"I don't know. Lord Queen only said that Kozuki Momonosuke has been found. He didn't go into detail about anything else. Maybe he is on Onigashima?"
Queen's communication with the Shogun wasn't a report; it was simply a notice.
If the person he was reporting to was Kaido or Arceus, he would have pinpointed the timing down to the second, appearing exactly where and when he was needed.
But Kozuki Hiyori was different. Queen only mentioned it casually when notifying Hotei to start the search.
"Kozuki Momonosuke… has it already been twenty years? Time flies, Kawamatsu."
"Lady Hiyori, I am here."
"Go tell Denjiro and Kikunojo that my dear brother has arrived, or rather, returned. Anyway, tell them we are going to Onigashima together to meet my father's son."
Saying this, Kozuki Hiyori was the first to walk out, clearly in a hurry about the matter.
Twenty years—such a long time had tormented her heart and changed her outlook on many things.
The good news was that she enjoyed great freedom within Wano Country. While her true authority only extended within the palace, the external facade of power was intact, and no one would stop her wherever she went.
She traveled abroad regularly, seeing even more things than previous generations of Shoguns had. Kozuki Oden had seen even more, of course, but since he had never officially taken the Shogun's seat, he didn't count.
Under Kozuki Hiyori's orders, the palace in the Flower Capital became busy once again. It wasn't because Hiyori herself was leaving, but because of the name, Kozuki Momonosuke.
Many attendants in the palace were already in their thirties or forties, and quite a few of them were from the Kurozumi family's collateral branches, making their memories of those past events even more vivid.
"Have you heard? The prophecy Lady Toki left back then wasn't false. Kozuki Momonosuke and Oden's retainers have appeared again."
"Don't talk nonsense. Where did you hear that?"
"From Lady Shogun's maid. She even said that Lady Shogun deliberately spread this news around."
"Forget it, forget it. What does it matter to us? Whoever's the Shogun, it's all the same. Life's pretty good right now."
Similar discussions echoed throughout the palace, but the general attitude was the same. No one seemed inclined to respond to Momonosuke and his group.
In the original timeline, Wano Country by this time had already fallen into ruin under Kurozumi Orochi's persecution and Kaido's exploitation. The Flower Capital was a place of prosperity, while the outer villages were filled with starvation and corpses.
The rebels were too afraid of military force to act. After discovering Momonosuke, the remaining Kozuki family loyalists worked together to secretly send them out of Wano Country.
But now things are different. Kaido didn't care, so long as Wano could supply weapons, train soldiers, and provide special goods for the Beast Fruits. Whether the country prospered or suffered was of no concern to him.
Arceus had his own rules. Pokémon had become part of Wano Country, and under the closed-loop economy, every aspect of Wano was tied to the Beasts Pirates. Even a blind man could sense the changes in everyday life.
And that closed-loop economy extended far beyond the Beasts Pirates' special products.
Medicine, public opinion, religion, salt, iron—everything, from the great matters of life and death down to the smallest blade of grass—was inseparable from the Beasts Pirates.
The older generation still remembered the past, but those born within the last twenty years had no idea who this so-called Momonosuke was. To them, he was just someone disturbing their lives.
All of the Kuri region was locked down for a massive search, disrupting the pace of countless lives.
Many who were stuck on either side of the blockade were already cursing, but the outside world still didn't know exactly who had caused such a commotion, so no names were mentioned.
When the large-scale search began in Kuri, Denjiro and Kikunojo had already received the message passed on by Kawamatsu.
"Kawamatsu, what did you just say?!"
"I said, Lord Momonosuke has appeared, and he's already been captured. Lady Hiyori wants to take us to see him."
There was a hint of helplessness in Kawamatsu's tone. It was them who carried the deepest memories of those twenty years. But no one had ever brought it up, all in the hope that Momonosuke could leave this place safely.
They had witnessed the development of Wano Country and seen its changes. To drive Kaido out now would mean becoming enemies with the Beasts Pirates. First, they needed to see whether the ordinary citizens of Wano Country were even willing to accept such a thing.
Originally, Momonosuke had a group of loyal supporters, but years ago those people made a mysterious move; they actually tried to assassinate Kozuki Hiyori. Not only did they lose their own lives, but they also pushed away Kozuki Hiyori.
Even Kawamatsu didn't know what exactly Hiyori would do now, upon meeting Momonosuke again.
The best outcome would be if Momonosuke escaped. Then, from that point on, the two sides would never have to meet again. But his comrades were proving unusually incompetent. If Kawamatsu's guess was right, that signal flare just now had something to do with this.
