Chapter 25: Meeting with Kozuki Oden
After receiving Ren's instructions, Yukiko, no matter how angry she was, would not disobey. She glared at Oden and the others with eyes full of killing intent, then forced herself to calm down and said coldly, "Follow me."
Oden did not want to argue in this situation. After all, he knew nothing about Ren, the Daimyo of Kuri, and he also hoped to gain some support from the Daimyo of Kuri regarding opening the country or going out to sea.
Even within the Kozuki Clan, none of the other Daimyo would stand with him on this matter, but this newly appointed Daimyo of Kuri might. The fact that he could pacify Kuri, a land of chaos for hundreds of years, was enough to prove his ambition.
Pacifying Kuri was not completely impossible for other regions or the Flower Capital; it merely required paying a certain price. This was precisely why successive shoguns had subconsciously chosen to ignore Kuri.
After all, what was wrong with maintaining the status quo? As long as stability was preserved, their rule remained secure, and what happened in a remote place like Kuri did not matter.
Thus, Ren, who could transform Kuri into its current prosperous state, might be a suitable ally.
With this in mind, Oden restrained both himself and Kin'emon and the others, slowly following Yukiko toward the main hall.
Upon arrival, the guards had already been replaced by women. These women wore light armor and carried swords, making it clear that their strength was not to be underestimated.
Yukiko had recruited many women to serve Ren, and after entering the Daimyo's Mansion, they were assigned various duties by him. Some learned to read and study, while others trained in martial arts or other skills, including dance, singing, and playing instruments.
When these female guards saw Yukiko approach, they first nodded to her, then shifted their gazes toward Oden and the others, or more precisely, toward the swords hanging at their waists.
There were 8 people accompanying Oden. Among them, Oden, Kin'emon, Denjiro, Kanjuro, and Raizo all carried weapons.
"Weapons are not allowed inside," two guards said flatly, simultaneously reaching out toward their swords.
Kin'emon was about to flare up, but he saw that Oden had already removed Enma and Ame no Habakiri from his waist and handed them over. Seeing this, the others had no choice but to remove their weapons as well.
Raizo, because he carried too many concealed tools, was even taken aside for a body search.
Oden stood over 3 meters tall, and the two swords were each over 1.5 meters long, heavy even to hold. Both were Great Grade swords, and one of them had even been personally forged for him by Kozuki Sukiyaki, the current shogun of Wano Country.
Frankly speaking, as long as these two swords were still at his side, the so-called severing of ties was nothing more than a joke.
"Is this enough?" Oden asked loudly, his patience nearly exhausted.
Before the two maids could reply, a voice came from within the mansion.
"Bring them in, Yukiko."
"Yes!" Yukiko answered crisply, then led Oden and the others inside.
After passing through long corridors and hallways and opening several shoji doors, Oden and the others finally saw Ren, who had been waiting at his desk for some time.
This man, who had accomplished the feat of subduing Kuri, was neither tall nor fierce-looking. On the contrary, he appeared gentle, not even resembling someone skilled in combat.
At that moment, he sat at the desk, looking at a stack of documents with a faintly troubled expression.
Oden sensed the other man's presence and immediately understood that this seemingly frail appearance was merely a façade. He could clearly feel that Ren's strength was formidable, though which of them was stronger remained uncertain.
Ren was not in a battle-ready state, but his strength had grown significantly during this period, and his mastery of Haki was improving day by day.
"Are you the Daimyo of Kuri?" Oden asked loudly.
"You rude fellow, you must address him as Daimyo-sama!" Yukiko scolded.
Ren waved his hand, signaling her not to worry about such formalities. Yukiko then stepped to his side in small steps and knelt down.
Seeing such a cold woman behave so obediently beside Ren, Kin'emon and the others wore rather complicated expressions.
"Please, have a seat, Mr. Oden," Ren said calmly, his expression making it impossible to discern his mood.
At the very least, however, seats had indeed been prepared in advance, arranged with solemn propriety.
"Keiko, have the servants serve the dishes."
"Yes," Keiko replied, nodding as she withdrew. Soon after, many maids entered carrying dishes and sake, carefully arranging the feast on the low tables before Oden and the others.
The exquisite food and its rich aroma made Kin'emon and the others swallow repeatedly. Other than Raizo, none of them had ever eaten anything particularly fine.
When Kin'emon and Denjiro first followed Oden, he had just been exiled, and the most luxurious food they had eaten since then was oden.
"There's no need to be polite. Please, help yourselves."
"This is truly generous hospitality. Thank you. I'm already starving," Oden said, equally captivated by the spread before him.
The food laid out was something he had never seen before, or rather, it seemed that Wano Country simply did not have this style of cuisine.
Ren did not favor Japanese dishes that focused on appearance over substance, so the meals in the Daimyo's Mansion were all Chinese-style cuisine.
The unfamiliar dishes, with their color, fragrance, and taste, felt as though they were meant only for immortals. After taking a single bite, Oden almost wanted to lift the entire table and swallow everything at once.
His subordinates were even worse, burying their heads in the food and eating without restraint.
"Delicious!"
"This is unbelievably good!"
"Is this really what a Daimyo eats?"
Even a Daimyo probably had never eaten such cuisine, Oden thought. Let alone a Daimyo, even the shogun surely had not.
He even suspected that this cooking method might have come from overseas.
With that thought, he became even more convinced that the Daimyo of Kuri might truly be able to help him go out to sea.
As a result, he felt as though ants were crawling beneath his cushion, leaving him restless and unable to sit still.
"Daimyo-sama—"
"My name is Ren," Ren interrupted calmly. "Mr. Oden, you and your… companions have caused quite a bit of trouble since entering Kuri."
Ren set aside the documents in his hand and continued in an even tone.
"Destroying farmland, robbery and theft, damaging numerous farming tools, even killing a farmer's cow. In the city, you also broke the doors of several shops."
Oden fell silent for a moment. "Is there some mistake? I would never do anything sneaky," he said. He was willing to admit to damaging farmland, but theft was something he would never do.
"Although you didn't do it personally," Ren replied, "your companions did."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kin'emon and the others all lowered their heads in shame.
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