government's infiltration of Wano Country, along with the Wano Country's vigorous training of ninjas, has intensified the conflict between the two sides.

Occasionally, World Government agents would be exposed, making escape virtually impossible. This was Wano Country's territory; even if they hid in the wilderness, they could be found with considerable effort. The battles between the two sides caused immense destruction, even affecting many Wano Country residents.

The Capital of Flowers the most important part of the covert struggle between the two sides. The frequent turmoil makes the residents of the Capital of Flowers very uneasy. They even go out less. The once prosperous scene has become somewhat desolate. Some residents have even moved away from the Capital of Flowers to other areas where there are fewer incidents.

After his battle with Kaido and the subsequent crushing defeat in the war against the Beasts Pirates, Kozuki Oden returned to Wano Country and began honing his sword.

After all, with the opening of Wano Country, he became somewhat lax, or rather, he had too many things to do, leaving him no time to think about improving his strength.

Moreover, he has basically reached his peak, and it is difficult for him to improve his strength further.

The defeat against Kaido and the sacrifice of many samurai made Kozuki Oden realize his own inadequacy.

Defeat is not a disgrace, but as a samurai Wano Country, he represents the Wano Country and needs to project an image of invincibility.

Furthermore, he needed revenge. How could they accept that crushing defeat and the sacrifice of so many compatriots?

They must not only retrieve the Road Sign Stone, but also take the Mink Tribe's share.

Every day, no matter how busy he was, Oden would always make time to exercise.

"Well? Have you found any trace of those thieves?" Oden, shirtless and wielding Enma Ame no Habakiri, turned around and looked at the ninja kneeling on the ground, dressed in black ninja clothes.

Beside him were Asura Doji and Kin'emon.

As he spoke, Oden's expression turned somewhat angry. He was quite composed, but he was still disgusted by the World Government's actions.

The sons of two important ministers in the General's Mansion died "unexpectedly," and one minister died of poisoning. They made no attempt to cover it up, causing panic throughout the Capital of Flowers.

More than anything, he was angry. He wasn't afraid of the World Government's tough stance, but he never expected them to resort to such disgusting tactics.

This did little to help seize the Road Sign Stone, but it clearly disrupted the order and stability within Wano Country.

He painstakingly led Wano Country to open its borders, and the World Government has ruined such a great situation.

The World Government's actions have no bottom line whatsoever. The entire Wano Country is like a powder keg, a testament to the fury of all samurai.

This led Oden to dispatch people to protect the relatives of important family officials in Wano Country, especially his wife Toki, his two sons, and his daughter Hiyori.

"General, we've found them. The bandits have many strongholds in the wild, and they can change locations at any time. We have a great advantage in hiding and intelligence gathering. We have now confirmed four strongholds."

"Alright, I'll immediately send men to cooperate with you in a covert encirclement and annihilation operation." Oden nodded; compared to the Beasts Pirates, he hated the World Government even more.

In his eyes, Wano Country was more important than the Road Sign Stone.

As long as the World Government doesn't resolve this issue, Wano Country will never have peace.

As a result, Wano Country has once again entered a state of lockdown, restricting the entry and exit of outsiders, and even its own people are subject to identity checks.

Kozuki Oden commanded the strongest samurai army, and as the shogun of Wano Country, he was also able to utilize the power of other Daimyo to command the samurai within Wano Country.

Kozuki Oden was somewhat wary of the World Government's power within Wano Country, as many of its agents were quite capable.

Having watched the live broadcast, Kozuki Oden knew that Gaia, the Devil Fruit User, was hiding in Wano Country. Gaia possessed the power to control the earth and could hide underground.

Such an existence prevented Oden from acting rashly, leaving the shogun's mansion and the Capital of Flowers at will. The samurai he dispatched were all powerful, and together they possessed the strength to withstand the power of Earth Gaia.