From the moment he saw that strange signal flare to the time he received news that Momonosuke had been captured, less than half an hour had passed.
"Denjiro, let me remind you, calm down first. You don't have the ability to take Lord Momonosuke away. Even if you add me and Kiku, the three of us couldn't walk out of Onigashima alive. Besides…"
Kawamatsu didn't finish his sentence. The current situation was a little too complicated. He didn't know where Kikunojo stood, but Kawamatsu himself had a very troubling question.
If the Beasts Pirates intended to execute Momonosuke, they could fight to the death for him, fulfilling their loyalty as retainers.
But the current situation was that perhaps the Beasts Pirates didn't care. However, Hiyori was another matter.
If it was Hiyori who wanted to cut down Momonosuke, then whose side should they stand on?
Both were Oden's children. No matter how things played out, it would be a huge mess.
Denjiro was normally a meticulous man, but right now his mind was in disarray. He didn't even notice the implication in Kawamatsu's words, and simply walked out first.
At the same time, in a place just above Denjiro and Kawamatsu..
"Hmm, your Shogun sure has quite a grudge, doesn't she?"
On the palace rooftop, Delia was hanging upside down from the eaves, conversing with Kikunojo who stood a level below. Originally, the roof had been King's exclusive privilege, but after King stopped paying much attention to matters here, Delia inherited this privilege.
If not for the uneven tiles, she would have laid out a lounge chair right here.
"Miss Delia, eating while hanging upside down is not a good habit. Could you at least put down that sea beast's meat first?"
"Don't worry about trivial things like that. This way I can feel the food slowly rising against gravity through my throat. Aren't you at least curious why I said your Shogun bears such a grudge?"
"You'll say it when you feel like it. If you don't want to, me asking is pointless. Since you're not talking, I'll go. Lady Hiyori has already reached the palace gate."
"Tch, boring. She's got a wakizashi hidden in her sleeve. Maybe it'll get pretty heated."
Thanks to Luxray's ability, Delia's eyes had X-ray vision. Aside from King's special fabric and Shayna's bone-made mask, ordinary clothing couldn't block her gaze.
In front of her, Kozuki Hiyori might as well have been unclothed. Delia could clearly see that hidden in those wide sleeves was a perfectly ordinary wakizashi, whose style marked it as one forged by Tinkaton.
The so-called "heated" line was actually a lame joke Delia had learned from Kuzan, used to convey a certain special meaning. Kikunojo, however, had no interest in such "jokes."
As Kikunojo gradually accepted Delia's presence and came to understand her personality, he realized just how much she loved teasing others.
"Kiku, don't make the wrong choice. If you do, it'll put me in a very difficult position."
Before Kikunojo left, Delia lightly reminded him. Though he gave no reply, the pause in his steps showed he had heard her words.
Delia's warning was clear: with Momonosuke and the others from twenty years ago appearing again in Wano Country, the existing peace was bound to shatter. And in the waves that followed, someone was destined to sink beneath the sea.
Those abandoned by the times could not keep up with its tide. To reverse or change an era was not something that could be done just by shouting slogans.
At least in Wano Country, the tide known as the Beasts Pirates was unstoppable.
After the group assembled, the delegation representing the Shogun set out toward Onigashima.
Along the way, everyone seemed unusually silent, each lost in thought. The attendants, however, had less complicated feelings, and instead noticed a strange sight. In the direction of Kuri, a huge black cloud had suddenly appeared in the sky.
Compared to normal clouds, this one looked even stranger, like a giant mass of ink gathered together.
It seemed as though a great secret was hidden within that ink-like cloud. But compared to what they were about to face, it was hardly worth mentioning.
"Lord Queen, news from the Flower Capital. Kozuki Hiyori is on her way to Onigashima. She seems quite interested in that brat."
The Smart Tanishi on Queen's body rang, delivering him the latest news.
Shogun's entourage was not small. It will take some time from Flower Capital to Onigashima at a normal person's speed. They can't fly at high speeds casually like Mandrell and Queen.
Even Queen himself hadn't yet returned to Onigashima, let alone Kozuki Hiyori, who had only just received the news.
"Mandrell, take those three to play somewhere else. Don't come back to Onigashima yet. What's coming next isn't something these kids should be seeing."
After a moment's thought, Queen decided to send the three little ones away first. At their age, it was too early for them to be involved in this. Their fathers weren't Kaido, so they had no intention of forcing their children to grow up at an accelerated pace.
The Beasts Pirates' foundation was vast and stable, enough to give the third generation more time and space to grow, and to receive training suited to their age when the time was right.
