The Granary Came Under Attack

The third week of the Rat Plague infestation has passed since Wano Country contacted the Night Pirates.

The Night Pirates have already made two supply runs, providing Wano Country with food and other supplies, while also taking away a total of one million Wano Country residents.

They were placed on various islands pre-selected by the Night Pirates.

After more than a week of fermentation, the number of Nezumi following Hakumai and Reiko increased significantly.

The plague finally broke out at this time, spreading widely among the residents of Wano Country.

Even with the supplies sent by the Night Pirates, the spread of the plague could not be contained.

Many citizens of Wano Country suddenly developed symptoms, including chills, high fever, feverish body temperature, central vomiting, rapid breathing, tachycardia, and decreased blood pressure.

Some critically ill patients experienced a drop in blood pressure and loss of consciousness.

Those weak residents couldn't hold on for long. They managed to stay afloat with the help of medication, but people kept dying.

With the large gathering of people, the plague spread rapidly in just a few days, affecting both Reiko and Hakumai.

Unless one has a very strong constitution, it is impossible to avoid an outbreak of plague, as it can be transmitted rapidly through the air and droplets.

As a result, many residents of Wano Country who had contracted the plague had to be isolated, but this superficial measure could not stop the spread of the plague at this time.

New cases of infection continue to emerge.

Meanwhile, the Night Pirates brought very bad news to Wano Country: they could only take in one more batch of Wano Country citizens at most.

The outbreak of the plague made the Night Pirates hesitant to accept any more residents of Wano Country.

Thus, the Night Pirates can only take in 150 residents of Wano Country, leaving Wano Country to deal with the remaining million-plus residents on its own.

If a plague were to break out and spread in the Night Sea Domain, the resulting losses would be devastating.

Wano Country can understand this approach; accepting another batch of Wano Country citizens is already more than enough, and they dare not ask for too much.

Similarly, in addition to the Whitebeard Pirates, many other forces in the waters surrounding Wano Country have also begun to cut off trade with Wano Country, and ports have been blockaded.

All the factions paled at the mention of it; no one wanted the plague to spread, even though they could make a lot of money from Wano Country.

However, the plague is nothing to some strong people. After contracting the plague a few years ago, their bodies will instinctively produce corresponding antibodies.

Therefore, this kind of disease is only effective for ordinary people, people with weaker constitutions, or elderly people whose bodies no longer have the vitality of youth.

The so-called trade hasn't disappeared; it's just that they're more cautious and on a smaller scale. Once things calm down and the situation stabilizes, their trade with Wano Country will gradually expand again.

However, the deal between the Night Pirates and Wano Country remains unchanged. The entire Wano Country still needs the Night Pirates' material support, and they will not stop their aid to Wano Country because of the outbreak of the plague.

In Wano Country now, there are very few members of the Night Pirates. Even Rediat, who initially brought them food, has disappeared without a trace, hiding in the shadows.

Most of the members they brought stayed on the island or the ship, and they didn't linger in Wano Country when they left.

The Whitebeard Pirates' reinforcements have just arrived, Marco the Phoenix has already arrived in Wano Country and is currently busy.

The Phoenix Blue Flame also possesses healing abilities; the so-called plague, if even slightly touched by the Phoenix Blue Flame, will be expelled and killed.

Marco played a decisive role in resolving this plague outbreak, as Marco was the only one they could treat.

The medicine provided by the Night Pirates has the effect of suppressing the plague, or makes one less susceptible to the plague after taking it.

This was a massive undertaking. Even though the Night Pirates took away 500,000 people, the population of Hakumai was still quite large, at 600,000. In the process, another 300,000 residents were relocated from other areas.

As time goes by, the pressure on Reiko's side will only increase, as the large population requires food support from Hakumai's side.

Therefore, Marco was very busy, constantly using his abilities. When Hakumai was distributing food, he transformed into Phoenix and kept flying over, with blue-green flames landing on everyone.

Marco wouldn't let it go, regardless of whether the person had the plague or not, since the disease has an incubation period.

The tireless treatment of all the residents of Hakumai took nearly three days.

After dealing with Hakumai, Marco immediately flew towards Reiko.

Thanks to Marco's efforts, the casualties in Wano Country due to the plague were not significant.

Of course, the medicine provided by the Night Pirates also played an important role, suppressing the outbreak of plague in many people and buying precious time for Marco's treatment.

This effect was different from what the World Government had anticipated; they had originally intended to reduce the population of Wano Country through the plague.

