The Magnet-Magnet Fruit had not yet been removed from Liam's body, so he was still a Devil Fruit user.
Hearing Robin's startled cry, he stepped forward and placed a hand against the stone wall covered in ancient script...
Sure enough, the moment his palm touched the surface, he was seized by that familiar sensation of utter weakness, as though all his stamina had been drained away.
Naturally, it only felt that way.
That was all it could be, a misconception.
No matter how extraordinary Seastone was, it could only suppress a Devil Fruit user's control over their body; it could not truly drain away their stamina.
Liam's stamina was still there. He simply could no longer control it freely, nor even clearly sense the existence of the tremendous reserves he normally possessed.
He withdrew his hand and studied the wall before him.
Compared to the stone walls on either side, this front wall, covered in ancient writing, was clearly different, in material, texture, and even color.
"There's no mistake about it. This front wall is absolutely the work of a 'Kozuki'."
Nekomamushi walked over.
Inuarashi moved to the other side, examining the Seastone wall densely engraved with ancient script.
"To process indestructible Seastone, to carve words into it, ancient words, no less, only the hereditary clan of stonemasons who inherited the ancient language, the people of the Kozuki family, could possibly accomplish such a thing."
He turned toward Robin.
"Nico Robin. Have you deciphered what it says?"
Nekomamushi could barely contain himself.
"Is it just like I said? Did the 'Wolf Lord' and that skeleton outside, 'Amatsuki Kumi', fight each other to the death? Did the 'Kozuki' fail to save the Wolf Lord, die full of regret, and leave behind these words?"
"You can talk all you want, but why are you glaring at me?" Inuarashi snapped.
"Because I'm going to prove you're wrong!"
Nekomamushi shoved forward aggressively, baring his teeth as though a fight could break out at any second.
Sicilian and the others from the Fire Gun Team looked utterly miserable.
They were Duke Inuarashi's subordinates, but Nekomamushi, the former Boss, was also one of the tribe's rulers. Both sides were kings. If these two really started fighting, what were they supposed to do?
Seeing them on the verge of throwing hands again, Robin sighed softly.
"What's written here does indeed record some events from the past…"
"See?! I told you!" Nekomamushi shouted.
"What do you mean, 'I told you'? When did she agree with anything you said?!" Even Inuarashi's normally steady temperament was nearing its breaking point. Liam seriously suspected that, at this rate, Nekomamushi might enrage him into going Sulong without even needing the Full Moon…
…Actually, knowing their usual pattern, maybe not Sulong.
Maybe he'd just transform from sheer fury into some kind of… Super Mink.
"My apologies, Boss Nekomamushi. Duke Inuarashi is correct," Robin said apologetically.
"What's written here records part of the history, the origin of this underground tomb chamber…"
Her words drew the attention of both cat and dog.
She glanced around the chamber below.
"And it does indeed concern someone named 'Gushi.'"
"See?! I...mmph!"
Just as Nekomamushi was about to yell again, Inuarashi finally snapped and slapped a paw over his face, shutting him up.
Inuarashi nodded toward Robin.
Robin continued:
"However… 'Amatsuki Kumi,' your Wolf Lord, and the 'Kozuki' outside…"
"…they are not people from the same era."
Inuarashi's eyes widened in shock, and he unconsciously loosened his grip.
Nekomamushi shouted in disbelief:
"You're saying the skeleton outside, that one was the 'Kozuki'?!!"
Robin nodded.
Inuarashi looked toward the remains inside the lidless stone coffin.
"Then this person…"
Robin turned back to carefully examine the densely packed ancient writing on the Seastone wall.
After a moment, she said slowly:
"She should be… Amatsuki Kumi's wife."
Whoa.
Liam had been listening rather casually until now, but even he couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement.
Sicilian and the others were equally stunned.
"Amatsuki Kumi's wife's coffin lid… had words of hatred toward Amatsuki Kumi written on the underside?"
"Who are you trying to fool?!" Nekomamushi refused to believe it.
