Luo Xing summoned Queen.
The hulking plague scientist waddled in, only to freeze at the scene before him—
Komurasaki kneeling on the floor in tears, and Kyoshiro's corpse lying cold beside her.
"Uh… Lord Consort," Queen stammered, scratching his bald head,
"what in the world happened here?"
Luo Xing's tone was calm—almost too calm.
"Komurasaki and I were sharing a drink. Then that man—Kyoshiro—suddenly went mad and tried to assassinate me.
I had no choice but to kill him."
Queen blinked, glancing from the sobbing courtesan to the body on the ground.
His brain churned for a moment—and then, in perfect Queen fashion, he drew the wildest conclusion possible.
"Ahh, I get it!"
A classic love triangle!
In his mind's eye, he saw it all:
The faithful guard captain Kyoshiro, secretly in love with the Flower Capital's top courtesan, snaps when he finds her in the arms of the Beast Pirates' brilliant son-in-law—and in a jealous rage, charges in, only to die by his own foolishness.
Queen grinned knowingly.
"Don't worry, Lord Consort. Kyoshiro brought that on himself.
I'll smooth things over with Orochi."
Luo Xing could almost hear the man's internal gossip mill spinning.
But that was fine—Queen's stupidity made him easy to use.
"Good," Luo Xing said. "Have his body removed. Clean the room.
And… find Komurasaki a residence in the Flower Capital.
Post guards. I want her protected around the clock."
Queen's grin widened to something shameless. He leaned in, whispering:
"Ahh, I see, I see… a hidden gem, huh?
Don't worry, Lord Consort—I won't tell young master Yamato."
Luo Xing raised an approving eyebrow.
Queen puffed his chest, feeling clever, and bustled off to make arrangements.
As Komurasaki was led away, empty-eyed, Luo Xing's thoughts drifted to his wife.
Would Yamato—so loyal, so fiery—believe him if she found out about the "canary" he'd caged here in Wano?
He wasn't sure.
So for now… he would keep this secret to himself.
Two Days Later
Representatives from Wano's six major regions—Kuri, Kibi, Udon, Ringo, Hakumai, and the Flower Capital—had all arrived.
They were respected leaders in their lands, the people's voices,
and their presence lent the event a false air of legitimacy.
The Flower Capital was ablaze with light and celebration.
At the gates of the Shogun's estate,
Kurozumi Orochi strutted about in a frenzy of delight.
The grotesque smile on his face had not faded once all morning.
Before him, in the great plaza, sat the invited guests on the left,
Luo Xing and Queen on the right,
and a sea of cheering citizens stretching as far as the eye could see.
Around them, massive Transponder Snails had been set up—
their eyestalks twitching as they broadcast the spectacle live to all of Wano.
In the center stood a hundred of Orochi's finest soldiers:
his most "loyal" retainers,
and the proudest warriors of the Kurozumi clan.
One man was missing, of course—
the late Kyoshiro.
Orochi still hadn't forgiven Luo Xing for killing him,
nor for taking Komurasaki—the courtesan Orochi had loved most—
into his own protection.
But the promise of the Mutant Cells,
and the thought of his men's power doubling before the eyes of the nation,
was enough to smother his anger.
Just for now.
He smiled sycophantically and turned to Luo Xing.
"Lord Consort Luo Xing!
Everything's prepared!
You may present the Mutant Cells at once!"
Luo Xing glanced over the crowd.
Every factor was in place—the provincial leaders,
the broadcast snails,
and the eyes of every man, woman, and child in Wano.
He nodded slowly.
"Very well."
He turned slightly, signaling to the masked figure at his side.
The person stood—a tall silhouette, cloaked and silent.
The curve beneath the robe made it clear she was a woman.
She stepped forward, walking straight toward Orochi.
The shogun blinked, puzzled.
He didn't recall ever seeing this woman before.
"Lord Consort, who might this—"
He never finished the sentence.
The masked woman's voice rang out like steel striking steel.
"My name is Yamato—
and I am the one who will execute you!"
The shout cracked across the plaza like a thunderclap.
"Kurozumi Orochi!
You have brought nothing but misery to Wano!
You have betrayed its people and drowned this land in corruption!
Today, I deliver the justice you've long escaped!"
A single, pure note—
clang!
The sword flashed like lightning.
The reflection of the blade—bright, cold, merciless—
cut across Orochi's twisted face,
and into the stunned eyes of every soul watching,
both here in the plaza and across Wano through the flickering screens of the broadcast snails.
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then—blood.
Kuri, Amigasa Village
Far away, in the countryside of Kuri,
a small girl in a light green kimono ran alongside an old man with a long nose.
"Sensei! What's happening today?
The village head said everyone has to go to the gate!"
The old man—Tenguyama Hitetsu, the reclusive swordsmith—sighed.
"They said there's an announcement from the capital, Otama.
Don't expect much."
The girl's stomach rumbled.
Her eyes sparkled with naive hope.
"Maybe… maybe they're giving us food?"
Hitetsu chuckled bitterly.
"If the Kurozumi shogun gave food to peasants,
the sun would rise in the west."
Otama puffed her cheeks.
"He's awful! Kurozumi Orochi is the worst!"
"Yes, child," Hitetsu murmured. "But knowing that doesn't change anything."
They joined the gathered villagers at the gate,
where an enormous Transponder Snail projected an image from the Flower Capital.
The village head was already shouting with forced excitement.
"Today, Lord Orochi's chosen soldiers will consume the Mutant Cells,
a gift from the great Lord Consort Luo Xing!
Their power will double before your eyes!
Let us witness this glorious—"
A scream cut him off.
The headman spun, startled.
"What's all the fuss? Are you that excited—"
Then he turned back to the screen.
And his smile died.
On the projection,
Orochi's head had been severed cleanly from his shoulders.
The shogun's body knelt, spurting blood across the steps of the estate.
The great Shogunate crest above the gates
was drenched in crimson,
dripping with the end of an era.
The headman's knees gave out.
Around him, the villagers stared in stunned silence—
then, slowly, one by one, began to cry.