Chapter 2

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Chapter 2: Kurozumi Orochi Surrenders! Welcome to General Kaido!

Kurozumi Orochi, immersed in the fear of prophecy,

hugged his trembling hands to himself, while a constant haze of dread lingered in his heart.

"No! The retainers of Kozuki must still be hiding in Wano!" Before getting a response, Orochi, the great serpentine menace, decided resolutely and said to Kaido, "Kaido, lend me some more troops, so I can thoroughly search for their traces!"

Kaido glanced at him and, ignoring his request, pondered his real-time strategy.

Trying to speak to Orochi calmly amidst his noisy outbursts, he said, "Great Serpent, times have changed. I need Wano to be stable and to provide me with a steady stream of weapons and wealth."

"Huh?" Confusion flashed across Orochi's face as he replied, "But isn't that what we're doing now? Besides, there's the matter of Kozuki..."

"You don't understand," Kaido sighed, realizing that Orochi's mind was consumed with fear of the Kozuki clan.

His right hand slowly reached for the mace leaning beside him. The cold, rough touch revitalized his body, as if he were meant to wield it. Clutching it firmly, a familiar sensation flowed from his body to his soul, as if the mace were an extension of himself, enabling him to use it as effortlessly as his own arm.

"What are you saying?" Orochi's brows furrowed into a straight line as he demanded clarification.

Hold on a second...

"What are you doing with that weapon?!" The corner of Orochi's eye caught a glimpse of the mace, now lifted by Kaido's imposing figure.

As Kaido stood, his towering height cast a massive shadow over Orochi, his face a darkened silhouette against the blocked light.

The mace, blacker and thicker than Orochi himself, with its sharp thorns seemingly capable of swallowing light, was poised menacingly.

"There cannot be two tigers on one mountain, and you sitting as the general is the greatest instability for me," Kaido declared.

"Surrender to me, Orochi!"

"What do you mean? Wano is my territory! Do you want to go to war?" Orochi retorted, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Incorrigible fool," Kaido uttered dismissively.

"Thunder Bagua!!!"

The mace, enveloped in purple lightning, descended with a crackling roar, unleashing a wind so fierce it swept through the room like a tempest.

This was Kaido, exhibiting restraint in his power.

Watching the mace descend, Orochi's pupils shrank to pinpricks; his incredulous expression frozen as the realization struck him—that Kaido truly intended to kill him.

In an instant, the mace made contact with Orochi's head.

"Bang!"

Like a watermelon bursting upon impact, Orochi's head exploded instantaneously, splattering the room with crimson and white—the ceiling, the floor, and even Kaido's body bespattered.

A large, blood-red smear was left on an entire wall, akin to a canvas splashed with red paint.

Orochi's body slumped to the ground, and the stench of blood permeated the room.

Outside the door, the two ninjas on guard exchanged horrified glances, mouths agape.

Swallowing hard, they acknowledged the shock in each other's eyes, and with a silent nod, they retreated swiftly to inform Fu Lao Shou, the head of their imperial court.

Kaido stood quietly, his mace dripping with blood, a mild stain upon his body.

"Great serpent, answer me, will you die? Or live?" He spoke to Orochi's corpse, as though expecting a reply.

Orochi, believing Kaido unaware of his ability, attempted to feign death to escape.

But Kaido, with the benefit of remembered encounters, wasn't fooled.

"Death it is, by default, Orochi!"

Kaido raised his mace once again and feigned another swing at Orochi's lifeless form.

In that moment, a new head sprouted from Orochi's severed neck like a serpentine rebirth.

Watching the mace descend a second time, stricken by fear, Orochi barely managed to cry out.

"Wait! I surrender—"

Kaido, having anticipated this moment, already knew what would come next.

The target of the iron rod was never the body, but the head, and the powerful blow once again struck the giant snake's head.

Flesh and blood flew in all directions.

But this time, the snake didn't dare feign death. The moment it fell, another head grew, yet death seemed inevitable. The pain from two devastating blows caused the serpent to roll on the floor, clutching its head, and scream.

"It hurts! It hurts! My heads!!!" 

"It hurts!!!"

After a moment, the pain subsided. The serpent lay on the ground, panting heavily, its chest heaving. Its face depicted fear and the dazed relief of someone who had just escaped death twice.

It was petrified by Kaido's resolve and deterrence, fearful of receiving another blow.

Noticing Kaido's apparent impatience, the serpent shuddered and quickly kowtowed, prostrating five times before him.

"Wait! I surrender! Don't kill me any more!!"

"I surrender! I surrender!"

"Don't kill me!"

"Don't kill me..."

Memories flashed before the serpent's eyes—memories from childhood when all of Wanokuni hunted it. It was brought back to the humiliating moment when it knelt and begged for mercy from the samurai in pursuit, gripping their thighs and weeping bitterly.

The pain from those memories compounded, causing the serpent to experience both a mental and physical headache, stripping it of its sanity and dignity.

"You only learn the pain of death through dying," Kaido scoffed. He shook the extra blood from his mace and lost complete interest in the serpent. "I will take up the mantle of General of Wanokuni."

Had the serpent maintained its initial courage, Kaido might have thought higher of it. Perhaps, he would've entrusted it with a significant task if it survived. As it stood, the serpent's only purpose was to live on until the Devil Fruit within it could be safely extracted.

The serpent, with a throat as parched as if an iron walnut were lodged within, managed to ask hoarsely, "What of me...?"

"You possess a valuable fruit that can spare your life for the time being. Choose one among the three calamities."

The serpent's mind was shattered, tormented by the dual blows to both mind and body, leaving it in a confused daze.

Only one name emerged instinctively.

"...Jack."

The defeated ship king had chosen the most difficult calamity to serve.

"Then go to Onigashima to find him. I will send word," Kaido dismissed, as he found a clean corner and sat down, gesturing for the snake to leave.

The serpent looked up, catching the signal, yet its brain wouldn't cooperate, leaving it blank.

It wasn't until Kaido roared, "Scram!" that the serpent realized it should leave. After hurriedly standing, its walk was unnervingly erratic, akin to that of a walking corpse.

Bumping into a man as he reached the doorway, he saw a pair of feet and looked up at the person he trusted most. Surrounded by ninjas, his eyes flickered with a brief hint of hope before dimming again. He said hoarsely, "Fukurokuju..."

"Lord Orochi, I have heard everything that transpired just now."

Fukurokuju then added, "remember, Kaido values the strength of his subordinates highly. If you could demonstrate the power of the Tobiroppo or even that of the Disasters, you might reclaim your status as shogun."

"But I have never been..."

"You are the last scion of the Kurozumi clan. Make your decision."

"I will await your return, Lord Orochi. Please take care."

With that, Fukurokuju left Orochi alone, the latter looking vacantly at the sky, wondering,

Can I truly become stronger?

Behind him, Fukurokuju and a cadre of ninjas burst into Kaido's room, as if rehearsed, and loudly exclaimed, "We greet General Kaido!"

Orochi, weary and dejected, took his leave, unaware of the conversation inside the room where Kaido was informing Fukurokuju of tomorrow's execution of the Kozuki clan.