One Piece: Wild Hunt

Chapter 71: Entering the Enma-tei

While everyone else stared up at the massive building in shock, Benienma had a proud, almost smug look on her face as she crossed her arms and puffed out her chest. She had been waiting to demonstrate the splendors of the Enma-tei from the moment Thomas first summoned her, so she was happy to have finally been given the opportunity.

Just as Benienma was about to urge everyone into the front lobby, the doors to the Enma-tei opened to reveal someone she hadn't expected to encounter. The smile on her face immediately vanished as she surprised everyone present by muttering, "Hahaue(Honorable Mother)..." in a sober tone.

Despite standing a mere 149cm tall, the woman Benienma had addressed as 'mother' exuded equal parts femininity, regality, and 'menace.' She had bone-white hair styled in a complex oiran hairstyle, a complexion akin to fine porcelain, and piercing golden eyes that could give a snake a run for their money. Her outfit consisted of an ornate crow-themed headdress, while her body was garbed in a predominately white jnihitoe-style dress with crimson trim, accented by black and gold feathers.

Instead of acknowledging Benienma's words, the petite woman directed her gaze at Thomas, freezing him in place as she adopted a sly smile and said, "You're quite the generous man, entrusting such a large sum of gold to this one's daughter. Tell us, what is it you 'desire'...?"

Without conscious thought, Thomas opened his mouth, his voice a lazy monotone as he answered, "I want to stand at the pinnacle of everything. I don't want to be ordinary..."

Narrowing her eyes in amusement, the woman mused, "And ambitious to boot..."

Directing her gaze to Benienma, the woman's expression became severe as she revealed, "Due to the size of your offering, His Majesty, King Enma, has bestowed you the rank of Oo-okami(Grand Proprietress). Continue to work hard, and serve your Danna well..."

Finished with what she had to say, the white-haired woman briefly eyed everyone present before settling her gaze on Thomas. As she did so, her body abruptly dispersed into a murder of shadowy ravens, disappearing moments later.

Feeling as though a tremendous weight had been removed from their bodies, Thomas, Nami, Vivi, and Illya exhaled the breaths they didn't even notice they were holding. The woman that had appeared was Datsue-ba, one of the very first denizens of Hell and King Enma's wife. She was the second-highest-ranking Oni in Buddhist Folklore, Benienma's adoptive mother, and the woman considered to be the origin of the Japanese term for 'money grubber.' More importantly, she was 'very' powerful...

Needing to vent her frustration, Caenis manifested her spear and threw it toward the horizon as she shouted, "Fuck...!" at the top of her lungs. Since the Enma-tei was considered a 'Domain of Hell,' the power and abilities of Spirits were drastically reduced. This was especially true for Spirits whose 'origins' stemmed from a foreign Pantheon, so Caenis had effectively been reduced to a mortal in Datsue-ba's presence.

Looking at Thomas with crimson eyes, Caenis growled, "You need to give me permission to use my power on the Enma-tei's grounds! Right fucking now...!"

Raising his hands, Thomas replied, "You have my permission..." without hesitation.

Exhaling a frustrated sigh, the crimson hue gradually faded from Caenis's eyes as she responded, "Good..." in an uncharacteristically faint tone. She hated feeling powerless more than anything, but she also recognized she might have gone overboard by 'snapping' at Thomas. She would never say sorry, but she at least 'felt' apologetic.

As he had gotten pretty good at ascertaining Caenis's thoughts, Thomas lowered his hands, adopting a faint smile as he suggested, "Shall we head inside...?" Trying to console Caenis would have the opposite effect, so he chose to change topics and divert everyone's attention away from her.

Recovering from the shock of her mother's appearance and sudden promotion, Benienma perked up and replied, "Allow me to show you the way, dechi...!"

Though she could ordinarily move faster than the eye could see, the default rules of the Enma-tei limited Benienma's running speed to that of an ordinary human child. As a result, she appeared to scamper forward excitedly, passing through the entrance of the Enma-tei before turning around and dropping to her knees, sitting in seiza with an expectant smile on her face.

