Chapter 401: The Courtesan's Obsession!

Outside the luxurious top-tier private room of the pleasure district, the hallway was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Denjiro, who had been guarding outside the door, keenly sensed the movement inside.

The usual melodious and graceful sound of the shamisen had long since ceased, replaced by bursts of deliberately suppressed sobbing.

Denjiro’s heart tightened abruptly. Ignoring any sense of impropriety, he shoved open the shoji door, which was carved with intricate patterns.

However, the scene that met his eyes instantly made this great yakuza boss’s eyes bulge with rage.

There sat Kozuki Hiyori, the number one courtesan of Wano Country, the princess to whom he had dedicated everything and sworn to serve to the death, slumped unceremoniously on the cold tatami mat.

Her long hair, usually styled meticulously, was now a chaotic mess.

Tears and snot were mixed together, ruining her exquisitely made-up, beautiful face.

“Princess!”

Denjiro let out a low growl like a trapped beast, and with a “clang,” instantly drew the sword at his waist.

His eyes bloodshot, he asked through gritted teeth: “Who! Who dared to hurt you like this?! I will go and tear that reckless fool to pieces right now!”

With that, Denjiro gripped his long sword, making as if to turn and rush out of the room to hunt down the ronin who had just left.

“Don’t go…”

Just as he turned, Hiyori reached out a trembling hand and firmly gripped the hem of his gorgeous haori.

Hiyori looked up, her voice hoarse: “Denjiro, you are no match for him.”

“Even if we sacrificed every samurai in all of Wano Country, we absolutely could not stop that man.”

Watching Denjiro’s look of disbelief, Hiyori took a few deep breaths, wiped the tear stains from her face with her ornate sleeve, and forced herself to calm down.

“That man is no ordinary ronin.”

A complex light flickered in Hiyori’s eyes.

“The Straw Hat Pirates… have already landed in Wano Country.”

“That person just now is their Vice Captain, who has a bounty of over three billion.”

“Furthermore, their goal in coming here is none other than the Four Emperors, Kaido.”

Upon hearing this, Denjiro was visibly stunned for a moment. After a brief blankness in his mind, he immediately displayed an irrepressible look of wild joy.

Defeating Kaido and Orochi was the long-cherished wish that they, the retainers, had endured for twenty whole years!

The enemy of an enemy is a friend!

He excitedly dropped to one knee, his voice filled with unconcealable exhilaration: “Princess! If we can cooperate with these up-and-coming ‘Emperors’ who dared to topple even Donquixote Doflamingo and Totto Land.”

“The revenge of our Kozuki Clan will be just around the corner!”

Kozuki Hiyori nodded silently, but in her eyes at this moment, there was a depth and strange obsession that made Denjiro feel somewhat unfamiliar.

That look, as if her pride had been crushed and then reshaped, revealed a hint of pathological obsession.

She indicated that she currently did not know the specific location of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Subsequently, she stared intently at Denjiro and requested with utmost solemnity: “Use all the secret networks under your command to find out their whereabouts and attempt to make contact with them.”

“And also…” Hiyori paused, then gritted her teeth and ordered: “Collect all intelligence on the Straw Hat Pirates for me, especially their Vice Captain, ‘Crimson Eyes’ Tatsuya.”

“I want to know all his preferences, weaknesses, and his past; not even the smallest detail must be overlooked.”

Looking at Hiyori’s eyes, mixed with unwillingness, humiliation, and an inexplicable obsession, Denjiro keenly sensed that the princess seemed to have undergone some kind of transformation.

But as her most loyal retainer, he didn’t ask a single question. He immediately sheathed his sword and bowed deeply, agreeing to the task.

…

On the other side, after Tatsuya left the pleasure district, he was in no rush to leave the bustling Flower Capital.

He moved silently through the rooftops and shadows of the capital, avoiding all patrolling samurai.

In a secluded alleyway, rarely visited and cluttered with debris, Tatsuya stopped his footsteps. He descended from the sky like a ghost, precisely intercepting a lone “Orochi’s Ninja” (the Shogun’s direct subordinates) who was preparing to return to Orochi Castle.

“Who goes there?!”

The Ninja reacted extremely quickly, his hands instantly reaching for the Kunai at his waist, preparing to raise the alarm.

However, the moment he looked up and met the pair of eyes beneath the shadow of the Straw Hat, all resistance vanished into thin air.

The crimson Sharingan rotated slightly in the dark night.

The elite Ninja, who had undergone Orochi’s rigorous stress training, instantly fell into the abyss-like genjutsu.

The Kunai he held tightly fell powerlessly to the ground, his eyes losing focus completely as he stood there blankly.

