Chapter 57: Wano Country Today, Farewell

Time flew by, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Kuri region, located in the westernmost part of Wano Country.

This area, formerly ruled by Kozuki Oden, had undergone drastic changes compared to three months ago.

Oden Castle, which once stood proudly upon the mountain, had vanished without a trace. Down below, where fertile farmland once stretched, a sprawling factory now towered into the sky, belching thick plumes of black smoke.

Watanabe Shinosuke panted heavily, pushing a cart heavily laden with ore as he made his way toward the factory entrance.

All around him were people sharing his exact plight.

Three months ago, they had all been ordinary farmers.

Yet, that cataclysmic day had shattered everything.

The invincible Kozuki Oden had been slain, perishing alongside the regional Daimyos and every single samurai of renown in the entire nation.

Although a man named Kurozumi Orochi subsequently stepped up as the new Shogun, everyone knew the bitter truth: the nation had been forced to its knees before two beings. The first was Kaido, the azure dragon roaring across the skies; the second was Roa, the pitch-black tiger accompanied by natural disasters.

Those two monsters ruled the country now.

Factories sprouted one after another; new mines were violently excavated. The people who once toiled peacefully in the fields were forcefully driven into the factories and mines to extract ore, construct massive industrial plants, and manufacture weapons for their conquerors.

It had only been three months, but why did it feel like the title "Land of the Samurai" belonged to a distant, bygone era?

Watanabe Shinosuke felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Yet, he dared not weep. Within these walls, anyone foolish enough to slow down production met a gruesome end.

Just then, a sudden commotion erupted near the factory gates.

"Execute the evil fiends!"

Followed immediately by furious roars and agonized screams.

Shinosuke’s body stiffened.

He knew the loyalist resistance faction had come to cause trouble again.

Three months ago, the former Shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki had handed the country over to the monsters, but that did not mean the nation would simply surrender to its fate.

While the mightiest vanguard of samurai had indeed perished in battle, this Land of Wano had never lacked men willing to draw their swords.

Burning with righteous fury, the samurai rose.

They were known as the Loyalist Resistance.

Regrettably, they stood no chance against the formidable Disaster Corps under Roa’s command, and were easily crushed into dust.

Even so, the passionate patriots refused to give up.

They journeyed to the Flower Capital to assassinate the two monsters.

They committed acts of sabotage in factories and mines across every region.

Countless nights, Shinosuke’s heart would surge with fervor as he thought of joining the resistance, of letting those monsters know the unbreakable spine of a samurai.

However.

Shinosuke abruptly lowered his head.

Inside the factory, a file of sturdy soldiers, all bearing identical features, marched out in an endless stream.

Dressed in black military uniforms, they clutched powerful rapid-fire firearms instead of traditional samurai swords.

Many of these soldiers also carried portable rocket launchers on their backs.

They were the Disaster Corps under Roa, the very force that had effortlessly crushed all resistance.

A flurry of intense gunfire suddenly echoed from outside, punctuated by the booming explosions of several artillery shells.

Shinosuke bowed his head even lower, pushing his cart forward in dead silence.

With Lord Oden and the Daimyos dead, who left in this country could possibly stand against those two monsters?

Outside the gates.

"Damned mangy curs! When will you learn?!"

A soldier in a black uniform angrily kicked a bleeding samurai lying on the ground.

He was not alone; the surrounding soldiers shared his intense fury.

They seemed to have remarkably short tempers.

"This won't end here!"

The samurai, his body riddled with bullet holes and blood still spilling from his mouth, shouted with his dying breath, "Do not underestimate the samurai!"

"Idiots."

A soldier blew the fellow's head off with a single shot and sneered, "Lord Roa is precisely hoping to see more of this."

No matter what, the resistance in Wano would not end so easily; it would continue on and on.

***

Flower Capital.

This once-prosperous city had grown remarkably desolate.

Just as residents from other regions had been driven into factories and mines, the citizens of this city were no exception. In fact, a major weapon manufacturing plant stood just a short distance outside the Flower Capital.

Inside a room on the middle floor of the castle tower at the center of the city.

"Dammit! I am the Shogun of this country!"

Kurozumi Orochi shrieked in absolute rage. "Roa! Kaido! How could you treat me like this?!"

Yet, not a single soul bothered to acknowledge him.

A few heavily armed soldiers, all possessing identical faces, stood silently behind him. One of them spoke coldly, "Orochi, it’s time to get to work."

"You bastards!"

Orochi screamed at the top of his lungs.

It was true; he had become the Shogun, and he did hold supreme authority. Roa and Kaido had zero interest in the nation's internal politics. Aside from forcing him to mine, build factories, and produce weapons, they never interfered with anything else.

Initially, Kurozumi Orochi had been thrilled.

Yet, he quickly realized that while he was indeed permitted to handle state affairs, he was *only* permitted to handle state affairs.

That bastard Roa had left strict guards to watch over him.

All luxuries and amusements were strictly forbidden. Every single day consisted of work, work, and more bloody work!

He would have been better off serving as a mere servant by Komurasaki's side!

You want work, do you?!

You want work?!

With bloodshot eyes, Orochi snatched up a stack of documents, grabbed his brush, and began viciously editing them with a ferocious expression.

I'll turn this country into a complete mess!

***

On the outskirts of the Flower Capital, a towering castle had risen from the ground over the past three months.

This was the residence of Wano's true rulers.

Down in the plaza before the castle.

Donquixote Doflamingo was sprinting at full tilt.

His body was encased in a crimson shell resembling solid stone.

This was the material he had extracted and shaped using his Devil Fruit powers from the red Road Poneglyph.

