Kin'emon and the others were equally in the dark about Kurozumi Orochi's situation. Before Kaido's battle even began, weaklings like them had already been driven away. Kin'emon still believed that Kurozumi Orochi had tricked Kozuki Oden, and now, Kurozumi Orochi should be the ruler here.
But the answer he received was shocking.
When they had been sent into the future twenty years ago, Kurozumi Orochi had already been dead.
"Boss Naoto, you're wrong. The one who killed Kurozumi Orochi wasn't Lord Wise King, it was Ame-no-Minakanushi who executed him."
Behind him, a frail-looking bespectacled young man poked the delinquent leader and corrected his words.
Oni Princess, Wise King were Yamato and Kaido's additional titles, and naturally Arceus was no exception.
In Wano Country's mythology, Ame-no-Minakanushi was originally a legendary deity, and under the influence of the Arceus Cult, the native faith of Wano Country thus changed accordingly.
Names were just epithets. The Creator God had different names at different times and in different regions. Moreover, the strength Arceus displayed convinced the people of Wano Country that he truly was Ame-no-Minakanushi, as it was the only way to explain those miracles.
"Hah? You're saying I was wrong?"
"You know what your history grades are like. Aunt Kazumi asked me to tutor you, that's the only reason I came out with you."
"Cough, cough… let's change the answer then. It was Ame-no-Minakanushi who executed him."
Faced with reality, he chose to yield rather than stubbornly cling to a wrong answer.
Kurozumi Orochi being dead was actually rather good news for Kin'emon, but for Kanjuro, it was another story.
Although Kanjuro was a retainer of Kozuki Oden, he was also part of the Kurozumi family. His full name was Kurozumi Kanjuro, and his true identity was that of a spy sent by Kurozumi Orochi.
In the original timeline, he had been constantly sending information back to Kurozumi Orochi. But now, having traveled twenty years into the future, the first piece of news he received was that his boss had already died.
Even as an experienced spy, his expression stiffened, though he quickly returned to normal.
Kanjuro had always been acting out his life. After his parents' deaths, he could only find joy in playing out the lives of others. During this time, he had already completely immersed himself in the role of Kozuki retainer.
With Kurozumi Orochi's orders, Kanjuro could have betrayed them at any moment. But without Kurozumi Orochi, he would fully commit to the role he was now playing, becoming a true retainer, wholeheartedly thinking for Kozuki Momonosuke's sake.
"Wise King? Ame-no-Minakanushi? Who are they?"
"Lord Kaido and Lord Arceus, of course! What kind of lousy show are you guys on? How can you even ask that?"
Trying to find someone in today's Wano Country who didn't know Kaido's name was practically impossible. Kin'emon's hesitation and muttered words had already aroused the suspicion of these people.
Faced with this situation, the three of them simply chose to bolt. Ordinary delinquents could never keep up with their speed, and before those guys could say anything more, Kin'emon and the others had already vanished from sight.
But when Naoto opened that bag, he found only a handful of crushed stones inside.
"These b*stards, is it some kind of prank show?"
Wano Country had been at peace for too long. Even when something like this happened, their first reaction wasn't that they had met swindlers, but that someone was pulling a prank.
"No, that's not right. Impossible. No one would ever joke about Lord Wise King. Let's report this to the Shinsengumi. Just say we ran into some frauds. I think these people are suspicious."
In just a few words, suspicion had already begun to spread. A gap of twenty years wasn't so easily bridged, and the way they spoke made these people from twenty years ago seem completely out of step with today's Wano Country.
This was something inevitable. Wano Country has changed and developed far too quickly over the past twenty years, both in terms of relationships among people and in terms of technology.
It was like throwing someone straight from a thousand years ago into the modern day; they would be equally bewildered. The only difference was that Kin'emon and his group found themselves in a far more dangerous environment.
After speaking with several different people in succession, they finally managed to piece together the general situation.
But regardless of who they asked, everyone was satisfied with their current life. Some mourned that Oden had died, and believed Oden would be happy if he could see the present state of things, yet not a single person expressed longing for the way life had been back then.
At the same time, they learned that the current Shogun of Wano Country was none other than Kozuki Hiyori.
"Lady Hiyori actually became the Shogun?"
"Denjiro and the others are still around, even holding government posts? What should we do, should we go look for them?"
"No, they must have been forced, and there are definitely many people monitoring them. If we go looking for them, wouldn't that be walking right into a trap?"
Kin'emon rejected that suggestion, and then Raizo put forward a new idea.
"How about… we go ask Uncle Hyogoro?"
