novelhk Chapter 274 The Web of Barzel
Chapter 274 The Web of Barzel
Chapter 274 The Web of Barzel
Bazel did not answer immediately, but pulled Kaido and Kuma towards a deserted corner.
"Not the Five Elders, but the master of the Five Elders."
"The reason I became the most vicious pirate this time is because I fought against the Celestial Dragons' master, the mastermind who has lived for hundreds of years."
"Kaido, that mysterious and powerful man named Im, his Conqueror's Haki is the strongest aura I have ever seen."
"Neither Edward nor Roger possessed the same domineering presence as that guy."
"I'm not a genius, as you can tell from the fact that I only awakened Conqueror's Haki when I was twenty."
Kaido's lips twitched: "Don't try to act tough in front of me, kid. If you're not a genius, then nobody in this world is!"
Bazel waved his hand, lowered his head and said modestly, "Don't say that. Although I'm not a genius, none of those geniuses can kill me."
"I cannot guarantee that my future Conqueror's Haki will be able to break through their immortality."
"If it really comes down to a decisive battle, Yamato's abilities might become our trump card for understanding the enemy."
"If she could touch the Five Elders or even Im, it would be absolutely beneficial for our future decisive battle!"
When it came to serious matters, Kaido's expression became much more serious.
"I don't deny that, but Bazeir."
"Yamato isn't even a year old yet. The kind of future you're talking about is still more than ten years away, right?"
"Don't rush, Kaido-san."
Bazel slowly exhaled. "There's still plenty of time. We need a chance to strike decisively, like a viper."
"Until then, we must arm our troops as much as possible."
"Giants, Dwarves, Fishmen—"
"Just arming the forces of these three races would require an astronomical amount of Bairi. Do you think more than ten years is too long?"
Upon hearing Bazel's words, Kaido fell silent for a moment.
Indeed, I had oversimplified things.
The organization of combat teams, the equipment, training, and nutrition of soldiers are all issues that need to be considered.
"I was so smug before, I never imagined there would be so much trouble behind the scenes."
Kaido rubbed his face with both hands and sighed.
"But I can finally breathe a sigh of relief now that you're back. The reason you dragged this out for so long was to give Orochi room to maneuver, right?"
"Right now, apart from Udon and Kuri, the rest of Wano Country is in complete chaos."
"Abel did not interfere with White Dance's official forces and remained holed up in the underworld of Blade Port."
"Babanuki and his men continue to consolidate their power in the underworld of Ringo, while his troops and the Night Owl Group that Toki has set up in Kuri keep a close eye on Nozomi."
"Hanafza remained in Rakshasa Town in the Flower Capital. Given more time, his troops will be able to completely blockade the Flower Capital."
"Bazaar, shall we begin closing the net?"
Bazel began to consider his next plan.
Before the grand banquet begins, it is essential to secure the rear of the group.
Kurozumi Orochi must die, and all his followers and former nobles must be eliminated.
"Bazaar, I want to go see the Jiuli you mentioned."
Suddenly, the bear following behind Bazel spoke up.
"I want to see if the world would really be a better place without nobles."
"Go if you want. If you need anything, you can contact me or Loki and the others."
1
Bazel recited a string of Den Den Mushi numbers.
"Tengetsu Castle is the political center of Kuri, and also the forefront city for the de-aristocratization of the entire Wano Country."
"The master of that region is Amatsuki Toki, my lover. Kuri will not let you down."
"Okay! I'll be off then." Xiong took off his gloves and patted them on his face.
boo~
"I suddenly remembered who he was."
Before Bazel could answer, Kaido muttered to himself, "So it was him. Eleven years ago, Linlin led me into the deepest part of God Valley."
"The prize for that killing contest back then was nine rare Devil Fruits, one of which I remember was the Paw-Paw Fruit. Was he the chubby little boy who was attacked by Linlin back then?"
Bazel nodded: "That's right, that person is Bear, which is why Bear doesn't really want to talk to you."
"That tigress Charlotte Linlin almost killed him!"
Kaido grinned sheepishly: "It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. Besides, I didn't even lift a finger back then."
"It was Lingling and the Five Elders who did it."
After changing the subject, Bazel continued to think about the next steps in Wano Country.
"Don't spread the word that I'm back."
"Let's go to Luosha Town first; I need to check on the situation there."
That night--
The City of Flowers remains as lively and brightly lit as ever.
However, Rakshasa Town, where the samurai class lived, was completely dark.
Until two shooting stars streaked across the sky.
The torches fixed to the wall were quickly lit.
The firelight spread forward, leading directly to a spacious courtyard.
Boom!
The two "shooting stars" that fell from the sky emerged from the smoke and dust.
The warriors standing on both sides were all kneeling on one knee.
"Boss Kaido!"
"Boss Bazel!!"
"Ugh, don't do that. I don't like that kind of thing."
Bazel was the first to emerge from the smoke and dust, and after embracing and greeting the tall man at the head of the group, he...
The three walked side by side into the inner room.
"Everyone on high alert. No one is allowed to enter the meeting room."
Just before closing the door to the reception room, Hanafza glanced outside.
"Costa, stop everyone. Even if Hyogoro comes, make him wait for now."
"I understand, boss."
boom--
The door was slammed shut.
Inside the house——
"Hanafza, what's going on in the Flower Capital right now?"
Hanafza knew it was time to get down to business, and after a brief pause, she recounted the current situation in the City of Flowers.
"The inner city of the Flower Capital, centered around Orochi Castle, hasn't changed much. The nobles are still eating and drinking as usual. However, there has been some change in the area between Orochi Castle and Rakshasa Town."
