THUD!
With Rosse's final step, he finally lightly touched the ground of the Oden residence.
A deathly silence fell, and the oppression of his Conqueror's Haki reached its peak.
In that instant, it was as if all sound had been sucked out of the world, and everything fell into absolute silence.
At the same time, the invisible pressure of his Conqueror's Haki also reached an unprecedented extreme the moment Rosse's feet touched the ground. It was no longer a distant oppression, but right up close, as heavy as something solid, pinning every living being firmly in place.
Kin'emon and the other retainers, even though their bodies were already at the limit, still relied on their loyalty and dignity toward the Kozuki family to desperately struggle, refusing to submit.
However, in the face of absolute power, one's will and dignity often appear pale and powerless.
Crack!
The clear sounds of bones fracturing echoed in the deathly still air, making one's teeth ache.
Kin'emon didn't want to kneel, but he could feel his bones creaking, even emitting faint cracking sounds.
All struggle, at this moment, became futile.
Whether tightly gripping their weapons in an attempt to use them as support, or gritting their teeth and tensing their legs, hoping to stand by the strength of their flesh, before Rosse's collapsing-mountain-like Conqueror's Haki, it was nothing but a cruel joke.
As the last bit of skeletal support completely snapped, the retainers could no longer maintain their half–bent posture. Their bodies uncontrollably crashed to the ground, one after another falling into an almost reverent posture, prostrating themselves, with their heads deeply buried in the direction where Rosse had landed.
This scene was as if the entire Kuri, at the very moment Rosse stepped into the residence, naturally and collectively prostrated, giving the highest and grandest greeting and welcome to this arrival.
But this greeting came from no one willingly, only from humiliation and fear pressed all the way into their bones.
This was Rosse's overbearingness, undeniable, unresistable, and it was also his attitude toward the entire Land of Wano.
No, perhaps there was one exception.
"The Kozuki family welcomes Your Highness Jaygarcia!", Right in this silence and humiliation, a clear and resolute female voice suddenly rang out, breaking the heavy atmosphere.
Hearing the voice, Rosse slightly raised his eyes. A trace of surprise and interest flashed in those deep eyes as he began to carefully take in the scene before him.
Behind the agonized and unwilling bodies of the many retainers struggling not to prostrate, Kozuki Toki instead, in an almost perfect posture, even carrying a bit of ceremonial dignity, voluntarily bent down and knelt on the ground.
Her dark green long hair flowed like a waterfall over the ground, forming a sharp contrast with her pink short kimono.
As she bowed and knelt, the collar of her kimono opened slightly, revealing a large expanse of snowy-white neck and chest. Under the dim light, it appeared especially eye-catching.
She was prostrating on the ground, her head deeply buried, her waist forming a graceful, alluring curve due to the perfectly standard posture. Wrapped in the kimono, it stirred the imagination.
Rosse merely raised the corner of his lips. Under the gaze of all the kneeling retainers, he stepped over their fallen bodies one step at a time like a victor, and walked up to Kozuki Toki.
"Stand up, Amatsuki Toki," He stretched out his hand toward Kozuki Toki, while observing everyone's reactions with interest.
The moment he called out this name, the entire Oden residence grew even more silent.
At the same time, in the eyes of Kin'emon and the others, the anger and killing intent almost reached their limit.
They glared at Rosse as if they could kill him just by staring.
Amatsuki Toki was Kozuki Toki's birth name, the name she had before becoming Kozuki Oden's wife.
For Rosse to call out this name, and to arrive at the Kozuki residence in such a domineering and tyrannical manner, was already the same as trampling the Kozuki family's dignity into the dirt.
Yet, in the end, the retainers merely glanced deeper into the residence, and still made no move.
They simply allowed Rosse to stand before Kozuki Toki, allowed him to humiliate the matriarch of the Kozuki family.
Seeing this, a trace of faint disappointment appeared in Rosse's eyes.
He slightly raised his eyes as well, also looking toward the deeper part of the residence.
Like a stray dog. He had already humiliated Kozuki Toki this much, and still he didn't dare come out, didn't even dare release the slightest trace of aura.
'A stray dog like that, is he really worthy of being followed by so many?'
"Your Highness, please address me as Lady Kozuki, or as Madam Toki," Prostrated on the ground, Kozuki Toki's body slightly trembled.
She could feel Rosse's invasive gaze, and in her heart the feeling of desolation grew even stronger.
From the very beginning, she was merely a sacrifice pushed out by the Kozuki family for the sake of the Land of Wano.
At first, she did have her own resolve. Willing to give herself for Kozuki Oden, willing to sacrifice herself for the country.
But when this scene truly happened, she still felt an overwhelming suffocation.
That feeling of being abandoned made it hard for her to breathe.
Even while weak, one can still resist. But giving up oneself in order to become stronger, can that really bring about a result?
Kozuki Toki didn't know the result, nor did she want to think about it.
She lifted her head slightly, and her once gentle and lovely face now carried a heart-rending look of exhaustion and fracture.
Her eyes were like shattered glass. Beautiful, yet marked by irreparable cracks.
The tears swimming in her eyes trembled in her sockets like a lake about to burst its banks, yet she forced them back with a near–obsessive stubbornness, not letting a single drop fall.
'So beautiful.'
'Especially that kind of beauty that makes one want to destroy it.'
The faint smile at the corner of Rosse's lips never faded, and his gaze rested on the nearly broken Kozuki Toki in front of him.
His palm slowly rose, carrying a hint of amusement and a hint of pity. Gently, but with undeniable force, it landed on Kozuki Toki's snow-white, jade-like cheek.
At the same time, his magnetic, bewitching whisper, carrying a tone only meant for her, was transmitted to Kozuki Toki's ears, "This face is very beautiful, beautiful enough to make one's heart ache. If it were me, I would definitely protect her and never let her suffer even the slightest harm."
The moment these words left his lips, Kozuki Toki's entire body trembled violently, as if struck by an invisible current. The forcibly suppressed desolation in her heart became even more intense.
She wanted to struggle, wanted to get rid of that invasive warmth, wanted to make that hand leave her cheek.
But with her strength, how could she put up any effective resistance? Any attempt at resistance looked pale and powerless.
Even her faint struggle, under Rosse's deliberate guidance, had already changed in appearance.
To outsiders, Kozuki Toki seemed to be moved by Rosse's caress, her whole body sinking into some extreme excitement and impatience, even carrying a trace of charm.
Faced with the faintly discernible yet extremely clear looks of disdain and puzzlement from the surrounding retainers, waves of frustration surged in her heart like a tide.
Anxiety and humiliation intertwined, almost swallowing her whole.
She didn't believe these toxic sweet words of Rosse, and she didn't want to listen to that devilish whisper that seemed capable of corroding the soul.
However, deep in her heart, she still couldn't stop herself from thinking more.
A dangerous and bold thought continued to swirl in Kozuki Toki's mind.
'If, instead of Kozuki Oden, it had been Saint Rosse, and I was confronted with the same overwhelming gap in strength, would I have still faced it alone as I am doing today?'
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