Inside the Kozuki mansion's inner courtyard.
Kozuki Toki knelt on the tatami, cradling the infant Hiyori in her arms.
Her beautiful face was as pale as paper, her eyes teetering on the brink of collapse.
Just beyond the wall, the husband she had once been so proud of was writhing in the mud like an imbecile, humming a tuneless melody.
Every time that sound reached her ears, it felt like an invisible slap, striking hard at the century-long prestige of the Kozuki Clan.
"Lady Toki..."
Kin'emon, half his body wrapped in bandages—a masterpiece left by Oden—spoke up.
"Is there really... no other way?"
Raizō, Kikunojo, and Ashura Dōji stood in a circle, their faces ashen, their sword hilts slick with sweat.
They had all tried.
Weeping, kneeling, invoking past oaths.
All they received in return were Oden's clear yet foolish eyes and a cold, dismissive command: "Get lost, don't disturb my dance."
"Waaah! I don't want this! I don't want this!"
In the corner, Momonosuke, with his distinctive topknot, wailed uncontrollably.
His face was smeared with snot and tears as he took advantage of the chaos to bury himself in Kozuki Toki's embrace, desperately seeking the soft warmth there.
"Mother! Why is Father naked? It's so embarrassing! I want to leave this place! I want red bean soup!"
Even as the family crumbled around him, the boy instinctively relied on his innate talents.
Kozuki Toki fought back her heartbreak, forcing herself to soothe her son.
"Momonosuke, don't cry. Your father is just—"
Boom!
A deafening roar cut through the sorrow.
The entire mansion shook violently, tiles clattering down from the roof.
The courtyard's outer wall was shattered by a brutal force!
Amidst the swirling dust, cannonballs tore through the air, trailing flames as they crashed into the courtyard, reducing the rock garden and pond to rubble.
"Enemy attack—!!"
Kin'emon's eyes widened as he drew his sword, gritting his teeth against the pain.
"It's Kaido's men!" Ashura Dōji roared.
Deep within the dust, a massive shadow loomed, blotting out the sky as it advanced step by step.
Thud… thud…
Each footfall made the earth tremble.
A rough, youthful voice, metallic in tone, pierced through the dust and echoed across the mansion.
"Is everyone from the Kozuki Clan here?"
The wind swept the dust away.
Jack stood there, two sickle-shaped blades resting on his shoulders, his face—half-covered by a metal jaw—twisted with impatient brutality.
Behind him stood a dark mass of Beast Pirates, their cannons still smoking.
"Jack!" Kin'emon snarled through clenched teeth.
"Hmph."
Jack wasted no words.
His emotionless eyes swept across the courtyard before finally settling on the deranged figure still writhing outside the wall.
"What an idiot."
He spat contemptuously.
"Boss Kaido said that if he wants to be a dancer, we'll let him. As for the rest…"
Jack cracked his neck, the sound like popping beans.
"Kill everyone who isn't useful."
Boom!
The moment the words left his mouth, Jack's body began to swell.
The skin hardened into thick, grayish-brown hide, the trunk swung, and limbs thick as stone pillars.
Zoan Type, Elephant-Elephant Fruit, Ancient Species, Mammoth Form!
A killing machine from ancient times descended directly into the narrow courtyard.
"Die!"
A massive elephant foot rose high, stomping down toward Kin'emon and the others!
Half the courtyard instantly collapsed.
"Protect Lady Toki and the young master!" Kin'emon roared, flames erupting from his body. "Foxfire Style, Fiery Willow Flash!"
Flames transformed into blade light, slashing toward the mammoth's thick foreleg.
Clang!
A slash capable of cutting through steel merely left a white mark on Jack's thick hide.
"Scram!" Jack disdainfully swung his trunk, which lashed out like a giant steel whip!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Kikunojo, Raizō, and the others gave their all, barely managing to block before being sent flying by the tremendous force, blood spurting from their mouths.
The gap in strength was too vast.
In just one clash, the Red Scabbards' defensive line instantly crumbled.
The Beast Pirates' underlings swarmed in with wild cries, cutting down anyone in their path as flames soared into the sky.
"Run! Take the young master and go!"
Kin'emon was slashed in the back, blood blurring his vision as he desperately pushed Kozuki Toki forward.
Momonosuke was frozen in terror.
His eyes, always lecherous, were now filled with fear, his legs weak as a warm liquid trickled down his pant leg.
"I won't go! I won't go! Father, save me! I am the shogun's son!"
He clung desperately to a pillar, crying hysterically, snot bubbles bursting with each wail.
His cowardly, disgraceful display drew looks of contempt even from the pirates rushing in.
High above, deep within the clouds.
Kane sat cross-legged on a solidified current of air, gazing down indifferently at the one-sided slaughter below.
His eyes pierced through the chaotic crowd, locking precisely onto the boy throwing a tantrum on the ground.
His gaze turned cold.
"Truly an eyesore."
"If trash like this can become shogun, it would be the greatest insult to everyone struggling to live."
