Chapter 337: The Pirate King? I Know Him.
"About 26 years ago, the same year I was taken in as an apprentice by Mr. Tom, the Roger Pirates arrived in Water 7..."
One after another, the dark shadows of houses flew backward. Reiner's group shuttled through the small alleys, the chaotic sound of their footsteps particularly conspicuous in the quiet night.
Seeing Komurasaki's stunned gaze, Franky was certain his guess was probably right. Since the other had not spoken to confirm, he took the initiative to first tell his own story.
The group listened as they ran.
Reiner also remembered that the fish-man who had invented the Sea Train had built a ship for Roger, but he didn't know the full context. He hadn't expected Franky to have met Oden before.
"The Roger Pirates, just like you guys back then, went up to the sky island using the Knock Up Stream. Their ship was severely damaged when they came down, and Tom's Workers took on the commission to build them a new ship."
"Back then, the base of Tom's Workers was a warehouse under a bridge, and the shipbuilding was also done in a scrapyard. I had just been abandoned by my parents at that time and was scavenging junk in the scrapyard every day to build cannons. Oden saw me and came over to say hello."
Franky recalled, explaining the reason he knew Oden. What he said next was even more astonishing.
"Speaking of which, that guy was also a weirdo. The first thing he said when he met me was that I was an orphan. The second thing was to invite me to join their ship."
Franky smiled. "Well? Have you ever seen such a weirdo?"
"Eh!!!"
"They invited Franky to join their ship!!"
The group's eyes widened in shock.
"Ah, I refused."
Franky nodded nonchalantly.
"You actually refused!!"
Luffy cried out in disbelief, his expression one of disappointment, as if looking at a lost cause. He shouted:
"Hey Franky! You were almost a member of the Pirate King's crew!!"
"Exactly!"
"Hey! How was I supposed to know Roger would become the Pirate King later? And back then, I had just been abandoned by my pirate parents. I was SUPER pissed off at pirates, okay!"
Franky retorted loudly at the group, then continued:
"At that time, Water 7 didn't have the Galley-La Company yet, and they didn't have the treatment of a dock foreman and his crew working together like with the Merry. So the Roger Pirates stayed there for quite a while."
"By the way, that guy Oden's personality was surprisingly compatible with mine, so I got to know him a little. It was only when I got close just now that I realized you look almost exactly like his wife, Kozuki Toki."
Franky turned his head to look at Komurasaki and said thoughtfully:
"Thinking about it now, she seemed to be often holding two babies at that time. Don't tell me that little green-haired girl was you."
"What! Franky and Komurasaki actually met before?!"
The group was surprised.
"What! You're saying her mother was also that beautiful?!"
Sanji was shocked.
"Are you focusing on the weirdest things!"
Usopp rolled his eyes and chopped him hard on the head.
Reiner also couldn't help but glance at Franky.
As expected of the man who refused the Roger Pirates.
He, who prided himself on knowing the script, had never expected such a secret.
Originally, he was thinking of arranging for Franky to test the waters with Queen to see if there would be any surprises. Good lord, there were even better moves.
"In that case, you know many people from the Roger Pirates, don't you?"
Reiner was puzzled.
Chopper also looked over with curiosity:
"That's right, Franky. After all, you helped them build their ship."
Why didn't Franky show any sign of recognition when he saw Rayleigh on the Sabaody Archipelago?
"That's not the case. I was only taken in as an apprentice by Mr. Tom later. And the Roger Pirates weren't at the scrapyard every day. Besides Oden, who had greeted and invited me at the very beginning, I didn't know the others well. Not to mention, 26 years have passed, and I've long since forgotten."
Franky explained, then added proudly:
"It seems there were also two brats on their ship who were about my age. They were also deeply attracted by my Franky Cannons."
"Emmm, what were their names? Forget it, I don't remember."
"About your age..."
Hearing this, Reiner frowned slightly and thought for a moment. Two figures suddenly appeared in his mind, and he asked:
"Were they a blue-haired one and a red-haired one, named Buggy and Shanks?"
"Ah, how did you know? Were those their names? I don't rem..."
Halfway through, Franky was stunned. The others were also stunned.
"Shanks? Red-Haired Shanks!!?"
"Wait a minute, I remember now."
Sanji seemed to have thought of something and suddenly spoke:
"Do you guys remember two years ago? Rayleigh seemed to have mentioned that Shanks had been on their ship back then."
"Oh right, I remember too."
"It seems so. When he was coating our ship."
With Sanji's reminder, the others also recalled.
