Chapter 402: The Kozuki Reunion
The appearance of Marine uniforms was like a massive boulder thrown into a dead, silent lake.
Ripples instantly surged through the crowd in the plaza, but it wasn't a wave of cheers—it was an overwhelming, suffocating sense of oppression.
Kurozumi Orochi was in an utterly pathetic state. He stumbled and crawled out of the main gates of the Shogun's Palace, his face covered in snot and tears, his luxurious robes dragging in the mud.
"Lord Marines!!! Thank you for defeating Kaido... for liberating Wano Country!!!"
His voice was shrill and tearful, acting like a loyal subject welcoming his savior.
However, what flickered deep within his eyes was pure terror mixed with the venomous calculation of a snake.
This scene made a wave of intense disgust rise in the hearts of countless citizens.
But they merely lowered their heads, their shoulders trembling. Numbness and fear had long been branded into their very bones.
Even though Kaido was dead, they still didn't dare to believe that their world would actually change.
Seeing this, Yamato clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging so deeply into her palms that blood trickled out.
Looking at the numb faces in the crowd, ravaged by years of torment, her heart twisted like it was being sliced by a knife.
This was Wano Country under Kaido's rule... Even joy and freedom had been stripped away completely.
Amidst the crowd, Kyoshiro and Kozuki Hiyori's pupils shrank, their hearts pounding violently at the same time.
"The Marines... was it them... who defeated Kaido?!"
Kozuki Hiyori's breathing quickened. When her gaze passed Roy and landed on two familiar silhouettes, she completely froze.
—The green-haired swordsman Zoro, and beside him, the coldly beautiful Kuina, sharp as a blade.
"It's... them?" Hiyori's eyes grew wet, the sheer joy in her heart nearly suffocating her.
Roy turned a deaf ear to all of this.
He couldn't even be bothered to spare another glance at Kurozumi Orochi's sickeningly obsequious display. He simply stepped into the center of the plaza, murmuring to himself, "The spatial anchor... should be right here."
"VROOM—!!!"
The void suddenly trembled, and a pitch-black spatial rift violently tore open, looking like a gaping wound in the fabric of the world itself!
In the next instant, several figures plummeted out of the rift!
Leading them was a scrawny, young boy.
The top of his head was shaved, with a topknot tied at the back. He wore a pink kimono and wooden geta sandals.
The pink kimono and geta were slightly disheveled, but they couldn't hide the foolishness between his brows.
—It was none other than Momonosuke and his retainers, who had been sent into the future by Kozuki Toki 18 years ago.
"Momonosuke... Brother?!!"
Kozuki Hiyori's face was instantly covered in tears, her scream nearly tearing her throat!
Kurozumi Orochi looked as if he had been struck by lightning. His face turned deathly pale, and a piercing, shredded scream tore from his throat: "The Kozuki... Remnants?!!"
Momonosuke stumbled and fell to the ground, looking around blankly.
When he saw the towering Shogun's Palace and Kurozumi Orochi's grotesque face, his pupils instantly shrank, and terror surged out like a tidal wave.
"Ah... It's... It's Orochi!!!"
He was instantly scared witless, scrambling away on his hands and knees. At the same time, several figures immediately stepped in front of him.
"Young Lord!!!"
Kin'emon, Raizo, and Kikunojo roared in unison, taking up defensive positions around Momonosuke!
Momonosuke and the others were still immersed in the disorientation of time and space, looking blankly at this unfamiliar world.
"Brother!!!" A tearful cry shattered the dead silence.
Kozuki Hiyori could no longer hold back. She rushed out of the crowd alongside Kyoshiro and threw herself into Momonosuke's arms!
Her tears fell like rain. She hugged the boy tightly, her voice crying until it was hoarse: "Brother! You're finally back!!"
Momonosuke froze. After a few seconds of blank staring, a lecherous smile suddenly crept onto his face.
His nostrils flared, his eyes unfocused, as he took the opportunity to rub his head desperately against Hiyori's chest: "Ahhh... I don't know who you are... but you're so soft... so comfortable~"
"???!!"
Seeing this, Yamato instantly turned to stone. Her fists clenched so hard her joints cracked, veins popping on her forehead.