However, although the objective has been achieved, the Wano Country has been reduced by 1.4 million.

However, it didn't happen through the expected plague, but rather through a newly emerging Rat Plague, the energy of Rat Plague was far more powerful than imagined.

The large-scale Rat Plague caused a minor hiccup to the World Government's plans, but it was nothing serious.

Now, two weeks have passed since the Rat Plague began, and the many samurai in the Capital of Flowers are eating less frequently, wanting to share more food with the hungry residents.

Under Kozuki Oden's leadership, it must be said that Kozuki Oden was completely responsible and set an example, which led the other samurai to follow suit.

However, this situation shortened the time it took for their illness to develop and delayed it somewhat.

The Evil Worm wasn't flustered. Three years had passed, and there was no rush. To become a top agent, one only needed enough patience.

No one can go without food for a long time, not even Kozuki Oden.

He had prepared the food long ago, and the amount of Grawlin Plant had not been increased.

It's fine if other people eat it; it won't cause the plant's dosage to accumulate to a dangerous level.

"No need to rush. The food sent by the Night Pirates also has to go through my hands. The final outbreak will happen in the next month or two." Evil Worm said casually in response to CP0 Vice-Commander Gaia's question.

"Then let's wait and let you know when the time comes."

The World Government has been planning this for a long time and is not in a hurry.

"What a nuisance, the Night Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates." The Evil Worm sighed inwardly after hanging up the Den Den Mushi.

He was very familiar with the situation in Wano Country, having been in the heart of the Capital of Flowers and having a good understanding of all its regions.

Without the aid of the Night Pirates Marco the Phoenix...

With the combined effects of famine and plague, the death toll in Wano Country will certainly exceed two million.

He kept the Grawlin Plant under his control, processing it into a powder similar to a seasoning.

The Evil Worm adds special seasonings to every food item.

The food at the General's Mansion has decreased significantly, but that doesn't stop Evil Worm from adding it to the meals.

For three years, Wano Country hadn't noticed anything amiss, so how could they discover it now?

Moreover, there is one crucial point, which can be considered both Kozuki Oden's strength and his weakness.

That is, Kozuki Oden was too trusting of others, at least with his subordinates, he would give them full trust unless he found a problem.

This is also one of the reasons why Wano Country has a relatively simple political system.

Wano Country didn't know was that another disaster was about to strike, or rather, it had already happened.

As time went by, both Hakumai and Reiko attacked more and more Nezumi.

Every day, hundreds of thousands of Nezumi invade and frantically attack the residents of Wano Country, and the samurai constantly fight against these Nezumi.

To defend themselves, they even dug a trench several meters wide, filled with water diverted from the trench.

By using trenches to prevent the Nezumi from crossing, the area invading Hakumai is reduced to a certain extent, allowing Hakumai's warriors to concentrate their efforts on dealing with the Nezumi.

But the invasion of these Nezumi into Hakumai was inevitable, and casualties were increasing, with both ordinary residents and samurai sacrificing their lives.

Driven by the stimulation of blood, the Nezumi will only become more frenzied.

Even a tiny wound can attract a swarm of Nezumi.

As a samurai, he was unable to offer any help to his companion who was being attacked by Nezumi, leaving him feeling helpless and constrained.

Besides the samurai, the adult men were organized to defend against the Nezumi attacks. However, the number of samurai was ultimately insufficient, and more strength was needed.

Therefore, the invading Nezumi can be dealt with in a short time, and the trouble they cause is not too great.

The main issue is that the number of Nezumi in each wave of invasion is not too large, and it's still within acceptable limits.

Twenty thousand samurai, plus a large number of adult men, numbering over one hundred thousand or even two hundred thousand, already constituted a formidable force.

However, the increasing number of invading Nezumi each day has put considerable pressure on Hakumai.

A huge warehouse, storing a large amount of food.

No one knew that beneath Hakumai, there was a passage that went directly from under the trench to beneath the granary.

The warehouse is guarded by strong samurai to prevent malicious individuals from stealing food.

The ground slightly subsided, and a large number of Nezumi with eerie glints in their eyes emerged from the ground.

Even with packaging, a pleasant fragrance still lingers in the air.

"Click!" "Squeak!"

Whether it was bread bags or canned food, they all broke apart under the sharp teeth of the Nezumi, attracting Nezumi scent.

The Nezumi excitedly savored their meal, and the Nezumi behind them, stimulated by this, surged forward desperately.

