"Saint Rosse!"
"Lord Rosse!"
After leaving the Kozuki residence, Rosse swaggered straight into the place where Zephyr and Moria were staying.
Back when he went to the Kozuki mansion, Gion and Olvia had already arrived here.
Seeing Rosse carrying Kozuki Hiyori back, Zephyr and Moria bowed in greeting.
"Enough, I don't care for these surface formalities," Rosse said casually, handing the little Kozuki Hiyori over to Olvia.
At the same time, he briefly explained Hiyori's situation.
But since it was in front of the little girl, he only repeated Kozuki Toki's words.
Even so, Gion knew very well. Hiyori being brought back by Rosse meant Rosse had basically put the blade to the Kozuki family's throat to reach an agreement.
"Leave it to me," Olvia nodded gently and took Hiyori in her arms.
Though she had given birth, she actually had no experience raising a child.
Robin had been raised by her younger brother's family. In a sense, she was an unfit mother.
But Hiyori's circumstances had a certain resemblance to Robin's.
Thinking of this, Olvia's eyes showed a trace of pity.
Human emotions are always strange.
She undoubtedly carried guilt toward Robin. Robin's place in her heart was high, but not higher than her pursuit of the Poneglyphs.
That was why, at that time, she had aimed a gun at her own daughter.
On the one hand, she had reasons to survive.
On the other, maybe she didn't want Robin to live on in such a filthy world.
But no matter the reason, a massive rift had formed between her and Robin.
She wanted to make amends, but the price was something she couldn't accept, and so things remained frozen.
To the point where she would rather face Rosse, take another path, and feel the pain of tearing herself apart, than face Robin.
Now, encountering Hiyori, she somehow thought of Robin, and wanted to take good care of this girl.
It was a very irresponsible thought, but as if only this way could she ease her guilt a little.
Olvia took Hiyori, glanced at the others present, and wisely carried her away.
The conversation to follow was not one she could take part in.
After Olvia left, Gion finally spoke with a mocking smile, "Kozuki Oden's choice? Or did he just act like a turtle hiding in its shell?"
They could be sure there hadn't been any intense fighting at the Kozuki mansion. And Hiyori had been taken away so easily. This could only mean Kozuki Oden was even softer than she'd thought.
"Both his choice, and he acted like a turtle," Rosse chuckled. Since Hiyori had left, he then described in detail what he had experienced there.
When something amusing happened, of course it had to be shared.
"Ke... cough, HAHAHAHA! That kind of coward, and Kaido the waste still had to scheme for so long? I think he's not much either," After hearing it, Moria was the first to sneer, openly showing his disdain.
He also valued comrades, but he wouldn't be as stupid as Kozuki Oden.
Handing his own daughter to the enemy, just to trade for a moment of peace, what kind of thinking was that?
Such things had to be resisted to the end.
"That statement is true enough, but coming from your mouth, it just sounds wrong," Gion glanced at Moria, her words showing no politeness.
"Hm?", Moria was confused, 'What does this have to do with me?'
But seeing the half-smiling looks from Zephyr and Rosse, he thought for a moment, and suddenly realized the issue, his face immediately turned awkward.
Kozuki Oden was an enemy Kaido had to treat carefully.
Kozuki Oden was a coward, so concluding Kaido wasn't much, that was fine.
But here was the problem: if that was so, then what did that make the one who had been crushed by Kaido?
"That was me being careless! If it happened again, it wouldn't be certain who'd win!", Moria muttered under his breath.
"With the difference in strength between you and Kaido, fight ten times, you'd lose ten. If he hadn't chosen not to kill you, you wouldn't have escaped last time," Zephyr didn't indulge Moria's thoughts, he just laid the truth out.
Since he came to Wano under the World Government's banner, he had naturally crossed paths with Kaido.
In fact, back when he was an admiral, he had fought Kaido before.
Even ten years ago, Moria wasn't Kaido's equal. Let alone now that Kaido had grown.
Even against Kaido, Zephyr himself lost more than he won. As for Moria, there was no need to say more.
"Don't be so blunt... I still want revenge, you know," Moria was a little unhappy, but he couldn't refute it.
He knew clearly in his heart, Zephyr was telling the truth.
Having seen top-tier fighters in action, he knew better than anyone that when Kaido had faced his crew, Kaido hadn't even fought seriously.
"Lord Rosse, while you're toying with the Kozuki clan, maybe we could take care of Kaido too," Moria raised his head and asked tentatively.
Rosse had promised to avenge him, so this shouldn't count as overstepping.
"Kaido, huh," Rosse sighed, then smiled as he said, "He's not on the same level as Kozuki Oden."
"Isn't he just a brute too?", Moria asked, puzzled.
Kaido's image on the seas had always been one of brutality and recklessness.
These past ten years or so, he'd been captured and released by the World Government multiple times.
If not for his freakish endurance, he would have died long ago in some government laboratory.
"He's no mere brute. You think his relationship with the World Government is bad?", Rosse chuckled.
"Huh? Isn't he always being caught?", Moria was shocked.
With Kaido constantly being captured and often escaping, how could that mean good relations with the Government?
"He has ties to some Celestial Dragon families. Occupying Wano and supplying the Government with seastone, that was the condition he himself offered last time he was released. Or rather, he let himself be caught on purpose, just to negotiate this with the World Government," Rosse said calmly.
"Hiss... that brute actually has such cunning?", Moria was surprised. He'd always thought Kaido was just muscle, but hadn't expected him to be colluding with the Government behind the scenes.
He did know about some of what Kaido had done in Wano, but those things didn't prove much.
Using citizens to threaten kings, nobles, and local strongmen, that was an old pirate tradition. Not just Kaido, any pirate would do that.
But what no one had expected was that Kozuki Oden would actually be stupid enough to believe it, even believing Kaido and the others would leave in five years, and even going weekly to the Flower Capital to dance naked.
Anyone could see that was a joke.
If it had been Moria, he certainly wouldn't have left after five years.
Counting the time, there were only a few months left until that five-year promise.
Thinking of this, Moria suddenly raised his head, his gaze toward Rosse burning hot.
"When the five years are up, can't we make something of it?"