Suppressing his 'many' questions, Thomas's smile broadened as he led the group into the Enma-tei. The interior was spacious enough that even someone of Whitebeard's stature would be able to wander around freely, but the first thing everyone noticed was the statue of a fat, happy-looking sparrow and a large bulletin board listing various rules.

Bowing forward and placing the tips of her index and middle fingers together, Benienma's voice was calm, level, and courteous as she said, "Welcome, esteemed guests. Though we ask that you follow the rules, please make yourselves at home."

Removing his boots, Thomas donned one of the many pairs of getta-like slippers present. The interior of the lobby was divided into two parts, an area of low-lying ties and an elevated region of highly-varnished wood. To step on the latter, guests had to remove their shoes, don a pair of sandals or walk around in their socks. Barefoot was also an option, but there was a notice on the board advising against it.

Following Thomas's example, everyone but Caenis removed their shoes and donned a pair of sandals. Fortunately, she didn't attempt to enter the elevated region in her metal greaves. Instead, she changed into her usual black bikini top and blue jean shorts, leaving her feet bare. The interior of the Enma-tei was very warm and cozy, so she felt completely comfortable while everyone else was starting to feel hot in their thick winter clothing.

Borrowing a page out of Caenis's book, Nami promptly removed her coat, inciting everyone else to do the same. Once they were finished, Benienma clapped her hands together and stated, "There are rooms nearby where you will be able to change into the attire you will wear for the duration of your stay. Please, follow my attendants..."

In response to Benienma's clap, the mouth of the sparrow statue opened to reveal a purple vortex that caused Thomas, Nami, Vivi, Illya, and even Chloe to feel incredibly unnerved. At least, that was their impression until a group of incredibly fat sparrows wearing different colored aprons rolled out of it, bouncing as they hit the ground.

Following the initial nine, a veritable waterfall of sparrows, similar to the one sitting on Benienma's head, rolled out of the statue's mouth. Some wore little outfits that made them look more 'official,' but the vast majority were naked as they quickly dispersed, presumably spreading throughout the Enma-tei while their larger and chubbier counterparts flittered over to Thomas's group.

Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, Benienma revealed, "These little ones are Gokan, Shinkou, Shokou, Soutei, Henjou, Taizan, Byoudou, Toshi, and Godou-Tenrin. Together, we make the 'Ten Best Sparrows,' an elite group of yokai that serve the Ten Kings of Hell. Since Master has yet to summon any other attendants, they will assist you in checking into your rooms and familiarizing you with our many facilities."

Before the others could say anything, Thomas, no longer able to suppress the urge, asked, "What happened to your verbal tick?"

Bringing her hands to her face, a faint blush colored Benienma's cheeks as she replied, "Please ask me again when we're alone..."

"..."

Taking advantage of Thomas's silence, Chloe whispered, "Lolicon..." in a teasing tone. Her comment gave Thomas the urge to smack her, but she quickly departed, escorted by a chubby sparrow wearing a purple apron...

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Once everyone else had split off to check into their rooms, Thomas got on a lift that carried him a Beni up a total of sixteen levels, each at least 10m from floor to ceiling. Above that were two more levels, forming a massive private bath and several private rooms, so, if he included the sloped, red-tile roof and the giant horns protruding from the top, Thomas speculated the Enma-tei to be at least 200m in height.

Never imagining that he would own a skyscraper-sized ryokan, Thomas was a little muddleheaded as Benienma shepherded him to the massive chamber that would serve as his private quarters. Within was a bed that could easily contain a dozen people sleeping side-by-side, but the thing that dominated Thomas's attention was the voluptuous woman lounging off to the side, staring at him while smoking from a long and ornate pipe.

While the woman's yellow eyes and purple hair possessed an allure that made them impossible not to notice, the things that really drew Thomas's were the vulpine ears protruding from her head and the nine tails she was using as cushions to support her posture. She also had a pair of massive tits and tantalizingly plump thighs, readily apparent beneath her loose red kimono, but Thomas had gotten better about gawking, managing to avoid staring directly at either.

