Though he likewise intended to cooperate with Kaido, unlike the original story, this time Kurozumi Orochi had absolutely no intention of surrendering the dominant position.
In the original story, after Kurozumi Orochi formed an alliance with Kaido, he practically handed Wano over on a silver platter. Kaido's forces had nearly seized complete control of every region except the Flower Capital.
Even within the Flower Capital itself, Kaido wielded considerable influence.
Aside from throwing his weight around as Shogun and living a life of idle indulgence, Kurozumi Orochi served virtually no purpose. He was nothing more than a puppet placed to draw hatred until Kaido decided the time was ripe.
But now, Kurozumi Orochi was nowhere near that generous. Ceding Onigashima was already a significant concession.
Going forward, at most he'd give Kaido a small cut of the profits when dealing with the other regions' daimyo. It was virtually impossible for the Beasts Pirates to develop the way they had in the original story.
Even if he were to become a puppet, the current Orochi would never serve as Kaido's puppet. Everything he did — beyond pursuing his own revenge — was paving the way for Ren.
Once he eliminated Kozuki Oden and practically destroyed this country, if someone then appeared and struck him down with absolute power, that person would surely become a god in the eyes of the people!
Though the conditions were somewhat worse than the original story, Orochi wasn't worried about Kaido refusing.
Kaido wasn't exactly thriving overseas. Every time he finally managed to gather a force, they ended up as cannon fodder. Even that promising young recruit he'd found not long ago was now missing in action, leaving Kaido in the position of a lone wolf once more.
Kurozumi Higurashi carried Kurozumi Orochi's letter, and together with Kurozumi Semimaru, the two of them set out to sea in secret.
"According to Lord Ren's intelligence, Kaido's location should be nearby," Kurozumi Higurashi said, standing on a small boat. Though she and Semimaru were quite elderly, their legs were still nimble enough, and the long journey hadn't affected them much.
Kaido was currently on an island, drinking his sorrows away. Since leaving Charlotte Linlin's ship last time, he had gathered another batch of followers, but both their strength and numbers were mediocre at best.
On the open seas, Kaido was not the first choice for pirates looking for a captain to follow. Capable pirates naturally preferred to serve under someone stronger — like Shiki or Ren.
The pirates willing to follow Kaido were mostly the leftovers, those who figured they'd never rise to prominence under Shiki or the others, and so settled for second best.
"We've finally taken this island!" The pirates in the tavern drank raucously, celebrating a fleeting victory.
The battle for this island had actually just ended not long ago. Kaido and his subordinates had spent some time driving off the rival pirates who had also been eyeing the territory, and now they were throwing a feast.
"But isn't this island a bit too small? The resources don't look great either."
Some weren't so optimistic. Among the territories held by Wang Zhi, Silver Axe, and John, this island was completely inconspicuous.
The other factions hadn't even bothered paying attention to this area, which was the main reason Kaido had been able to seize it so easily.
This wasn't the center of the battlefield, and the island itself held little strategic value.
Kaido took a gloomy swig of alcohol, then bellowed, "This is just the first step! Next, every island further east from here — we're taking them all!"
He had chosen not to clash head-on with Shiki and the others, opting instead for geographically inferior islands as his targets.
Kaido knew full well that even if he managed to capture those wealthy islands from Shiki and the others, it would be pointless. He simply couldn't hold them. Lack of strength was only part of the reason — more importantly, he didn't have subordinates he could truly rely on.
"I heard the Marines are planning to shift their focus to the New World," one pirate blathered over his drink, parroting some rumor he'd picked up from who knows where.
"What's that about?"
"It's all because of Inazuma. Thanks to those machines, the defensive capabilities of nations in Paradise have strengthened considerably. The number of rookie pirates entering the New World has dropped by several degrees these past few years," one pirate grumbled.
"Fewer trash pirates isn't a bad thing," another pirate chimed in. The ones being eliminated were the weaklings anyway. In other words, the remaining pirates were that much stronger.
"Either way, the order in Paradise has become much more stable, and the Marines have more troops they can deploy to the New World. Word is they're planning to build several Marine bases in the New World all at once."
Kaido listened to these rumors, feeling even more irritated. Though he didn't think much of the Marines, he had to acknowledge that they remained the most powerful organization on the seas.
The Marines' military budget was especially robust. Every year they purchased a substantial number of autonomous machines from Inazuma. While those machines were nothing to a true powerhouse, they were a devastating blow to ordinary pirates.
And the Marine Admirals were powerful in their own right.
Just as he was stewing in frustration, a scout pirate suddenly burst in, interrupting his train of thought.
"Boss Kaido! Two weirdos want to see you!"
Kaido, seated on the main chair, slowly opened his eyes. Standing over eight meters tall, even sitting down, he projected an overwhelming presence.
"Weirdos?"
"...Y-yeah." The sentry swallowed hard, then stammered out his answer.
"They're two old folks. One of them seems to be a Devil Fruit user — cannon fire doesn't work on them. All our attacks were blocked by a barrier."
As sentries, they had opened fire the moment they spotted Kurozumi Higurashi's boat, fully intending to blow it out of the water. But the bombardment had been completely ineffective, so he had no choice but to report to Kaido.
"Interesting." Kaido slowly rose to his feet, mentally calculating the odds that these two had come to join him. While Kaido would have preferred a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, his current circumstances clearly didn't allow him to be picky.
Still, the description of "two old folks" gave him some concern.
'They'd better not be fragile old bones that crumble at a touch...'
With this thought, Kaido followed the subordinate to meet Kurozumi Higurashi and Kurozumi Semimaru. What he found somewhat disheartening was that his fears had come true.
Before him stood two wizened, unsightly old creatures. Perhaps due to extreme age, their appearances were almost monstrous.
"Heh heh heh, you must be Kaido, yes?" Kurozumi Higurashi let out a dry, chilling laugh. Her gaze made Kaido extremely uncomfortable, but with Semimaru's protection, Higurashi wasn't the least bit worried about her safety.
[
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