But the bad news did not end there. Kozuki Sukiyaki, the shogun who had ruled Wano Country for years, was gravely ill. Burdened by grief and battered by the disaster, he grew weaker by the day.
At most, he had a few years left.
What Wano Country needed most now was Kozuki Oden's return.
Only then could the country get back on its feet.
There was no doubt that the Kurozumi Clan was behind it all.
During this time, the Shogun's Residence had found plenty of evidence.
But they had never been able to spare the strength to deal with the Kurozumi Clan.
Now, the plague had all but disappeared.
As long as people did not wander around carelessly, especially near places piled with corpses, or drink contaminated water, they had little reason to fear infection.
The surviving residents did not dare wander around anyway.
After living through the disaster, they knew exactly what would happen: everyone would abandon you without hesitation.
Even samurai were no exception. In the past six months alone, several thousand of them had died.
The survivors of Wano Country hated the Kurozumi Clan, who had caused all this, to their very bones.
The remaining samurai had gathered in a town of tens of thousands.
It lay in Ringo. Because it was by the sea and far from other settlements, it had been sealed off immediately.
The town had remained largely intact, unlike the Flower Capital, which had been abandoned for the time being.
The Kurozumi Clan had struck them and brought them so much suffering. How could they not strike back?
They also needed a target for their rage, something to take their minds off their pain.
That target was, without question, the Kurozumi Clan.
Wano Country knew the Overlord Dragon Pirates would not help