Chapter 7: Nine Miles of Hell on Earth
Compared to other countries in the Pirate World, Wano Country was extremely vast. Otherwise, Oden would not have spent 2 full years traveling throughout the land.
Ren was in no hurry on this journey. Stopping and resting along the way, he left White Dance, passed through Udon, and spent about half a month in total before reaching this point.
Between villages, there were samurai stationed as guards. Their strength was not impressive, and their main responsibility was simply to register the information of travelers passing through.
At this time, Wano Country had not yet fallen into chaos. Although there were no major conflicts among the various Daimyo, they were far from united. Naturally, they did not want large numbers of people relocating between villages, nor were they willing to accept refugees from elsewhere. These samurai were essentially gate guards.
Seeing Ren and Yukiko walking openly toward them, the few guards immediately became alert.
It was not that migration between villages was strictly forbidden. Moving to places like the Flower Capital, or even to Ringo or Kibi, was common and understandable. However, they had truly never seen anyone heading toward Kuri.
Aside from the unfortunate people born there, almost only fleeing criminals went to Kuri.
After all, it was a lawless zone. Even if survival there was difficult, it at least allowed one to escape pursuit by government soldiers. But fugitives usually sneaked away under cover of night, so why would anyone brazenly cross the main bridge in broad daylight?
"I think that man is quite young and well-dressed. Could he be planning to go to Kibi and just pass through Kuri?" one samurai whispered.
"Pass through Kuri? Are you crazy?" another shook his head. "Even if it's a detour, a normal person would go through the Flower Capital. It's closer and safer. Besides, Udon and Kibi are already adjacent."
As they spoke, Ren and Yukiko had already arrived.
Ren was not afraid of an identity check. Orochi's position within the Kozuki Clan allowed him to do far more than steal small sums of money. Now that his strength had grown, the Kozuki Clan made use of Orochi in many matters, giving him access to various channels.
Ren handed over a document. The samurai glanced at it, returned it, and immediately stepped aside.
Everything was in order. No matter how puzzled they were, they did not dare obstruct Ren.
"Let's go, Yukiko," Ren said as he glanced around. The bridge beneath their feet was sturdy, nothing like the dilapidated and desolate image he remembered from the anime.
That was only natural. This was not 40 years later.
Although Sukiyaki was incompetent, he was at least not tyrannical. Even if he spent his days indulging himself in the Flower Capital, it did not significantly affect the country. Even if countless poor people starved to death along the roadsides, it would not touch the prosperity enjoyed by the upper nobles of the Flower Capital.
Ren led Yukiko across the long bridge. When they reached the center, he finally saw the barren land of Kuri spread out before him.
In fact, among the regions of Wano Country, Kuri's natural environment was not bad. It was not as barren as Udon or Kibi, nor as cold as Ringo. Kuri maintained a summer-like climate year-round, with abundant sunlight.
Its only flaw was the extreme alternation between heavy rains and severe droughts.
Wano Country's agriculture relied heavily on the whims of the weather. Under such a climate, crops like rice could be harvested 3 or even 4 times a year. If the issues of drought and flooding could be resolved, the yields would certainly be considerable.
Unfortunately, Kuri was a lawless land filled with rogue samurai.
Most of the food grown by the locals was stolen before it could ever sustain them.
Amid constant chaos and warfare, even favorable conditions could not lead to development.
There were still villages and villagers in Kuri. Although the rogue samurai were murderers and criminals elsewhere, they generally did not kill villagers here without reason.
The population was small to begin with, and criminals made up the majority. If the farmers died as well, who would grow food for them to steal?
And if everyone died, where would they find women to capture and toy with?
Compared to the prosperity of White Dance, Kuri was nothing short of a living hell.
These criminals did not produce anything themselves and all fled here. Even the wealthiest among them were not enough to rob, let alone the poor. As a result, they robbed not only villagers, but also one another.
Their fights were never playful. Once swords were drawn, the loser almost never survived. Because of this, the plains of Kuri were littered with corpses.
Maggots crawled over rotting bodies, and the air was thick with a putrid stench.
Yukiko pinched her nose in disgust and carefully avoided the path ahead.
Her reaction was sensible. Exposed corpses could easily give rise to plagues. Ren himself was not particularly concerned, as the soul of the Yamata no Orochi he had absorbed inherently possessed a certain level of control over disease.
Even so, the stench and nausea still made him quicken his steps.
There was another reason for Kuri's desolation.
Starving people gnawed endlessly on grass roots, refusing to spare anything edible. Over time, the vegetation dwindled, further worsening the imbalance of rainfall.
This kind of problem was troublesome for ordinary people, but not difficult for Ren to solve.
Once he fully absorbed the power of the Ookuchi no Makami Fruit, he could freeze the rainwater of the wet season and store it underground, then melt and release it during the dry season. If that proved insufficient, transporting snow from Ringo would also work.
Melted ice and snow were important sources of fresh water.
It could be said that the people of Wano Country had completely wasted a land of great potential. Properly developed, it could supply an unimaginable amount of food to the entire country. The same was true of Kibi, which was also known as a desolate region.
"This place is just like hell…" Yukiko said quietly as she followed close behind Ren, unable to hide her shock.
Before this, she had lived in White Dance. Even if she was poor and her family was deep in debt, the worst outcome would have been being sold into a brothel.
But for those living in Kuri, even life as a courtesan would be considered a blessing.
"This is Wano Country as it truly is," Ren said, shaking his head. "Beneath the surface prosperity, the people are suffering."
And it was not just Kuri. Was there truly no darkness beneath the splendor of the Flower Capital?
The prosperity of this country belonged only to the upper class. Even the lowest-ranking samurai and farmers were worlds apart in status.
"I believe Lord Ren will definitely change this country," Yukiko said firmly, pinching her nose with one hand while clenching her small fist with the other.
"Don't think of me as too noble," Ren replied, rolling his eyes. "All I want is to rule."