And now...
Listening to the growing, increasingly
noisy cries of astonishment outside, Shimotsuki Yasuie knew that this newspaper must contain something truly extraordinary.
"What could it be?"
Hidden in the shadows, Shimotsuki Yasuie extended his hands into the light and finally saw what was printed on the newspaper.
"Th-this, this, this is..."
The headline alone made Shimotsuki Yasuie's breathing quicken sharply, and a flush he had not felt in years rose to his weathered face.
His eyes widened as he read on, word by word, unwilling to miss a single one.
As time passed, his breathing grew faster, and his entire body began trembling with excitement.
When he turned the page and saw the enormous black-and-white photograph covering the entire reverse side—Kaido lying on the ground with his head severed—he froze.
No matter how eloquent the written account might have been, it could never match the impact of that real photograph.
He stood stunned, and so did more and more people outside.
For a brief moment, the entire Flower Capital, normally bustling as soon as night fell, went silent.
No one knew where it began.
One voice.
Two voices.
Three voices.
Ten thousand voices.
A tremendous chorus of cheers rose together, as though trying to overturn the sky, awaken this city, and rouse this country.
Even more people trembled as they crouched on the ground and sobbed uncontrollably.
Wano Country's tragedy had begun when Orochi became shogun, and it had lasted twenty-five years.
Over those twenty-five years, some of them still had family and relatives who occasionally sent word, but far more had vanished without a trace.
They knew. They all knew.
It was not that their families and relatives would not send word, but that they could not.
They were all behind those towering walls surrounded by those damned