Her face was filled with utter disbelief, as if her entire worldview had just been shattered. "This is... Oden's bloodline???"
Hiyori was stunned for a second before her cheeks instantly burned bright red. She violently shoved Momonosuke away.
Wiping away her tears, she forcefully suppressed her emotions, her tone turning extremely serious: "Brother! It's me, Hiyori! Your younger sister!!!"
"Kaido has already been defeated by the Lord Marines!!!"
"Wh... What?!!"
Momonosuke and the Akazaya Nine exclaimed almost simultaneously, their eyes filled with shock.
Kin'emon and Raizo gritted their teeth in disbelief. "That monster... is really dead?!"
Hiyori nodded solemnly. Pointing straight at Roy, her voice trembled but remained incomparably firm: "It was this Lord Marine—he ended Kaido! As long as we eradicate Kurozumi Orochi, our Kozuki Clan... can restore our nation!!"
"Re... Restore our nation?!!"
An uncontrollable surge of hope welled up in Momonosuke's heart. With teary eyes, he abruptly turned to look at Roy, as if gazing upon the arbiter of his destiny.
But the moment he met those freezing, abyssal eyes, his entire body instantly stiffened.
It was an indescribable, overwhelming pressure, as if the entire weight of heaven and earth had been dropped onto his shoulders, forcibly stealing his breath away.
"UWAAAAAH—!!!"
Momonosuke let out a miserable shriek. His legs gave out, and he lost control of his bladder right on the spot. Urine trickled down his wooden geta sandals with a splash, forming a puddle on the stone path.
He crawled away frantically, sobbing as he shrank behind Kin'emon. Trembling like a leaf, he wailed through his tears, "S-So scary!!! Save me—!!!"
Kin'emon and the others turned livid, veins bulging on their foreheads. They desperately wished they could cover up this utterly humiliating and pathetic display.
But no matter what, they could only bite the bullet and stand firmly in front of Momonosuke, their eyes filled with humiliation and powerlessness.
Within the crowd, the hushed whispers could no longer be suppressed: "This is... Oden's son?"
"Just as the rumors said... he doesn't have a shred of Oden in him..."
"Can someone like this... really protect Wano Country?"
The low murmurs sliced through the air like knives. Landing in the ears of the Akazaya Nine, it felt as though their insides were burning with shame.
Roy's bottomless eyes remained fixed on the shivering, pants-soiled Momonosuke.
Cold, ruthless, as if scrutinizing a fragile insect not even worth crushing.
There wasn't a single ounce of respect for the "Kozuki bloodline."
The air instantly solidified, becoming so oppressive that everyone present could barely breathe.
Standing on the sidelines, Yamato's breath caught in her throat, her mind churning in turmoil.
Once upon a time, the name Oden had stood tall in her heart like a majestic lighthouse. But the pathetic display of the so-called "Son of Oden" before her made it hard to even look at him.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging deeply into her palms, her heart sinking heavily: This is the hope of Wano Country?
Just amidst this dead silence—
"Lord Marine!!!"
Kurozumi Orochi once again scrambled forward, throwing himself at Roy's feet.
Covered in snot and tears, his smile was so sycophantic it was nauseating. His shrill, grating voice rang out: "Did you see that? This is the remnant of the Kozuki Clan! Heh, where is there even a shred of a ruler's demeanor?!"
"If someone like this truly restores the nation, it will only plunge Wano Country into new chaos and turmoil!"
"Only this humble servant truly understands how to govern this land! Just give the word, Lord Marine, and this humble servant is willing to give everything to pledge absolute loyalty to you!"
He kowtowed desperately, blood splattering from his forehead, even secretly stealing glances at the crowd, expecting the citizens to echo his sentiments.
However, the surrounding citizens merely lowered their heads in silence.
Their eyes were numb. They had long grown accustomed to fear and kneeling, lacking the courage to even "cheer" or "deny."
Whoever became their ruler, it wouldn't make much of a difference to them.
In this dead silence, Kurozumi Orochi's voice became even more grating, making him appear even more servile and wretched.
Roy paid no mind to Kurozumi Orochi's despicable fawning, merely uttering a single indifferent sentence:
"The Marines will not interfere in the internal affairs of your country..."
Hearing this, Kurozumi Orochi was overjoyed!
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