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The sun set, and night fell.
Deep within Mt. Atama, at the bandit stronghold.
Shutenmaru sat in a wicker chair, several arrows and shuriken embedded in his body, along with numerous burns and knife wounds.
Having fallen into an enemy ambush and forcefully led his subordinates in a breakout under heavy encirclement, it was impossible to escape unharmed.
"Drip~ Drip~~"
Blood continuously dripped onto the ground.
"Pfft!"
An arrow was violently pulled out, bringing with it a stream of hot blood.
Shutenmaru gasped for air, looking at the few remaining brothers in the hall, the bloodshot in his eyes quickly spreading.
Even though he fought to the death, he only managed to save one-third of his brothers. The rest had all died at the hands of the samurai.
It was the first time he had suffered such a great loss!
"Demon Muscle Man!"
Shutenmaru gritted his teeth and growled.
According to intelligence, it was the pirate known as "Demon Muscle Man" who had planned all of this, and this debt absolutely could not be forgotten.
He wanted revenge!
At this moment, at the foot of the mountain.
The bandit suppression army lay in wait within the bushes.
Yamato twitched her nose, then pointed her finger towards the uphill path, judging from the scent that many people had climbed the mountain from here not long ago.
"The smell of blood went up the mountain!"
"Well done, Yamato."
Daichi praised her without holding back.
Having found the bandit stronghold, the next step was to destroy the enemy, but to prevent the bandits from escaping via shortcuts, some preparations were still needed.
"Everyone, rest in place!"
"Rest?"
The samurai stood stunned.
They had already reached the edge of the bandit's main camp. What did resting mean instead of attacking before they were discovered?
Although puzzled, the samurai obediently sat down to rest, especially those who had been injured in the previous battle, eager to recover their strength.
Daikoku approached Daichi.
"Daichi, what is the meaning of this?"
"Don't be impatient, Daikoku."
Daichi looked at Daikoku with a meaningful gaze.
"Shutenmaru is already a frightened bird. It's the most vigilant moment. If we attack now, he will definitely use the complex terrain to escape."
"When the night is deep and quiet, the exhausted bandits will inevitably lower their guard and rest. That will be our time to attack."
"Don't worry, there will be room for you to perform."
Daikoku remained silent.
He had to admit that Daichi's judgment was well-reasoned, but their brief interactions made him realize that things were not that simple.
This man was quite cunning!
In the previous battle, Daichi had likely intentionally arrived late. Otherwise, with the combined combat power of Daichi and Kaido's daughter, there was a high probability of capturing Shutenmaru.
Daichi could not have been unaware of this.
This meant one thing: Daichi had deliberately stood by, likely aiming to weaken their combat power as well as Shutenmaru's.
His current rest was probably also with hidden motives.
Time passed bit by bit, and the forest grew increasingly quiet.
Several hours of waiting made many samurai anxious, and some bold ones even dozed off.
"Hoo~ Rurururu~~"
Yamato also fell asleep.
Daichi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them.
"What time is it now?"
"Ushi no Koku Ichikoku!"
Daikoku answered in a deep voice.
Ushi no Koku Ichikoku, 1:15 AM.
The time had come!
Daichi felt the wind direction, then gestured to everyone.
"Come over here!"
"Daikoku, you will follow me and attack from the main gate."
"Raijin, you take your men to the east..."
"Fujin, Chome, you lead 100 samurai to the west..."
Soon, the tactical deployment was complete.
Daichi scanned everyone.
"Do you all understand?"
"Understood!"
Everyone took a deep breath, looking at Daichi with fear in their eyes. If they could, they truly didn't want to be his enemy!
"Depart!"
"Yes!"
Everyone split into three groups and quickly disappeared into the jungle.
Daichi, accompanied by Yamato and Daikoku, along with over two hundred samurai, climbed the mountain path and soon reached the outside of the bandit stronghold.
The lights were sparse, and it was exceptionally quiet.
There wasn't even a gatekeeper.
Clearly, spending several hours safely inside the stronghold had caused the bandits to instinctively lower their guard.
"Just another quarter of an hour."
Daichi checked the time, then looked at Daikoku with a relaxed air, saying, "Daikoku, you must be careful during the battle later. I certainly don't want a ninja's shuriken to accidentally embed itself in my back."
"...."
Daikoku's heart tightened.
Daichi patted Daikoku's back.
"Don't be too nervous. After this fight, I'll treat you to a hot spring. Oh, by the way, why don't you just follow me from now on?"
"My apologies, Daichi, ninjas are only loyal to the Shogun."
A shadow covered Daikoku's eyes.
This man had seen through his intentions!
"Too bad, I really thought highly of you."
Daichi shook his head regretfully, then changed the subject.
"Hmm, what if I just become the Shogun?"
"Sir, mind your words!"
Daikoku responded in a hushed, frightened tone.
Daichi pointed to himself with slight displeasure.
"What, I can't be a Shogun?"
"..."
Daikoku swallowed his saliva.
Stop talking, please, please stop talking!
How could the Shogun compare to you? The Shogun doesn't have your guts!
But please don't drag me down with you!
"Just kidding, a rough man like me can't be a Shogun."
Daichi shook his head and smiled, then pointed to Yamato beside him, who was looking around like a thief, and spoke calmly, as if stating a fact.
"The one who can be Shogun is her."
"..."
Daikoku's heart skipped a beat.
Kaido's daughter to be Shogun?
He did not believe Daichi's words were a mere joke. Judging by his expression, he was clearly conveying a dangerous signal to him.
Furthermore, Kaido's daughter indeed had the qualifications to become Shogun. She had a good father, and no one in this country dared to resist her father!
Clearly, Daichi wanted him to pick a side!
As Shogun Orochi's confidant, he knew very well that Shogun Orochi wanted to get rid of the man in front of him. Now, it seemed the other party also intended to get rid of Shogun Orochi.
And behind the other party stood Kaido!
"Wait, could this be the intention of the Strongest Creature?!"
A terrifying thought arose in Daikoku's mind.
The Beast Pirates were on an expedition, yet Kaido specifically left his daughter behind in Wano Country, and Kaido's daughter repeatedly tested Shogun Orochi.
This was not Kaido's style!
If Kaido intended for his daughter to replace Shogun Orochi, then everything that had happened recently made sense.
Yes, it must be so!
Otherwise, how could just two people dare to covet the position of Shogun?
This must be at Kaido's command!
Kaido wanted to take advantage of his absence from Wano Country during the expedition to have his daughter replace Orochi, thus avoiding the reputation of breaking faith.
Daikoku's thoughts flowed more smoothly, and his face grew paler.
Would he be silenced?!
"Daikoku, prepare for battle!"
Daichi stood up and looked towards the east.
Fires had already started at the foot of the mountain and were rapidly spreading upwards with the wind, soon reaching the stronghold.
Setting the mountain on fire!
The time was exactly Ushi no Koku Sankoku!
Daichi's gaze was icy as he raised his right hand.
"Archers!"
The samurai behind him immediately drew their bows and lit their arrowheads.
"Fire!"
A rain of arrows fell into the stronghold.
The next moment, flames shot skyward!