During this time, the entire Land of Wano fell into prolonged turmoil.
Kozuki Oden deliberately indulged in this chaos because he wanted to reap darkness and evil from this chaotic war. When people were on the brink of despair due to this endless war, he would intervene like a deity, and at that time, he would harvest the admiration of everyone.
Darkness and admiration, this was the source of Kozuki Oden's power.
He could harvest these two forces from a war, so why not?
What he wanted wasn't just ordinary darkness and admiration, but the extreme state of people's dark despair and worship. Therefore, only by oppressing people to the extreme and then 'saving' them from the pitch-black abyss could he achieve it.
So, after ruthlessly destroying the rebellion of the Black Charcoal clan, he stopped.
His attack had inflicted major trauma on the rebel army, but the cruel methods only fueled people's anger. Although there were still fires of war burning across the Land of Wano, more and more people were moving towards Ringo.
The rebel army led by Tsukumogami Shogunate was originally the second most powerful force after the Black Charcoal clan. After the destruction of the Black Charcoal clan, he naturally became the leader of the rebel army. In a very short time, he was about to capture Ringo.
Meanwhile, Kenshin, following Tsukumogami Shogunate's instructions, continued to assassinate various politicians and retainers of the Kozuki family. In a short period, the once formidable Tsukumogami clan collapsed like a landslide.
Due to Kenshin's overwhelming strength, and the fact that he could almost end any fight with just one stroke against anyone, people saw him draw his sword, and in an instant, the enemies' heads would roll. Hence, he was given the title 'Executioner Battohsai'.
Not to mention the warriors and officials of the Kozuki clan, even the rebel army trembled at his name.
And just as the war reached its climax, Kozuki Oden sent his shadow corps to join the battle.
Previously, it was mentioned that Kozuki Oden harvested darkness, despair, terror, and admiration from this war, but in reality, the people who died in this war all became his subordinates.
The shadows of the deceased would turn into Kozuki Oden's shadow corps. They knew no fatigue, feared no death, and faithfully executed Kozuki Oden's commands.
During this time, Kozuki Oden also successfully developed a method to make the shadow corps more intelligent. He created eight masks with his power and placed them on the faces of his former eight retainers.
In this way, these eight individuals became some kind of avatars of Kozuki Oden. They gained enough wisdom, allowing them to lead the lower-ranking shadow corps into action.
Kozuki Oden called these eight people his generals, and after putting on these masks, his eight generals became even stronger.
So, after the shadow corps joined the battle, the nearly defeated Ringo daimyo immediately launched a counterattack. The rebel army led by Tsukumogami Shogunate suffered another setback.
However, it was at this time that a new person arrived and sought out Tsukumogami Shogunate.
"Yuri... sir?"
At the headquarters of the Tsukumogami rebel army, Tsukumogami Shogunate met a man dressed in peculiar attire.
This man wore a thin layer of armor that gave him a metallic sheen on the surface. His eyes seemed to contain a certain charm, captivating.
"General Tsukumogami Shogunate, we finally meet." Sitting on a chair, the man known as Yuri spoke naturally.
"It seems you have seriously considered my previous proposal."
Not long ago, Tsukumogami Shogunate received a letter from this man named Yuri.
It said that he could help with the political upheaval in the Land of Wano, and if they needed, they could go near Hakumai's Harbor of Blades.
At first, Tsukumogami Shogunate scoffed at it, but with the recent series of defeats, he had to consider this proposal.
In the end, he decided to bring some of his subordinates to the Harbor of Blades.
And currently, Hakumai was also within his sphere of influence.
At present, his Tsukumogami rebel army occupied three-quarters of Ringo's area and more than half of Hakumai's land. If not for the sudden appearance of the shadow corps during this time, he could have taken over these two regions by now.
Then his army could directly attack the Flower Capital, but unfortunately, this last step was as difficult as climbing to the heavens. Even with Kenshin's help, it would be hard to launch a strong attack.
Kenshin's strength, no matter how strong, could not possibly face a whole army alone, especially when the people of the shadow corps couldn't die!
They were just a bunch of shadows. Even if they died, they would only return to the realm of shadows. In no time, they would reappear. Dealing with such an undead army was too troublesome.
So, Tsukumogami Shogunate decided to see what abilities Yuri had.
Although going to the Harbor of Blades had some risks, they weren't too great.
If they could really get some help, then it would be the best outcome.
"Don't misunderstand." Tsukumogami Shogunate said, "Until I know what help you can provide, I won't make any promises to you."
"Don't worry." Yuri smiled faintly. "Our help will definitely satisfy you."
He stood up slowly and said to Tsukumogami Shogunate and the others he brought, "Please follow me."
Yuri walked out confidently.
He was also a superpowered individual created by Sento using the human manufacturing mechanism. Over the years on Pandora Island, Sento wasn't just training the Warlords, his superpower army was also undergoing a second production.
Yuri slowly walked out, leading Tsukumogami Shogunate and the others to a spacious place.
Because of the ongoing war across the Land of Wano, some places had become very deserted. Hakumai's Harbor of Blades was one such place.
"Here is..."
Tsukumogami Shogunate said in surprise as he followed Yuri to a vast training ground.
This training ground was as huge as several towns, surrounded by sturdy walls. The walls seemed to have been recently built.
Theoretically, such a huge project couldn't have been completed silently, even if there were few people paying attention here. However, such a training ground appeared in front of him just like this.
"This is the arsenal of my army and my soldiers' weapons."
Then, what surprised him even more happened. Yuri led him to a guard in front of the gate. The guard saluted solemnly upon seeing Yuri's arrival.
Tsukumogami Shogunate noticed that this guard's strength shouldn't be considered strong, but he carried some strange weapons on him.
These...
were the weapons called guns from the outside world, right?