Chapter 254: The Super Brain Decides to Use Super Strength
Kaido had never been a pirate who only knew how to rely on brute force. It was just that, in most situations, he simply didn't care to use anything else.
Why waste brainpower on things that could be solved with pure violence? The ultimate conclusion of a super brain was to use super strength, and absolute martial suppression perfectly aligned with Kaido's core values.
However, with only Queen available at his disposal, he was forced to expend a bit more mental effort. Without his right-hand man Alber, and without the rising star Jack, executing many of his plans had become noticeably more strenuous.
Given this situation, Kaido actually developed an interest in the samurai. No matter how you looked at it, these samurai represented a formidable fighting force. Since there was already a wildly successful precedent, he naturally entertained the idea of using it as a reference.
What Wano Country turned into, or who nominally ruled it, were utterly irrelevant details to Kaido. All he needed was for this country to satisfy his logistical and military demands.
As for Kurozumi Orochi, Kaido had always despised him. If forced to choose between the two, Kaido actually respected Kozuki Oden much more. Whether Oden's brain worked properly was up for debate, but at the very least, Oden could fight.
"Kaido! This is naked betrayal! Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"
"Betrayal? Urororo! I am a pirate! Betrayal is standard procedure in pirate alliances! A piece of trash like you should just quietly roll over and die!
"The fact that a worm like you also possesses the ability to resurrect... it's a sheer insult to him! Thunder Bagua!"
Kaido's relationship with Nereus wasn't overly complicated, rooted mostly in the reverence brought about by overwhelming strength. Orochi's revival ability inevitably reminded Kaido of Nereus, which only served to exponentially increase his disgust for Kurozumi Orochi.
"Semimaru!"
The Mythical Zoan Yamata no Orochi fruit granted Kurozumi Orochi more than one life; otherwise, that single kanabo strike just now would have permanently ended him. Yet, Orochi was still terrified out of his wits. Scrambling and crawling frantically to escape, he shrieked the name of his retainer.
Hum!
An old man nearby crossed his fingers. In the next instant, a transparent, spherical barrier completely enveloped Kurozumi Orochi.
BOOM!
With a deafening crash, the transparent sphere was violently smashed through the floorboards, embedding itself deep into the earth. Yet, Kurozumi Orochi inside remained completely unscathed.
Kurozumi Semimaru, much like Kurozumi Higurashi, had once left Wano Country and consumed the Barrier-Barrier Fruit. The barrier it manifested possessed absolute, peerless defensive power; even Oden's ferocious slashes hadn't been able to breach it back then.
While blocking Oden's slashes had allowed Kurozumi Orochi to use the citizens of Wano as hostages to force Oden into a humiliating compromise, facing Kaido was an entirely different reality. Kurozumi Orochi held absolutely zero leverage over him.
Aside from the final battle with Oden, whether it was during the initial industrialization of Wano or the subsequent maneuvering against Oden, Kaido had never brazenly shown his face to the public, opting to remain in the shadows. But now, Kaido needed Kurozumi Orochi's head to complete the final piece of his grand design.
The Barrier-Barrier Fruit allowed Kurozumi Orochi to cling to life a little longer, but it couldn't change the inevitable outcome.
"A Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit... to think it was wasted on a piece of garbage like you. I spent so much damn effort, and only ever managed to find that single one..."
Kurozumi Orochi did attempt a final, desperate struggle, fully transforming into his Yamata no Orochi form, but it amounted to absolutely nothing in the face of absolute strength.
"Queen, I'm leaving the rest to you. Purge all of Orochi's loyalists. Find a way to make those samurai believe that everything that happened to their country was the sole doing of that idiot Orochi."
Kaido was naturally uninterested in flowery propaganda work, instantly dumping the entire mess onto Queen. Replicating what Nereus had achieved was no small feat. Unlike Nereus, who was intrinsically a member of Fish-Man Island, Kaido was, in every conceivable way, a foreign invader to Wano Country. Gaining the local populace's genuine acceptance would be incredibly difficult.
However, there was also good news for Kaido. For instance, a core group of retainers had been sent into the future via the Time-Time Fruit. Those left behind were forced to either permanently conceal their identities or endure in silent suffering for twenty years, blindly clinging to that so-called prophecy.
Within this massive twenty-year window, Kaido had more than enough time to see his plans to fruition. He didn't need everyone to believe him; as long as a fraction of the populace bought his narrative, they could influence the undecided masses, ultimately achieving his goal.
Divide, co-opt, suppress—Kaido had studied this foundational process with absolute clarity. Years ago, having been mocked for giving his attacks uncultured names, Kaido had taken the insult to heart. After arriving in Wano Country, he had thoroughly studied the local culture.
After a period of time, he actually managed to brand himself with the title of "Wisdom King, Protector of the Nation," winning the trust of a segment of the population. After all, the citizens of Wano weren't particularly bright; otherwise, Orochi's scheme to make Kozuki Oden dance naked wouldn't have proceeded so flawlessly.
Combined with the fact that Kurozumi Orochi purely wanted to persecute Wano, plunging the entire country into wailing despair, Kaido only needed to slightly alleviate the grueling labor quotas after killing Orochi to achieve his goal. He successfully recruited a batch of samurai to bolster his forces, the weapons factories remained fully operational, and Kaido was, for the moment, quite satisfied with this status quo.
Compared to Wano Country, he was currently far more concerned with another issue: his daughter, Yamato.
Their father-daughter relationship was currently less than harmonious. Kaido's educational philosophy was brutally simple: he needed Yamato to obey him and grow stronger, and his chosen method for forcing her to grow stronger was the literal "stick" approach.
Under these circumstances, harmony was naturally out of the question. At this very moment, Queen was standing trembling before Kaido, while Kaido casually weighed his kanabo in his hand, a dark look in his eyes.
"Queen. Explain to me exactly what is going on with that journal."
"Big Bro Kaido, I have no idea! Young Master Yamato probably just picked it up herself! The scene was total chaos back then; nobody was paying attention to something like that!"
The journal Kaido referred to was Oden's logbook, which chronicled Kozuki Oden's voyages across the seas. It was said to possess an insidious effect akin to Voldemort's Horcrux, capable of practically possessing an individual at specific moments.
However, Kozuki Oden hadn't actually achieved anything monumentally significant abroad; compared to Nereus's legendary exploits, Oden's adventures paled in comparison. The conflicting influences somewhat neutralized the "possession" effect. It merely instilled in Yamato a burning desire to leave the confines of Wano.
"Very well," Kaido growled. "Then explain to me exactly what this Biography of Nereus is all about!"
"Ah, that... That's a manuscript that Wobbegong guy wrote in his free time back during our MADS days! It has some dramatic embellishments and fictional elements, but the general gist is mostly true! The other day, while I was doing my research, Young Master Yamato kept pestering me with questions, so I just gave it to her to keep her busy..."
"And did you know," Kaido roared, veins popping on his forehead, "that because of this damn book, she now thinks my methods are deeply flawed, and wants me to govern Wano exactly how it's described in this biography?!"
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