They had fought for decades. If the next generation had to start from the same point as those who had nothing, that would be the greatest failure of all.
"I understand, Brother Queen."
"Mm. Go have a snowball fight in Ringo, or fly kites in Kibi. Kuri is in chaos right now. If not, Hakumai's got amusement parks. You make the arrangements yourself. I reckon it will be over by night."
"Brother Queen, you don't need to be that worried about me, do you?"
"It's not you I'm worried about, I'm worried something might happen to these three brats. I won't even mention Zeraora and Setsuna. But if Maylo were to get hurt by accident, and it was even indirectly linked to me…
You might not care, but your wife would. And if she started whispering about it to you every night, what would you do?"
"Uh… Rusalka wouldn't do that."
"Heh, your answer already says it all. I'm just being cautious. Now hurry up and take them to play. And the two of you, remember your promise. Don't talk nonsense."
Finally, Queen gave Meowna and Wolff a last reminder before returning to Onigashima with the three people in his hand.
Some time later, just as Kozuki Hiyori arrived at Onigashima, Queen had already returned. He had even arranged for Momonosuke to be cleaned up and given a fresh set of clothes; after all, one could not meet the Shogun in filthy rags.
"Boss Kaido is fighting again, Lord Arceus isn't around, and even the calls won't go through… why is it that at critical times no one can be reached?"
Queen fell into deep thought as he looked at the Rotom which didn't have any signal and the unanswered Den Den Mushi.
He enjoyed watching the show, but whether to let Kozuki Hiyori decide things freely on her own, or to have the Beasts Pirates interfere, he couldn't make up his mind.
With both bosses absent, if the decision he made ended up clashing with their later decision, the trouble would fall squarely on him.
"Miss Yamato, why don't you handle this troublesome matter instead?"
Scrolling through the communication log in the Rotom, Queen's expression suddenly turned sinister. He and Yamato had always been in a state of laying traps for each other, and a direct reconciliation was hardly realistic.
Since Yamato was still scheming against him, countering her was only natural.
Queen moved quickly, immediately contacting Yamato, intending to make her the one to decide the next steps.
And at just that moment, Kozuki Hiyori came face-to-face with her brother whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
In an empty room, Momonosuke sat stiffly in the center, while Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, drugged with muscle relaxants by Queen, leaned against the wall.
Compared to chains, they looked more natural when being restrained using drugs.
Momonosuke sat trembling in the room.
Not long ago, a pirate had roughly scrubbed him in a pool of water before shoving him into a set of clothes. There were no maids to wait on him here. That pirate had only been assigned the task because he'd lost badly in gambling.
Now, Momonosuke's view of the future was full of confusion. As he drowned in fear, a loud, commanding voice echoed from outside.
"Lady Shogun has arrived!"
Kozuki Hiyori, clad in resplendent attire, stepped through the doorway and finally stopped in front of Momonosuke.
"Brother Momonosuke, it's been so long. You look exactly the same as you did twenty years ago."
"Y-you're Hiyori? How did you become Shogun?"
Seeing the now-grown Hiyori, Momonosuke's face was full of astonishment.
Astonishment at Hiyori's changed appearance, and also bewilderment at how she could have become the Shogun under the rule of the Beasts Pirates in Wano Country.
"Why shouldn't I be Shogun? Do you know, Brother Momonosuke, I've missed you so terribly these past twenty years!"
Hiyori gently stroked Momonosuke's head as if with affection. But with a flick of her right hand, a short blade slid out from her sleeve.
With a flash of light, Kozuki Hiyori drew the wakizashi with one hand, the blade thrusting straight for Momonosuke's abdomen. Just two inches more and the tip would pierce his flesh, but it stopped right there.
"Lady Hiyori! Please stop!"
Denjiro stood to the side, face dark, clutching the edge of Hiyori's blade with his bare hand. Blood was already dripping down the steel.
Kikunojo had warned Denjiro earlier, so when Hiyori approached Momonosuke, he had been on guard.
"Why didn't you use Haki?"
Hiyori didn't withdraw her sword, but instead looked at Denjiro with a questioning tone.
"Ryuo is a martial art. A retainer cannot use martial arts against their lord, it would be the gravest disrespect."
That was why Denjiro had not used Haki or a weapon, but instead caught the blade with his bare hand. By the same principle, as male retainers, they could not casually touch their lady's body.
"You still recognize me as Shogun? Then by my authority as Shogun, I order you to step aside and not meddle in the Kozuki family's affairs."
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