Under the control of the genjutsu, the Ninja poured out everything he knew like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

Tatsuya not only obtained the detailed troop distribution and hidden sentry locations inside Orochi Castle but also unexpectedly discovered a crucial piece of information.

In a few days, it would be the day for the annual, most grand “Fire Festival” held by Orochi and Kaido on “Onigashima”.

At that time, not only Orochi’s confidants but also the high-ranking members of the Beasts Pirates, including all elite combat forces such as the All-Stars and the Tobi Roppo, would all gather on Onigashima to revel.

“The Fire Festival, huh…”

A cold smile curled the corners of Tatsuya’s mouth, and with a flash, he disappeared back into the shadows of the alley.

That would be an excellent stage to wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop.

…

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Wano Country, in a turbulent sea area of the New World.

A sailing ship flying the unique flag of the Mink Tribe was braving the storm and riding the waves.

Standing at the very front of the deck was Master Nekomamushi, with his massive frame, wearing a wide cloak, and a pipe in his mouth.

In order to find the power sufficient to rival Kaido, he had been traveling day and night on the sea with his most trusted confidants, searching for a powerful ally from the past.

Finally, at the edge of the horizon, parting the heavy mist, a super battleship resembling a giant white whale slowly appeared in their field of vision.

That was none other than the world-renowned main ship of the Whitebeard Pirates, the “Moby Dick”.

Nekomamushi and his confidants climbed up the wide deck via the rope ladder.

As soon as they stood firm, the First Division Commander, “Phoenix” Marco, walked up with his hands in his pockets and a lazy stride.

The two had spent some time together on Whitebeard’s ship back in the day and were very familiar with each other.

Marco looked at his old acquaintance and greeted him with a gentle smile: “Yo, isn’t this Nekomamushi? It’s been a long time.”

“It’s impressive that you could find us in this vast ocean. How is things on Zou?”

However, faced with Marco’s pleasantries, Nekomamushi did not show his usual heroic smile.

With an extremely grave expression, he took off the hat from his head, gripped it in his hand, and walked quickly through the crowd without a word, heading toward the depths of the deck.

On the large, wide chair at the highest point of the deck sat the “Strongest Man in the World,” whose figure was as towering as an iron tower—Edward Newgate.

Nekomamushi walked up to Whitebeard and knelt heavily on the wooden deck on one knee.

This Mink Tribe king who ruled the night now had tears in his eyes.

He looked up, his voice choked with emotion, and laid everything out without reservation: the hellish situation in Wano Country, and the fact that the Straw Hat Pirates had already landed in Wano Country and were preparing to crusade against Kaido.

“Lord Oden… he died such a miserable death!” Nekomamushi’s tears splashed onto the deck.

“Bang!” Accompanied by a dull explosion sound, the huge wooden sake bowl in Whitebeard’s hand was crushed to pieces by his broad, thick palm.

The mellow sake, mixed with wood shavings, spilled all over the ground.

A suffocating and terrifying Haki erupted from the old man’s body, causing the surrounding air to hum under the unbearable pressure.

Whitebeard’s eyes widened in anger, veins bulging on his forehead: “That reckless brat Kaido… to think he dared to commit such a heinous act against my brother!”

Whitebeard stood up abruptly, ripped off the cumbersome IV tubes on his body, and issued an order in a voice like a booming bell: “Marco! Pass the order immediately! Everyone prepare, all hands set sail! Destination, Wano Country!”

“Pops, to deal with a guy like that, there’s no need for you to go to such lengths.”

Just as Whitebeard was fuming with rage, a hearty voice with a hint of a smile suddenly came from behind, interrupting Whitebeard’s order.

Accompanied by light footsteps, a young man wearing an orange cowboy hat and bare-chested walked leisurely out of the cabin.

He had a string of red prayer beads around his neck and a tattoo on his left arm.

He walked to the center of the deck, looked at the angry Whitebeard and the kneeling Nekomamushi, smiled, adjusted the brim of his hat, and suggested: “Pops, you should stay on the ship and rest well.”

“How about… you send me to take people there? Besides, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen… Luffy.”

Hearing this familiar tone, Nekomamushi turned his head and looked at the confident young man with some confusion: “Young man, who are you…”

The young man slightly curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a sunny, brilliant smile.

He raised his right hand, and with a “whoosh,” a cluster of bright, dancing, high-temperature flames emerged from his fingertips.

He used his flaming fingertips to gently lift the brim of his orange cowboy hat, revealing a pair of eyes identical to Luffy’s: “I am Ace, Luffy’s brother.”

“Count me in for Wano Country.”