The spring breeze brushed against his face.
After stepping out of the bamboo grove, Tsugikuni Yoriichi, clad in a black robe, slowly lowered his somewhat heavy hood. Sunlight filtered through the bamboo, casting mottled shadows across his body.
This bamboo grove lay halfway up Mount Fuji, while the Flower Capital stood at its foot.
The streets bustled with people. The somewhat familiar ancient Tang-style architecture made Tsugikuni Yoriichi feel as if he had returned to the Demon Slayer World. The prosperous town also made him realize that this country's ruler had governed it remarkably well.
"Did Kozuki Oden actually have this kind of talent?"
"I underestimated him."
Tsugikuni Yoriichi was somewhat surprised by the prosperity Wano Country displayed. In his impression, Kozuki Oden was not the sort of person capable of governing a country well.
Of course, it was also possible that the person actually governing the country was not Kozuki Oden at all. Perhaps he was merely a "deity" placed on display.
Whether he could personally govern the country was unimportant. What mattered was that he bore the Kozuki name and belonged to the Kozuki Clan. Matters of governing the country would naturally be handled by loyal retainers.
Shoguns passed down through bloodlines and surnames might not all possess the ability to govern, but the retainers they chose might be the finest people in the entire country.
With that guess in mind, Tsugikuni Yoriichi followed the mountain path down and headed toward the city.
His Observation Haki swept across the entire island, but he did not detect Kozuki Oden's presence.
Kozuki Oden was not on the island. In recent years, the Whitebeard Pirates had resurfaced in the New World, and their leader was Kozuki Oden. Wano Country was more like the headquarters of the Whitebeard Pirates' remnants. Those people