Chapter 796: Chapter 795: You Can’t Afford to Mess With a Woman Who’s Gone Dark
"Bastards, these bastards, did they really have to cause trouble on this day?"
Last night was destined to be a sleepless night. As the leader of the Shinsengumi, Hotei faced the greatest crisis since he took office.
The turmoil last night caused several stampedes in some districts of the Flower Capital. Fortunately, due to timely rescue efforts and the generally strong physical condition of the people here, there were no fatalities, but the number of injured was countless.
Adding the consequences of fires and gunpowder explosions, a series of problems gave Hotei a big headache.
"Where are the people? Have they all been captured?"
"They should... all be caught, Leader Hotei. A lot of people were involved this time, and we couldn’t figure out how many participants there were at the time."
In fact, it wasn’t just Hotei who felt resentful. The Shinsengumi members felt similarly, as they hadn’t rested since yesterday, continuously dealing with these matters.
Reflecting on Greninja’s previous words, Hotei suddenly realized that the other party was hinting at something, but he hadn’t grasped the true meaning.
"Then pry open their mouths and make them reveal their accomplices!"
After venting his anger at his subordinates, Hotei went to see King, putting on a posture of being reprimanded.
"Good news, your position as the leader of the Shinsengumi is secure. The higher-ups are satisfied with your work."
King’s words allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief. As long as he hadn’t lost his current position, other issues were still acceptable. It seemed that his strict demands on his subordinates usually were meaningful.
But then King tossed the list compiled by Queen in front of him.
"How to handle them, you don’t need me to teach you, right?"
"Yes, please leave it to me!"
Glancing over it, he recognized that several of the usual slackers were on the list. He already understood that it was a promotion and demotion list, and he had a clear conclusion on what to do.
Yet, after Hotei left, events occurred that even King hadn’t anticipated.
"Brother King, Kozuki Hiyori wants to see you. It seems she has something to discuss with you."
Drake poked his head from outside the door, reporting the recent situation.
Nominally, the General’s special position serves the General, but in fact, the situation was the opposite here. King was the actual authority holder.
"Kozuki Hiyori?"
"Yes, she seems to have some opinions about last night’s events. Do you want to see her?"
The decision on this matter was already determined: the leaders were to be executed, and the accomplices were to be sent to mine. This was the old routine. Hiyori’s desire to give an opinion aroused King’s curiosity.
"Tell her to wait a while, I’ll go see her in a bit."
This was a rare moment of face for the General. When something happened, at least it was King who went to see her, not the other way around.
...
"Do you think this punishment is too lenient?"
"Yes, Lord King, handling it this way isn’t effective. I have a better suggestion, and the people need an explanation too. Here’s the new announcement I wrote, what do you think?"
Taking the document from Hiyori’s hand, King’s expression beneath his mask turned slightly complicated.
The originally drafted announcement stated there were rebels attempting to assassinate the General, causing the turmoil. But Hiyori’s approach was harsher.
She redefined those rebels, not just as ordinary rebels and traitors, but she linked them to the former Kurozumi Family’s rebellion, turning her opposition into a broader opposition against the Kozuki.
As the only Kozuki bloodline left in Wano Kuni, what she said naturally carried weight. Her revision inflicted a complete mental annihilation on those people. Just with this statement, they could never lift their heads again in Wano Kuni.
As the first female General, opposing her wouldn’t cause too much of a stir, but when the issue elevated to opposing the Kozuki Race, the outcome was entirely different.
"Also, I think the time is too short. Since these people had the strength to incite rebellion, they should mine for a lifetime, lest they have energy to cause trouble elsewhere."
She had no compassion for those who conspired to kill her. If this announcement were released, it would signify her complete break with this group, something she hadn’t cared about since last night.
King saw no reason to reject this suggestion, letting Kozuki Hiyori handle it herself, while he returned to Ghost Island with the situation here.
They had the capability to preemptively quash those rebels, but Arceus had decided on an exercise. Currently, the exercise seemed to have achieved satisfactory results and even triggered some hidden conditions.
...
At this moment, Kozuki Hiyori was making a public statement about the turmoil last night. While comforting the injured, she also strongly condemned the actions of those people, equating them with Kurozumi Orochi, and pinned them to the pillar of shame in Wano Kuni.
"Killing the heart, women can indeed be ruthless when they decide to be."
Simple death couldn’t completely scare those who threw away reason due to Sunacchi, but Hiyori’s actions killed their hope, forcing them to live in infamy and condemnation.
For these people, living like this was even more painful than death, and they succeeded in attracting the public’s hatred. Those who experienced last night’s turmoil couldn’t stop cursing them.
Even King couldn’t help but marvel at her ruthlessness.
"Those words are indeed true, when women get ruthless, they’re all crazy."
Remembering his own experiences, Queen agreed with King, considering the harm Shaina and Setsuna had caused him, which was sometimes comparable to Kaidou.
"But there are exceptions. At least Miss Yamato doesn’t have that tendency."
"You’d better pray you never see that day. She is, after all, Kaidou’s daughter. If she gets ruthless, hmph."
Pattering Queen on the shoulder, King left directly, returning to the palace of the Flower Capital.
"Wait a minute! Even if she gets ruthless, why would she take it out on me?"
Belatedly realizing, Queen roared at the sky, then returned to his lab, as his flowers had begun to sprout, marking a very promising start.
...
The direct impact of the assassination attempt was essentially over, but the indirect effects continued. The rest of those involved were confined in Udon Mine, including those who witnessed Enma and Ame no Habakiri’s massacre scene.
Due to some psychological stimulation, their descriptions of the event varied slightly, but ultimately they were quite similar, inevitably mentioning Oden’s spirit.
Over time, some people truly wavered in their hearts. If even Oden sanctioned these matters, it meant this was the best outcome. Coupled with the increasingly improving domestic environment, this assassination attempt accelerated the collapse of resistance among some stubborn individuals.
