"Listen up, you fools of Wano Country! I know many of Oden's remnants are still hiding among you!"
Holdem threw out an arm and loudly announced to the crowd below:
"See this little brat? He's the bloodline Oden left behind, Momonosuke!"
"Take a good look, you pathetic samurai! This is the end you get for waiting twenty years and trying to rebel against Governor Kaido!"
The voice from the platform continued, while an uproar had already broken out among the crowd.
A very small number of people secretly clenched their teeth, their fists trembling uncontrollably, their eyes filled with a complicated mix of rage, despair, and resentment.
Most people, however, still looked utterly confused. Hadn't Oden's family been exterminated over twenty years ago? Their tombstones even stood at the ruins of Oden Castle.
Even if a child had somehow survived, how could he still be so young after twenty years?
Most people had no idea what was going on.
Yet even so, Holdem's words filled them with an indescribable heaviness, like dark clouds hanging over everyone's hearts.
Twenty years beneath the moonlit night, nine shadows cast upon the dawn.
This was a verse that had secretly circulated through Wano Country after Oden's death. It was said to be a prophecy, foretelling that Wano Country would one day see the dawn.
"Come to think of it, this year marks exactly twenty years, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, now that you mention it, it does."
"So much has suddenly happened these past two days. I wonder what will become of this country."
Scattered whispers passed through the crowd.
Kurozumi Orochi had just been assassinated last night, and today news like this had emerged.
Though the blazing midday sun hung overhead, its light brought an inexplicable chill. A sense that a storm was coming rose