Chapter 960

The three men headed off, but Kin’emon later caught up to them and beat them up to gain possession of the white boar, which he had overheard them talking about at the tea house. He planned to take the boar to Kurokoma, and stole the men’s money and clothes as well. In the shogun’s castle in the Flower Capital, a scribe reported to Kouzuki Sukiyaki that Kouzuki Oden had failed to set sail for the 38th time, but was still alive. He then recounted the numerous incidents in Oden’s life, starting from his infancy when he threw his wet nurse across the room. When he was two, he caught two rabbits with his bare hands, and when he was four, he killed a bear by throwing a boulder at it.

By age six, he started spending money in the Red-Light District, and when he was eight, he was getting drunk and starting fights with gamblers. He was nine when the yakuza banned him from entering their casino, and he responded by setting the casino on fire, causing a war to break out. He was captured at age 10 after nearly killing someone and was sentenced to hard labor in the quarry, but he quickly climbed the ranks there until he was in charge of it. The labor did cause his attitude to change, as when he was 14 he attempted to help the Flower Capital citizens during a long drought, but ended up flooding it after diverting a river toward it. A year later, he took a job at a mountain temple, and every night he kidnapped a woman from the Capital to form a harem.

Although the women stayed with him of their own free will, their loved ones and many powerful samurai attacked Oden, and even the Hyougoro Family was forced to get involved in the fighting. The scribe reported that Oden, now 18 years old, still caused trouble on a daily basis, and Sukiyaki told him to give Oden a note saying he had been disowned from the Kouzuki Family. Outside, gang members attempted to apprehend Kin’emon, preventing him from taking the white boar to the Kurokoma Family. Hyougoro heard about Kin’emon’s presence and advised his men against going after him, as Kin’emon would defeat them. Elsewhere, the orphan Denjiro swindled a store owner by exchanging a small pot for a large one for no extra cost, and Kin’emon then called out to him. In the Flower Capital crematorium, the family of the recently deceased Katsuzo was outraged and distraught to see Oden cooking a pot of oden soup on Katsuzo’s burned remains. After consuming his oden and sake, Oden paid respects to Katsuzo before departing. As he walked down the street, Oden made conversation with some officials who had been bribed to capture him, and he wondered why the fire bell was ringing nonstop. The man at the tower said that this was bigger than a fire, and in a nearby alleyway, Denjiro told Kin’emon that he should not have brought the white boar to the Flower Capital, as Kurokoma likely intended to use it to bring ruin to the Hyougoro Family. The parents of these white boars were known as Mountain Gods, as they were the size of mountains; additionally, they always followed their offspring closely. Now, a Mountain God was attacking the Capital, and Oden, having overheard their discussion, approached them and told them to give him the white boar.