As the afterglow of the sunset completely vanished from the horizon.
The Freedom soared over what appeared to be a very dilapidated town.
Rather than a town, it was more like a refugee camp.
Because compared to the dazzlingly lit Flower Capital not far away, where cheers could be heard from a distance, this place was undoubtedly a broken slum.
Looking down at Ebisu Town, which formed a stark contrast with the Flower Capital, a trace of unfathomable contemplation flashed in Kong Tai's eyes.
"Shall we go down?"
To be honest, the person he most wanted to see on this trip to Wano Country was not the descendant of the legendary swordsmith Kotetsu, the father of Oden Kozuki, and the former Shogun of Wano Country, who was hiding in Amigasa Village under the alias Tenguyama Hitetsu, "Sukiyaki Kozuki."
Nor was it this guy's apprentice, Xiao Yu, known as "Tama."
Instead, it was "Yasuke Shimotsuki" and his daughter "Toko" in the town below.
The father and daughter could be said to be a true epitome of Wano Country's tragedy.
They had both eaten artificial Devil Fruits.
Due to its geographical location and isolationist policy, this place received no news from the outside world. Therefore, before arriving, Kong Tai had already planned how to handle matters here and had called Momonosuke to prepare these things.
Whether the people below believed it or not, as long as he killed Orochi tonight, those hidden samurai would go to Onigashima to confirm this sliver of hope.
When they went to Onigashima, or Usagi-gai, and found that their usual cadres were missing, even a fool would believe the content of the newspaper.
Therefore, Wano Country's self-liberation would naturally follow.
"Once ready, let's begin!"
Kong Tai nodded, his gaze fixed on the brightly lit Flower Capital ahead. "From here, we'll scatter them all the way to the Shogun's mansion in the Flower Capital. I want this newspaper to spread throughout Wano Country by tomorrow."
As his voice fell, he controlled the Freedom to slowly fly forward, while Ah Hua and the others stood by the ship, continuously scattering newspapers downwards.
In an instant, the constantly fluttering newspapers were like white petals dancing in the night, reflecting the cold moonlight, as if they were elves bringing hope to the mortal world, spreading their information to cover the darkness below.
"Huh? What's this?"
Shimotsuki Yasuke, who was rapidly leaping across rooftops, his face covered by a bandana, preparing to use the moonlight to go to the brightly lit Flower Capital not far away and rob the rich to aid their fellow townsfolk in Ebisu Town, stopped in his tracks when a white paper fell from somewhere and slapped him in the face. He stood on the rooftop with a look of confusion.
Taking the white paper off his face, Shimotsuki Yasuke didn't immediately look at its contents but instead raised his head and looked around suspiciously.
What he saw made him greatly astonished.
Everywhere he looked, white papers were continuously falling, like autumn leaves.
Ignoring the gradually noticing crowd and the increasing number of people discovering the anomaly, Shimotsuki Yasuke, clutching the white paper, crouched down and quickly hid in a shadow on the slanting rooftop.
Extending his hand, he unfolded the white paper and, under the faint light of the cold moonlight, looked down at it.
"This... this is..."
"A newspaper..."
Upon seeing the somewhat familiar layout of the text on the newspaper, Shimotsuki Yasuke muttered uncertainly.
He was not an ordinary person, but a daimyo of Wano Country, a true figure of importance. Therefore, this white paper, which ordinary people would surely not know, he knew and had come into contact with.
After all, although Wano Country was isolationist and did not interact with the outside world, every now and then, one or two lucky individuals would manage to break into Wano Country. And it was during his time as daimyo that Kaido came to Wano Country.
During this period, although Wano Country remained isolationist, it was the time when it had the most contact with external information.
And it was during that time that he encountered newspapers the most and learned the most about the outside world.
And now...
Listening to the increasingly loud and noisy exclamations from outside, Shimotsuki Yasuke knew that this newspaper must have recorded something incredibly important.
"What could it be?"
Hiding in the shadows, Shimotsuki Yasuke brought his hands out of the shadows, only then clearly seeing the contents of the newspaper.
"This, this, this, this is..."
Just the headline made Shimotsuki Yasuke's breathing quicken dramatically, and a long-lost flush appeared on his weathered face.
He widened his eyes, not daring to miss a single word, reading it one by one.
As time passed, his breathing grew more rapid, and his entire body trembled with excitement.
When he turned the page and saw the enormous black and white photo of Kaido lying on the ground, his head severed, covering the entire back of the newspaper, he was stunned.
No matter how ornate the written explanation, it could not compare to the impact of the real picture.
He was stunned, and so were many people outside.
This caused a momentary silence to fall over the Flower Capital, which had been bustling since nightfall.
It was unclear where it started.
One cry.
Two cries.
Three cries.
Tens of thousands of cries.
Huge cheers merged into one, as if to overturn the heavens, awaken the city, and rouse the nation.
More people, however, trembled and knelt, weeping uncontrollably.
Wano Country's tragedy began when Orochi became Shogun, and it lasted for 25 years.
During these 25 years, although some of them still had family and relatives who could occasionally send news, more had vanished without a trace.
They knew, all of them knew.
Their family and relatives were not unable to send messages back, but they were unable to send them back.
They all worked day after day, year after year, in those tall walls surrounded by that damned tall chimney, until they died.
Although they did not know what these white papers were, nor whether the information on them was true, they were willing to believe.
Because the picture on this newspaper was too clear.
After so many years, this was the second time they had seen hope.
The first time was ruined by the foolish prince, and ruined by Kaido.
And this second time, even if it were fake, they would cling to it tightly.
They were afraid...
Afraid that if there was no more hope, they would fall into complete despair.