"Hyogoro? Back then, he might've been the one who betrayed Lord Oden. What's the point of going to him? This place is too dangerous, we'd better leave as soon as possible."
Since Hyogoro hadn't appeared at the battlefield of the decisive battle back then, and with the names the Beasts Pirates had deliberately planted on the lists, they didn't trust Hyogoro either. To them, everything about Wano Country at this moment gave off a strange feeling.
The younger generation knew the Kozuki family was the Shogun, but they felt no reverence for the Shogun. Some brats couldn't even remember the Shogun's name. And yet every single one of them praised the Lord Wise King.
To Kin'emon, it seemed the entire Wano Country had been brainwashed. The current Wano Country is a bit too terrifying. Only by leaving here as soon as possible can they find a chance to seek outside help and drive Kaido away.
Meanwhile, in Kuri, the Shinsengumi had also received multiple reports. Quite a few citizens claimed they had run into a gang of strange people, seemingly engaging in some sort of fraud. To figure out what was happening, the Shinsengumi had already begun sending out people to investigate the case.
They dispatched a lot of people. Wano Country had been far too peaceful lately; aside from petty thefts, brawls, and a few isolated criminals, no serious crimes had occurred.
For the common folk, this was a good thing. But for the Shinsengumi, it meant no achievements to show for themselves. Now that they finally had a chance to deal with a fraud gang, it was a rare opportunity to rack up some achievements, so nearly all the idle men had gone off to investigate.
Kin'emon had just finished his own investigation and was planning to return to regroup with Momonosuke, but on Momonosuke's side, they had already encountered others.
Meowna and Wolff happened to be only one small hill away from where Momonosuke and the others had appeared. When Raizo was scouting the area, the two of them had been in the water fishing, so Raizo hadn't noticed them.
But when Nekomamushi and Inuarashi started chopping down trees to make a raft, Meowna and Wolff noticed them.
"Brother, this isn't a logging zone, is it?"
The crashing sound of trees falling and the flocks of startled birds had drawn their attention. A large portion of Wano Country was forest, which included fruit trees for economic purposes and fast-growing trees used as building materials or fuel.
The fast-growing trees could be freely cut down, but in other areas, only fallen branches could be gathered. This kind of commotion was clearly a violation of the rules.
"It isn't. Let's go take a look. Who would be cutting trees here?"
Climbing out of the river, Wolff shook the water off his body. Earlier, only he and Maylo had gone into the water; Meowna had stayed on the shore, roasting fish over a campfire.
Maylo was half-Mermaid, and while Wolff didn't care about getting wet, Meowna had no desire to soak her fur in this place.
But not going into water didn't mean she lacked a way to catch fish. The vines extending from her palms made it obvious how she'd been fishing.
"Maylo, you and Kuma-kuma stay here. Keep an eye on the fire, don't let the fish burn. We'll be back soon."
"Okay, I got it."
The siblings didn't bring Maylo along. Instead, they left her behind with Bewear. Even if some wild beast happened to wander over during this time, the result would just be Bewear slapping it away with a single paw.
"Lord Momonosuke, please step aside so you don't get hit."
Inuarashi moved Momonosuke to a safe spot and then continued to work as a lumberjack. With only the two of them building the raft, manpower was stretched thin, but Momonosuke wasn't of much help; he could only stand by and watch helplessly.
His memories were still stuck on the burning Oden Castle; the fear it caused back then hasn't dissipated yet.
The sea currents surrounding Wano Country were extremely dangerous. They wanted to make their boat sturdy, so they were felling quite a lot of wood.
Just as Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were about to cut down more trees, angry shouts came from the side.
"Stop! Who told you to cut trees here?"
"Yeah! Who did you come here with? Keep this up and you won't be allowed to vacation here again!"
Meowna and Wolff's voices rang out in turn. The features of the Minks were too obvious, and they could be identified at a glance. Meowna and Wolff didn't remember the appearances of Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, but they didn't suspect anything either.
There were plenty of Minks on Zou Island, and they didn't remember everyone to begin with. They were only familiar with their own playmates.
Every year, some Minks who had never been to Wano Country came here for vacation, so they were used to it. But what Inuarashi and Nekomamushi did next made them notice something unusual.
"Brats, don't disturb the adults while they're working."
Nekomamushi kept his head down at his task, not paying the two of them any attention. After just a glance, he continued chopping down trees, and that was the strangest part of all.
They might not remember every Mink from Zou Island, but everyone on Zou Island knew who they were—the children of the current duchess, and the most extraordinary duchess in history at that.
Even Lindbergh, who had been away from home for years, had an impression of these two.
"Where are you two Minks from?!"
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