With the help of things like Den Den Mushi (Den Den Mushi), he could mobilize domestic forces with a single order, mobilizing the samurai who were already waiting in ambush.

"It must be admitted that compared to the bandits, our Oniwabanshu is no match for them in terms of strength. After they were exposed, they also learned of our existence and even took the initiative to attack us. After this period of attrition, one-third of the Oniwabanshu's ninjas have already been killed."

The kneeling ninja said bitterly, "This is the leader of the Oniwabanshu, who has been given the title of Kage, but his true strength is not particularly strong in Wano Country; he is only at the level of an elite Vice Admiral."

This is a powerful fighter, but he is not a big Great Swordmaster in Wano Country, where there are many great swordsmen. Moreover, samurai are more respected than ninjas.

One is in the open, the other in the shadows.

With a leader of this caliber, the difference between them and CP0 is obvious.

"One-third... I remember the Oniwabanshu originally numbered less than ten thousand." Hearing this, Oden frowned. The Oniwabanshu was a major weapon for Wano Country in its fight against the World Government, and the loss of so many people was something he hadn't expected, and he felt a pang of heartache.

Compared to samurai, ninjas are somewhat weaker, since ninjas are not trained in strength, but rather in stealth, intelligence gathering, assassination, and so on.

"To be precise, we lost nearly half of our forces. We now have 6,000 men left, 2,000 of whom were recently trained. But the general is aware that the Oniwabanshu has always maintained a relatively small size. Training a large number of ninjas all at once will put considerable pressure on us. Moreover, the training cycle for ninjas is very long, requiring at least three years."

Kage sighed somewhat helplessly. The losses were great, but he was actually quite happy. Nothing was more important than a ninja gaining the attention of Daimyo and the general.

Although the losses were significant, with the support of the general and the Daimyo, it will be able to recover in time.

This also signifies the rise in status of ninjas in Wano Country.

"Is that so?" Oden could do nothing but offer his support; the importance of the Oniwabanshu to Wano Country was self-evident.

"Be careful, put your life first, and don't die easily." Oden was well aware of the difficulties in training ninjas; it was no simpler than training a swordsman, and there was much more to learn.

Seemingly remembering something, Oden said, "We can take the Six Powers that are passed down on the high seas to them to learn." The Six Powers are very useless for samurai, and very few samurai practice such things.

"Furthermore..." Ying hesitated, then took out a list from his robes. "General, please take a look. This is what we've found out recently."

Upon seeing the contents of the list, Kozuki Oden unleashed a powerful aura, clenching his fists so tightly that the list crumpled.

"What are those bastards doing?" Kin'emon briefly and couldn't contain his anger, drawing his katana from his waist.

"I'm going to kill them."

This list is a list of collusion between forces within Wano Country and external powers, namely the World Government.

The investigation by the Oniwabanshu revealed that some of these individuals were people Oden was quite familiar with and had heard of.

There is evidence; there are indications but no evidence.

The sheer number of them startled Oden; he hadn't expected the World Government to have infiltrated Wano Country to such an extent in just a few years.

This only fueled his anger, and what troubled him was how to deal with the forces and individuals on the list.

A small number of officials Wano Country did not shake the foundations of Wano Country.

He also knew that there might be many people unaware of the situation. The conflict Wano Country and the World Government was known only to the higher-ups in Wano Country; ordinary civilians had no access to this level of information. This was why Oden had blocked the news, leading to this situation.

It is quite possible that some of these people are being exploited without even realizing it.

However, like Kin'emon, Oden also felt betrayed, but he was more rational and would think about why they would do such a thing, and try to find reasons for them.

Oden was kind, he always has been.

Furthermore, suddenly attacking so many people will definitely cause great chaos within Wano Country.

The original intention of blocking the news was to prevent it from affecting ordinary residents, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

It's time to make a decision!

Oden took a deep breath, his gaze serious, and tossed the list aside. "Give them another chance. Also, release this news. I believe the people of Wano Country will stand with us against the World Government."