"A courtesan named Gion controls nearly a third of the underground forces —"
He stopped abruptly there, and Hanafza looked at Bazar with an extremely strange expression.
"Bazaar, you haven't gone back to your home in Kuri yet, have you?"
Bazeir nodded in agreement, but also wondered why Hanafza had asked that question.
"That courtesan, now everyone's saying she's your woman."
"The reason I haven't completely subdued all the forces in Rakshasa Town is because that part of the territory that I don't control belongs to that courtesan."
"They call themselves the Flower Capital Yoshiwara, and currently that woman controls all the arcades in the Flower Capital."
"Not only that, I've heard that many women from noble families have joined this force, and their spies are now all over the Flower Capital."
Bazel: ————
That bastard from Gion—
Bazel could already imagine what kind of expression Ah Shi would have at home.
No wonder she hasn't contacted me for so long, she's angry.
"Ah, she is indeed mine."
But with the arrow already on the bowstring, Bazel had no choice but to release it.
After readily admitting it, she rubbed her face with both hands.
"That girl, I clearly told her not to tell anyone about our relationship before I left, Hanafza, what did she do?"
Hanafza chuckled gloatingly, "That woman carries a gold coin with your image engraved on it, and whenever she encounters a problem she can't solve, she just throws that coin on the table."
"If she encounters another unreasonable nobleman, her people will come directly to me and tell me that Bazel's woman is about to be bullied by others."
"I don't dare to gamble either, I can only lead people over to put out the fire."
"Over time, that woman took advantage of this opportunity and naturally became the most popular courtesan."
"If that woman is one of yours, Bazel, then our siege of the Flower Capital is complete, and we can take action against the nobles here at any time."
Suppressing the Gion affair, Bazel is coming to the Wisdom Snail.
Waiting for the snails to connect—
"It's me, Babel."
"—When did you get back, you great pirate with a bounty of 49 billion Berries?"
"Stop joking, you idiot."
Xinbazel responded with a laugh and a curse.
"Did Jin go back?"
"He's right next to me, wait a minute."
In the blink of an eye, the sound of burning came from the snail.
"Jin, how many people do you have on your side?"
"Not many, about 300 people. If it comes to a fight, I alone am enough to overthrow the Shimotsuki family's regime."
"No rush. Have your men spread rumors in the taverns of White Dance City that General Kurozumi Orochi is plotting to usurp the throne."
"Former General Kozuki Sukiyaki did not die, but was secretly imprisoned by the enemy. After escaping, he hid in Kuri."
"Besides spreading this news, have your men clear the way. If Shimotsuki Yasuie leads troops to attack Kurozumi Orochi, do not obstruct them. Let them reach the Flower Capital safely."
"I understand. I will take care of these two things as soon as possible," Jin replied.
After hanging up the snail, Bazel thought for a moment and dialed other numbers.
"Boss, I heard you're back?"
As soon as the snail was connected, Babanuki's excited voice came from inside.
"They're about to make their move, aren't they? I got the news from Boss Jin this afternoon!"
"Not so fast, let the bullets fly a little longer."
After calming Babanuki's excitement, Bazeir got down to business.
"Did Shimotsuki Gyumaru go back to Ringo?"
"That daimyo? It seems there isn't one. The area around Linghou is in chaos right now. A daimyo has suddenly disappeared, and the private soldiers of the nobles of Shimotsuki Castle have been fighting recently, seemingly vying for the daimyo's rights."
"Have your Adie send people to Shimotsuki Castle to spread the news that Kozuki Sukiyaki is still alive, and tell them that the former general is hiding in Kuri."
Babanuki immediately agreed, "That's right, boss!"
"A member of the Nine Red Scabbards recently arrived in Ringo. He calls himself Kanjuro Souse and is recruiting people in Ringo under the name of Kozuki Oden."
"Many samurai have chosen to follow that guy after hearing about this sign, and now he has 500 samurai under his command."
"The current situation is unclear."
Sudden Rain Kanjuro?
Bazel was taken aback at first, then the image of an ugly man with red hair appeared in his mind.
"That guy, it seems our Black Charcoal General has sensed something's wrong."
"Kanjuro Souuse's real name is Kanjuro Kurozumi, and he is a member of the Kurozumi family."
"Just ignore him. As long as he doesn't cause you any trouble, let him do whatever he wants."
Holding the snail in his hand, Bazel smiled confidently: "Now it's time to close the net, Babanuki. After completing that task, take your men and retreat into the underground world."
"Make way for Nozomi's legendary reputation for romance and promiscuity, and pave a path straight to the City of Flowers."
"That place is located behind Fujiyama. To reach the Flower Capital through the barren mountains, you can only take a detour via Suzugo and Kuri."
"I will have Toki strengthen the defenses on his side, so Nozomi's samurai army will have to detour through Suzuko."
"Yes, I understand!"
The snail broke off.
Bazeir looked at Hanafza.
"Next up is the most important city, Hanafza. In the next few days, have Hyogoro's samurai find an excuse to celebrate. Let them all get drunk and go out in the streets."
"We're trying to lull those nobles into a false sense of security with these rumors, but I doubt Orochi will fall for it."
"Although that guy isn't very bright, his cowardly nature makes him incredibly useful."
"If Nozomi and Hakumai's samurai army enters the Flower Capital, the samurai will be too drunk to resist, you understand?"
Hanafza narrowed his eyes, a ferocious glint flashing in his dragon-transformed vertical pupils.
"Ah, I got it."
"It's finally time to close the net. I can't wait to see Orochi's expression."
"Yalalala~~!"