The Originator

The guards of Kozuki Mansion arrived quickly with torches. Under the lamplight, everyone was shocked by the mess in the courtyard. When they saw Momonosuke's corpse, their faces turned pale and they remained speechless for a long time.

Although the steward of Kozuki Prefecture was at a loss, he knew that the matter was of great importance. Under Buggy's instructions, he first ordered people to quickly clean up the courtyard, then put Momonosuke's body into the cold storage cellar to prevent it from decomposing. After that, he ordered the guards of the prefecture to Jorogumo and Hannya up tightly and keep them under strict guard.

Having done all this, he finally listened to Buggy's dictation and wrote a long letter overnight, which he sent to Kozuki Oden's military camp.

Although Kozuki Oden led his army to confront the Genji at Yamatai, he did not take the initiative to attack. Instead, he relied on the terrain to defend and wait for the latter to run out of supplies and retreat. In this way, casualties could be minimized.

The messenger sent from Harmony Spring Kozuki Prefecture worked tirelessly through the night and finally arrived at Kozuki Oden's camp at noon the next day. After taking out the letter from his person, he had no strength left to move and fainted from exhaustion.

Kozuki Oden saw that it was someone sent by the steward of the manor, a very ominous premonition welled up in his heart. He took the letter that Kanjuro had picked up from the ground, and opened it with trembling hands. His palms were already covered in sweat. After reading the contents, his mind went completely blank and he fainted.

Kanjuro and Kin'emon were bewildered by what could have caused the usually composed Kozuki Oden to be in such a state. Kanjuro rushed to fetch a doctor, while Kin'emon anxiously picked up the fallen letter and began to read it. Instantly, tears streamed down his face like a burst dam, and he murmured in deep sorrow, "Momonosuke... how could this happen..."

A short while later, Kanjuro brought the doctor over, only to find that Kin'emon's expression was also very somber and something seemed wrong.

The doctor quickly examined Kozuki Oden's condition, left him some medicine to calm his mind and spirit, and then, at Kanjuro's signal, led the messenger who had gone there earlier away from the camp.

"What happened, Kin'emon? How did you end up like this?" Kanjuro asked hurriedly.

Kin'emon raised his head blankly, two clear tear streaks on his face, and said sorrowfully, "Momonosuke... Lord Momonosuke has been killed..."

"Stop joking!"

I didn't lie to you.

Kanjuro paused for a moment, then picked up the letter and began to read it.

His nose suddenly stung, and tears welled up in his eyes. He quickly covered his face with his hands to hide his grief. For the samurai of Wano Country, crying was a disgrace.

Kozuki Oden slowly awoke from his deep sleep, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at Kin'emon and Kanjuro kneeling on either side of him. All his strength seemed to have been drained from him; he appeared ten years older, his expression utterly desolate. "You both know about this..."

"The dead cannot be brought back to life... Kozuki, please accept our condolences." Kin'emon and Kanjuro offered their words of comfort in slightly hoarse voices, their throats still choked with emotion.

Kozuki Oden looked at the two without speaking. A long silence filled the tent before he finally spoke heavily, "I originally thought my concessions would bring peace, allowing the people of Kuri to live in tranquility. But the Genji have no intention of letting me go. They joined forces with the Izumo Society to ruthlessly kill my only remaining bloodline..."

At this point, Kozuki Oden's eyes gradually hardened with determination and ruthlessness. "I was once a pirate, roaming the seas freely, experiencing countless wars. But later, my identity gradually transformed into that of a ruler, establishing rules, biding my time, and handling all matters large and small within my jurisdiction. I haven't lost my fighting spirit; I simply thought I no longer needed it, so I hid myself away... Since the Genji has so ruthlessly instigated this war, I have no choice but to sharpen my sword, don my armor, and fight to the death with the fighting spirit of Kozuki. Even if it ends in mutual destruction, I will make them taste the bitterness of pain!!"

In the end, he almost roared, as if to vent his grief.

"Buggy... he said he would help me. Send someone to invite him over. I need to make the most of every bit of power I have!"

In the Izumo territory east of Pingzhan Peace-War Pass, in the spirit shrine of the Sparrow Pavilion, Kaguya, Great Tengu, Shuten, and Tamamo-no-Mae, the leaders of the Izumo Society, are sitting on futons.

That night, Ubume that Jorogumo and Hannya had not arrived yet, and seeing the bustling crowds and clusters of lights in Kozuki Mansion, she figured that something must have happened to the two after they completed their mission. So she didn't linger or offer any support, but instead headed straight for Izumo Realm, arriving at the Sparrow Pavilion to report the news to the others.

"There's been no news of Jorogumo and Hannya, and the spirit shrine has fallen down; it must have fallen into the hands of Kozuki Oden."

Shuten placed his hands behind his head, leaned against his life-sized red gourd, and said casually.

"Thankfully Ubume returned, so it's not too bad..." Tamamo-no-Mae always wore a relaxed smile. "Jorogumo and Hannya's goal is to kill Kozuki Momonosuke, so if they fail, their fate will be worse than Ubume's. Now we can only pray that Kozuki Momonosuke has been dealt with, because if we alert him, he won't give us a third chance."

"Why..." Great Tengu pondered, touching his long-nosed mask. "Kaguya, I don't really understand your thinking. Before, you sent Ubume to capture Momonosuke, but this time you sent Jorogumo and Hannya to kill him..."

"Plans can never keep up with changes."

Kaguya said in her childish voice, "If we send someone to kill Kozuki Momonosuke the first time, the clues left at the scene will attract Kozuki Oden's anger to us. We will not benefit from this, but it will cause us a lot of trouble. If we capture Kozuki Momonosuke and hand him over to the Genji to deal with, there will be two possible outcomes."

The first scenario is that Kozuki Oden, under duress from the hostages, surrenders, and the Genji annexes Kuri. In this case, we would be the heroes, and he wouldn't hinder our spread of our doctrines east of Peace-War Pass. The second scenario is that Kozuki Oden, disregarding his son's safety, resists to the end, and war between the two sides will inevitably break out. We can then feign helping the Genji while remaining neutral, waiting for both sides to fight to the death before reaping the benefits."

Great Tengu nodded thoughtfully, and Kaguya continued, "As for why we chose to kill Kozuki Momonosuke now, it's to give Kozuki Oden a shot of adrenaline. Because we've sided with the Genji, our every action also represents the Genji. Rather than saying we killed Kozuki Momonosuke, it's more accurate to say the Genji instructed us to do it. In this way, this war between the Kozuki and Genji will truly be a matter of life and death, becoming sufficiently brutal. Ten minus ten, in the end, will result in zero."

Great Tengu looked at Kaguya, "So your ambitions aren't just about Peace-War Pass region..."

Kaguya gave a harmless SMILE.

"To spread the faith of the association and to spread 'benevolence' throughout the entire Wano Country."