In the end, the man in kimono could not finish what he wanted to say.
Perhaps even he could not bring himself to tell such a cruel truth to a child who had just lost his mother.
Even if that child was the young lord destined to bear the fate of restoring the country.
These four were none other than Kozuki Momonosuke and his three retainers, who had just gone through the coup in Wano Country and, amid the flames, had been sent by the power of Kozuki Toki's Devil Fruit twenty years into the future—to this very day.
Of course...
Though they were called three retainers, one of them was actually a subordinate of Wano's current shogun, Kurozumi Orochi.
In other words, he was the spy Orochi had planted within the Kozuki clan—Kurozumi Kanjuro.
"From the looks of it, we should be on the outskirts of Wano Country," Kanjuro said.
As a spy, Kanjuro naturally did not feel much grief, yet at the same time, he flawlessly maintained the disguise expected of his role.
"Now isn't the time to mourn. We don't know what Wano is like twenty years from now, but we'd better leave this place first."
"We cannot let the Kurozumi clan find us!"
"You're right!"
Raizo, who had likewise traveled through time, wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes and clenched his fists tightly as he said:
"This isn't a safe place. The sooner we leave, the better."
"But..."
A trembling Momonosuke turned around and asked Raizo:
"If we leave Wano Country, where can we even go!?"
Having fallen in an instant from the son of a shogun worshipped by tens of thousands to a fugitive orphan of a fallen nation, Momonosuke's weak heart was clearly unable to accept such a drastic change in status.
On top of that, he had just lost both of his parents.
Lacking both ability and wisdom, he could be said to have been completely abandoned by fate.
The only fortunate thing was that while Kozuki Oden had not been a qualified ruler of a nation, he had won the loyalty of a group of retainers through sheer force of character.
"To Zou!"
Kin'emon rose to his feet, his eyes damp as he spoke.
"There must still be former retainers of the Kozuki clan there."
"If we want to reclaim Wano Country, we'll need their strength."
"Can... can we really take back Wano Country?"
Yet Momonosuke did not seem to have much hope in Kin'emon's words.
Because he had seen with his own eyes just how terrifying Kaido's strength was.
Even someone as powerful as his father had been unable to stand against Kaido. So even if they found the Kozuki clan's old retainers, what could they possibly do?
"Speaking of which..."
At that moment, Kanjuro the spy spoke up again:
"Wasn't Lord Oden sworn brothers with Whitebeard?"
"If we ask them for help, shouldn't there be a chance to take back control of Wano?"
"And Izo, who sailed with Lord Oden back then, should still be with the Whitebeard Pirates, right?"
"The Whitebeard Pirates!?"
Kin'emon froze for a moment upon hearing that, but then slowly shook his head.
"That won't do!"
"Lord Oden once told me that he failed to keep his promise to Whitebeard—to return to the Whitebeard Pirates—and instead came straight back to Wano..."
"So he no longer has the face to ask Whitebeard for help."
"I see..."
A look of disappointment appeared on Kanjuro's face.
But in his heart, he sneered in silent ridicule:
"Hmph~ Even at a time like this, you're still clinging to so-called pride!? As expected, the samurai of the Kozuki clan are all a bunch of rotten fools."
"No wonder you were defeated so thoroughly."
During the conversation that followed, Kanjuro did not offer many more opinions. He simply listened to the discussion between Kin'emon and Raizo.
At the same time, however, he quietly drew an inconspicuous flying insect behind his back.
As the user of the Brush-Brush Fruit, he could materialize anything he drew into reality.
Under the cover of moonlight, he tucked a slip of paper beneath the insect and ordered it to find Kurozumi Orochi's location.
For all these years, this was precisely how he had passed information about the Kozuki clan to Orochi and Kaido.
And now, even after traveling twenty years into the future, he was still doing the same.
Very soon, Kin'emon and Raizo came up with a plan.
In the end, they decided to go to Zou.
As for everything after that, they would wait until they arrived at Zou before deciding.
That was right.
What great wisdom could Oden's retainers possibly have?
At a time like this, all they could do was take one step at a time.
However, because Wano Country was a nation closed off from the outside world, ships were extremely rare here.
And even if there were any, they would all be under the control of Kaido and the Kurozumi clan.
So the very first thing they needed to do was build a small boat capable of "sailing" in the New World.
Thus, relying on his excellent swordsmanship, Kin'emon began working as a lumberjack.
…
…
Before long, in the Flower Capital.
Amid a lavish and decadent banquet—
Kurozumi Orochi, the shogun of Wano Country, stared with a flushed face at the figure of a songstress below him.
The courtesan Komurasaki—the greatest beauty in Wano Country.
According to Oda's own evaluation, her looks were said to be no less stunning than Hancock's.
She was also someone Orochi invited to every banquet he held without fail.
Yet in truth, the woman currently singing and performing for Orochi was none other than Momonosuke's younger sister, who had also arrived in this era—Kozuki Hiyori.
During the great chaos twenty years ago, Kozuki Hiyori had been saved by the Kozuki retainer Kawamatsu.
Later, she returned alone to the Flower Capital and, with sheer strength of will, endured everything until she became the top courtesan who could freely enter and leave Orochi's residence.
Kozuki Hiyori had always remembered her mission.
She knew her older brother would appear in the future and save Wano Country, so she had never once given up.
But at this very moment...
Crash!!!
For some unknown reason, Orochi—who had originally been enjoying fine wine and beautiful women—suddenly stood up, his body exuding a vile and sinister aura that disgusted all who sensed it.
"Guhyahyahyahya... it really wasn't easy, huh~"
Orochi let out a cold laugh, then did something utterly unprecedented—he dismissed the banquet of his own accord.
A short while later, he returned to his room.
He slowly spread open the slip of paper in his hand and once again read the words written on it.
"Kozuki Momonosuke..."
"I've finally got you!!!"
"Guhyahyahyahyahya!!!!"
In truth, as early as twenty years ago, Orochi had already received intelligence from Kanjuro and learned of Kozuki Toki's plan to use her Devil Fruit power to send them into the future.
And he had been silently waiting for this day ever since.
He had already witnessed the terrifying power of the Kozuki bloodline.
And precisely because of that, there was no way he would allow a member of the Kozuki clan who hated him to continue living.
So in Kurozumi Orochi's heart...
Momonosuke had to die!!!
Only...
"Kaido's situation is murky right now, and I don't even know whether the remaining members of the Beasts Pirates can be trusted."
"No!"
"Relying on those Beasts Pirates bastards alone absolutely won't work!"
"And the Kozuki bloodline must never be allowed to continue!"
Because of Wano's closed borders, Orochi did not know the exact details of Kaido's situation.
But the collective disappearance of the Beasts Pirates' upper ranks had already made him question the reliability of the crew.
As for the remaining Tobiroppo...
It wasn't that he looked down on them.
But without Kaido's name backing them, they truly were not worth much in the eyes of Kurozumi Orochi, the shogun of Wano.
So, to make sure there would be no mistakes in the plan...
"This time... I'll move personally!!!"
Orochi suddenly raised his head, his face so dark and lifeless it looked as though it were shrouded in storm clouds.
Then he suddenly shouted toward the outside of the room:
"Men!!!"
"Gather every samurai in the residence. I have a mission for them!!!"
(End of Chapter)