Kurozumi Orochi raised his head slightly, a sycophantic smile plastered across his face.
"Lord Ares, I have an idea. If we poison them in advance…"
"Then when they fight, their strength will drop. Their performance will weaken. At that point, you won't even have to lift a finger to win this wagered duel!"
A poison plot.
Vicious. Insidious. Rotten to the core.
As Shimotsuki Yasuie's servant, Orochi really could pull off a "last-minute poisoning." He didn't need to kill anyone. He only needed drugs that would dull their bodies and suppress their strength.
That way, it wouldn't be so easy to detect.
Ares frowned slightly.
"Kurozumi Orochi, I trust my partners' strength. I don't need unnecessary tricks."
"I want Sukiyaki and the others to lose with no excuses. I want them to accept it completely."
Kaido bared his teeth in a grin.
"Wororororo! Ares-bro's right! Those Wano samurai don't scare me!"
As a Mythical Zoan user, and after following Ares for over two years, Kaido was no longer the "trainee" he'd once been in the Rocks Pirates.
His strength was solid.
At this stage…
he should already be a step stronger than Kozuki Oden.
After dismissing Orochi, Kaido's eyes burned with excitement.
"Ares-bro, if they hold a wager duel, I'm going first!"
"I'll show these Wano samurai what real power looks like!"
He knew it.
This duel would be the perfect chance to establish authority.
The perfect chance to seize Wano.
Kaido could barely wait to earn merit.
Ares smiled and patted Kaido's broad, iron-hard shoulder.
"Relax. You'll have your moment."
"Now that we already know their lineup, we've got the initiative."
"Kozuki Oden is yours."
Oden had been crushed easily by Ares, but that didn't mean Oden was weak.
He possessed Conqueror's Haki, he had mastered Ryuo, and his swordsmanship was real.
And he was barely in his early twenties.
That level of strength couldn't be underestimated.
Ares had high expectations for Kaido as well. He wanted Kaido to grow faster, to become a true pillar at his side.
The strongest…
right-hand man.
In the future, Kaido would become the so-called "strongest creature in the world," the Emperor Kaido.
As for the remaining fighters, there weren't many options.
That left Slada and Chinjao.
Ashura Doji was strong, but compared to daimyō like Shimotsuki Ushimaru, he was still a notch below.
In the original timeline, he had even been defeated by Kozuki Oden.
Later, after following Oden and learning the Oden Two-Sword Style, he gradually improved until he could clash with Jack the Drought and even wound him.
His potential was enormous.
But for this wager duel, he was still a bit short.
Chinjao cracked his knuckles with a grin.
"Heh heh. Wano's top-tier samurai? I'm interested."
After gaining a Mythical Zoan Yamata no Orochi form his blood was boiling. He wanted to fight those warriors right now.
To test himself.
A few days later
the ninja captain Fukurokuju arrived in Kuri with an invitation.
"Ares. Our Shogun wishes to invite you to meet."
Ares threw his head back and laughed.
"Hahaha! So he finally can't sit still."
"Fine. Leave the invitation."
"Tell Sukiyaki: on the agreed day, I'll meet him in the Flower Capital."
The next day
Ares put on a sharp black kimono and draped a cloak over his shoulders, the Amatsuki clan crest stamped boldly on the fabric.
Kaido asked eagerly, "Ares-bro, want me to come with you?"
"No," Ares replied. "I'll go alone."
Everyone else was tangled up in duties.
Kuri's development wasn't finished. There were still countless matters to handle.
And for the sake of training, Ares had already pushed most of the burden onto others.
Chinjao chuckled.
"Hey, Kaido. With Ares-boss's strength, there's nothing to worry about."
"Even if all those samurai fought together, they still wouldn't be a match for him."
Then
Ares set out for the Flower Capital.
The road was scenic, the land vast and rich.
And he understood exactly what kind of place Wano truly was.
Wano was the birthplace of Seastone.
With Wano's craftsmen, Seastone could be worked down to the size of a nail.
They could even control the purity within Seastone handcuffs.
And even the Poneglyphs…
had been carved by the Kozuki clan of Wano.
Wano carried weight.
Wano mattered.
"A treasure land like this staying closed off…"
"What a waste," Ares murmured.
His gaze dipped, as if he could see through the earth beneath his feet.
"The Ancient Weapon Pluton… sleeping for centuries."
"Uranus, Poseidon, Pluton… and the Sun God Nika…"
"Even that technologically advanced kingdom from centuries ago was crushed by Imu."
"To overturn the power of twenty kings and Imu…"
"Wano alone is nowhere near enough."
For a moment
Ares's thoughts scattered like sparks in wind.
"Looks like I'll need more plans."
"Technology… Vegapunk… Judge…"
"One step at a time."
"You can't swallow a fat man in one bite."
"First, I take Wano. Only then can I truly plant my feet in the New World."
Soon
the Flower Capital appeared.
Cherry blossoms bloomed everywhere, drifting like soft snow.
The moment Ares walked in, people along the streets and alleys stared, whispering and pointing.
"That's… that's Amatsuki Ares. Oden that bastard was beaten down like nothing."
"Ares hauled in two islands not long ago. How did he even do that?!"
"Those muscles… looks like he's carved out of bronze. Terrifying."
"I heard Kuri's completely changed under Ares's rule. Lots of people are joining Kuri now…"
"Ares wants Wano to open its borders. What's the outside world even like?"
"…"
Ares's lips curved slightly.
"So my name's reached the Flower Capital too."
"And it's already starting to change Wano, little by little."
That was good news.
He walked down the street as if no one could touch him.
He even paid for snacks from roadside stalls, acting like a casual tourist.
He knew the truth.
If he became Wano's Shogun, he needed to understand Wano better deeply before he could govern it well.
As the capital, the Flower Capital's prosperity really wasn't something Kuri could compare to right now.
But…
this was the result of centuries.
To Ares, it was simply something to observe with mild curiosity.
Compared to the development of his previous world, Wano was truly conservative an island of tradition stubbornly refusing to move.
He let himself enjoy the brief calm.
Because he also knew
in this sea, wealth without strength would always invite predators.
Even if there were no Ares.
Even if there were no Kaido.
Someone else would come eventually.
When he arrived at the Shogun's palace
Fukurokuju, who had been waiting at the gate, hurried up with a smile.
"Lord Ares, this way, please."
Ares's gaze was calm.
"Lead the way."
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