"Your Highness, please enjoy the tea," In this strangely silent atmosphere, Kozuki Toki returned with an indifferent expression, placing a teacup in front of Rosse.
Even at a time like this, she did not lose her composure in the slightest.
Back when she was alone just now, she had already adjusted her mindset.
In this matter, there would be no one to protect her.
The only one who could protect her was herself.
Whether it was Rosse or the Kozuki family, neither would allow her to make even the slightest mistake.
Perhaps from the moment Rosse appeared and didn't impose his Conqueror's Haki on her, she had already been drawn into this game.
Kozuki Toki was not dull. On the contrary, she was very intelligent.
Even while caught in the situation, she could clearly see her current predicament.
"The tea is quite good," Rosse picked up the teacup and smiled as he took a sip.
Seeing Kozuki Toki calmly kneeling at his side, a trace of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.
He liked intelligent women. Especially when they were paired with muscle-brained teammates. That combination often had unexpected effects.
Setting down the teacup in his hand, Rosse casually swept his gaze around the room.
In this rather small reception room, apart from himself and Kozuki Toki, there were six retainers of the Kozuki family gathered.
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[Kin'emon]
[Overall Rating: B]
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[Ashura Doji]
[Overall Rating: B]
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[Raizo]
[Overall Rating: B-]
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[Kurozumi Kanjuro]
[Overall Rating: B-]
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[Denjiro]
[Overall Rating: C+]
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[Kikunojo]
[Overall Rating: C+]
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Their strength was quite average. The highest was only B, and the lowest was C-.
Against Kaido, these retainers would be completely slaughtered. But against Kaido's current subordinates, they could still handle them easily.
'Also, the Kozuki family should still have three more retainers… no, now it was two. Inuarashi had died in the Holy Land.'
King against king, general against general.
With Kozuki Oden's strength, plus the support of more than half of the Land of Wano, they really might not have feared Kaido.
But unfortunately, Kozuki Oden had thrown away that advantage himself.
"Since you know my identity, you should also know why I'm here. Where are Kozuki Oden and Nekomamushi?", Rosse had no intention of wasting words with this group of retainers, they were nothing more than tools to add a bit of entertainment.
Since they were tools, they only needed to fulfill their role as tools.
"Lord Oden…", Kin'emon hesitated a little when mentioning Kozuki Oden, but still took a deep breath and said, "Has already died from illness."
"Died from illness? He was jumping around just fine in Mary Geoise a few days ago, and now he's suddenly dead, you think I'll believe that?", Rosse narrowed his eyes slightly as his oppressive gaze fell on Kin'emon.
Zephyr had already sent him information. The entire Land of Wano was spreading the news that Oden had died of illness, but the man was still alive and well deep inside this residence.
With a normal Observation Haki, it would be hard to find him.
But with Rosse's Devil Fruit ability, he had easily located Oden's hiding place.
"My lord, Lord Oden has already passed away. Please show some respect for the deceased," Kin'emon glared at Rosse. But if one looked closely, there was a faint hint of tension in his eyes.
That made Rosse raise a question in his heart.
'Wait! Are you people actually stupid, or do you think I'm stupid?"
'You're just going to try to bluff your way through this like that?'
Kin'emon's action even made Rosse start doubting himself.
As long as Kin'emon came up with some excuse, this matter would pass.
'What kind of situation is this? You didn't even bother to think of an excuse?', Rosse raised an eyebrow and glanced around the room.
When he saw that none of them looked like they were pretending, Rosse was thoroughly shocked.
If it were one or two people fooling him, that he could accept.
But there was no way all six retainers could perfectly hide their emotions. In other words, these idiots really hadn't thought about what would happen next. They simply assumed that announcing Oden's death would be enough to cover up the matter.
If he seriously wanted to wipe out the Kozuki family, he could do it right now.
But he hadn't come to exterminate anyone. If he really wanted to, with his temperament, he wouldn't need any excuse.
However, if he just ignored this, it would become difficult to proceed with what came after.
If Kaido heard about this later, who knew how much he'd laugh behind Rosse's back.
Rosse withdrew his gaze, finally landing it on Kozuki Toki's cheek.
To others, it looked like he was confirming Oden's death.
Kin'emon and the others unconsciously clenched their fists, staring hard at Kozuki Toki, afraid that she would expose everything.
In fact, Rosse's undisguised mocking laugh made Kozuki Toki want to run away immediately.
"Do you Kozuki people take everyone else for fools? You think you can just muddle your way through this without even a contingency plan? No wonder Kaido made fools of you, you really are a bunch of idiots."
Kozuki Toki bit her lip hard and glared at Rosse.
He had lumped her in with them in his insults.
But what Rosse said was the truth, she had no way to refute it.
What's more, an overwhelming sense of despair washed over her.
This was something they absolutely had to hide. Now that Rosse knew… the Kozuki family and the entire Land of Wano were probably finished.
Judging by the power Rosse had just shown, Kozuki Toki truly believed that he had the strength to destroy the entire country by himself.
"Tch. You guys still want to play strategy? Forget it, being direct suits you better," Rosse's mocking voice rang out again, but this time it was once more directed only at Kozuki Toki.
After the mockery, Rosse's emotionless voice sounded, ["Now, repeat what I just said."]
Kozuki Toki looked at Rosse in confusion, and then heard him say, ["'Your Highness, this matter is true. When Kozuki Oden returned to the Land of Wano, he was already severely injured. Although we told others he died of illness, the truth is that he died from his injuries.'"]
'Huh?'
Kozuki Toki was even more confused after hearing that.
'Why does Saint Rosse want me to say that? Why is Saint Rosse helping us cover this up?'
'Isn't this the time where he should eliminate us and the Land of Wano to uphold the authority of the World Government?'
Kozuki Toki couldn't figure it out for the moment, and with the arrow already drawn to the bow, under Rosse's gaze she could only grit her teeth and repeat, "Your Highness, this matter is true. When Kozuki Oden returned to the Land of Wano, he was already severely injured. Although we told others he died of illness, the truth is that he died from his injuries."
In her haste, Kozuki Toki didn't have time to think. She basically copied it word for word.
To the point that she didn't even correct the way Rosse had phrased certain terms of address.
Only after she finished speaking did Kozuki Toki suddenly realize, her eyes widened in shock.
She had just called Kozuki Oden by his name in front of Rosse.
In an instant, the whole reception room fell into silence.
Kin'emon and the others stared at Kozuki Toki with even more complicated expressions.
Although they knew she was trying to defuse the situation, being so casual in referring to Lord Oden made it hard to tell what she was thinking.
In the Land of Wano, etiquette of this sort was taken extremely seriously.
And combined with Kozuki Toki's previous behavior, Kin'emon had developed even more suspicion toward her.
Kozuki Toki hadn't betrayed them this time, but that didn't mean she wouldn't betray them in the future.
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