"Yes." Kin'emon calmed down, lowered his head slightly, and joined Asura Doji and the others.

Oden was their lord, and they would follow him no matter what decision he made.

Soon, the other Daimyo also received the news, summoned their samurai, and went together to Oniwabanshu to find out the base belonging to the World Government agents.

Surrounded by a large number of warriors and powerful figures, none of these agents were able to escape; they were all beheaded in the first instance.

Meanwhile, news spread throughout Wano Country knew that the Shogun and the Daimyo were fighting against foreign invaders, and that the recent unrest and destruction were caused by these invaders.

The crowd was immediately outraged. Some of the Wano Country on the list realized that they had been used or deceived by the invaders, and directly revealed the identities of some hidden World Government agents to the Shogun's office.

Oden's decision resulted in the World Government losing another batch of elite agents. These agents were exposed, surrounded and hunted down, and some, sensing the danger, escaped in advance.

But where else in Wano Country could they run to?

Wano Country isn't very large, but there are samurai from Wano Country in every region. Once a trail is discovered, they can be hunted down indefinitely, and the chance of survival is only one in ten.

In this conflict, the World Government suffered significant losses, Wano Country also suffered considerable losses.

"Is the loss really that great?" An official in the general's mansion appeared calm, but was also somewhat surprised.

"Within your means, how is your plan progressing?" A small Den Den Mushi was standing before him.

Kozuki Oden could never have imagined that the World Government had infiltrated the upper echelons of the Shogun's office and was frequently appearing before them.

While the open World Government agents suffered heavy losses, the covert agents remained even more deeply hidden, operating in places unknown to them.

Disguise, changing appearance through Life Return —these agents have long been integrated into an important aspect of Wano Country.

"It went smoothly. Ordinary poisons have no effect and are easily detected. This poison requires three years to take effect, and once it takes effect, even this legendary warrior will find it difficult to withstand. Even if he survives, his strength will be reduced to one-tenth. That will be the best time to kill him." The official said, a smile spreading across his face, his mouth widening to his ears, looking utterly terrifying.

"Only a year and a half has passed, there's no need to rush. If it weren't for him, the entire General's Mansion would be doomed."

"Hehe, then you'd better be careful, don't make any mistakes, Evil Worm."

"You too, Withered Snake, Seastone is very important to the government."

"Why is the government focusing its efforts on Wano Country? They've already lost so many fighting forces."

"Who knows? The higher-ups have their own plans. We just need to complete our mission. As long as we're alive, it won't affect us."

On the other side, a portly man hung up the Den Den Mushi. He was a famous merchant from Wano Country who cooperated with the Shogun's Office to help mine and sell Seastone. It was unexpected that he was actually a member of the World Government.

Or rather, when will the World Government's agents replace him?

Although they are not well-known, they have a very prestigious reputation within World Government and intelligence agencies; the title "ace agents" speaks volumes about their capabilities.

Why has the World Government set its sights on Wano Country? It has invested a great deal of resources in it, but also expended a great deal of them.

Such behavior seems somewhat foolish. Wano Country will be able to deal with it sooner or later. It's better to spend more time planning and get what you want with the least cost.

Aside from the Road Sign Stone and Kozuki Oden, who was the only one who could read the Poneglyph.

The most fundamental reason is still the prophecy from eight hundred years ago. The weakening of the World Government has forced them to wonder if the person in the prophecy is about to return.

Was the unprecedented weakness of the World Government a prelude to that moment? Adding to that, the Devil Fruit once again escaped their grasp.

Is Lord Im's unexpected awakening a sign of something?

Roger's last words, the changing situation at sea

These various speculations alarmed and even instilled fear in the World Government, solidifying its resolve to deal with Wano Country.

At this crucial moment when we should be conserving and restoring our strength, we must risk losses to extinguish any hope of the truth being revealed and prevent a second person from reaching the Laugh Tale.