At first, the sound was relatively soft and difficult to detect, but later, the sharp sound grew louder and louder, and the samurai outside became aware of it.

Suddenly, due to a moment of carelessness, the mountain of packaging and canned goods collapsed under the relentless attack of the Nezumi.

"Boom!"

The loud noise, like an explosion, startled many people, and the guards rushed into the warehouse immediately.

What they saw was a horrifying scene.

The food that was neatly arranged is now a complete mess.

A huge hole had appeared in the massive warehouse Nezumi pouring out and gnawing on the food.

Such a scene made them tremble, both physically and mentally.

"Quickly, stop them!"

"Inform Ieyasu-sama!"

No one expected that their home would be raided by these Nezumi, and it was their most precious granary at that.

The sight of Nezumi devouring large amounts of food caused them unbearable heartache.

How to make a move?

There's food below; one strike could destroy a lot of it.

At this point, the samurai had no idea where to begin.

But there was no other way. One by one, the warriors rushed forward, some carrying torches, trying to drive away the Nezumi with flames.

This action, however, provoked the Nezumi, being highly aggressive, stared at the warriors.

The constant squeaking sound made people dizzy.

Nezumi have ways of communicating with each other, and Nezumi constantly emerge from their burrows.

Some Nezumi are enjoying the delicious food, while Nezumi are more bloodthirsty and want to eat meat, which means killing people.

"No, no!"

Fear flashed in his eyes as he frantically waved the torch in his hand, but to no avail. He was quickly swallowed up by the Nezumi, their mouths biting and devouring his flesh.

The pain caused him to open his mouth and let out a scream, but before the sound could even escape, one or two Nezumi seized the opportunity and scurried inside.

"Kill them! Rescue this food! Preserve as much as you can!"

Shimotsuki Ieyasu arrived, rushing over at full speed after the loud noise. By the time he reached the warehouse entrance, he already knew what had happened.

Very decisively, "Get to work! Don't worry about the food spoiling; having food is better than having no food at all."

Without food, the situation will quickly descend into chaos.

The famine had only been over for a few days, and no one wanted it to return.

It is foreseeable that the Rat Plague infestation will become increasingly severe in the coming days, and without food, they will find it difficult to survive.

The Night Pirates' next shipment of supplies will take several more days.

As Shimotsuki Ieyasu gave the order, the samurai took action one by one, and with flashes of sharp sword light, the Nezumi that pounced on them were cut in two.

The swordsman's keen intuition told him that even in their large numbers, these Nezumi would have a hard time breaking through the powerful warriors' offensive.

There are even many people who can kill dozens or hundreds of Nezumi with a single blow.

The samurai's overwhelming strength pushed the Nezumi back in an instant.

The ground was littered with the corpses of Nezumi, and blood was flowing from them.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, and the Nezumi that had been pouring out of the burrow continued to surge out, growing even more frenzied.

"This won't do, the tunnel will collapse!"

Watching the hordes of Nezumi devour the food that should have been theirs, Shimotsuki Ieyasu knew that the longer the time dragged on, the less food would be left.

Holding the knife in both hands, he slashed down with a powerful blow, causing the entire burrow to collapse. The rubble blocked the entrance, preventing the Nezumi from escaping.

"Hurry up and clean up, move the food outside."

They didn't have much time; these Nezumi could dig such a tunnel underground and emerge from the ground again in no time.

Under Shimotsuki Ieyasu's orders, all the samurai Wano Country mobilized.

While killing the Nezumi, they were also moving some food that was in undamaged packaging, and even some food that was still edible.

The work continued, and everyone knew that time was of the essence.

The Rat Plague infestation that damaged the rear granaries cast a shadow over everyone's hearts, signifying not only the loss of a large portion of their food supply but also the fall of their rear.

These Nezumi are able to attack directly from underground into the interior of Hakumai.

The entire food relief operation lasted for half a day, and the warehouse was left in a mess.

Ultimately, calculations showed that only 30% of the food remained in the warehouse.

This food supply should be enough to sustain Hakumai for a few more days, until the next batch of supplies arrives.

On the other side, Reiko's granary was also attacked by Rat Plague. However, it was a little later than Hakumai. Linghou received the news from Hakumai in advance and became more vigilant. In the end, half of Reiko's food was preserved.

This is also a huge loss.

Reiko's side has a population of one million, and their demand for food is much greater than that of Hakumai's side.