When Roa had told him he could use that stone, Doflamingo had been somewhat baffled.

It wasn't until he experienced it firsthand that excitement surged through him.

This stone was virtually indestructible. By fusing it with his own body using his abilities, he would become as invincible as that bastard King!

Unfortunately, because his physical stamina could not yet keep up, Doflamingo was unable to encase the entire block of stone.

Thus, to rapidly build his stamina and train his powers, Doflamingo’s daily routine consisted of sparring with Douglas Bullet, fusing a portion of the stone with his body via his powers, and undergoing grueling, frantic physical training.

Even more frantic than him was Bullet, who carried a colossal iron ingot and sprinted across the plaza like a runaway locomotive.

While he was the strongest among Roa's subordinates, he was also the most relentless worker of them all.

Not far from the two running men, King and Dylan were locked in combat.

King wielded the supreme-grade meito *Futsu no Mitama*, clashing repeatedly with Dylan's pitch-black right arm.

Faint, invisible shockwaves rippled along the edge of his blade.

"What you need to do right now is the same as Bullet," Dylan said. "Increase your mastery over Haki. Work hard to gather your scattered Haki and forge that current into solid iron. That is Busoshoku Haki Hardening."

King nodded silently.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A sudden clap of thunder shattered the sky above.

High up in the clouds, Roa—transformed into a human-tiger hybrid—was trading blows with Kaido, who was draped in azure scales.

Every collision between twin blades and a massive spiked club unleashed blinding flashes of Conqueror's Haki lightning, producing deafening roars that seemed to shake the very heavens.

"Wororororo! You brat really know how to keep me thoroughly entertained!" Kaido bellowed with laughter.

"You'll only have a few more years to laugh like that, Big Brother Kaido," Roa swooped in once more, sighing, "At my current rate of growth, I reckon it won't even take two years before I surpass you."

"Who the hell do you think I am?!" Kaido roared, swinging his club with all his might.

The two sworn brothers reveled in the skies, clashing blow after blow until both felt thoroughly exhilarated.

Satisfied, the pair descended to the rooftop of the castle. A lavish feast had already been prepared—though it mostly consisted of Kaido's enormous portions, as Roa had his own dietary needs.

As he ate, Roa brought up business. "So, Big Brother Kaido, how are you liking my Disaster Corps?"

Three months had passed, and the first batch of artificial human soldiers had completed their maturation.

Though they were slightly degraded versions and possessed genuine emotions, their physical prowess far exceeded that of ordinary men, their obedience to orders was absolute, and they were equipped with the formidable armaments of the Germa Kingdom. Together, the Disaster Corps formed a terrifying army that struck fear into the hearts of all who heard of them.

Suppressing the samurai of Wano was absolute child's play for them.

"Not bad at all," Kaido muttered between massive gulps of booze, nodding in approval. "You brat really struck gold. An elite army that can be fully cultivated in a single year—no one in their right mind can afford to ignore that."

While foot soldiers played little role in battles among top-tier powerhouses, the strong couldn't possibly be dispatched for every trivial matter.

"In that case, shouldn't you pay up the hiring fees?"

Roa rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, flashing a cunning, mercantile grin.

"You brat, didn't you say I'm the vice president of your company?" Kaido retorted with feigned annoyance. "Do vice presidents have to pay for services?"

"It's precisely *because* you are our honorary vice president that you should pay," Roa said with absolute solemnity. "Otherwise, it constitutes embezzlement of public funds."

"No money," Kaido waved a dismissive hand. "Just consider it covered by having me build a few more factories for you."

Their agreement stipulated that the country's mineral resources would be split evenly. Wano belonged to Kaido, while Roa was permitted to build a designated number of weapon factories within the country, with Kaido providing the resources, craftsmen, and laborers free of charge.

By now, most of those factories were fully constructed and officially operational.

One had to admit, the artisans of Wano possessed extraordinary skill, and the construction speed achievable in this world was nothing short of astonishing.

"Fair enough," Roa nodded. "Should we keep them on hire for a bit longer? I have a feeling the unrest in Wano won't settle down in just a day or two."

"No need," Kaido shook his head. "My own army will be ready soon enough."

Indeed—an army recruited directly from Wano.

Where there were samurai who refused to yield to death, there were naturally spineless cowards greedy for wealth and glory.

Lacking a massive crew of pirates of his own, Kaido had to face reality and build a force primarily composed of the people of Wano.

"Though..."

Kaido glanced at the artificial soldiers guarding the entrance with weapons in hand. "You mentioned their lifespan is only ten years? Judge's technology should be capable of more than that, shouldn't it?"

Upon hearing Kaido's words, visible disappointment flickered across the faces of the artificial soldiers by the door.

This was a truth they had learned the moment they were born.

Once they truly understood the world and realized the natural lifespan of ordinary humans, this fact had brought them immense agony.

And when they learned that it was Roa who had suggested such genetic tuning to Judge, their complex emotions deepened even further.

"The splendor of life isn't measured by its length, Big Brother Kaido," Roa said deadpan. "As long as it's brilliant enough!"

The corners of Kaido's mouth twitched, and he more or less understood why.

"Besides, they might not even want it," Roa turned around to look at the artificial soldiers. "Would you guys want the next batches of your brethren to have a normal human lifespan? I order you to tell me the truth."

The two artificial soldiers froze for a moment. Then, one of them gritted his teeth and answered with mustered courage, "We wouldn't! Lord Roa, we don't want that!"

"See?" Roa shrugged. "They said they don't want it."

"You bastard," Kaido's eyelid twitched.

"Oh, right," Roa recalled something else. "Since everything here is pretty much settled, I suppose it's time for me to take my leave."