Breaking Thomas from his trance, Benienma flatly remarked, "Don't let her appearance fool you. Kitsune always adopt the form most closely attuned to their prey's preferences. As the Shujin-okami, you need not fear anyone in your employ. However, if you succumb to her allure, you may develop a dependency on her."

Exhaling a plume of smoke that took on the shape of a heart, the purple-haired kitsune practically purred, "Don't be like that, Oo-okami-sama. As the Okami of the Central Branch, don't you think it's appropriate that our Goshujin-sama rely on me at least a little~? After all, we live to serve his every need and desire..."

Ignoring the kitsune's remark, Benienma looked up at Thomas and said, "You need to bind her with a name before she gets too out of hand. After that, I will show you how to summon additional servants and employees. This branch of the Enma-tei has 163 individual rooms and baths, sixteen kitchens, three communal facilities, nineteen banquet halls, and a theater. The Hell Sparrows can handle the menial labor, but we need at least one attendant for every private room."

Inserting herself into the conversation, the purple-haired kitsune said, "We also need a personal attendant to train as our junior. As we are also charged with 'guarding' Goshujin's bedchamber, we'll need someone to manage the Enma-tei and its personnel while we're indisposed..."

Raising his brows, Thomas questioned, "Why would you need to 'guard' my bedchamber?"

Answering in the kitsune's stead, Benienma revealed, "The waters of the Enma-tei serve as boundaries between the mortal world and Hell. Certain kinds of yokai can cross over these boundaries, and they have a penchant for possessing humans to feast on their psyches. That's why it's important to have an attendant assigned to each room. They serve as eyes and ears to prevent any 'strays' from doing as they please..."

Nodding her head, the purple-haired kitsune added, "And we have the duty of exorcising or devouring any who appear. We hold the rank of myobu, so your chambers serve as consecrated ground so long as we're 'enshrined' within."

As he had no idea what a myobu was, Thomas exhaled a tired sigh before shaking his head and asking, "Are you fine with any name...?"

Adopting a naturally seductive smile, the purple-haired kitsune replied, "We would be honored by any name our Goshujin gives us, so long as he also calls us his..."

Interrupting before Thomas could speak, Benienma warned, "Be careful. She is attempting to bind you with a secondary contract to afford herself greater freedom. Any yokai that enters into Master's service through the utilization of my Skill is currently serving penance in Hell. Even if you skin her alive, boil her, and serve her to the guests, she will neither die nor will the weight of your sins increase. If you go easy on her just because of her appearance, you will be affording her mercy she had yet to earn..."

Clicking her tongue, the purple-haired kitsune averted her eyes from both Thomas and Benienma. She was currently serving a 32,418-year sentence for impersonating Inari, the Goddess of Foxes, Fertility, and Rice. She had used that status to devour the spiritual energies of more than a thousand men, so she was fated to serve others in increments of 32 years until her karmic deficit was balanced. Then she could become a true, albeit lesser, Goddess.

Crossing his arms, Thomas tried to recall the names of a few famous fox girls from his previous life before garnering the purple-haired kitsune's attention as he asked, "How about Senko? Or maybe Holo...?"

Regaining her alluring smile, the purple-haired kitsune replied, "Either is fine by us. It is ultimately Goshujin's decision to make. Even if he were to name us Gomi(trash), we would cherish it."

Though he had no idea what Gomi meant, Thomas got the impression it was something profane or inappropriate. Thus, after several additional moments of deliberation, he said, "Then let's go with Koharu. You remind me of a nine-tailed fox woman named Kohakuren, but I'd like to give you something more unique. I'm not entirely sure what it means, but it sounds nice enough."

Narrowing her eyes in amusement, Koharu replied, "It means Small Heart or Late Summer. It's also surprisingly close to our true name, so we would be happy to receive it, and anything else our Goshujin deems appropriate to give..."

Moving her right leg in a way that gave the tiniest glimpse of her panties, Koharu made it clear she was prepared to serve Thomas in any capacity. What she didn't expect was for him to directly request, "Can you show me your true form? I'm curious..."

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(A/N: (O w O)...)