Chapter 82: [2] Orochi Isn’t Dead? Jack: Did I Get Electrocuted into Seeing Things?!

Ulti immediately nodded furiously from the side, eager to reinforce the point.

"That’s right! That’s right! Jack was the one who told us to go after the intruders!"

Her tone was urgent and emphatic, as if she was afraid nobody would believe them.

Page One and the others present also nodded in agreement. Their expressions showed clear consensus, confirming that events had indeed unfolded exactly as Black Maria described.

Kaido’s gaze slowly shifted toward Jack.

There was a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Jack nodded straightforwardly.

"Kaido-sama, that’s correct."

He continued explaining,

"Those intruders were all Logia Users. Only people capable of using Haki could effectively deal with them, so I ordered the Tobi Roppo to capture them..."

His reasoning sounded perfectly logical.

The atmosphere inside the room became tense as everyone waited for Kaido’s response.

However, Kaido didn’t answer immediately.

He remained silent for a moment, seemingly weighing the situation.

Eventually, he slowly nodded.

It appeared he had accepted Jack’s explanation.

Kaido couldn’t be bothered to investigate further. Turning his attention to the Tobi Roppo , he asked impatiently,

"And then?"

"Did you catch any of those intruders?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Black Maria lowered her head, unable to meet Kaido’s eyes.

Her legs trembled slightly.

Page One also remained silent, merely shaking his head.

Ulti and Sasaki wore troubled expressions as they exchanged helpless glances, neither willing to speak first.

Finally, X Drake took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"We didn’t catch any of them."

"They refused to engage us directly."

"The moment we arrived, they ran away. The speed of Kizaru’s powers was simply too fast—we couldn’t catch up."

"Even after we tried setting up blockades and ambushes, it didn’t accomplish much..."

As X Drake’s voice faded away, the room fell into complete silence.

The atmosphere became so oppressive that even breathing felt difficult.

Kaido’s expression gradually darkened.

His brows furrowed tightly as anger burned in his eyes.

After a long pause, he forced a few words out through clenched teeth.

"What about the gold?"

"And the treasure?"

"They... they’re gone..."

Black Maria’s voice was barely audible.

Yet her answer struck like a bolt of lightning.

The room instantly plunged into icy silence.

Nobody dared make a sound.

Even a falling pin would have been clearly heard.

Everyone could feel the fury radiating from Kaido.

It was like a beast on the verge of erupting.

A chill ran up their spines.

Years’ worth of accumulated gold and treasure had vanished overnight.

That alone was enough to drive anyone mad.

What made matters worse was that nearly everyone who had participated in the operation had been injured.

As for those who escaped injury, they had simply become laughingstocks—played around with and utterly humiliated.

Most infuriating of all...

After paying such a heavy price, they hadn’t managed to capture even a single enemy.

The frustration and helplessness combined into a humiliation unlike anything they had experienced before.

A true humiliation.

An unbearable disgrace.

Kaido said nothing.

Yet the twisted rage on his face spoke louder than words ever could.

The atmosphere grew even more suffocating.

Everyone held their breath.

Unfortunately, the bad news wasn’t over yet.

Jack steeled himself.

Taking a deep breath, he decided that a quick death was better than prolonged suffering.

"Kaido-sama... there’s one more thing..."

He hesitated before looking up at Kaido.

His voice trembled slightly.

After seeing Kaido’s murderous glare, he hurriedly continued,

"Orochi is dead. Shouldn’t we choose a new shogun to replace him?"

Kaido frowned briefly before returning to his usual calm demeanor.

"Oh."

"If that guy’s dead, then he’s dead."

"He wasn’t all that useful anyway."

Only then did Jack finally relax.

He hurriedly indicated that he had no further matters to report.

Deep down, he couldn’t help admiring Kaido.

After receiving so much terrible news in succession, Kaido was still holding himself together.

If it had been Jack, he would have exploded long ago.

Still feeling uneasy, he cautiously asked,

"Then regarding the selection of the next shogun..."

"You don’t need to worry about that."

Kaido cut him off.

"I’ll handle it myself."

"You just focus on your own responsibilities."

Jack nodded.

He felt both relieved and strangely nervous.

Suddenly—

A childish voice rang out through the room.

Like a stone dropped into a still lake, it instantly shattered the silence.

Jack’s heart, which had only just settled, immediately shot back into his throat.

"Jack’s lying!"

"Jack’s lying!"

The voice was crisp and firm.

It directly accused him of deception.

Kaido’s expression instantly darkened.

Suppressing the anger surging inside him, he turned toward the masked figure standing nearby.

Bao Huang.

One of the most mysterious yet reliable subordinates on Onigashima.

As Kaido’s eyes and ears, Bao Huang had never deceived him and certainly wouldn’t dare lie to him.

Whenever Bao Huang spoke, everyone listened.

Which meant—

Something was wrong.

"What is it, Bao Huang?"

Kaido’s tone was noticeably impatient.

After everything that had happened today, his patience was nearly exhausted.

"Kaido-sama."

Bao Huang’s calm voice remained unchanged.

But the words that followed hit everyone like thunder.

"Jack is lying."

"Kurozumi Orochi isn’t dead."

"He’s alive and well at the Banquet Hall."

The entire room froze.

Every gaze immediately turned toward Jack.

Especially toward his wide eyes filled with shock.

Even someone as composed as Jack couldn’t hide his disbelief.

He knew Bao Huang never lied.

Which meant the scene of Orochi’s death that he had personally witnessed might have been nothing more than an elaborate deception.

But that raised a terrifying question.

If Orochi was truly alive...

Then what exactly was the corpse he had seen back in the Flower Capital?

Wait a second—

Did getting electrocuted fry my brain and make me hallucinate?!

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