Though according to the original story, this brat's life was tenacious enough to survive twenty years and disgust audiences worldwide.
But here in my world…
Sorry, your script ends here.
Kane narrowed his eyes, his pupils reflecting the swaying, shaved head below.
He raised his right hand.
Thumb pressed against middle finger.
The power of the Storm Fruit silently gathered.
[Silent Severance].
A vacuum wind blade, only palm-sized, formed at his fingertip.
It had no color, no sound, not even disturbing the flow of air around it.
"Farewell, no need to see you off, you perverted dragon."
Snap.
A crisp snap of the fingers.
The wind blade vanished instantly.
Below, in the inner courtyard of the daimyo's residence.
Momonosuke was still wailing, clinging stubbornly to the pillar, shouting, "Father must be testing us! If I just cry louder…"
Above his head, on the main beam of the hall, a thousand-pound granite ornament—the wooden tenon connecting it—silently snapped.
The cut was smooth as a mirror.
No one noticed the wooden tenon holding the massive stone in place had silently broken apart.
Just as Momonosuke opened his mouth wide, ready to let out another wail.
Shadow enveloped him.
Time seemed to stretch in that moment.
Kozuki Toki had just turned back, managing only a short, sharp "No."
Momonosuke's terrified eyes rolled upward, even making out the intricate patterns carved into the stone.
There was no miracle.
No savior descended from the heavens.
This was merely the most unadorned demonstration of the laws of physics.
Squelch!
That half-formed cry was brutally smashed back into its belly.
The world fell silent in an instant.
Kin'emon's sword-wielding hand froze mid-air.
Kozuki Toki's expression solidified into a blank slate.
The massive boulder was firmly embedded in the shattered floor.
From beneath the stone, crimson liquid mixed with pale, pulpy matter oozed out in winding streams.
A small hand clad in an embroidered kimono sleeve protruded from the side of the rock, twitching spasmodically once.
Then, it moved no more.
Dead.
The so-called "Child of Fortune of the Pirate King" from the original story—the one who basked in the halo of the Kozuki Clan heir, who would later ride on Robin's shoulders, nestle in Nami's embrace, and enjoy privileges countless men could only dream of—had just been reduced to an indescribable pulp of flesh and blood on the spot.
"Mo…mo…no…suke…"
Seconds later, a heart-rending, ragged scream tore from Kozuki Toki's throat.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH—!!!"
She set down Hiyori, who was in her arms, and threw herself toward the bloody pulp like a madwoman.
"Young… Young Master…"
Kin'emon's sword clattered to the ground.
The moment every loyal retainer laid eyes on that bloody pulp, the thread named "hope" in their minds snapped with an audible twang.
It was over.
All of it.
The sole heir was dead.
Lord Oden had gone mad.
The last ember of the Kozuki Clan had been utterly extinguished by a damned falling rock.
How ironic!
Jack, who was still wreaking havoc, heard the scream and glanced back.
"Tch, unlucky brat."
He shook his blood-stained trunk, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Since they're all dead, burn it all clean."
Jack ordered the fires to be set and turned to ram into the next building.
High above the clouds.
Kane withdrew his finger and straightened his collar, which had been ruffled by the high-altitude winds.
He gazed down indifferently at the courtyard below, now transformed into a living hell, and muttered under his breath in a tone only he could hear, utterly serious:
"Don't misunderstand."
"As a member of the Navy, carrying out reasonable physical elimination of a pirate's direct relatives is a glorious tradition written on the title page of the Naval Internal Code of Conduct."
"Uprooting the weeds and destroying the roots—that is true Justice for the long term."
No sooner had his words fallen than the familiar blue screen flickered wildly across his retina.
[Ding! Host detected eliminating key plot character "Kozuki Momonosuke"!]
[This action has caused massive alterations to the worldline!]
[Causality collapses! This action will result in the complete annihilation of Wano Country's plotline for the next twenty years! The Straw Hat Alliance will lose its most crucial ally! Wano Country's plan to open its borders will be stillborn! Zunesha will lose its sole interlocutor!]
[This action is adjudicated as: A Purge of Absolute Justice!]
[You have strangled the source of what could have led to countless pirate upheavals in the future. Though the means were exceedingly cruel, the effect is exceedingly significant!]
[Violation Value obtained: 1,200,000 points!]
Looking at the skyrocketing number in his account, a genuine smile finally curled at the corner of Kane's lips.
Even eliminating a great pirate with a bounty of billions couldn't compare to the profit gained from killing this little brat.
"I'm doing this for the good of this world, too."
Kane stood up, his gaze coldly sweeping over Kozuki Toki, who had cried herself into unconsciousness below.
"A waste of space like that, who only knows how to coast on his father's legacy and grope women from their embrace—he was just wasting air by being alive anyway."
"I'm just helping your Kozuki Clan clean house."
"No need to thank me. Please call me... Justice of the Navy."
He turned, his figure dissolving into a flowing breeze, vanishing into the night.
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