"The Kozuki family crest on the coffin lid doesn't lie! How could the woman inside this stone coffin possibly be an 'Amatsuki'?!"
Robin hesitated briefly, then shook her head.
"That, I don't know. Perhaps a later 'Kozuki Musashi' added it there for some reason…"
"Kozuki Musashi?"
Question marks practically appeared over the heads of the cat, the dog, the other minks, even Liam and B.I.B.
Robin said:
"To explain that… I'll have to start from the beginning."
…
A very, very long time ago…
Roughly one thousand years in the past, in the distant nation known as Wano Country, there was a young man named Amatsuki Kumi.
Driven by his yearning for the rich and colorful cultures of the outside world, he set sail far beyond his homeland…
Long afterward, Amatsuki Kumi returned to Wano Country.
He had changed completely, not only had his appearance undergone earth-shaking changes, but he had transformed from a timid, taciturn man into a passionate, confident, and powerful samurai…
He brought back advanced cultures and institutions from overseas, and carried out sweeping reforms throughout the Amatsuki clan territory he had inherited…
But he went too far.
Even his own wife opposed him…
In the end, the increasingly deranged Amatsuki Kumi actually shattered the entire Amatsuki domain, severing it from the landmass of Wano Country itself…
The General of that era, the head of the Kozuki family, led the samurai and together cut off his head…
Yet the samurai discovered, to their shock, that even this failed to kill him.
Unable to execute Amatsuki Kumi, despite his unforgivable crimes, the Kozuki General was left with only one punishment:
He transformed him into an unimaginably gigantic long-legged elephant.
Gradually, Amatsuki Kumi came to be known as… Zou.
Zou obeyed only the bloodline of the Kozuki family who had punished him.
Bearing upon his back the lands of the Amatsuki domain that had broken away from Wano Country, Zou wandered endlessly across the seas, never permitted to stop…
…
"Zou is… Amatsuki Kumi?!!!"
After hearing the story, both cat and dog wore utterly incredulous expressions.
Sicilian and the others stared at the remains inside the coffin in stunned disbelief.
"This is… Zou's wife…"
It truly felt…
…like their entire worldview had just been smashed apart!!
Liam exchanged a glance with B.I.B.
Robin's story seemed capable of explaining why Zou was a Devil Fruit user, why he obeyed Kozuki Momonosuke, and why he claimed to have once committed a terrible crime and been punished to walk forever…
Wait...
That gigantic horned skull on Onigashima in Wano Country…
Could that actually be the severed head of the former Amatsuki Kumi?
Getting decapitated and still not dying, seriously?
Liam rarely experienced this kind of disbelief in this world.
But now he did.
He couldn't help looking toward Robin.
Robin quietly gave him a look that said: stay calm for now.
Inuarashi murmured:
"So… the Mokomo Dukedom and Kurau City on Zou's back originally belonged to the Amatsuki domain of Wano Country?"
"Our cities don't resemble Wano Country at all!" Nekomamushi widened his eyes and huffed, then finally scratched his head.
"Was it because of all that reform stuff Amatsuki Kumi carried out? Hā hā hā! That actually kinda makes sense…"
That emotional turnaround was way too fast!
Not only Robin, even Sicilian and the others were speechless inside.
"So we minks…" Inuarashi muttered to himself, "…were originally subjects of the Amatsuki domain? Is that why the Amatsuki clan was as close to us as brothers?"
"Wait, that's not right!"
Nekomamushi suddenly remembered something and slapped the edge of the coffin.
"What about the Wolf Lord? And the skeleton outside, the one you said was the 'Kozuki'? What's their story then?"
Robin only shook her head.
Looking at the final line carved into the Seastone wall, she read aloud:
"If anyone should be fated to decipher these words, may this old tale be told to the people of Zou Island…
...Kozuki Musashi, final testament."
Liam looked at Robin's delicate, jade-like profile.
He had the distinct feeling…
…that she was hiding something.
(End Of This Chapter)
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