At that time, Rayleigh had just mentioned it casually. Besides Luffy, the others' attention was all on seeing the living legend, Rayleigh, in person.
"Hey Franky! You know Shanks!"
Luffy's tone was somewhat excited. He once again realized that finding this shipwright was absolutely the right decision.
He was only focused on Shanks and completely ignored the Buggy that Reiner had mentioned, who had almost executed him.
"Well, not really. We just chatted a few times,"
Franky waved his hand nonchalantly.
Not everyone was as fanatically interested in mechanical modification as he was. But children of that age would always be curious when they saw him build a cannon out of scrap materials, which was why they had talked a few times.
After so many years, his memory had become blurred.
Unless he saw the person directly, like with Komurasaki, it would be hard for Franky to remember. Even at the beginning, he wasn't quite sure that Komurasaki and Kozuki Toki looked exactly alike.
"As for you, how do you know the two of them?"
Franky couldn't help but be curious and looked at Reiner.
"From the news. That guy Buggy became a Warlord after the Summit War and gathered a lot of the prisoners that Blackbeard had released from Impel Down. His past experiences were also exposed by the Marines. He had been an apprentice pirate on Roger's ship with Shanks."
Reiner explained casually. For those who paid attention to the news, this was not fresh news.
The bright moon shone on the wilderness, revealing a desolate and quiet scene.
A gentle breeze rolled up dust and smoke. The flying sand seemed to be mocking the barrenness of this vast plain. Under the moonlight, not even a single animal could be seen foraging.
While chatting, the group had unknowingly run out of the Flower Capital. Looking at this bare land, Reiner summoned his undead vehicle.
Only then did their attention return to the initial topic.
Komurasaki.
She had been following behind and hadn't spoken until now. Although they were talking about her parents, even though she could tell from their words that they had no hostile intentions, she still didn't dare to reveal her identity.
"We're going to Amigasa Village. What about you? Are we parting ways here?"
Reiner asked lightly.
Komurasaki stood with her hands behind her back, pursing her lips, thinking about where else she could go now.
She definitely couldn't go back to Denjiro's place. After so many years, she didn't know if Kawamatsu was still in Ringo.
The pursuit would soon spread from the Flower Capital to all of Wano Country. Other places probably wouldn't be able to protect her either. As for Toko's home...
...going there now would only be a burden to Lord Yasuie.
After some thought, Komurasaki took Toko's hand and walked to Reiner's side, saying gently,
"Of course, Komurasaki will go with my lord."
"Whatever. Let's go."
Reiner picked her up and jumped onto the falcon's back, reminding her:
"Don't act like this when we get back. Be a little more reserved. Don't touch me, and it's best if you don't even look at me."
"Komurasaki will listen to my lord."
Komurasaki nodded slightly with a shy expression.
She wasn't curious as to why Reiner had suddenly become so proper. It was nothing more than having a tiger at home. She didn't understand Reiner, but could she not understand men?
The group jumped on one after another, and the falcon streaked across the night sky, flying towards Amigasa Village.
"By the way, is your green-haired samurai okay?"
Komurasaki suddenly spoke.
"Hmm? You mean Zoro... eh!!"
"Where's Zoro?!!" ×N
"It's over!!"
On the most prosperous street in the Flower Capital, it was brightly lit. There were few pedestrians on the street, and more soldiers could be seen darting about from time to time.
"This place looks a lot like the shop I was just at. Did I just walk past here?"
In front of a pavilion with battle scars, the messy banquet hall could be clearly seen through the broken wooden walls.
Zoro held his chin thoughtfully.
Suddenly, he saw the blood-stained Denjiro, who was struggling to walk out from a corner, holding the wall.
"Why are you here? It's not good to be running around with such heavy injuries."
Zoro said nonchalantly to this defeated opponent who had fallen to his sword.
"With the state I'm in, where else can I go?"
Kyoshiro squinted his eyes, a sharp glint flashing.
He had, of course, come back to find Komurasaki. After the battle ended, the princess had disappeared. But instead, he had run into the returning Zoro. Kyoshiro's expression was wary as he said:
"You, on the other hand... why did you come back? Do you regret not finishing me off?"
"Come back?"
Zoro frowned and looked around again.
"I say, it looks so similar. So this is the place."
"Sorry. I'm leaving. If you don't want to die, you should get treatment."
With that, Zoro turned and left calmly.
Staring at his slowly receding back as he disappeared into the darkness, until he was completely gone, Kyoshiro leaned against the wall and slowly slid down, collapsing on the ground, his expression weary.
Until a few minutes later.
Zoro's figure walked out again from the other side of the street. The two of them made eye contact...
