Chapter 32 The Return of Kurozumi Muguruma
"By the way, Keiko, who is on duty today?" Yukiko suddenly asked.
"Today?" Keiko thought for a moment, then replied softly, "I think it's Yuriko-nee and her daughter, Jasmine." After a brief pause, she added shyly, "Yuriko-nee is really beautiful, and she's quite… well-endowed."
"It's them, huh? That girl Jasmine is far too boisterous," Yukiko said, shaking her head.
"Ren-sama spoils her too much."
"No, absolutely not." Yukiko suddenly stood up, nearly knocking over the desk. "Everyone scheduled for duty these next few days will be pushed back. If I go to the Flower Capital, who knows how long it'll take to return?"
"These next few days, Ren-sama is all mine!"
With that, Yukiko rushed out barefoot.
"But what about these documents?" Keiko hurriedly asked.
"They're yours!"
Yukiko's voice echoed from far away. In just a moment, she had already disappeared.
Keiko could only sigh, slowly sit down at the desk, and bury herself in processing the documents.
On the other side, Ren was currently at the training ground.
There was a dedicated dojo for martial training within the Daimyo's Mansion, a place he often frequented.
On duty today were Yuriko and Jasmine. Yuriko was 32 years old, originally the daughter of a reputable family in Ringo. Later, she seemed to have offended powerful figures, and like Keiko, her family was ruined.
Originally, she and her daughter Jasmine were to be sold into the Yoshiwara, but they were bought by Yukiko.
Because of her background, Yuriko now not only served Ren in the mansion, but also taught tea ceremony and flower arrangement, acting as Keiko's instructor.
Her daughter Jasmine, on the other hand, chose to study martial arts.
At this moment, Ren was bare-chested, swinging steel weights weighing tens of tons, sweat pouring down his body.
His training method followed Zoro's approach—simple and brutal weighted training. Beside him, Jasmine, only 16 years old, was also swinging her sword repeatedly, her clothes completely soaked with sweat.
In the shade of the dojo, Yuriko watched them with a worried expression.
She was not worried about Ren. By now, she was well aware of his terrifying strength, capable of shaking mountains.
What concerned her was Jasmine. Although the girl had suffered hardships after their family's downfall, she had been pampered in childhood and had never trained so relentlessly before.
However, this was her own choice.
That upheaval had taught her a harsh truth: only strength mattered.
Watching Ren effortlessly swing such massive weights, Jasmine's eyes were filled with admiration and longing.
If she had possessed strength like Ren-sama's back then, none of those tragedies would have happened.
Driven by that thought, she unconsciously sped up her movements.
But her slender body quickly reached its limit.
"Jasmine, go rest for a while," Ren said without looking back. His Observation Haki had already told him she was at her limit.
"Ren-sama, I… I can still hold on!" Jasmine insisted.
Her face was pale, her lips dry, and her throat felt as if it had been scraped raw, tinged with the taste of blood.
Her arms were trembling and weak, yet she still tried to lift them.
"Be good, Jasmine. Being too eager isn't always a good thing," Ren said calmly. He didn't dislike diligence, but she was pushing herself too far.
"Yuriko, take her to rest."
"Yes." Yuriko responded immediately.
Dressed in a plain kimono, her long black hair neatly tied up, she looked dignified and gentle. Wearing white tabi socks, she hurried over and gently took Jasmine's wrist.
Jasmine still wanted to persist, but her arms had completely lost their strength.
"Be good, Jasmine-chan," Yuriko said softly. "You're all sweaty and smelly now. Ren-sama won't like that."
Hearing this, Jasmine stiffened, her expression instantly falling.
Ren smiled faintly without saying anything. Even the most beautiful girl would smell sour after sweating that much.
Jasmine obediently let Yuriko lead her away for a bath.
Just then, Yukiko rushed into the dojo—only to be grabbed by Ren and dragged along to train with him.
Yukiko: …
After training, Ren took Yukiko, Jasmine, and Yuriko to soak in the hot spring.
Not long after, a servant came to report that Kurozumi Orochi had requested an audience. Yuriko and Jasmine stayed behind, while Ren and Yukiko dressed and headed toward the tall building.
"Soaking in a hot spring in Kuri's climate always feels strange," Ren remarked along the way.
In truth, Kuri was not excessively hot, usually around 30 degrees, but hot springs were far more comfortable in winter.
"In the future, we can turn Ringo into a hot spring village," Yukiko suggested, holding Ren's wrist.
They chatted as they walked, soon arriving to find Kurozumi Orochi waiting.
Orochi had rushed back to Wano immediately after receiving Ren's message.
The man still had two candles tied to his head, making Ren occasionally worry that his hair might catch fire.
"Ren-sama!" Kurozumi Orochi said as soon as he saw him. "The Suigu Town you asked about is currently being searched for."
"However, its location seems quite remote, so it may take some time before we receive news."
"Muzemi, aren't you supposed to be wholeheartedly serving Ren-sama?" Yukiko said coldly.
Although Yukiko had been bought by the Kurozumi Clan, the one she served was Ren, not Orochi. Naturally, she had no reason to fear him.
Moreover, because of the Kurozumi Clan's obsession with revenge, Yukiko felt they had delayed Ren's progress.
In her eyes, Ren should already have become Shogun, not merely the Daimyo of Kuri.
Because of this, she had never been polite toward members of the Kurozumi Clan.
"Calm down, Yukiko," Ren said, stopping her. "This matter isn't urgent anyway."
"Letting Orochi continue with his plan is also beneficial. At least I won't need to personally handle the conflict with Kozuki Oden."
"Thank you, Lord, for tolerating the Kurozumi Clan's recklessness," Kurozumi Orochi said, his eyes reddening.
"More importantly, we should deal with the Kozuki side first."
"I understand," Kurozumi Orochi nodded, then looked at Ren. "Ren-sama, for the Momo Momo no Mi to be effective, one must first touch the face of the person being imitated."
"Mm." Ren nodded. Of course he knew this.
Although Muzemi's appearance was unpleasant, for the sake of the plan, enduring such contact was nothing.
While it was possible to have him transform into a more pleasing appearance beforehand, doing so would be unnecessarily discourteous.