The whole stadium was silent. An invisible pressure radiated from Caelan, making the entire army unable to lift their heads.
Cold sweat broke out on Kin'emon's forehead as he looked at Caelan in horror.
The majestic momentum he had painstakingly built collapsed the instant Caelan appeared.
The pressure this man brought was simply overwhelming.
Caelan's gaze swept across the silent crowd of tens of thousands.
Momonosuke, who had wet his pants.
Kin'emon and the others, helpless and panicked.
And the massive parade of 10,000 people…
Wherever Caelan's eyes landed, the 10,000-man force lowered their heads. Even when his gaze moved away, they did not dare to raise their heads again.
When Caelan glanced around, the entire parade looked shorter than they really were, as if crushed under his presence.
"Tch…"
Caelan sneered.
The feeling of disdain was beyond words. He did not take these ten thousand people seriously at all.
Momonosuke trembled, too afraid to reply. Tears streamed down his face as he sobbed in silence. Lying on the high platform, his clownish face was exposed before everyone. Humiliation and terror consumed him.
Kin'emon looked at the unmoving Momonosuke, sighed in disappointment, and stood up.
"Caelan-dono, in your eyes, the people gathered here are only ten thousand weaklings. Even combined, they are not worth a single blow."
"But they are the people of Wano Country. They represent the will of Wano!"
"The will of the entire Wano Country resists your rule. Why don't you return Wano to its rightful ruler?"
He looked at Caelan sincerely, hoping public sentiment would force him to yield.
"In other words, everyone here firmly supports the Kozuki Family?"
Caelan suppressed his disdainful look, pretending to be puzzled.
It even looked as though he was shaken by the spirit of Wano, a faint trace of guilt appearing on his face.
"That's right. We are following the will of the Kozuki Family. We want to reclaim the shogunate of Wano."
Seeing Caelan's expression, Kin'emon openly admitted it.
"Are there more? Wano Country has 1.1 million people, and only ten thousand are here. That is far too few." Caelan continued.
It almost seemed that if a few more came, he might actually grant Kin'emon's wish.
"Of course there are more, but they are scattered across the land and cannot gather right now."
"What we have here can represent the entire will of the Kozuki Family."
Kin'emon answered with surprise.
So Caelan really did care about the will of the people. It was a pity they had to rely on that to force him down from the position of shogun.
But the truth was, there were no other supporters left.
When Kozuki Oden danced naked like a fool, the prestige of the Kozuki Family was almost destroyed.
Even later, when it was revealed that Oden danced to protect the people, no one cared. Even if it were true, they did not want a fool as their ruler.
"The people here represent the will of the Kozuki Family?"
Caelan dropped the pretense, his smile turning dark. "Then I can let go."
"What do you mean?"
Kin'emon looked at Caelan, whose aura had shifted, and felt dread rise in his chest.
"Of course it means wiping all of you out!"
Caelan laughed.
"Are you planning to go against all of Wano? This is the will of the people!"
Cold sweat dripped down Kin'emon's forehead as he tried to persuade him.
"The will of the people? What a ridiculous thing." Caelan's tone dripped with disgust. "I defeated the Beasts Pirates and Kurozumi Orochi. I saved this country, but its will is to drive me away."
"Why should I care about such a will!?"
He never expected that only three days after defeating the Beasts Pirates, tens of thousands would gather to resist him.
Among them were four thousand Kozuki samurai and six thousand civilians.
At the very least, they could have pretended to be grateful for a few days before turning against him.
"There are four thousand warriors and six thousand civilians here. For the sake of their lives, can you not calm down?"
Raizo asked cautiously, worried Caelan would act irrationally and slaughter them all.
"I am calm. People like you, who are ungrateful, deserve death."
Caelan's gaze fell coldly on Momonosuke. "That pervert who wet himself is the young master you pinned your hopes on. How pathetic."
Momonosuke dropped to his knees on the platform.
Regret filled him. Why did he provoke Caelan?
He could have stayed in Denjiro's brothel, embracing prostitutes all day. How wonderful that would have been.
"Young Master!"
Seeing Momonosuke's cowardice, Kin'emon and the others were heartbroken.
He was the one who clamored to become shogun, yet now he knelt, begging for mercy.
"What kind of shameful man are we following?"
"You coward, stand and fight him!"
"Caelan-sama, I was confused for a moment. I am innocent. Please forgive me!"
"Caelan-sama, you are the most suitable shogun for Wano! You are!"
The parade of tens of thousands erupted in chaos.
The samurai raged at Momonosuke's cowardice. The civilians dropped to their knees, begging for mercy.
The entire army collapsed instantly.
And Momonosuke, who caused all this, remained oblivious. He still kowtowed desperately.
Caelan was utterly disgusted at Momonosuke's cowardly appearance.
He only smiled faintly, then unleashed his Conqueror's Haki at full force.
An overwhelming aura surged outward from his body.
Purple-black lightning streaked across the sky above the army of tens of thousands.
Unlike the last time, when he held back, this time Caelan released it with no restraint.
The tens of thousands in front of the shogun's mansion felt as if their heads and bodies had been struck by a massive hammer.
In the next instant, their eyes rolled back. Blood dripped from their noses and mouths as they collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Within the parade, aside from Kin'emon, Raizo, and Kikunojo, everyone else, both samurai and civilians, lay defeated.
"The futile struggles of the weak."
Caelan drew Shusui and slashed at the battered Kin'emon and his companions.
Boom!
Blood splattered instantly.
Denjiro and Kikunojo, who stood in front, were cut down on the spot.
Ashura Doji, Kin'emon, and Raizo narrowly escaped the slash but were gravely injured. Even Kin'emon, the so-called Foxfire, had his stomach torn open and was on the verge of death.
The survivors collapsed to the ground, crushed by the might of Caelan's blade.
"Kikunojo! Denjiro!"
Seeing them cut into two pieces, the three survivors wept in agony.
Brothers who had fought side by side for years were torn apart in an instant. And soon, they too would join them.
"One sword, and such power!"
"How can this be? He is even stronger than Kaido!"
Kin'emon and Raizo looked at Caelan with both hatred and despair.
They had fought Kaido eighteen years ago. Though they could not win, they had never felt such hopelessness.
Now, with five of them together, they could not withstand even a single strike.
But Caelan ignored them, turning his attention back to Momonosuke.
Caelan focused his Conqueror's Haki on Momonosuke, crushing him again and again.
Two and a half minutes later, Momonosuke died in endless pain.
"Young Master…"
Kin'emon, Raizo, and Ashura Doji watched, bloodshot eyes filled with grief.
Although disappointed in Momonosuke's cowardice, they had never wished for his death.
He was the son of Kozuki Oden, their hope for eighteen years in the future.
Now, he was gone.
They wanted to draw their swords and fight Caelan to the death for killing Momonosuke.
But they could not. Wounded from his slash, they were powerless before Caelan's overwhelming presence.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)