A few seconds later.
A charming smile appeared on Kyoshiro's lips as he said teasingly:
"Don't tell me you're lost."
"..."
Zoro gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, a vein popping on his forehead.
"What's with this damn place? How come all the buildings look the same?"
"Was Komurasaki taken away by your companions?"
"Hah?! Who the hell knows about those bastards."
Zoro's tone was resentful. Perhaps seeing the other's worry, he said impatiently:
"Although those guys are bastards, they wouldn't do anything strange to a woman."
"At least with a certain perverted cook around, you don't have to worry about her safety. You should be more concerned about your own injuries."
"..."
Kyoshiro was silent.
A perverted cook... don't have to worry...
Do you even hear what you're saying?
Looking around and seeing no one, Kyoshiro's face returned to calm:
"I believe your words. Can you take me to find her? Where are you going? I'll lead the way."
"Never mind why I should agree to you, do you even trust me?"
"I trust your sword. Or rather, I have no choice."
Kyoshiro used his sword to prop himself up and pushed himself up from the ground.
The princess had probably left on purpose so as not to burden him and expose his identity. He could guess her thoughts, but the Kozuki family only had the princess left.
Now that Kurozumi Orochi was dead, as a retainer of Oden, his only remaining goal was to protect Hiyori. As for defeating Kaido...
...it was just an extravagant fantasy.
If he couldn't even protect Hiyori, what was the point of revenge, or opening the country? These things didn't mean much to him anymore.
A cool wind blew, making the hem of his clothes flutter.
Zoro stared into the other's eyes for a moment.
"They should be going back to Amigasa Village. From now on, don't mention Shusui to me again."
"I understand. Amigasa Village is in the southwest direction."
Kyoshiro used his sword to support himself and walked out with his injured body.
"Let's take the alleys. I want to avoid the eyes and ears of the soldiers as much as possible."
"I know that without you telling me."
Zoro followed him into the alley.
"I'm over here, you idiot!"
"I know!"
"Can't you even follow me!"
"It's so dark! How am I supposed to see!"
"That way is Udon! Do you want to go to prison!"
"Shut up! Just lead the way!!"
With their continuous shouting, the two figures slowly walked from the Flower Capital to the remote, deserted village in the southernmost part of Kuri.
The usually calm Denjiro was gradually being worn down to the point where he couldn't hold back his temper.
An invisible hand gently parted the hazy dark clouds. The night was charming.
The bright moon shone down on the bamboo forest. The colorful pebbles at the bottom of the stream were clearly visible. The stream gurgled, and the chirping of insects was crisp, together composing a symphony of midsummer.
Creak~
A dim oil lamp flickered in the small hut in the bamboo forest. The dilapidated wooden door was slowly opened.
"Zoro!"
"It's so good that you're alright! Reiner even said you might have been captured by Kaido."
"We were about to go to Udon to break you out of prison."
The group sitting around the wooden table turned their heads and saw Zoro, who was supporting Kyoshiro.
Chopper and Usopp were moved to tears, the weight in their hearts finally lifted.
"Denjiro!"
Seeing the heavily injured figure, Hiyori's gaze tightened, and she frantically got up and rushed over to support him.
"This!"
Hearing Hiyori call him by his real name in front of so many people, Denjiro nervously scanned the area.
"It's alright. They already know my identity."
Hiyori smiled faintly.
She helped him to the table, and Chopper dragged his medical kit over.
Denjiro was clearly still a little confused.
"What's going on? Why would..."
"We can explain that later."
Chopper interrupted him with a grave expression, helping the other to lie down on the floor.
This sword wound...
Zoro really hit him hard.
"He's lost too much blood. I'll treat him first."
"A talking demon cat?!"
Denjiro's pupils were filled with shock.
"It's a reindeer, you bastard! Can't you see I have antlers on my head!!"
Chopper rolled his eyes and roared fiercely.
While Chopper was treating him, a short figure with a mask came to the side and knelt down.
Tenguyama Hitetsu's tone was calm and steady:
"I almost didn't recognize you. It's been a long time, Denjiro."
"That voice!"
Denjiro's pupils were once again shocked, and his entire person almost shot up.
"C-could it be...! Lord Sukiyaki?!!"
"Ah~"
"To think you can still recognize this old one's voice after so long."
Tenguyama Hitetsu slowly took off his mask, and before Denjiro's disbelieving eyes, revealed his wrinkled face and a head of gray hair.
It was none other than the previous shogun of Wano Country.
Kozuki Sukiyaki.
(End of chapter)
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