Chương 88: Chapter 88: Flower Capital
When it came to discussing important figures in Wano, Otsuru adopted a very solemn posture, kneeling before Vivi with her hands turned downwards, neatly placed on her knees.
Vivi could not imitate this formal way of sitting; she didn't want to torture her legs. As there were no chairs in the room, she had to sit cross-legged and listen attentively to Otsuru's account of the current state of Wano, glancing at the middle-aged woman from time to time.
In her younger days, Otsuru might have been quite attractive, a beauty, but life had been hard on her, leaving significant traces of the years...
The Shogun of Wano, the Shogun's direct retainers, the samurai in the Shogun's direct service, and the ronin and thugs secretly controlled by Kyoshiro. Officials within the Shogun's government, such as magistrates, judges, and courtiers, as well as the wealthy merchants and celebrities of Flower Capital. Otsuru covered them all one by one.
In terms of knowledge, Otsuru's understanding surpassed that of an ordinary teahouse owner.
Vivi pondered for a moment, "What were the names of those unscrupulous merchants you mentioned earlier?"
Otsuru raised her head, "Flower Capital has three major wealthy merchants. There's Bingo, who owns a coffin shop, Bongo, who runs a lumber business, and Bungo, who leads a faction that controls numerous arsonists. These three merchants are demons who feed on the blood of the poor."
Vivi silently repeated the three names to herself, "Bingo, Bogo, and Bungo? Are their trades related in any way? All right, I've got it. All three of them live in Flower Capital, right? That's very convenient."
She could tell that Otsuru was no ordinary person, and the other party also guessed her intentions. Without explicitly mentioning their hidden motives, both sides tacitly understood.
Vivi needed information and a usable identity, and in Flower Capital, these things could be obtained with money. The three unscrupulous merchants became her targets.
"Young lady, do you need to change your clothes? Your attire is too conspicuous in Wano," Otsuru suggested.
Vivi had a look at Otsuru's traditional kimono and then at her own short-sleeved dress; indeed, there was a stark contrast in styles.
She hesitated for a moment, "Your clothes aren't suitable for battle. I won't change today. I'll wait until nightfall, and then I'll find this... uh, Bungo."
Otsuru was about to mention that it would be difficult to see the way in the dark, but Vivi didn't care about that. It was at night that she felt more energetic!
...
The night in Flower Capital was somewhat chaotic.
Three-man patrols roamed the streets, circling the main thoroughfares. The gambling houses and entertainment districts echoed with lively chatter. Thieves and bandits lurked in various shadowy corners, eagerly eyeing their prey. There was even a group of ronin unscrupulously setting fires!
One of the three corrupt merchants, Bungo, had ordered his ronin to burn down other people's houses. If the owners survived, they would undoubtedly visit Bongo to buy wood and rebuild their homes. If they died, well, that worked too, Bingo's side conveniently sold coffins...
It was through these ruthless means that the trio of merchants amassed considerable wealth. However, they had a certain amount of restraint. Their targets were always the middle and lower-income residents of Flower Capital. They dared not offend those with power and influence.
Following Otsuru's instructions, Vivi walked along the river and then saw Wano's famous Mt. Fuji.
After circling it twice, she finally found the capital of Wano, Flower Capital.
She entered the city quietly, and luck was on her side. Bungo's henchmen were setting fires.
Following the glow of the flames, she quickly found a large group of ronin who seemed to be having a bonfire party.
Half of the street was engulfed in flames, and the ronin, with fierce and malevolent expressions on their faces, threw torches into the houses.
The homeowners pleaded desperately, but the ronin just laughed, kicked them down, and took all their possessions, shamelessly dividing the loot on the spot.
Even though Vivi had mentally prepared herself, she was still amazed at the lawlessness of these people. It was too insane; this was truly a country that was sick to the core.
The ronin were adept at their job, knowing the structure of a house and how to destroy it quickly. They had already marked their spots in advance and had removed valuable items from the homeowners' rooms ahead of time, not out of any consideration for the homeowners, but driven purely by the greed of each of them.
As the Flower Capital patrol passed the scene of the fire, a few people who looked like samurai gestured excitedly towards the houses. The ronin approached respectfully, bowed, and then blatantly handed over a money pouch filled with large gold coins. With this gesture, the act of setting fire to the houses was overlooked...
After setting the fires, the five ronin ignored the cries of the homeowners, calmly took the gold and silver treasures, and walked home while drinking.
"What's going on? Why is the road so dark today?"
The leading ronin rubbed his eyes. There was utter darkness before him, so dark that there was not a trace of light to be seen.
In haste, he threw away the bottle of sake and drew his long sword with a "swoosh". The other four ronin, unaware of what had happened, also drew their swords.
"Ippei! Are you still there?"
"Boss Funato! I can't see you anymore! What's happening?"
"Don't panic! Stay calm! Don't act recklessly!"
The ronin who was supposed to steady the others failed to steady himself. He heard a noise nearby and swung his sword without thinking.
The other ronin had the same idea. None of them wanted to sit and wait for death. The first instinct they had when they heard a sound was to attack!
As the black fog dissipated, Funato stared at his chest in astonishment. The shining tip of a blade had pierced his heart, and his own sword had cut the throat of another ronin.
"A bunch of trash," Vivi emerged from the shadows.
Creating a black fog was a basic ability of the Vampire Devil Fruit. Vivi then used a combination of hypnosis and suggestion to manipulate the ronin into stabbing each other, resulting in the death of all the arsonists.
The loot collected by the five ronin was neatly packaged, but Vivi had no interest in such petty money.
Remembering the homeowners' desperate pleas from earlier, she returned with the stolen goods, throwing several packages in front of them as they knelt in tears.
She didn't know if the homeowners were good or bad people; there was no time to find out. The small amount of wealth couldn't compensate for their losses, but it was better than having everything taken away.
Could giving a little money to a beggar on the street change their life? It couldn't.
Vivi's aim was simply to have a bit of peace of mind.
Bungo's residence was quite large, taking up an entire street. She wasn't worried about getting lost this time.
"Which room does Bungo live in?" Vivi grabbed a fleshy-faced servant and inquired.
With a simple swipe of her finger, a bloodstain appeared on the servant's neck. Blood flowed quickly, turning half of his clothes red.
"That way! That way! That room with music and dance, with a red lamp hanging at its door!" The servant's face turned pale and his body began to shake uncontrollably.
He was completely bewildered, unable to comprehend what had just happened. With a casual flick of this person's wrist, his blood gushed out like a fountain!
What was going on? He wasn't dreaming, was he?
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